By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
LEXINGTON — After a 10-day layoff between games, it took some time for the Covington Catholic Colonels to get their act together against Owensboro Apollo in the first round of the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Sweet 16 boys state basketball tournament on Thursday.
The lead changed hands five times before heavily favored CovCath took command and then rolled to a 71-47 victory in front of a crowd listed as 10,252 at Rupp Arena.
CovCath senior guard C.J.Fredrick adjusts his shot to avoid a block during the state tournament game against Apollo. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
It was the 20th consecutive win for the Colonels (32-4) and 18 of them have been by margins of 15 points or more. But they didn’t pull away against Apollo until the last five minutes of the third quarter.
“My biggest concern coming into the game was we had such a long time period off,” said CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz. “In the second half was really when we got our second wind. I was happy to see that and after that we executed very well.”
The win sets up a rematch between CovCath and Louisville Fern Creek (27-6) in a quarterfinal game at 8 p.m. Friday that should also draw a big crowd.
In December, Fern Creek handed the Colonels their first loss of the season, 70-62, during the King of the Bluegrass holiday tournament. Going into the post-season playoffs, Fern Creek was No. 2 and CovCath was No. 4 in the Litkenhous statewide power rankings.
CovCath senior guard Aiden Ruthsatz said his team will be more prepared to face Fern Creek’s defensive pressure than they were in December.
“That’s pretty much what they did, they pressured us and turned us over at the end of the game,” he said. “But we’re more experienced now and we’ll be able to settle down in the fourth quarter and handle it better.”
CovCath’s leading scorers in Thursday’s first-round game were senior guards C.J. Fredrick with 25 points and Ruthsatz with 18. Both of them also had five assists.
Those two players scored 25 of their team’s 35 points in the first half, but the Colonels only had an eight-point lead (35-27) at the break.
When CovCath outscored Apollo, 17-10, in the third quarter to extend the lead to 52-37, fans starting heading for the exits. During that eight-minute span, the Eagles went 3-for-10 from the field and committed five turnovers against the Colonels’ zone defense.
CovCath point guard Aiden Ruthsatz launches one of his five 3-point shots during the win over Apollo. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
CovCath switched to the zone in the first half because Apollo had little problem scoring against full-court pressure.
“We’d seen enough film to know they would probably press us and we broke it really easy,” said Apollo coach Steve Barker. “We had 16 points at the half on layups alone. But then when they dropped out of it and sunk back into the zone it kind of stifled us a little bit. We didn’t make shots in the second half the way that we should have.”
Three CovCath starters picked up their third foul during the second half, but junior Nick Thelen played so well off the bench that the Colonels’ kept rolling. The 6-foot-8 forward finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
“We’re fortunate to have him,” coach Ruthsatz said. “He gives us energy and gives us length. He’s really good in the zone because of his length, and his athleticism is really underrated. He was able to get some rebounds and (score on) quick put-backs.”
CovCath ended up shooting 59.1 percent (26 of 44) from the field compared to Apollo’s 52.5 percent (21 of 40). Fredrick, who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky, was 8-for 13 from the field overall, 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
“The guards did a really good job of getting me open on screens,” Fredrick said. “A lot of credit goes to them for getting me open.”
Ruthsatz also had a good shooting night, hitting 7 of 11 attempts overall and 3 of 4 treys for the Colonels.
“They were doubling C.J. so I was more open and I was hitting the shots,” Ruthsatz said. “Whatever the defense gives us, we’ll take. And tonight that was my shots.”
COVCATH 21 14 18 18 — 71
APOLLO 17 10 10 10 — 47
COVCATH (32-4): Mayer 2 1 6, Walter 2 0 4, Fredrick 8 6 25, Ruthsatz 7 4 18, Disken 0 1 1, Deere 1 0 3, Davin 1 0 2, Thelen 4 2 10, Green 1 0 2. Totals: 26 10 71.
APOLLO (16-16): Gray 5 0 10, Graham 4 0 8, Saldana 4 1 11, Shelton 5 0 10, Boyle 3 0 8. Totals: 21 1 47
3-pointers: CC — Ruthsatz 4, Fredrick 3, Mayer, Deere. A — Boyle 2, Saldana 2.
WHITAKER BANK/KHSAA SWEET 16 BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT
Wednesday — Upper bracket
Corbin 50, Estill County 40
Scott County 54, Louisville Trinity 53
Warren Central 68, Pulaski Southwestern 44
Pikeville 72, John Hardin 69 3-OT
Thursday — Lower bracket
Campbell County 82, University Heights 65
Fern Creek 69, Boyd County 67 OT
Oldham County 65, McCracken County 58
Covington Catholic 71, Owensboro Apollo 47
Friday
Corbin (26-7) vs. Scott County (35-1), noon
Warren Central (30-5) vs. Pikeville (25-9), 1:30 p.m.
Campbell County (28-5) vs. Oldham County (30-5), 6:30 p.m.
Covington Catholic (32-4) vs. Fern Creek (27-6), 8 p.m.
Saturday
Semifinals, 6:30 and 8 p.m.
Sunday
Championship game, 2 p.m.
