![Eagles, John Calloway, left, Nate Morris, center, and Drew Wagler cheer their teammates on as the Eagles extended their lead in the third quarter during OC's win over Butler County in the opening round of the Third Region Tournament.]()
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![Ohio County freshman Trace Young puts in two of his 18 points on the night in the Eagles decisive victory over Butler County in the opening round of the Third Region Tournament Friday night.]()
Ohio County freshman Trace Young puts in two of his 18 points on the night in the Eagles decisive victory over Butler County in the opening round of the Third Region Tournament Friday night.[/caption]
Matthew Sloyan's 18 second-half points help pace Ohio County's Eagles to a convincing 87-52 win over Butler County Friday night in the opening round of the 2014 Boys' Third Region Basketball Tournament at the Owensboro Sportscenter. Friday's win propels Paul Decker's Eagles into a Monday night semifinal matchup against the Owensboro Red Devils who thumped Meade County 77-34 in Friday's first game. Monday's semifinal contest tips off at 6 p.m.
Friday's win was, of course, a rematch between two teams that met Dec. 19 at the OCHS gym, with Butler County taking south a 76-71 win in a game marred in the final minute by fisticuffs. This rematch ended quite differently.
Friday's first period was a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, tied four times, with Ohio County emerging with a 19-17 lead. Butler County came back to grab a 22-19 edge early in the second quarter before the Eagles rallied to carry a 35-30 advantage into halftime.
The Bears stayed close in the early minutes of the third quarter, trailing just by four points — 38-34 — before Ohio County scored seven straight points to get its first double-digit lead at 45-34. Butler County pulled to within eight points, at 47-39, before the Eagles closed the quarter with a 19-4 run to push out to a commanding 66-43 edge after three quarters. Sloyan erupted for 14 points in that period, many on slashing drives to the basket, with forward Trace Young getting seven.
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![The Ohio County student section celebrates during the closing minutes of the Eagles win over Butler County in the Third Region Tournament Friday night.]()
The Ohio County student section celebrates during the closing minutes of the Eagles win over Butler County in the Third Region Tournament Friday night.[/caption]
The fourth saw OCHS score 13 of the first 15 points added to the scoreboard, with their lead ballooning to 79-45 with nearly five minutes left to play. Eagle reserve Nate Morris canned a three-point basket soon thereafter to give Ohio County an 84-49 lead, with the 35-point lead triggering high school basketball's "running clock" rule, and shortening the game.
Sloyan finished with 25 points to lead all scorers while Young tossed in 18 — including an impressive slam dunk off a midcourt steal — and center B.J. Morse 13. Morse, still recovering from a badly-sprained ankle, also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds as OCHS outrebounded the Bears by a 36-22 margin.
Rex Henderson topped Butler County's offense with 13 points while Zach Burden and Zeke Woodcock had 11 apiece in the losing effort for the 12th District champions.
Ohio Co. (14-13) 19 16 31 21 — 35 11/14 20
Butler County (14-11) 17 13 13 9 — 16 17/27 14
Ohio Co. (87) — Sloyan 25, Young 18, Morse 13, Callaway 8, Hall 6, Tichenor 5, Lewis 4, Morris 3, Segers 3, Carter 2.
Butler Co. (52) — R.Henderson 13, Burden 11, Woodcock 11, Deweese 6, Cardwell 4, D.Henderson 2, Jenkins 2, Anderson 1, Graham 1, Peyton 1.
**Three-point FGs — R.Henderson 2, Sloyan 2, Young 2, Morris, Segers, Woodcock.
Saturday's lower bracket matchup results: Grayson County defeated Hancock Co. 74-69 and Muhlenberg Co. defeated Daviess Co. 56-54.
[gallery link="file" columns="5" ids="17800,17799,17795,17794,17792,17798,17797,17793,17796"]
Ohio County freshman Trace Young puts in two of his 18 points on the night in the Eagles decisive victory over Butler County in the opening round of the Third Region Tournament Friday night.[/caption]
Matthew Sloyan's 18 second-half points help pace Ohio County's Eagles to a convincing 87-52 win over Butler County Friday night in the opening round of the 2014 Boys' Third Region Basketball Tournament at the Owensboro Sportscenter. Friday's win propels Paul Decker's Eagles into a Monday night semifinal matchup against the Owensboro Red Devils who thumped Meade County 77-34 in Friday's first game. Monday's semifinal contest tips off at 6 p.m.
Friday's win was, of course, a rematch between two teams that met Dec. 19 at the OCHS gym, with Butler County taking south a 76-71 win in a game marred in the final minute by fisticuffs. This rematch ended quite differently.
Friday's first period was a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, tied four times, with Ohio County emerging with a 19-17 lead. Butler County came back to grab a 22-19 edge early in the second quarter before the Eagles rallied to carry a 35-30 advantage into halftime.
The Bears stayed close in the early minutes of the third quarter, trailing just by four points — 38-34 — before Ohio County scored seven straight points to get its first double-digit lead at 45-34. Butler County pulled to within eight points, at 47-39, before the Eagles closed the quarter with a 19-4 run to push out to a commanding 66-43 edge after three quarters. Sloyan erupted for 14 points in that period, many on slashing drives to the basket, with forward Trace Young getting seven.
[caption id="attachment_17797" align="alignright" width="300"]
The Ohio County student section celebrates during the closing minutes of the Eagles win over Butler County in the Third Region Tournament Friday night.[/caption]
The fourth saw OCHS score 13 of the first 15 points added to the scoreboard, with their lead ballooning to 79-45 with nearly five minutes left to play. Eagle reserve Nate Morris canned a three-point basket soon thereafter to give Ohio County an 84-49 lead, with the 35-point lead triggering high school basketball's "running clock" rule, and shortening the game.
Sloyan finished with 25 points to lead all scorers while Young tossed in 18 — including an impressive slam dunk off a midcourt steal — and center B.J. Morse 13. Morse, still recovering from a badly-sprained ankle, also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds as OCHS outrebounded the Bears by a 36-22 margin.
Rex Henderson topped Butler County's offense with 13 points while Zach Burden and Zeke Woodcock had 11 apiece in the losing effort for the 12th District champions.
Ohio Co. (14-13) 19 16 31 21 — 35 11/14 20
Butler County (14-11) 17 13 13 9 — 16 17/27 14
Ohio Co. (87) — Sloyan 25, Young 18, Morse 13, Callaway 8, Hall 6, Tichenor 5, Lewis 4, Morris 3, Segers 3, Carter 2.
Butler Co. (52) — R.Henderson 13, Burden 11, Woodcock 11, Deweese 6, Cardwell 4, D.Henderson 2, Jenkins 2, Anderson 1, Graham 1, Peyton 1.
**Three-point FGs — R.Henderson 2, Sloyan 2, Young 2, Morris, Segers, Woodcock.
Saturday's lower bracket matchup results: Grayson County defeated Hancock Co. 74-69 and Muhlenberg Co. defeated Daviess Co. 56-54.
[gallery link="file" columns="5" ids="17800,17799,17795,17794,17792,17798,17797,17793,17796"]