By Jim Mashek – Sporting Times
Bowling Green High School’s boys basketball team seems to have it all.
Talent. Depth. Versatility. Plenty of grit. And last, but certainly not least, camaraderie.
Isaiah Mason and the Purples are again the KHSAA 14th District champion, and they did it in style on Thursday evening against an upstart Greenwood squad.
BGHS junior point guard Turner Buttry scored a team-high 18 points and Mason finished with 17 as the Purples methodically dismantled Greenwood 77-44 for their eighth consecutive 14th District championship.
Mason gestured to the home crowd two or three times after the 6-foot-5 swingman hit deft jumpers, drives to the basket and baseline 3-pointers. And he really had some fun when veteran BGHS coach D.G Sherrill, along with Greenwood’s Will McCoy, emptied their benches with about three minutes left.
“This is my senior year. I knew what this game meant,” Mason said. “We get a chance to play another home game (in KHSAA 4th Region play) on Sunday, and we knew Greenwood has a heckuva team. Cade Stinnett is a great player.
“We’ve just got to take it step by step, game by game.”
The Purples (20-2) will play host to Clinton County (20-4) on Sunday at 3 p.m. Greenwood (15-12) will travel to play at the same time against Metcalfe County (17-9).
McCoy was certainly impressed with what the Purples did in Thursday’s championship game.
“They’re one of the premier teams in the state,” McCoy said. “I give them a ton of credit. You almost have to play the perfect defensive game, with Bowling Green, to give yourselves a chance.
“They took us out of our comfort zone, offensively. And we didn’t communicate very well on defense, especially when they built a big lead.”
Sherrill said his three years away from the program — he returned to the BGHS helm last summer — gave him perspective as he built the Purples from the ground floor.
“Greenwood did a great job last night against Warren Central,” Sherrill said. “It was a big win for them and they’re going on to the regional tournament.
“We knew we had to force tempo. But we thought if we could make it a full-court game, we could get into their legs a little bit and get up and down the floor.”
Stinnett, the Gators’ do-it-all junior forward, led his team with 18 points, and teammate Aaron Brown added 15.
Buttry, who plays AAU basketball during the summer months with players such as Stinnett and South Warren’s Caleb Veltkamp, said “accepting your role” has been critical to the Purples’ success.
Senior guard Conner Cooper was quick to agree. Cooper helped guide the Bowling Green football team to the KHSAA Class 5A state championship in December, and he’s thrilled to be part of another top-flight program.
“Coach Sherrill says a closed fist is always moving forward,” Cooper said. “We all get along really well and everybody accepts their role with the team. If you’re happy for each other, your teammates, the success feels that much better.”
