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Kentucky High School Basketball Notebook: All “A” Classic Saved, Reed Sheppard Drops 40 Back-to-Back, St. Henry Defeats Cov Cath in Thriller

Troy Howellby:Troy Howell•02/25/21

Photo by Les Nicholson / The Sentinel Echo

The All “A” Classic was originally cancelled due to weather, but is taking place after all, but with a sectional format. The first two rounds are being played at campus sites, with the semifinals and finals slated for EKU on March 5 and 6. Here is the new bracket.

On to the recaps.

I went to two games this past week and both were exciting. I saw North Laurel survive Somerset to stay undefeated and watched St. Henry get one of their biggest wins in school history.

#1 North Laurel 75, Somerset 69

Reed Sheppard had 41 points, four rebounds, and five assists to help gain a hard-fought victory. He finished with six 3-pointers. Ryan Davidson had an impressive game with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Brody Brock poured in three important 3-pointers. Somerset’s size and toughness gave North Laurel fits all night. Kade Grundy had 27 points and Gavin Stevens added 23. Grundy hit seven 3-pointers and Kannon Tucker was 3-of-3 from deep. Dakota Acey’s hustle provided a spark for the Briar Jumpers.  He finished with an impressive 18 rebounds. The Briar Jumpers will be a force to be reckoned with in the deep and balanced 12th region. Both teams took great care of the basketball.

#7 St. Henry 61, #3 Covington Catholic 60

When you come at the king, you best not miss.  St. Henry didn’t miss.  Wyatt Vieth’s old fashioned 3-point play with 1 second remaining gave the Crusaders a thrilling 61-60 victory.  St. Henry, who trailed virtually the entire contest, ended a 15-game losing streak to the Colonels.  Vieth, a 90 percent free throw shooter, was certainly the guy St. Henry would want on the line with a chance to win the game.  He finished with 25 points and 9 boards, and Jude Bessler added 18 for the winners.  Donovan Stocks led Covington Catholic with 15 points. 

St. Henry is having a special season.  They are seeking to repeat as the All “A” state champions.  The Crusaders are a legitimate contender to win their 2nd region championship in school history (they won region back in 2003).   Covington Catholic is seeking their 4th straight region title, but will be challenged by St. Henry, Highlands, and several other quality teams.  The 9th region has the most ranked teams of any region in Kentucky.

Let the debate begin about whether the foul call was correct.

#10 Oldham County 77, #12 DeSales 72

Tyler Slone’s big night (23 points, 12 boards) helped lead Oldham County to victory. Sekou Kalle (26 points, 12 rebounds) and Devin Perry (21 points) had big games for DeSales.

#4 Ballard 72, #15 McCracken County 59

Keno Hayden scored 23 points and Maker Bar had a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the Bruins to victory at the Marshall County Hoopfest. Hayden finished with five 3-pointers and five boards.

 

#3 Covington Catholic 76, #10 Oldham County 48

Covington Catholic picked up their sixth top-25 win this season in impressive fashion. Mitchell Rylee had 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting for the winners.

Trinity 102, #4 Ballard 85 (2OT)

Yes, you read that score right. The truly shocking thing is not that Trinity won (though it was an upset) but rather that a team won by 17 points in a double-overtime game. Trinity shot a blistering 13-of-22 from deep in the contest. Zach Stahlman led the way with 32 points and 14 boards. Ethan Hodge finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Shamrocks have been on a roll, winning seven straight since a 88-81 (2OT) loss to Montgomery County on January 31.  The 7th region just got a lot more interesting.

Star Watch

Senior WKU commit Zion Harmon (Marshall County) was nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Game final roster.  He returned to the Marshall County lineup on Tuesday after missing several games due to a heel injury.  He scored 14 points in a 75-30 win over Ballard Memorial

Sophomore Reed Sheppard (North Laurel) had 41 points, five assists, and four rebounds in a 75-69 win over Somerset.  He picked up two fouls early but that didn’t slow him down very much.  He had 43 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals in a 90-69 victory over Madison Central.

Reed Sheppard (3) vs. Tate Farmer (32), son of Richie Farmer (Photo by Les Nicholson / The Sentinel Echo)

Freshman Travis Perry (Lyon County) scored 36 points in a 76-66 victory over Daviess County.  He went over 2,000 points for a career in an 86-56 win over Crittenden County and he’s only a freshman!

Senior Bellarmine commit Ben Johnson (Lexington Catholic) had 32 points and 6 rebounds in a 67-63 victory over LCA.  He was 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Sophomore Kaleb Glenn (Male) had 26 points and 15 rebounds in a 78-47 win over Seneca.  Male is currently in a pause due to COVID.

Junior Hagan Harrison (Montgomery County) had 41 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists in a 79-76 (OT) loss to Mason County.  Harrison is averaging 26 points and 6 rebounds and shooting 50% from the field.

Highlights

Send me top plays (@teeroyhowell on twitter) and I will pick out a few each week to include in the weekly roundup.  

https://twitter.com/DeadStockVisual/status/1364409850495696897?s=20

Podcast

Check out the Kentucky High School Sports Podcast where Clark Howell (@rezinc) and I discuss the big stories of this high school basketball season.  ? In our most recent episode we talk about how the “All A” tournament got saved and what we think of the new format.  We make our predictions for the tournament and talk about Reed Sheppard’s performance against Somerset.

Rankings

If you missed Monday’s ranking post, check it out here.

Top Upcoming Games

All Games subject to change due to COVID

2/25 – 7:30 P.M. – #1 Lexington Catholic at Dunbar

2/25 – 6:00 P.M. – Lyon County at #15 McCracken County

2/26 – 7:30 P.M. – #25 Muhlenburg County at #19 Owensboro Catholic

2/26 – 7:00 P.M. – #4 Ballard at #6 Bowling Green 

2/27 – 6:30 P.M. – #21 George Rogers Clark at Montgomery County 

3/1 – 7:30 P.M. – #5 Elizabethtown at #14 John Hardin

3/3 – 7:30 P.M. – Owensboro at #6 Bowling Green

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2025-04-30