Woodford County edges Jeffersontown in overtime during Sweet 16 opener
The No. 16 Woodford County Yellow Jackets needed overtime to defeat the Jeffersontown Chargers 60-57 in a great opening game at the UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
Clinging to a two-point lead late in overtime, Woodford County’s Aden Nelson picked off a Chargers pass and hit 1-of-2 free throws with five seconds left. Jeffersontown missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the horn after Woodford decided not to foul as the Yellow Jackets celebrated in front of a large contingent of fans that made the 30-minute trip from Versailles.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” said Nelson, who usually guards the other team’s top player. “I didn’t want it to be my last game. Me being a senior I had to be a leader and help my team get that last stop.”
Jeffersontown’s defensive game plan focused on Jasper Johnson, who is ranked in the top 100 nationally among the sophomore class. The plan worked pretty well until Johnson got loose for a 3-pointer in overtime that raised the decibel level throughout the whole arena.
“You don’t stand a chance if you don’t try to contain Jasper,” Jeffersontown head coach Richard Duncan said.
“He did other things. He brought it up, he passed, he rebounded,” said Woodford County head coach Jaron Brown about Johnson, who added seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks, including one on a Jeffersontown 3-point attempt late in the game.
Santonio Waide led the way with 15 points for Woodford County while Johnson (13), Nelson (11) and Makhi Smith (10) also finished in double figures.
Jeffersontown (17-13) saw its season come to an end in the first round of Rupp Arena for the second year in a row. As they’ve done all year, the Chargers used a balanced scoring attack. Camron McDaniels led the way with 13 points, including a 3-pointer late in regulation to force overtime and another big 3-pointer in overtime. Brandon Gatewood, who hit the game-winner in the 6th Region finals, added 10 points and seven rebounds while Rhys Taylor also finished in double figures with 11 points.
“Extremely proud of my guys,” said Duncan. “They laid it on the line for me tonight. Nobody expected us to be here. We willed our way here.”
Don’t count the Chargers out next year either.
“We are going to be back,” McDaniels said.
The Yellow Jackets (21-12) move on to the quarterfinals where they will face either No. 21 McCracken County (29-5) or unranked Elizabethtown (20-9) on Friday at 11 AM. Expect another big crowd for that one.
“That boosts us a lot,” Johnson said about the school’s big cheering section. “The whole county came out and supported us. They’ve been doing that all season. It gave us a lot of energy on defense. As a little kid I would come to all the Sweet 16 games every year. Watch them with my dad and grandfather.”
1st Quarter
Jeffersontown 18, Woodford County 14
Johnson dropped in two 3-pointers, including an off-the-dribble NBA range one — Chris Lofton style. A Layton Starks bucket put the Yellow Jackets up 10-5, forcing a Chargers timeout with 4:08 remaining.
Whatever was said in the huddle worked, as Jeffersontown went on a 13-4 run to close out the quarter. Jaydon Hackley and Taylor each had five first-quarter points, as the Charges relentlessly attacked the rim.
Halftime
Woodford County 31, Jeffersontown 30
The Chargers’ energy continued in the second quarter, with J-Town making hustle plays and getting offensive rebounds early in the period. Two Gatewood buckets forced a Yellow Jackets’ timeout with the score 22-14 in favor of Jeffersontown. Woodford’s timeout proved effective.
Nelson got a couple of buckets at the rim to keep Woodford within striking distance as the Jackets turned up their signature, swarming defensive pressure to eventually tie the game at 24 on a Waide bucket. The Chargers were able to hold Johnson scoreless in the quarter, but they gave up several offensive rebounds out of their 2-3 zone defense. Nelson drilled a 3-pointer to put Woodford in front 31-28 inside the final minute, but Gatewood hit a runner in the final seconds to pull J-Town within one at the break.
Waide led Woodford with nine first-half points while Nelson added eight. Genesis Nimely and Gatewood each had six first-half points to lead a balanced Chargers attack.
Third Quarter
Jeffersontown 45, Woodford County 44
The Chargers continued to focus their defense on Johnson, limiting him to two points in the third quarter. Taylor had six early points to put J-Town back in the lead, but Waide’s and-1 tied the game up at 36. The teams continued to trade buckets. Camron McDaniels took a key charge and followed it up with a 3-pointer to give J-Town a 43-42 lead. After a pair of Smith free throws, Nimely’s late bucket gave the Chargers a 45-44 lead heading into the final quarter.
End of Regulation
Woodford County 52, Jeffersontown 52
McDaniels took another key charge as the Chargers got in the bonus early in the quarter. Both teams went cold with Woodford County calling a timeout with 4:36 remaining and neither team having scored a point in the quarter. Smith’s bucket pulled Woodford ahead by one. Lucas McDaniels dropped in two free throws to make it 47-46 Chargers. Smith countered with two free throws for the Jackets. Nelson drew a charge giving the ball back to Woodford with 2:40 remaining.
After Woodford missed the front end of the bonus, Camron McDaniels got an inside bucket for J-Town but Starks answered with a putback to give Woodford a 50-49 lead. The Chargers called a timeout with 1:27 remaining. Woodford forced a Gatewood miss and then Starks hit two from the stripe to extend the lead to three points. Jasper Johnson blocked a potential game-tying 3-pointer but Woodford missed the front end a few seconds later. J-Town missed another potential game-tying 3-pointer, but got the rebound and called timeout with 27 seconds remaining.
Camron McDaniels then drilled a 3-pointer to tie up the game. The Chargers forced a loose ball but were called for a foul. Woodford missed both free throws with five seconds left before J-Town missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.
Overtime
Woodford County 60, Jeffersontown 57
Johnson and Camron McDaniels traded 3-pointers to open the overtime period. Johnson then drove in, drew a crowd, and dished off to Starks, who was fouled and injured.
Woodford elected to bring in sophomore Jaunte Jenkins to shoot the foul shots. He went 1-of-2 to make it 56-55 Woodford. Johnson added two more free throws with 53 seconds remaining. After a Chargers’ miss, Hackley got a steal that led to a transition bucket to pull Jeffersontown within one, 58-57.
Waide hit 1-of-2 free throws and Jeffersontown called a timeout with 14 seconds left, trailing 59-57. After a couple of wild passes, Nelson got the crucial steal for Woodford County and hit 1-of-2 from the line with seconds remaining. Jeffersontown then had to go the length of the court trailing 60-57. Woodford forced them into a tough shot, which just missed, sending the Yellow Jackets into the quarterfinals.
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