18TH DISTRICT BOYS' BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: LaRue County cruises past Caverna (02/21)

GREENSBURG — LaRue County didn’t let Caverna hang around this time.

Senior guard Kyle Sheeran got hot from outside early, the Hawks clamped down defensively and they moved into the 18th District Tournament final for the fourth straight year.

Sheeran scored a team-high 18 points and three other LaRue County players reached double figures as the top-seeded Hawks rolled past fourth-seeded Caverna, 75-42 in Monday night’s semifinal at Green County High School.

Now, they’re just one win away from recording their fourth consecutive district championship, which would set a district record.

LaRue County (21-7) advances to the championship game at 8:15 Friday night, when the Hawks will meet either second-seeded Hart County (14-12) or third-seeded Green County (7-21).

“The key is getting off to a good start and to start playing good and put pressure on them and get a big lead at the beginning,” said Sheeran, who went 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. “We feed so much off a good start. We keep feeding the rest of the game off that.”

The Hawks made it a season sweep against Caverna (5-25), defeating the Colonels in all three meetings.

The last time the teams met, the Hawks trailed by five points at halftime and rallied for a 60-54 win on Jan. 27 after beating the Colonels by 18 more than a month before.

They learned their lesson.

Sheeran helped put Caverna in a hole late in the first quarter with his hot shooting. He hit all three of his 3s in the first quarter, including two in the opening 3 minutes, and propelled the Hawks to a 17-5 advantage after the first period.

Leading 8-5 with 4:35 left in the quarter, LaRue County went on a 15-2 run over the next 8:30 – including a 12-0 spurt that went into the second period. The run pushed their lead to 23-7 with 5:53 left before halftime and they cruised from there.

Over the past two days, LaRue County coach Paul Childress said he reminded his team about their flat start against the Colonels back in January. He wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again.

“We found (Sheeran) early. He was shooting with confidence,” Childress said. “Once he makes two or three, he gets complacent. He’s been like that all year. We did a good job moving the ball and passing inside.”

 Caverna coach Blake Button acknowledged it didn’t help the Colonels left the Hawks’ top 3-point shooter, and the area’s fourth best, open throughout the first half.

“They just hit shots tonight. This is a good shooter’s gym,” Button said. “Sheeran came out and we left him open two or three times. Once he gets hot, it’s hard to cool him off. I thought that was the key.”

So was junior guard Kelton Ford’s defense on Caverna’s top scorer. He had one job – to keep Caverna senior forward Dearrick Lindsey from putting up points. He kept him quiet and frustrated, especially in the first half. Lindsey scored eight point in the first half, going 3-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line.

With Lindsey struggling offensively and saddled with two fouls, the Colonels didn’t help him out either. The rest of the team went 3-of-13 from the field as LaRue County built a 33-16 halftime lead. Lindsey finished with 18 points and went 7-of-18 from the field overall, while Ford finished with a team-high six of the Hawks’ 14 steals.

“They played good help defense,” Button said. “Every time he (Lindsey) did get the ball and got to drive, somebody else would be there. With that happening, we needed someone else to step up when he didn’t hit the shots.”

Ford and senior guard Kyle Meredith both scored 11 points for the Hawks, while reserve sophomore forward Kody Key had 10.

LaRue County got key minutes and help from its reserves. Besides Key, junior guard Gabe Shirley had two points and three assists (with two coming during that first-half run) and sophomore forward Tyler Howell added six points and five rebounds.

“They played the same defense they played against us the first two games,” Childress said. “We emphasized to our guards to really drive. They extended on Sheeran out on the perimeter and Kody Key, Jonathan Firquin and Jackson Venegas did a good job finishing around the basket.”

John Groth can be reached at (270) 505-1754 or jgroth@thenewsenterprise.com