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LEXINGTON CATHOLIC DEFEATS TILGHMAN BOYS FOR STATE TITLE – 2002

Blue .09 Finals roadblock: Paducah Catholic's Brian Smith, son of Championship game. Tornado By Joey Fosko The Paducah Sun LEXINGTON, Ky. Even after his team had posted a pair of double victories, Paducah Tilghman basketball coach Bill Chumbler insisted fans at the 85th annual Sweet 16 had yet to see his team's best shot. Top-ranked Louisville Male saw plenty of them in Saturday morning's state semifinals. Nine of them, in fact. Tilghman, having survived some serious shooting woes. in wins over conclusion Knights fall on Tilghman storybook I A motorcade to welcome the team back begins at 4 p.m. at Lourdes Hospital and escorts the team to a rally at Tilghman High School. By Joey Fosko The Paducah Sun LEXINGTON, Ky. Midnight struck the end of Paducah Tilghman's Cinderella run to the basketball state championship not long after halftime. A disastrous third quarter ended with the Tornado's glass slipper shattered and its dream of a state title blown to bits. The culprit was Lexington Catholic's ultra-talented young lineup, its ferocious full-court pressure and relentless transition game. Sophomore Demetrius Green locked up tournament MVP honors with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Knights erased a Please see KNIGHTS / 3B 50 Orlandus Hill One of PT's four All Tourney LEXINGTON 3 CATHOLIC Tilghman's Armond Cooper University of Kentucky coach Tubby (left) sets a pick for teammate Smith, attempts to defend LANCE DENNEE/The Sun Bryan Hamilton (right) as Lexington Hamilton in the KHSAA Boys' State fires best shot against Male SEMIFINALS Tilghman 74, Male 55 Rockcastle County and Mason County, finally clicked on all cylinders, going 9-for-15 from 3-point range and thumping Male 74-55 in front of 12,548 fans at Rupp Arena. "We've been bricking everything until today," said sixth man Fred Perry, who made four threes and scored 16 points. "Once. we got a couple to fall, we just let loose, and the rim looked a little bit bigger than it did before." The perimeter game relieved. center Orlandus Hill of some of the scoring burden, four different players made three- pointers for Tilghman (29-5), which moved on to meet Lexington Catholic, a 61-48 winner over North Hardin, in Saturday night's championship game. Reflecting the Tornado's usual formula for success, Hill had his usual solid performance, with 17 points and eight rebounds, and its defense was as stingy as ever, limiting Male to 38 percent field goal NCAA. shooting and a miserable 1-for-16 from 3-point range. The red-hot outside shooting was the icing on the cake. "We've been taking open shots. We've been taking good shots," said guard Bryan Hamilton, who hit a pair of threes and scored a teamhigh 18 points. "Today they just happened to fall," Perry set the tone from outset, drilling three treys in the first quarter to stake Tilghman to a lead, Please see BEST /3B
sweet KENTUCKY BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 16 Athletic Association storybook Lexington Catholic's speed finally overwhelms Tilghman Continued from 1B decade of state tournament frustration with Saturday night's 83-53 rout of Tilghman in front of 16,456 fans at Rupp Arena. "They're so quick and so deep," said Tilghman coach Bill Chumbler. "They can i all shoot it and run the floor, and we couldn't slow them down.' Tilghman (29-6) trailed just 33-29 at halftime but was victimized by an 11-0 run in the first 80 seconds of the second half. Catholic's press forced four quick turnovers, leaving the Tornado with a 15-point deficit and "no chance to come back," guard Bryan Hamilton said. "They beat us back downcourt so many times, and we didn't attack them and look to shoot and score like we should have," said Hamilton, who turned in a gallant effort with 16 points and 13 rebounds. "We were so worried about handling the press that we didn't do anything else." Everywhere they turned, Tilghman's players were shadowed and smothered by players outfitted in Catholic's royal blue. Driven batty by the pressure, the Tornado shot just 33 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers. "As poorly as we played in the first half, I felt pretty good about being down just. four," Chumbler said. "We were getting beat in transition, and we weren't getting the ball to Orlandus Hill as often as we wanted. "Our first possession, we got the ball to 'O,' but it went through his hands, and we turned it over. Then they started hitting threes, and we tried everything - a 3-2 zone, our 1-3-1, then back to man-to-man. Nothing worked. Instead of getting better, it a whole lot worse." Green scored on a drive, then hit a 3-pointer from the corner after a steal by junior point guard Brian Smith, the son of University of Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who had out eight assists. Another miscue led to a three from sophomore guard William Graham (19 points), and Green got a steal and hit Graham for a layup that made it 44-29 with 6:40 remaining in the third period. "They just got it going, and we didn't," Tornado guard Ches Gibson said. "Their press is really tough." It was the first state LEXINGTON CATHOLIC Smith 2-6 0-0 4, Marones 0-1 0-0 0, Cooke 0-0 0-00, D. Morton 0-0 0-0 0, Graham 9-16 1-3 19, Green 10-16 0-1 24, Hillenmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, R. Morton 5-7 3-7 13, H. Morton 5-7 3-7 13, Balthrop 1-1 0-0 2, Postel 2-2 0-0 5,; -Rompf 1-4 0-22, Server 0-2 2-22, Lawrence 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-64 7-15 83. PADUCAH TILGHMAN Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Gibson 0-4 0-0 0, C. Hamilton 1-3 0-03, Wagner 1-3 4-4 6, Perry 2-7 0-0 6, B. Hamilton 7-14 0-1 16, Craft 0-0 0-0 0, Bohle 0-0 0-0 0, Clarke 0-92-22, Cooper 0-2 0-0 0, Hill 7-11 6-9 20, Biles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-54 12-16 53. Halftime Lexington Catholic 33, Paducah Tilghman 29. 3-point goals- Lexington Catholic 6-17 (Green 4-7, Pastel 1-1, Graham 1-3, Server 0-1, H. Morton 0-2, Smith 0-2), Paducah Tilghman 5-21 (Perry 2-4, B. Hamilton 2-6, C. Hamilton 1-2, Davis 0-1, Wagner 0-2, Gibson 0-2, 0 Clarke 0-4). Fouled out- -None. Rebounds Lexington Catholic 42 (Green 11), Paducah Tilghman 27 (B. Hamilton 13). Assists- -Lexington Catholic 20 (Smith 8), Paducah Tighman 5 (B. Hamilton 2). A-16,456. championship for nationally ranked Catholic (33-2), which has been one of the state's dominant programs for more than a decade but had always come up short of a state title. The Knights lost in the 1992 and 2000 state championship games. "That's the way we practice every day," coach Danny Haney said. 1 "It's get-out-and-go at every opportunity. It keeps teams from pressing us, and when Brian gets it, it's one dribble and he's looking upcourt. And we're looking to score." Catholic might be Kentucky's team of the present and the future. The Knights start two sophomores and a junior, with senior Ryan Morton (13 points, 10 rebounds) the only major loss. Tilghman, on the other hand, will lose six seniors, all among its top seven players. Hill had 20 points, earning all-tournament honors, as did Hamilton, Fred Perry and junior Chris Clarke. "I was always taught that second place was no good," Hamilton said. "But when we look back, we'll be pretty proud of what we accomplished up here. Nobody expected us to be playing on Saturday night, but we made it." Hill, who had 91 points and 47 rebounds in four Sweet 16 contests, emerged as one of the stars of the state tournament. Earlier this week, he said he had narrowed his college choices to Houston and Southern Illinois, but his performance in Lexington might spark additional interest. "I'm not really happy about it, because I think we were just as good as they are and we didn't play. very well," Hill said. "But it was a good week - a really good week.' LANCE DENNEE/The Sun Heavy action: Paducah Tilghman coach Bill Chumbler, above, and Orlandus Hill show their intensity in the semifinal matchup with Male. 32 LANCE DENNEE/The Sun Showing their hardware: Paducah Tilghman's team and coaches show off their runners-up trophy and medals after losing to Lexington Catholic in the Kentucky Boys' State Championship. Associated Press To the finals: Paducah Tilghman's Bryan Hamilton drives past a Louisville Male defender on his way to the basket. Best performance comes in semifinal but the Tornado looked vulnerable when Hill picked up his second foul late in the period. Hill sat out part of the half, but Tilghman made some jumpers and methodically extended the lead in his absence. "We got Hill in some f foul trouble and stopped going inside," said Male coach Bryce Hibbard. "(Point guard Johnny) Mathies went crazy (with his shot selection), and it killed us." Ches Gibson n made one from the left corner to push the lead to 10 late in the first half, and the Tornado seized control with a 10-0 run to start the second half. Hill had a 3-point play on a putback, then Hamilton sank an 18- footer. Hill rebounded Chris Clarke's missed three and found Clarke (10 points, seven rebounds) cutting to the basket for a layup. Then Ryan Wagner hit Hill on a lob for another "3-point play to make it 41-23 with 4:47 left in the third quarter. "We've always been a team that likes to run, but if you're going to win up here, you've got to be able to play a halfcourt game," Chumbler said. "And you've got to play defense, which we've certainly done." Hibbard, who faced Tilghman regularly when he coached at district rival Reidland from 1990 to '95, was impressed with the Tornado's ability to establish tempo. "If my team. was stroking the ball like they were," Hibbard said. "I'd play that way, too." Chumbler had plenty of praise for Wagner, who gave up 3 inches in height and about 55 pounds to the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Bush. Rated the state's top junior, Bush managed 16 points but missed his four 3-point tries and never took over the game. "I think people probably laughed when we put Ryan on Bush," Chumbler said. "But Ryan frustrated ALE him." Hill clearly outplayed Male center LaVar Carter, a Marshall signee who had 12 points and seven boards but eventually fouled out. Reserve Casey Shumate, the brother of Murray State player Chris Shumate, had 10 points, and Mathies, rated as one of the state's top point guards, was 2-for-15 from the field and scored just five points. The state's No. 1 team in the preseason, Male came in as the tournament favorite, primed to atone for last year's runner up finish and seasoned by the state's toughest schedule. Six of its seven losses were to nationally ranked teams, and the Bulldogs hadn't lost to a Kentucky squad in more than three months. But Tilghman pulled the upset, giving the First Region its first representative in the championship game for the first time since Carlisle County's 35-33 triple overtime loss to Lexington Henry Clay in 1983. No area team has won the state title since North Marshall turned the trick in 1959. Tilghman's only other appearance in the final was in 1953, when the Tornado lost 84-53 to Lexington Lafayette. And it's also the first state championship game for Chumbler, now in his 32nd year as a head coach. Now with 701 career wins, he finished third twice at Cairo, Ill., and reached the semifinals with Tilghman in 1999. Louisville Male (29-8). 13 23 35 55 Paducah Tighman (29-5). .16 31 50 74 LOUISVILLE MALE - Bush 16, Ballard 8, Carter 12, Burks 2, Mathies 5, Shumate 10, McKinney, Greer, Stanley, Gravelle, Thelien, Petkovsek. Field goals 21/55. 3-pointers 1/16 (Mathies) Free throws 12/14. Rebounds 28. Fouls 17. PADUCAH TILGHMAN - B. Hamilton 18, Clarke 10. Hill 17, Gibson 5, Wagner 4, Perry 16, Cooper 2, Davis, C. Hamilton, Craft; Bohle, Faulkner 2. Field. goals 25/46. 3-pointers 9/15 (Perry 4. B Hamilton 2, Clarke 2, Gibson). Free throws 15/18. Rebounds 27, Fouls 1. 14. Catholic rolls over Trojans in semifinals By Steve Bailey Associated Press' LEXINGTON, Ky. Harrison Morton scored 21 points and William Graham added 12 as Lexington Catholic beat North Hardin 61-48 in the semifinals of the boys state basketball tournament Saturday. Ryan Morton added nine points and nine rebounds for the Region 11 champion Knights (32-2), who won their 20th straight game and advanced to the state title game for the second time in three years. Andre Woodson scored 14 points, Demetrius Guions had 11 and Quinton Smith added 10 for. Region Five champion North Hardin (31-5), which lost in the semifinals for the Tilghman's 1953 ru runners-up also struggled d in title game halftime than we were," said Mcin- badly. They had gotten into the final did foul me, but I got the shot off. underdogs in the first game we your attention for a high school kid tosh, who listened to Saturday game by blowing everybody out, And I missed the free throw after played, but when we won that, there to go out in a place like that when night's game on the radio. "As a and we got to the final game by a that." was kind of a mass out of you've never played somewhere like matter of fact, I thought at halftime total of six points. We won the first- He admits he wonders what that Paducah toward Lexington,' he that before." they had a shot at it. They had a round game by two. We beat Shel- season might have been like under said. It's memories like those that lapse in about the first two or three byville in the quarterfinals 47-44. We other circumstances. He still recalls walking into McIntosh, a lifelong Tornado fan, minutes of the second half that., beat Caverna in the semifinals "If you don't win, you always Memorial Coliseum, then home of hopes this season's players will take really hurt them badly. They 60-59." look back with what if. I've been the University of Kentucky Wild- with them. seemed to have trouble getting the For McIntosh, the first-round doing that for 49 years." cats, as young man who had just ball inbounds, and they seemed to game against Ashland was the 1953 But with almost a half century to turned 18 a month before. "If you played smart and you have trouble getting it out of the team's most exciting. think about it, his most memorable "I think it seated about 10,000," played as hard as you can play, backcourt." "The score was tied at 44 with 44 moments are not those associated he said. "Of course, it was the big- then you don't have any regrets," he McIntosh, now 67 and a Murray seconds to go, and we held the ball with the loss. gest place I'd ever played in It said. "The ball doesn't always go in. resident, remembers the 1953 sea- and got the last shot," he said. "Ac- "I remember all the people from looked like Grand Canyon with It doesn't always bounce your way. son as if it were yesterday. tually. I really just intended to draw Paducah who came up after we won seats. And of course it was pretty But you can always play hard, and *They (Lafayette) beat us pretty the foul and get the free throw. He the first game. We were extreme full for every game. That will get you can always play smart." E Continued from 1B second straight year. Tied at halftime, Graham's three-point play gave Lexington Catholic a 36-33 lead with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter. Smith's 3-pointer and Woodson's jumper from the top of the key at the buzzer gave the Trojans a 39-36 lead entering the final period. Woodson scored again to open the quarter and push the margin to 41-36. Ryan Morton's putback tied the game 41 with 6:30 to play. Harrison Morton's two free throws put the Knights up 49-45 with 3:50 remaining. Smith's jumper cut the lead to 51-48 with 2:30 to play, but the Trojans would go scoreless the rest of the way as Lexington Catholic cruised to the victory. By Shelley Street The Paducah Sun MURRAY, Ky, Dwain McIntosh heard history repeat itself Saturday night in the Kentucky high school boys' basketball championship game. Paducah Tilghman's 83-53 loss to Lexington Catholic was only one point different from the score of the championship game in which he played as a guard on Tilghman's team in 1953. That year, Tilghman lost to another Lexington school, Lafayette, 84-53. "They were a little closer at

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