By Patrick Carey, Sporting Times
Photos by Chuck Feist, Editor
Is there anything better than playing at Rupp Arena during the KHSAA High School State Tournament? The Elizabethtown Panthers had their season painfully cut short last year due to COVID-19 and their hopes to play in the Bluegrass came to a screeching halt. But a year later the Panthers found their way back after an incredible regular season (19-2) and a 5th region championship and have picked up right where they left off a year ago.
The Panthers entered todays matchup on a mission, as they simply dismantled Knott County Central in the first round of the KHSAA Boys Sweet 16 tournament. Panthers guard, Kam Sherrard, summed up the team’s feelings best, “playing in Rupp is a blast and I wish the guys from last year could be here with us.”
The strongest aspects of the Panthers’ game this season include their speed, movement, and athleticism. Head Coach James Haire understands the Panthers aren’t a big team and they need to use their strengths to their advantage by stating “we are very guard oriented and we have to utilize the floor.” From the opening minutes, the full court pressure applied by E-Town was simply too much for Central to handle. The Panthers built a commanding lead early causing turnover after turnover that lead to easy transition layups. By the end of the first quarter, the Panthers held a comfortable lead, 27-12.
Knott County Central just simply couldn’t find their flow and confidence. Colby Napier, the Patriots leading scorer on the year, found himself on the bench with 7:30 left in the second quarter. Through just one quarter, Napier had picked up an alarming four personal fouls. Knott County had to find another way to put the ball in the bucket quickly, and they turned to senior center, Josh McGuire, to do just that. McGuire was the Patriots leading scorer at the half with 13, and he had also snagged 6 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Patriots, there wasn’t enough scoring as they found themselves down 21 at intermission.
Just when you didn’t think the Panthers could play any better, they turned the pressure up even more. What felt like 1,000 steals and 1,000 fast-break lay ups, E-Town LITERALLY ran the Patriots out of Rupp Arena. When asked about the talent of E-Town, Knott County head coach Bb King summed it up the best way he could, “the game didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to, Elizabethtown is a good ball club. Their quick play and athleticism were simply too much for us to handle. They do a good job defensively, and that’s the best team we have played all year. Hats off to them.”
As the final buzzer sounded in game one of the Sweet Sixteen, the scoreboard read; Elizabethtown 87 Knott County Central 59. Panthers star Jaquais Franklin finished leading all scorers with 23 points. All five starters for the Panthers scored double digits this afternoon.
On the opposing bench, Josh McGuire finished with an impressive 21 points and 10 rebounds. Coach Swiney tipped his hat to McGuire, “the big guy for Knott County is a load, but I was really proud of us.”
Elizabethtown has advanced to the second round of the tournament and is set to play the winner between George Rogers Clark and Oldham County on April 2nd at 11:00 A.M. in Rupp Arena!
