Nationally Ranked George Rogers Clark Wins State Title 43-42 Over Warren Central
The George Rogers Clark Cardinals capped off a nationally ranked season with a 43-42 win over the Warren Central Dragons in the UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena. It is the second championship in county history – Clark County High School defeated Cuba to win the 1951 state title. The Cardinals (36-1) only loss came to Dorman (SC) in the King of the Bluegrass tournament, making them the first undefeated state champion against Kentucky competition since Scott County in 2007.
First Quarter
Aden Slone and Sam Parrish hit early 3-pointers to help the Cardinals rush out to an 11-5 lead, forcing a Warren Central timeout with 3:38 remaining in the first quarter. Coming out of the timeout the Dragons went inside, with Chappelle Whitney scoring in the post. They went inside to Omari Glover on the next possession. He missed, but Jaiden Lawrence put back the rebound to cut it to 11-9, forcing a George Rogers Clark timeout. A Tanner Walton free throw made it 12-9 GRC at the end of the first quarter. After the hot start from deep, the Cardinals cooled off, finishing 2-for-8 from deep in the quarter, with Jerone Morton missing all three of his attempts.
Second Quarter
Kade Unseld tied it at 12 on a trey to open the second quarter, making the Dragons 2-for-2 from deep. Damarion Villafuerte found Damarion Walkup on a nice cut for an open layup to put Warren Central up 14-12. A Morton steal and driving layup tied the game at 14. Morton added a straight-line drive to make it 16-14 in favor of George Rogers Clark.
Two Whitney free throws and a second Walkup trey gave the Dragon a mini 5-0 run. The Cardinals answered with Parrish, Morton and Walton scoring in a 6-0 Cardinal run. Whitney put back his own miss right before halftime to stop the bleeding. The Cardinals took a slim 22-21 lead into the locker room.
The Cardinals shot only 2-for-11 from deep in the first half, while the Dragons were 3-for-4, with Walkup going 2-for-2. Warren Central couldn’t get much going inside though, thanks to Trent Edwards’ three blocks and good interior defense from the entire Cardinal team. Edwards also pulled down six first-half rebounds. Walkup led Warren Central with eight first-half points.
Third Quarter
It was clear what the message in the GRC locker room was: Play through Morton.
The 6-foot-4 junior faked a handoff and both defenders left him, so he drove for a lay-up. Walton added an and-1 to put George Rogers Clark up 27-21 with less than 30 seconds into the second half. Lawrence answered with a Warren Central three. Morton had a pretty drive to answer.
After a few empty possessions, Morton drove in again for another bucket. Whitney scored inside, and the Dragons called a timeout, obviously to set up a defense to contain Morton. Whatever Coach Unseld said worked. The Dragons made a point to get the ball to Glover, who scored back-to-back buckets. Villafuerte scored again to put the Dragons on top 32-31. Meanwhile, the Central defense was clamping down Morton and getting stops. Glover added two free throws to make it an 8-0 run to end the quarter.
The Dragons led 34-31.
Fourth Quarter
George Rogers Clark continued to miss shots and the Dragons did not allow them to get easy buckets in transition. Glover added two more free throws and Walton was able to convert a driving layup, finally stopping the bleeding. GRC switched to an aggressive 1-3-1 zone, forcing a Dragon turnover. Slone cashed in with an and-1 tying the game at 36. The aggressive GRC zone continued to give the Dragons fits, with Edwards giving them nothing easy at the rim.
Cardinals head coach Josh Cook said he likes to hold defensive changes until after halftime so the opponent can’t adjust in the lockerroom.
A Walton 3-pointer gave GRC a 39-36 lead before a Sammy Hernandez steal gave them the ball again. The Cardinals were content to hold the ball for over a minute until Morton drove the rim and was fouled with 2:13 remaining. He hit one of two to make it 40-36 Cards. Coach Unseld said that he wanted his players to attack but it was so loud it was hard for them to hear him.
“We just kept throwing back and forth instead of getting it on the sideline and getting it low,” Coach Unseld said.
The Dragons would not go away, though. Whitney’s bucket brought them within 40-38. He was fouled but missed the free throw.
The Cardinals called timeout leading 40-38 with 1:23 remaining. Slone had the ball near midcourt and found Edwards underneath for a layup and foul. The free throw pushed the lead to 43-38.
Villafuerte answered with a huge trey to cut the lead to 43-41 with 43 seconds remaining. The Dragons then called their final timeout. Warren Central would foul to stop the clock and Slone missed the front end of the bonus. Instead of taking a desperation three, Villafuerte drove and drew a foul with two seconds left. He made the first but missed the second. Glover secured the rebound but couldn’t convert the bucket. There was controversy as to who the ball went off. The Cardinals were able to run out the final second.
“I grabbed it, I feel like it went off of his (GRC player’s) foot,” Glover said.
Morton led the Cardinals with 14 while Walton added 13. Edwards posted five points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. Slone had six assists.
Glover and Whitney each had 10 points for Warren Central. Glover added nine rebounds.
The Dragons (29-4) have an impressive resume over the last five years. They were semifinalists in 2018 and 2019 and won their region again in 2020, but that Sweet 16 was wiped out due to COVID-19. They won the state championship in 2004 and finished as runner-up in 2005.
Warren Central’s only in-state losses were to Bowling Green and Greenwood, both ranked teams. The Dragons defeated Greenwood later in the regular season and knocked off Bowling Green in both the district and region finals in a battle of Top 10 teams. They came into the Sweet 16 as the No. 5 ranked team. They knocked off No. 2 Male in the first round in an instant classic, got by No. 23 Murry in the quarterfinals, and beat No. 3 Covington Catholic on Saturday morning. That set the stage for the championship game against the No. 1 ranked Cardinals.
With almost all the production besides Lawrence returning, the Dragons will be among the favorites next season.
“We have a chance to be special (next year),” Coach Unseld said. “I am proud of my kids, they fought like crazy. Nobody gave us a chance.”
Coach Unseld said he encourages his players to play multiple sports in order to help the school.
“We made a good run, I wouldn’t trade anybody for this team,” Glover said.
George Rogers Clark moved into the top spot when they knocked off then No. 1 Ballard to win the White Greer & Maggard tournament in December, and maintained their No. 1 ranking the rest of the way. The Cardinals dominated teams this season, leading the state in scoring (84.1) and scoring margin (32.0). They are ranked No. 20 in the nation, according to MaxPreps.
In the Sweet 16, the Cardinals easily got by Perry County Central before grinding out close wins over No. 8 Pikeville and No. 9 Lincoln County thanks to great defensive efforts. That set the stage for the championship game against the No. 5 ranked Dragons.
With Reshaun Hampton, Morton, Edwards, and Parrish returning the Cardinals will be among the favorites again next season. Morton, who was named tournament MVP, would have likely been a Mr. Basketball favorite this year, had he not reclassified.
“You gotta sacrifice. If you sacrifice in the end you will be rewarded, and that is why we’re state champions,” Coach Josh Cook said.
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