Signature-Win over top ten Dragons on Senior Night primes Bears for a run

 

By Greg Moore

Banner Sports Editor

 

After picking up four straight wins, the Butler County Bears hit a three-game skid starting on the road at Breckinridge County, which continued over into a huge letdown in Leitchfield. However, these young men strapped right back up with resilience the next night to rally and battle throughout 32 minutes against an extremely physical Calloway County Lakers team, who won the 2A State Title over Harlan County on the 19^th of last month, in the same gymnasium, the Sportscenter in Owensboro.

During these past couple weeks or so, the Bears’ leading scorer, Ty Price, has not been one-hundred percent healthy, not playing in a couple games, one being the Calloway game. This past Tuesday night, the Warren Central Dragons imposed themselves into the Bear Cave for the Bears’ Senior Night.

Price seemed to be feeling better although an infusion recently taken hadn’t had efficient time to be fully effective. Nonetheless, Price and company gradually pulled away, quarter by quarter, knocking off the 8^th ranked team in the state, 60-47.

 

 

Price’s 20 points were hard fought as a Dragon defender defiantly denied the prolific shooter all night. Irrefutably, Justin Castlen, Briar Griffin, and Trever Deweese made Warren Central pay the consequences throughout, going a combined 14 of 25 from the Bears’ home floor while demonstrating their toughness and desire to win on a special night for them and their families.

Griffin, who is such a compliment with the ball in his hands as a playmaker, pumped in 15 points from all over the hardwood. He would hit one of his two three-pointers taken and sink four of six freebies at the charity stripe after taking it to rack (over and over) in fear of nothing—even a black eye he wore nicely later in the week when the Bears would get revenge on Grayson County.

 

 

Castlen set the tone early on from beyond the arc and continued to take what was given per usual. Castlen would finish with ten points and a half-dozen battle-tested boards all the while playing his tenacious defense. Castlen, possibly the most underrated player in the third region, is an all-around stud on the basketball court, netting over 52% of his field goals and stroking better than 80% from the free-throw line.

Deweese, who has had to adjust his game as much as any Bears player following the loss of Lawson Rice, showed out with an impressive double-double on senior night. His 12 points and ten rebounds against the athletic and long Dragons was followed up with an exclamation mark against the Cougars to end the week.

At one point after forcing a Cougar timeout in the second half when Bears pulled away, Deweese gave a mouthy Cougar a friendly shoulder as he jogged to Bears’ bench. Coach Dockery will continue to rely on that confident presence in the post from the versatile Deweese, who leads the Bears with nearly nine rebounds a night.

 

 

Coach Dockery and his staff made some adjustments on defense in both of these enormous victories for the Bears, who now sit at 13-12 overall, 9-3 region, and 4-1 district. During the pivotal stretch in the third when the Bears took control over the Cougars, Dockery switched back to man from zone. Price guarded the much taller Jack Logsdon while Castlen took the Cougars’ ball handler.

During that run, Castlen’s on-the-ball defense was genius-like in the must-have get-right game over Grayson County, who had narrowly slipped past Trinity in Whitesville the night before they came to Morgantown. The neighboring nemesis still holds a higher RPI ranking (for what that is worth) along with owning an 18-6 overall record. The Cougars are 9-4 in the region and 5-1 in district play.

The Bears will close out district play against Edmonson County (12-8, 2-3, 2-3) this Thursday at the Bear Cave after traveling to play a good Madisonville-North Hopkins squad on Tuesday. They will also be in the finale of Hebrews Classic on Saturday at BCHS. Games will start at 2:00 pm with the Bears hoping to tip off at 5:00 pm against Butler from Louisville.

Tuesday of next week will be the last time these seniors play in the Bear Cave. They will host McLean County, who fought hard with the Bears in Calhoun a few weeks ago. District 12 Tournament play will be held in Whitesville and hopefully another run to Rupp is in store for Butler County basketball.

 

Dragons               13           13           7              14           47

Bears                     17           18           12           13           60

Price 20, Griffin 15, Deweese 12, Castlen 10,

Hooten 2, Vincent 1

 

Cougars                18           13           13           16           62

Bears                     16           15           25           22           78

Price 25, Castlen 24, Griffin 16, Deweese 9,

Hooten 2, Francisco 2