Bryan Station pulls off thrilling comeback against Frederick Douglass in Top 25 showdown
It was a busy Friday night across the Bluegrass in the world of high school boys’ basketball. For starters, Kentucky commit Travis Perry and top-ranked Lyon County advanced to the All “A” Classic semifinals set for Saturday. Perry is now just 22 points away from becoming the first-ever Kentuckian to reach 5,000 career high school points. He’ll have the chance to hit that mark today against No. 8 Newport and highly-touted sophomore Tay Kinney.
But elsewhere, there was plenty of quality basketball taking place. Most notably, in Lexington, No. 12 Bryan Station battled No. 16 Frederick Douglass in what wound up going down as an instant classic. KSR’s Brady Byrdwell was on location to watch it all happen. He has a full recap of everything he saw that you can read below.
Meanwhile, KSR’s Piper McCoun was in western Kentucky to catch No. 11 Bowling Green take down South Warren in an important district matchup. You can find her full recap below, as well.
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Bryan Station Pulls off Thrilling Comeback over Frederick Douglass
BY: Brady Byrdwell
Friday night proved one thing to be very accurate: the Bluegrass is a basketball state.
Bryan Station’s gym was rocking yet again as the #12 Defenders hosted the #16 Frederick Douglass Broncos. Adrenaline was pumping as the Broncos trotted out in their all-back warmups, hoods up, looking to get revenge. Bryan Station walked into Douglass’ house on January 9th and knocked off the Broncos 73-60.
Safe to say, tensions were high as Bryan Station looked to prove the previous encounter wasn’t a fluke. The student section was bumping, the gym was at capacity, and the Defenders took the floor to a deafening ovation. Bryan Station was in serious need of a bounceback after dropping a game to Scott County that many felt they should have dominated.
This time around, it wasn’t about proving that they could play with Douglass. For Bryan Station, it was about showing that the Station was back to being the premier basketball school in Lexington. Both teams had star guards entering the matchup. Douglass junior Armelo Boone is known as one of the best guards in Kentucky, a lethal combo guard with interest from Western Kentucky. Bryan Station entered the night led by sophomore guard Amari Owens, a supremely talented guard averaging 22.2 points per game. With each star looking to show their talent, an instant classic was all but guaranteed.
Armelo Boone comes out swinging
When two Lexington schools meet, the student sections always show up. However, what Bryan Station’s students brought on Friday night rivaled Rupp Arena with Tennessee in town. Real animosity was shown, and the students needed a velvet rope to keep their energy off the court. When this happens, opposing players can respond one of two ways. Either disappear and hope you aren’t the target, or go ballistic and send the crowd into utter silence.
For Boone, it was the latter, as he came out storming from the field. The junior exploded for 17 points in the first half, including four triples and a sweet floater. He was in complete command of the crowd, a conductor looking for complete chaos with every shot. “I didn’t realize that Boone was going to hit, like the first four open looks he had for threes.” Bryan Station Coach Champ Ligon said after the game. “He’s a big-time player, a great kid, and he’s a big-time talent. You got to expect that.”
Douglass rolled to a 20-7 lead with three minutes left in the first half, but the Defenders finally showed life. Bryan Station ended the quarter on a 10-2 run behind six points from Taeshawn Adams. From there, the half went full Fast and Furious as both teams sent haymakers each way for a 40-33 halftime score toward Douglass.
Bryan Station shows heart
To say the combination of Amari Owens and TaeShawn Adams showed up big in the second half would be an understatement. Adams finished the game with 24 points and seven rebounds, seeming to come up with a big bucket every time the Defenders needed a score. From the opening tip, it was evident that if Bryan Station was going to win, then Owens needed to have an unconscious night.
Owens finished with 25 points and 2-3 from three. However, Douglass kept their lead after three quarters, up 52-42 going into the fourth. Owens and Adams’ efforts seemed to be null and void, as Boone continued to impress at every turn. The turning point came early in the fourth. Douglass still had their 10-point lead, but Owens soared to the basket and scooped in a reverse layup for an and-one, igniting the crowd. From there, Owens scored five more points as Adams added six, and Bryan Station began to press Douglass. It seemed that the Broncos wanted to take the air out of the ball and hold on for an increasingly narrow victory.
Dramatic fourth quarter ignites crowd
However, after Douglass forward Aveion Chenualt soared for a block, Owens knocked in a floater through contact for a foul. He drilled his free throw, and the crowd went wild. Teachers and athletic directors tried their hardest to hold students back as each tried to be louder than the other. Bryan Station took their first lead of the game, and hardly anybody could contain themselves.
“Bryan station has been starved for a good basketball team since about 2018, I think was the last really good team they had here. And so the fans have been starved, starved for that success.” Coach Ligon said with a big smile. “And the players have been starved for that success, and they just feed off each other. I mean, we go out there and get big wins. It gets the fans excited, and the fans get excited. We get big wins.”
Never foul a three-point shooter
However, the night was far from over as Douglass drew up a play to take back the lead. The Broncos were unable to capitalize, and Owens went to the line for two shots, but the Defenders were up three. Owens showed ice in his veins, knocking down both to an ovation like no other. Douglass had one final chance, and the play seemed to go in slow motion. Douglass milked the clock down as Boone was tasked with the final shot. Boone soared for his final three of the night after knocking down four in the first half.
The ball rolled out, and the crowd erupted.
However, the official had his fist clinched to the air… foul. While the officials discussed how much time remained, everyone wondered the same thing. Does Boone have three free throws in him? He went 4-5 up to the foul, so it seemed overtime was on the horizon. The crowd went wild; nobody could hear, and Boone stepped to the line to prove the student section wrong one final time.
“Overrated….Overrated….Overrated,” echoed through the stands. Boone lifted his shot toward the rim, and it rolled out. From there, it was over. Boone missed his final two attempts, and Bryan Station pulled off the remarkable — beating Douglass twice in a season and winning 67-64 in an instant classic.
Court storming frenzy followed, and Bryan Station enjoyed a win that many in Lexington will never forget.
Bowling Green prevails 65-38 in district matchup against South Warren
BY: Piper McCoun
The No. 11 Bowling Green Purples defeated district foe South Warren 65-38 to increase their win streak to 11. The pair met up earlier this January where the Purples dominated in a decisive 82-38 win over the Spartans.
Although this game’s score gap decreased to 27 rather than the previous 44, the Purples were just as dominant in the district rematch.
“It was such a different game at our place, we knew it wasn’t going to be like that here,” Bowling Green head coach D.G. Sherrill said. “We knew they were going to come back and play much better… We just weathered the storm, got playing a little faster, our press started working better, got some traps set, and we were off to the races.”
First Half
We had a game in the first quarter. Both offenses were working off of movement and good looks to put their respective teammates in the position to score. Bowling Green quickly set the pace with scores from senior Columbia commit Mason Ritter and junior Deuce Bailey.
South Warren kept their composure and utilized senior guard Drew Hudson to knock down some shots to keep the score 17-12 with the Purples leading at the end of the first.
Bowling Green got back in their bag during the second quarter, with MJ Wardlow scoring 11 points in the second. The senior guard led his team in scoring, tallying 19 total points in the game tonight. His ability to drive and score while also delegating and sharing the wealth was a huge factor in the Purples’ victory. They closed out the first half 35-17.
Second Half
Bowling Green’s defense was huge all night. They were able to apply pressure on Hudson in the third and fourth to keep the Spartans offense at bay. With Ritter protecting the rim, South Warren was forced to take tough shots from outside the paint and couldn’t quite get them to fall.
“He allows us to really get up and pressure people because we have a stopper at the bucket,” Sherrill said of Ritter. “If you have a stopper you can really get up and put pressure on the ball.”
With a comfortable 20+ point lead during the third, the starters were able to have some fun and feed Ritter, who bagged three dunks in a row. The Purples closed the third leading 51-26.
Bowling Green breezed through the fourth. They put their depth on display when the bench took the floor and scored 14 with the help of juniors Braylon Banks and Luke Ideltt. In the end, the Purples came out on top 65-38.
“I would argue that I have as good of guards as anybody in the state has,” Sherrill said after the game. “You take our starting four and put them around Mason… That’s a good set of guards… There are a lot of positives about our rotation and our depth.”
Up next: Bowling Green looks forward to playing Ohio County at home on Jan. 30 and district foe Greenwood on the road on Feb. 2.
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