Reed Sheppard, North Laurel knocked out of LexCath tournament as semifinals are set

The 2022 White, Greer, & Maggard Holiday Classic’s semifinals have been set.

Following Wednesday’s quarterfinal action at the annual Lexington Catholic High School-held tournament, just four teams — all ranked among KSR’s top 25 rankings — will battle it out over the next two days to decide an outright winner. There will be some significant star power involved with Lyon County’s nationally ranked junior Travis Perry, who holds an offer from the University of Kentucky and is on the verge of becoming the state’s second all-time leading scorer.

Unfortunately for UK fans, Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard and North Laurel were upset by North Oldham (although Sheppard will still play again in this tournament as part of the consolation bracket). Elsewhere, the host school, Lexington Catholic, features seven-foot Miami (OH) commit Reece Potter while Mason County sports one of the most well-rounded groups in the entire state.

The semifinals will begin on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. EST. Tickets to attend both games cost $10 at the door of Lexington Catholic, or you can watch them all live ($) on PrepSpin. Below is Thursday’s schedule along with the entire updated bracket.

6:30 PM | #8 Lexington Catholic vs. #18 Lyon County
8:00 PM | #10 North Oldham vs. #T5 Mason County

But how did we get to this point? Let’s recap the four quarterfinal matchups in order from Wednesday in Lexington.

Madison Central 44, #T5 Mason County 50

After pulling off the upset of the tournament on Wednesday by taking down top-ranked and previously undefeated Warren Central, the Madison Central Indians came up short of another shocking victory on Thursday. T-No. 5 Mason County, which fended off a potential upset of its own the day before, used a 17-9 second-quarter advantage to fuel the 50-44 win.

Three different Mason County players finished in double-figures, led by 17 points and six rebounds from senior forward Terrell Henry. Madison Central also saw a trio of players score at least 10 points, but the Indians shot just 34.6 percent overall from the floor compared to 47.5 percent from Mason County.

#12 Bowling Green 44, #8 Lexington Catholic 61

The hosting Lexington Catholic Knights had little issue disposing of the Bowling Green Purples in the second quarterfinal matchup. Lexington Catholic built an early first-quarter lead that grew to 15 by the halftime break. Bowling Green attempted to make a comeback run in the third frame but never cut into the Knights’ lead enough to make it close down the stretch.

Miami (OH) commit Reece Potter was the star for LexCath, finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, and three steals. Potter’s teammate, senior forward Hudson Sparks, chipped in 13 points and five rebounds on three made triples. The Knights assisted on 22 of its 26 made shots while forcing Bowling Green into 21 turnovers.

#T5 North Laurel 67, #10 North Oldham 81

In the most shocking result of the night, Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard and his North Laurel Jaguars were bested 81-67 by a North Oldham squad that is trending upwards. Sheppard posted an incredible shooting line of 43 points as he was the sole source of offense for his squad. The future Wildcat had to take 34 shots to get there, though, connecting on just 16 of them (including a 5-14 mark from beyond the arc).

No other player for North Laurel scored more than 10 points as North Oldham established a 19-9 lead after the first period, allowing the Mustangs the cushion it needed to cruise to a win.

On the winning side, North Oldham was powered by 30 points from senior point guard Dallas Roberts, who shot an efficient 8-13 from the field and an even better 5-7 from long range. He was aided by 12 points and 15 rebounds from senior forward Ian Higdon along with four made 3s from senior guard Jack Scales. The veteran-heavy Mustangs have now won six of its last seven outings and will look for more on Thursday night.

Sheppard and North Laurel are actually on a bit of a downward trend as they wade through some injuries. The Jaguars sit on an 8-5 overall record this season but have played over half of its games away from home and against out-of-state competition.

#T5 Ballard 80, #18 Lyon County 86

The biggest upset of the evening went to the Lyon County Lyons, which had an early double-digit lead snapped entirely. Lyon County led the Ballard Bruins by 10 in the first frame before watching its lead trimmed down to just two, 28-26, at the halftime break. Ballard eventually stole the lead back in the third quarter behind three-star prospect Gabe Sisk, who poured in 27 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.

But Lyon County received 37 points from star junior Travis Perry, who also added seven assists and seven rebounds. Perry was helped by a combined 36 points from juniors Jack Reddick and Brady Shoulders. Reddick also contributed six rebounds and six assists on three made triples while Shoulders registered an additional seven rebounds and four steals.