LEXINGTON, Ky.—Campbell County has found success by playing fundamentally sound basketball all season long, and that formula for winning did not change in the Camels’ first game of the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys Sweet Sixteen® Basketball Tournament against Second Region champion University Heights.
The Camels shot 27-of-53 from the field for 51 percent and had four different players score in double figures in an 82-65 victory over the Blazers on Thursday afternoon at Rupp Arena—marking the first time Campbell County has ever won a game at the state tournament.
“It means a lot,” said Campbell County head coach Aric Russell of what the win means for the program. “Our school has never done it, and you talk about ‘if this team can do it’. And I thought they could. It’s just huge for our school and our community.”
Campbell County (29-5) trailed University Heights 22-16 at the end of the first quarter as the Blazers shot 9-of-17 from the field in the first eight minutes of the game. Junior standout KyKy Tandy—a player that has drawn interest from several big-name programs like Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Xavier—already had 10 points in the frame.
But the Camels limited Tandy to just four points in the second quarter as they outscored the Blazers 17-9 to take a 33-31 lead into the locker room—a jumper by Reid Jolly with 24 seconds left in the half giving Campbell County a lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the game.
The main thing that enabled the Camels to make their run was a change from zone to man-to-man on defense that limited UHA to just 4-of-15 sniping from the field in the second quarter.
“We came out thinking we needed to play some zone early, and it didn’t work so good,” Russell said. “They shot the lights out in the first quarter. We switched up to man and went to double teaming (Tandy), and that really helped us pick up our intensity.”
University Heights head coach Grant Shouse also believes that the second quarter turned the momentum entirely in the Camels’ favor after the Blazers opened up the game with a solid start.
“I thought we started out pretty well,” Shouse said. “We were attacking their zone and getting open looks and converting. I thought we really handled the emotions of the big stage and were starting to get in a good rhythm offensively. But they switched to man and began to take KyKy more and more out of the game.”
University Heights (23-8) missed its first six shots of the second half as the Blazers saw the deficit widen all the way to 14 points after a crafty spin move and layup by Campbell County senior Nathan Schaefer with eight seconds left in the third quarter. The Camels held a 61-47 advantage going into the final quarter of play.
The Blazers drew within eight points of the Camels after a jumper by Tandy with 2:59 to go, but Campbell County was able to handle UHA’s pressure and pull away for the victory.
Tandy finished with a game-high 31 points to lead the Blazers, who became the third Second Region School in as many seasons to be shown the door in the first round of the state tournament.
“Hats off to Campbell County,” Shouse said. “They made shots and they ran their offense. We tried to get more into them and speed them up, but it seemed like every time we did that they had an answer.”
The trip to Rupp Arena was still significant for a Blazers’ team that returns Tandy and several other contributors next season.
“I think a lot of people that we were still about a year away from being back up here,” Shouse said. “So anytime you can get up here sooner than expected it’s a great thing for the next year going forward.”
Campbell County was led in the win by Joel Day with 23 points and seven assists. As a team the Camels finished with 17 assists while committing just eight turnovers.
“We don’t play ‘hero ball’ and we don’t have one guy that can just take over,” Russell said. “We have to have all five guys on the floor do what they do for us to be successful.”
Tanner Clos finished with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds while Reid Jolly added 20 points and nine boards. Drew Wilson was the Camels’ other scorer in double digits with 11 points.
Campbell County will now play the Oldham County-McCracken County winner in the quarterfinals on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. EST, and the Camels will be playing much more relaxed knowing that they notched that first win at the state tournament.
“As a player we missed coming to the state tournament by one point, and I told them how jealous I was of them,” Russell said. “It’s so special to be with these guys. I’ve basically seen them since they first began playing basketball because my son is their age. It’s just special that this is the team that finally got the monkey off our back.”
