Bowling Green’s dominant success in Region 4 Tournament opening-round games continued on Wednesday evening, as it cruised to a 78-52 win over Clinton County in quarterfinal action at Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Purples (22-10) – who won their 11th consecutive regional quarterfinal game and 16th straight Region 4 Tournament game overall – had to battle with Clinton County in the opening quarter but used a dominant second period and strong second half to earn their spot in Monday’s semifinal round.
“I think this time of the year you have to have a focused basketball team,” Bowling Green coach Derrick Clubb said. “These guys – when we ask them to do something, they go out and try to execute the best they can. If that stays, we’ll take our chances. “We’re tickled to be moving on.”
Bowling Green had four different players finish in double figures, as Jarius Key led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Isaiah Mason scored 18, Davion Dice tallied 11 and Trevor Dennis added 10.
The Purples shot 34-of-58 (58.6 percent) from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs (18-13) 30-23. Defensively, Bowling Green forced Clinton County into 19 turnovers and turned those takeaways into 24 points on the opposite end of the court.
“I’m blessed to have a bunch of guys that can score the basketball,” Clubb said. “On any given night, up to six or seven guys could probably get 20 points. I’m very blessed to have that kind of team, and I’m also blessed because these guys are OK with that. Whoever’s night it is, that’s who they want to have the most shots.”
The two sides exchanged baskets throughout the opening quarter.
After Bowling Green started hot and jumped out to a 6-0 lead, Clinton County used a 7-0 run to go up 9-8 at the 4:39 mark of the first. The Purples then went on a quick 5-0 run to push their advantage to 15-11 before leading by just two at 15-13 at the end of one.
Bowling Green completely dominated in the ensuing period.
The Purples, who outscored the Bulldogs 19-9 in the second, were up 25-18 at the 3:41 mark before taking a double-digit lead of 34-22 into the locker room at halftime. Mason was leading Bowling Green with 11 points at the break, while Key had scored 10 and Dennis had eight.
“From the beginning of the season to right now, he’s getting better every game,” Key said of his teammate Mason. “He’s going to be a scary player when he becomes a senior.”
Bowling Green shot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half, forced Clinton County into 13 turnovers and scored seven points off the Bulldogs’ miscues.
The Purples took total control in the second half.
“We outrebounded them quite a bit in the second half, and we had to make sure we won that” Clubb said. “I thought the third quarter we set the tone and were really solid defensively. In that third quarter we got our lead because we were rebounding the ball and were getting some easy buckets.”
Key’s bucket – followed by a fast-break layup by Dennis – gave Bowling Green a 40-24 lead and forced Clinton County to quickly call timeout. Those back-to-back scores led to a 11-0 run and pushed the Purples’ advantage to 47-24 with 4:24 left in the third quarter.
Jackson Harlan scored twice in a row to bring Clinton County to within 49-32, but Bowling Green later led 59-35 entering the fourth following back-to-back baskets by Mason and Jaylen Wardlow.
The Purples took advantage of their comfortable advantage and used it to cruise through the final eight minutes and into the semifinal round.
“We just try to focus on the core of the game plan and get the win,” Jay Buser said.
–Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TMansfieldST.–
