 |
| Bullit East's Derek Willis |
Derek Willis garnered a lot of attention this week, with his commitment to The University of Kentucky to attend that school in the fall of 2013, and play some ball for the Cats.
Many hope that Willis will be one of those 'home-grown' heroes that the state thirsts for while they don that Kentucky Blue.
However, The folks of Rowan County were hoping he would hold off on becoming a folk hero until he gets out of high school...or at least until after The Joe B. Hall Classic.
The Vikings are continuing to impress the state of Kentucky's high school aficionados, dating back to last season's run at the Sweet 16 Championship Game. That success, and the returning members of that team, was enough to make them a region favorite, and to keep them on the radar of the state's basketball scene. Hence the invite to one of the best non-private/prep school tournaments in the country, the Joe B. Classic.
Rowan County found themselves in the spotlight again, in a tournament that may even rival the Sweet 16 in terms of quality of opposition, by making it into yet another championship round, facing the Willis-led Bullit East Chargers.
Rowan County led early in the contest, but Bullit East charged back into it, and the teams were at a draw of 30 each going into the break. However, East would come out in the 3rd and go on a 7-0 run, and continued to build a lead over Rowan, with the Vikes finding themselves on the wrong end of a 50-39 defecit to start the 4th.
While everyone was pre-occupied with keeping Willis in their sights, DJ Towsend decided it was time to go to work, and work he did.
Townsend led Rowan back into it, scoring 13 of his 27 in the fourth. Tyler Thacker scored to bring things back to even for the first time since the half, at 59 all, with only 31 seconds to go in the game.
Then from 18 feet out, Bullit East's Trey Rakes(relative of former Boyd County stand-out 'Junebug' Rakes and Ceredo-Kenova great/Marshall sharp-shooter Joda Burgess) hit a dagger to give the Chargers a 2 point lead with only 4 seconds remaining. (Rakes finished with 9)
But, Rowan has been here before.
Now, the shoe was on the other foot. Similar to last year when a last second(double OT) shot ended Rowan County's Championship dreams in the Sweet 16 finals against Christian County. However on this night it was Rowan County who had that opportunity.
The man that showed he was the one who you would have wanted with the ball this particular night, nearly gave the Vikings a victory in that same fashion. However, DJ Townsend's 28 foot buzzer-beater was not meant to be, and Bullit East escaped with a 61-59 victory. Townsend finished with a game-high 27 points.
Rakes hit the Chargers biggest shot, but as expected, Willis, and fellow junior Rusty Toutman(great name by the way), were the heart and soul of the Chargers. If Willis did anything, he wet the appetites of Kentucky fans, showing that he was very proficient at scoring and rebounding, finishing up with 16 points and 12 boards. Troutman finished with 25.
Rowan County was lucky to have Townsend on this night, as the Vikings shot poorly from the field(21-56),Didn't convert the freebies at the foul line(13-22), and turned the ball over 17 times. The loss ends
Rowan's 4 game win streak, and it also gives Bullit East a measure of revenge against Rowan. The Vikings beat Bullit East in last year's Sweet 16 Semi-Finals in route to the epic encounter with Christian County.
Jason Egan scored 13, and Adam Wing(committed to the University of Evansville) added 10 rebounds for the Vikings in the loss.
John Calipari was also in attendance for this contest.
No comments:
Post a Comment