Tim Riley’s return to Warren Central High School on Tuesday night was oh, so sweet, but not in the Dragon’s favor, as his Owensboro Catholic Aces rallied to drop Central 46-44 in overtime.
After serving 14 seasons and rolling out 307 wins as head coach for Central from 1996 to 2011, Riley finally came back to the court named in his honor to coach on the visitor’s side for the Owensboro Catholic Aces.
Catholic got the ball rolling early, jumping out to a 13-4 lead 5:30 into the game, largely in part to two Luke Hayden 3-point baskets.
However, the Dragons struck back to cut the Aces lead to 13-10 following Jaylen McFadden’s 3-point basket at the buzzer to end the first quarter.
Central had their way with the Aces in the second quarter by outscoring the opposition 15-8 thanks to three 3-point baskets by Micale Mee.
After a 25-21 Warren Central lead at the half, both teams traded offensive punches in an exciting third quarter.
The Dragons opened up the quarter with a 9-4 run to take a 34-25 lead with 3:40 to go in the third, but Catholic answered quickly by going on a 9-2 run of their own to close out the quarter trailing 36-34.
Central expanded their lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter as Skyelar Potter converted a three-point play to put the Dragons up 39-34 with 7:30 remaining, but both teams were held scoreless for well over four minutes afterward.
The Aces (17-8) found themselves back within one point after scoring four straight to trail 39-38 with 2:09 remaining, but a foul on Skyelar Potter – who made one of his two free throws – gave the Dragons a 40-38 lead.
Riding momentum, Catholic’s Gabriel McFarland drove in to take home the tying layup with 40 seconds left, while both defenses clamped down to send the game to overtime.
Tied at 44 with 57.5 seconds left in the extra period, the Aces milked the clock before their game-winning shot seemed to miss, but was tapped in by big-play center John Marshall with 4 seconds left to lift Catholic to a 46-44 win.
Marshall led the Aces with 16 points while Hayden followed up with 14.
Potter and Mee both netted 12 points to lead Warren Central. Jaylen McFadded followed with 8 for the Dragons.
Warren Central (14-12) will play its final road game on Friday night as they make the short trip to Greenwood to face the Gators (17-11) before finishing the regular season with three home games.
