No. 1 Great Crossing routs Madison Southern to reach 11th Region boys finals
Even though No. 1 Great Crossing had beaten Madison Southern by 30 earlier in the season, Warhawks coach Steve Page made sure his players didn’t overlook their 11th Region Tournament semifinals opponent Saturday.
“Monday night I sent them messages about Covington Catholic winning by 40 and then only winning by two (against Dixie Heights). Last night, I peppered them with messages as St. X (Louisville St. Xavier) was getting beat … St. X beat Seneca by 30 in the regular season,” Page said. “It’s just a reminder that the regular season means absolutely, positively nothing.”
Great Crossing heeded the lessons with an 85-64 win over the Eagles that it controlled from the outset of the second region semifinals game held Saturday afternoon at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
“We went out in the same spot the last two years, and we always let the team we were playing get ahead of us,” said Great Crossing’s 7-foot-1 junior center Malachi Moreno, recalling region semifinals losses of years past. “So I think this year was just a matter of putting our foot down early and keeping it that way.”
Moreno scored a game-high 28 points and had 15 rebounds to go with an assist and two blocks. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and made 10 of 11 free throws.
Teammates Vince Dawson and Junius Burrell added 25 and 15 points, respectively, as the Warhawks shot a red-hot 57.1% from the field in the first half. That included six first-half 3-pointers as Great Crossing built a 46-24 lead at the break.
Though Moreno towered over Madison Southern’s defenders, he often faced double and triple teams when he got the ball. That opened up outside shots for everyone else.
“I know I can trust my teammates,” Moreno said. “Everyone converges on me nowadays. So when I can get it out and we make extra passes to get an open shot, it shows how much faith they have in each other and how much faith they have in me to make the right play.”
Moreno’s lone mistake Saturday was an air-balled free throw in the second half. He lamented that it happened and happened in front of his older brother, Eastern Kentucky’s Michael Moreno.
“It’s embarrassing. I’ve got to go home and work on some free throws. … He’ll be clowning me on my free throws, sometimes,” Moreno said. “But it’s out of love, so I guess he cares about my free-throw percentage.”
Madison Southern (23-10), the 44th District champion, was led by Zach Hudson with 22 points, Braden Hudson with 17 and Jay Rose with 10.
“The defensive principles today were to hold Jay Rose under his average (22.7 points) and not let the Casen Nobbe and the Hudson twins get comfortable in their shots,” Moreno said. “Everyone did their thing today.”
Next, Great Crossing (33-1) faces another team it defeated in the regular season. But the Warhawks needed a 19-3 run in the second half on Jan. 27 top Lexington Catholic 58-50 on a neutral court.
On Tuesday, it will be the No. 1 versus the No. 2 team in the state back at Dunbar with the 11th Region title on the line as well as the region’s sole bid to the UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 state tournament.
“I’m not one of those who thinks it’s a shame that the game is being played Tuesday and not in Rupp Arena,” Page said. “That’s a great thing about Kentucky basketball — that you have to win your geographic area to go play in the big gym.
“It will be fun … but, you know, it’s going to be a slugfest. We’re going to have to come to play. That’s for sure.”
Tuesday
Boys 11th Region Tournament championship
At Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
7 p.m.: No. 1 Great Crossing (33-1) vs. No. 2 Lexington Catholic (32-2)
Tickets: $8 via gofan.com.
Streaming: glicod.com
Fast start, gutsy finish lifts Lexington Catholic over Douglass in 11th Region boys semis
‘An amazing feeling.’ Explosive finish puts Franklin County girls back atop 11th Region.
The field is set for the 2024 Girls’ Sweet 16. View the bracket and the complete schedule.
