By Jim Mashek – Sporting Times
The Bowling Green High School boys basketball team exorcised some demons Wednesday night.
The Purples are going back to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen.
Bowling Green withstood a second-half challenge from crosstown rival Greenwood and held on down the stretch, stopping the Gators 57-49 in the 4th Region championship game at E.A. Diddle Arena.
“We lost, in this place, three years in a row,” BGHS senior swingman Isaiah Mason said. “It was personal. We just wanted to make it about the basketball.”
The ball will be bouncing around for awhile, as Bowling Green (23-2) won’t play in the Sweet Sixteen until next Wednesday, when the Purples will face the 2nd Region champion at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Greenwood finished the season 17-13, but the Gators should be loaded for bear in 2021-22. They’ll lose just two seniors from this year’s squad, Marc Grant and John Morrison.
Second-year Greenwood coach Will McCoy was worried about the Purples’ edge underneath beforehand, and with good reason. Bowling Green had 33 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, compared to the Gators’ 22.
“We cut the lead to six or seven points a couple times in the second half,” McCoy said. “We just needed a couple more stops, needed to make a shot to make it interesting.”
Mason, the 4th Region Player of the Year, turned in another command performance. The 6-foot-5 senior swingman hit 9 of 12 shots and finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds.
Mason added five assists, including a whip pass on the baseline that resulted in an easy basket for the Purples’ Jordan Dingle in the opening moments of the third quarter.
“In my opinion, Isaiah is Mr. Basketball in the state this year,” veteran BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said during the festivities on the floor when it was over. “But he’s not from Louisville, or Lexington . He’s tough. He’s versatile.
He can do it all.
“It’s been an honor to coach a kid like Isaiah Mason.”
Cade Stinnett, the Gators’ catalyst in Tuesday’s 63-39 rout of Barren County in the semifinals, had just two points at halftime.
For the game, Stinnett went 3-for-11 from the field, while missing all four times from 3-point range. Junior forward Aaron Brown was brilliant in a losing effort, finishing with a game-high 21 points, along with five rebounds and three assists.
“We had to dig in there and show some toughness,” Sherrill said. “When you get this far, in this tournament, you’re always going to get your opponent’s best shot.”
Sixth man Connor Cooper had nine points and four rebounds for the Purples, and senior forward Jacobi Huddleston added eight points and five rebounds.
Greenwood’s Marc Grant said moving on won’t be easy after the hard-fought defeat.
“Just grateful for my teammates, my coaches,” Grant said. “Nobody expected us to be here. Really a rewarding experience.”
The Purples will be playing in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since their state championship in 2017.
