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CovCath comes on strong in the fourth quarter to win 9th Region championship game against Dixie Heights


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Mitchell Rylee, the only senior in the Covington Catholic starting lineup, is looking forward to ending his high school basketball career playing in the “Sweet 16” boys state tournament at Rupp Arena.

“It’s a dream come true for any Kentucky kid playing high school basketball,” Rylee said after CovCath defeated Dixie Heights, 59-43, in the 9th Region championship game on Tuesday at BB&T Arena to earn a berth in the high school season’s grand finale.

CovCath center Mitchell Rylee scores on a reverse layup against Billy Wogenstahl of Dixie Heights. (Photo by Bob Jackson)

Rylee played a major role in the victory that raised CovCath’s record to 28-4. The 6-foot-8 center finished with game-high totals of 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots to earn the tournament’s most valuable player award.

CovCath had a slim 38-34 lead going into the fourth quarter and went on a 21-9 run to come away with the 16-point win. Rylee scored 11 points in that final period, including a pair of slam dunks that wowed the crowd.

“We were able to come out and dictate things and get up six (points) and then get up eight and slowly do our thing,”  CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz said of his team’s fourth-quarter surge.

The Colonels have eight days to get ready for their next opponent. They will play Ashland Blazer (26-5) in the first round of the state tournament at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 17. In a regular season game between the two highly ranked teams, Ashland Blazer posted a 71-60 home court win.

This will be CovCath’s sixth trip to the state tournament in the last nine years under coach Ruthsatz. Two years ago, the Colonels earned a berth in the “Sweet 16” that was cancelled due to the pandemic.

“We didn’t get to go (to the state tournament) the last time and I really loved that team because I thought we were peaking at the right time,” Ruthsatz said. “Here, we’re still grinding out games, which I told our coaches afterwards is going to pay dividends. Ashland, when we went down there, they took it to us, but we’ve got to be able to grind out things now.”

Dixie Heights senior Kiernan Geraci tries to block a jump shot taken by Mehki Wilson of CovCath. (Photo by Bob Jackson)

In the region final, there were nine lead changes in the first half that ended with a second-chance basket by CovCath forward Aiden Jones putting his team ahead, 26-25, at the halftime break.

CovCath’s biggest lead in the first half was 16-9 on a dunk by Rylee late in the first quarter. That was when Dixie Heights launched an 11-2 run that extended into the second quarter and took a 20-18 lead on a 3-point goal by guard Hudson Blank.

There were five lead changes after that, leading up to the basket by Jones that gave CovCath a 1-point halftime advantage.

Early in the third quarter, Dixie Heights took its last lead of the game, 30-28, on a reverse layup by center Billy Wogenstahl. But his team did not score on its next four possessions and CovCath pulled ahead, 38-34, going into the decisive fourth quarter.

In that final period, Dixie Heights made just three field goals, committed three turnovers and pulled down only one rebound.

“Fatigue wasn’t a factor,” said Dixie Heights coach Roddy Stainforth. “We just didn’t knock down shots and we made a couple mistakes on defense that gave them easy baskets.”

The leading scorers for Dixie Heights were Kiernan Geraci with 16 points and Wogenstahl with 11. CovCath guards Evan Ipsaro and Brady Hussey had 11 points each. Ipsaro also had a game-high seven assists.

CovCath finished with a 28-18 advantage in total rebounds and outscored Dixie Heights 15-2 in points off turnovers and 11-5 in second-chance points.

COVCATH            16  10  12  21 — 59
DIXIE HEIGHTS   11  14    9    9 — 43

COVCATH (28-4): Ipsaro 3 4 11, Rylee 11 3 25, Hussey 4 2 11, Jones 1 0 2, Starks 3 4 10. Totals: 22-47 13-13 59.

DIXIE HEIGHTS (21-7): Staton 1 0 3, Landers 1 0 2, Flynn 1 0 3, Geraci 5 5 16, Blank 3 1 8, Wogenstahl 5 1 11. Totals: 16-33 7-12 43.

3-point goals: CC — Ipsaro, Hussey. DH — Staton, Flynn, Geraci, Blank.

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
CovCath — Mitchell Rylee (MVP), Chandler Starks, Evan Ipsaro. Dixie Heights — Kiernan Geraci, Jay Flynn. Lloyd — Ryan Davis, Garrett Vogelpohl. Holy Cross — Jacob Meyer, Sam Gibson. Cooper — Caleb Brooks. Conner — Dalton Kramer. Highlands — Will Herald. Newport — Evan Snapp.

UK HEALTH CARE “SWEET 16” STATE TOURNAMENT
(all games at Rupp Arena, Lexington)

Wednesday, March 16
Jeffersontown (24-8) vs. Lincoln County (29-7), 11 a.m.
Muhlenberg County (18-11) vs. North Oldham (18-12), 1:30 p.m.
George Rogers Clark (33-1) vs. Perry County Central (29-4), 6 p.m.
North Laurel (27-5) vs. Pikeville (30-2), 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 17
Louisville Male (27-5) vs. Warren Central (26-3), 11 a.m.
Lyon County (28-6) vs. John Hardin (25-9),  1:30 p.m.
Lexington Henry Clay (26-8) vs. Murray (25-6), 6 p.m.
Covington Catholic (28-4) vs. Ashland Blazer (26-5), 8:30 p.m.
Friday, March 18
Upper bracket quarterfinals, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Lower bracket quarterfinals, 6 and 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 19
Semifinal games, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Championship game, 7 p.m.


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