Price shoots down the Mustangs—Bears win three
Ty Price, Butler County’s all-time leading scorer with over 3k points, could finish near the top-five in the state.
By Greg Moore
Banner Sports Editor
Emcee James White and Head Coach Calvin Dockery recognized Bears, Trever Deweese on his 500th rebound and Ty Price for breaking Jamie Jackson’s BCHS scoring record plus the all-time field goals made in the 3rd Region, held by none other than Muhlenberg County’s Patrick Sparks, who went on to play at WKU and UK, before the Mustangs and Bears squared off in what many presumed would be a closer contest last week.
The Mustangs, who were 12-5 overall and matched regional records with Butler, 4-1, held their own momentarily. The Bears jumped out to a 16-11 advantage. Nonetheless, Muhlenberg, who beat Grayson County by eight in Central City, would go back-and-forth.
But the explosive Bears were clearly the aggressor from the opening tip as Justin Castlen and Briar Griffin, both remarkable defenders, deflected balls galore. Muhlenberg County, who was contested all night, could not out muscle Butler, who were plus three in the rebounding category.
Justin Castlen, shown here beating Revelett of Muhlenberg County, poured in 26 points to lead BC at McLean County.
Mustang, Gunnar Revelett, a McLean County-transfer, was a force as he pivoted and spun to score 25 on night, kept it nip-tuck early on. Price would lay it in just before the buzzer aiding a 22-20, Bear-advantage after one quarter of constant pressure by BC which the visitors somehow persevered.
The Bears struggled to make it go down in the second; thus, the Mustangs stayed close. However, Griffin carved up the middle, slicing and dicing to the rack assisting in the Bears’ two-point lead at intermission.
Early third, Griffin had an ankle addressed by Athletic Trainer, Noel Belcher; he came back riffling bullets. One for a Castlen corner trey, then Deweese for an up and under after getting to the rack, once again. All that in company with two freebies in the period, contributing to his 13 in the game.
Price quietly churned 16 first half points; conversely, as the Bears opened the throttle in the third period, Price started heating up and lit fire as the game progressed throughout, finishing off the Mustangs with 47 points in his shooting spectacle.
Deweese, who had ten points and seven rebounds, imposed his will on the inside all night, taking one rebound back up for and-one to push the Bears up by 15; then, Price extended it out to 22 with two more of his three beyond the arc in the third quarter.
Trever Deweese, who was honored with his 500th rebound, shown here on the run out in dominant second half over the Mustangs.
Price poured in 31 in the second half, hitting 9/18 3pt attempts on the night. Castlen, who combined with Griffin to go 10/14 from the field and deflect near twenty balls, ended with a cool dozen and five boards.
Curtis Murphy played physical, and he had five points/three rebounds. None scrapped any more than Case Hooten, who in a brief stretch (less than a minute) of the fourth, slithered and knifed away three offensive boards. Hooten finished with five rebounds altogether while netting four in the Bears’ 91-66, exclamation mark to the 3rd Region.
Friday’s back end of the girl/boy doubleheader in Whitesville, followed homecoming, too. It was a late start, but the Bears took care of business. Outscoring the Raiders by 13 in the first, six in second, and 11 in the third, opened the bench in the fourth.
Butler County cruised for the 85-53 victory at Trinity while ten Bears got into the scoring column. Price settled for 21 and Castlen, Deweese, Murphy, and Griffin finished with 15, 14, 11, and seven, respectively. Hooten unselfishly took his three points.
In addition, Carson Davis tossed in five in about that many minutes. Vincent, who has been earning more minutes, scored five and secured several balls off the glass. Nic Francisco and Cooper Embry, who sank his first varsity field goal, each contributed with two points.
Onto Calhoun to finish on Saturday, the Bears were in for a Cougar clash not to be taken lightly. One thing was for certain, McLean County Head Coach Lynam was not going to allow Price to get into a rhythm as he did Tuesday.
The Cougars, who came in 13-5 overall and 5-2 in the third region, never stopped harassing the sharp-shooting Price, who surpassed the 3,000-point club against Trinity, holding him to 14 points. However, the unified Bears rallied after being knotted late in third, 48-48, behind Castlen’s ferocious, 26-point effort.
Griffin, who does whatever it takes to win, splashed just shy of 20 on the Cougars while Deweese stayed a determined presence in the paint and scored 14. Murphy’s three and two by Hooten concluded the contribution in Calhoun.
Although it was closer than the 78-58 final margin, the Bears still made a statement for their third region opponents in the closing at McLean. At any point, in any game, Butler County can deliver that knockout punch.
Next up, the Bears will play at Leitchfield on Friday, another girl/boy district-doubleheader. Grayson County sits at 15-4, but 6-3 in the third. The Cougars, still unbeaten in the district, lost to Breckinridge, who the Bears play this Tuesday, by two. They also fell to Daviess by eight and were crushed by Owensboro Catholic, 69-43.
On Saturday, the Bears will make their way to the Sportscenter in Owensboro for the First Commonwealth Mortgage Classic. Butler County sits 10-9 overall after last week and will get another battle-worthy opponent out of the 1st Region, the 18-3, Calloway County Lakers, who recently won the 2A State Championship over Harlan County, 80-75. The game is set to tip at 5:50.
