WinCity routs Commodores in Sweet 16 Win
Cards meet Pikeville in the Elite 8 at 1:30 p.m. Friday
The GRC Cardinals started their run for the state title with a blowout win over Perry County Central last night, securing the victory with a score of 77-36.
It was a slightly slower start than the Cards would have liked since GRC had a few early turnovers that allowed Perry County Central to hang around.
Jerone Morton hit a three that allowed the Cards to push the lead up to 4, finishing the first quarter with a score of 16-12.
It was another stellar performance tonight for the Cards on the defensive end. In the second quarter, the defense only allowed four points, and then only seven in the third. They forced 19 turnovers which allowed GRC to get out in transition. This made it almost impossible for the Commodores to try to come back and beat the Cardinals.
Most of the turnovers were caused by the ball pressure GRC put on the ball handlers. High school basketball teams normally struggle with handling ball pressure, so teams playing WinCity Basketball better be ready for a heavy dose of it.
The defense allowed the Cardinals to pull away in the second quarter. An alley oop to Edwards put the Cards up by 11 at the four minute mark, and they were able to add on to their lead after the media timeout. Morton led the team at the half with 13 points and Edwards with 7.
Morton finished with 22 on the night, leading the team in scoring. Sam Parrish finished right behind Morton with 20 points. Walton finished with 9 points, and grabbed 10 of the Cards’ 33 rebounds on the night.
These are the numbers the Cards need to put up if they want to be playing this weekend. As for the overall team, they shot the ball rather well, shooting just over 55 percent from the field, and they were 8-19 from three-point range.
Ball protection played an important role for them last night as well by limiting the number of possessions Perry County Central had. After a few Perry possessions in the opening quarter, the Cards cleaned it up. They only had 8 turnovers, which can be huge for this team later on.
The Cards are simply much more athletic than the teams they have been playing, and it causes their opponents to struggle. The Cards were able to record 6 steals and 8 blocks, which most teams can’t compete with.
GRC had a major advantage athletically and mentally that the Commodores couldn’t compete with. Because of this, the Cards were able to pull out a rather large margin of victory.
The Cards have a chance to get to the Final Four after last year’s loss in the Elite 8 to Elizabethtown, but will have to get past the Pikeville Panthers first. The Panthers come in with a 32-2 record coming off a 59-51 win over the North Laurel Jaguars.
The scrappy Pikeville defense was exceptional Wednesday night, holding UK commit Reed Sheppard to 5 for 20 shooting for 14 points.
A win over the Panthers will secure the Cardinals a spot in the Final Four for the first time since 1990.
Team leader Jerone Morton knows there is more work to do.
“It would mean a lot to us, but we’re still not satisfied because we still have unfinished business,” Morton said. “The end goal is to get the title and get our ring.”
This Pikeville team is extremely talented and well coached. It will be a tall task that the Cards will have to be ready for.
The game will tip at 1:30 at the great Rupp Arena.
View Smoke Signals Editor-in-Chief Cameron Anderson’s photos on our SmugMug site HERE.
WinCity Road to Rupp
Bryce prefers Puerta Grande because the chicken tenders are better. He would live in Beauty and the Beast so he could live in a castle and have things do stuff for him. His life in a song would be “Wagon...
