By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Duncan Baugh made the biggest field goal in the history of the Beechwood boys’ basketball program Saturday night at Newport High School.
Beechwood had never won a regional title in basketball until Baugh hit a short bank shot just before the final horn sounded to give the Tigers a 54-53 win over Newport in the championship game of the 9th Region All “A” Classic.
Beechwood center Duncan Baugh, No. 23, puts up the game-winning shot with Newport players all around him in the 9th Region All “A” Classic final. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
His winning basket set off a jubilant celebration by Beechwood players and fans. The small suburban school best known for its success in football and baseball had finally made its mark in basketball by upsetting the third-ranked team in the latest Northern Kentucky coaches poll.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” said Beechwood senior guard Ben Toebbe with the championship trophy cradled in his arms. “They doubted us, but you can’t count out the underdogs. Cinderella stories happen all the time.”
Beechwood (12-8) will make it’s first-ever appearance in a state basketball tournament at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. That’s when the Tigers play 13th Region champion Lynn Camp (15-1) in the opening game of the Kentucky All “A” Classic at McBrayer Arena in Richmond.
Toebbe was named most valuable player on the 9th Region all-tournament team, but Baugh was clearly the hero in Saturday’s championship game.
With 6.7 seconds left on the clock, Beechwood called a timeout to set up a final play. The ball went to Toebbe, who backed into the lane and put up a shot that hit off the backboard. Duncan got the rebound and scored the winning basket on a stickback.
“One of my assistant coaches told me (during the timeout), ‘There’s going to be a lot of people just watching that shot so you crash the glass and put it back in,’ and that’s what I did,” Duncan said.
It didn’t look like the game would be decided on a last shot when Newport took a 21-11 lead early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by junior forward Tahj Harding. At that point, the Wildcats had seven field goals and six of them were treys.
Beechwood guard Ben Toebbe, No. 15, is trapped by Newport players as he drives to the basket. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Beechwood cut the margin to 28-24 at halftime and scored the first six points in the third quarter to take a 30-28 lead. There were 10 lead changes after that, culminating with Duncan’s game-winning basket.
“I thought all night long at both ends they executed our game plan even down to the last possession,” Beechwood coach Erik Goetz said of his team’s effort. “I thought (Toebbe) got a great look and then Duncan Baugh comes flying in out of nowhere with the stickback at the buzzer. I mean it’s an unbelievable swing of emotion and a great night for Beechwood.”
Goetz said limiting Newport senior guard MeKell Burries to 11 points was “one of the keys” to his team’s victory.
Burries entered the game with a 22.9 average and scored 42 points in his team’s semifinal victory on Friday. But the Tigers guarded him so tightly that he took only nine shots and committed four turnovers.
“We ran a gimmick defense most of the night,” Goetz said. “We always had one guy assigned to (Burries) and when he caught it we were supposed to have somebody running at him. He’s a great high school player. At our end, it took a team effort and they did a great job.”
The final stats were as close as the final score. Beechwood shot 48.9 percent (22 of 45) from the field and pulled down 26 rebounds. Newport shot 47.5 percent (19 of 40) with 22 rebounds. The leading scorers were Beechwood freshman guard Scotty Draud with 14 points and Newport junior guard Donnie Miller with 13.
Toebbe finished with 12 points, eight assists and two steals for the Tigers. He and reserve guard Daniel Mescher were the players assigned to guard Burries for most of the game.
“People stepped up the whole tournament,” Toebbe said. “Everybody played their role and everybody did everything we needed to win.”
BEECHWOOD 9 15 17 13 — 54
NEWPORT 17 11 12 13 — 53
BEECHWOOD (12-8): Deatherage 2 0 5, Schilling 3 1 8, Brannen 3 0 6, Toebbe 5 2 12, Baugh 4 1 9, Draud 5 2 14. Totals: 22 6 54
NEWPORT (15-5): Miller 5 0 13, White 4 0 12, Harding 4 1 11, Davis 3 0 6, Burries 3 4 11. Totals: 19 5 53.
3-pointers: B — Draud 2, Schilling Deatherage. N — White 4, Miller 3, Harding 2, Burries.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Beechwood — Ben Toebbe (MVP), Scotty Draud, Duncan Baugh. Newport — MeKell Burries, Donnie Miller. Holy Cross — Parker Zimmerman. St. Henry — Elliot Berling. Lloyd — Evan Molitor. Heritage — Garrison Jett. Ludlow — Trey Donahue. Villa Madonna — Sean McIntyre. Dayton — J.J. Jimenez. Bellevue — Eric Atkins. NewCath — Jalen McDaniel.
