NKyTribune staff
Covington Catholic improved to 3-0 with a 69-32 victory over Cooper on Thursday night at Park Hills.
CovCath scored 23 unanswered points in the first quarter after falling behind 2-0. The Colonels owned a 27-6 lead after the opening quarter and extended their advantage to 45-13 at halftime.
CovCath center Mitchell Rylee soars in for a dunk against Cooper on Thursday night. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
CovCath (3-0) extended its winning streak to nine games. The Colonels finished last season with six consecutive victories before the pandemic forced the cancellation of the Sweet 16.
CovCath has not lost to a 9th Region team since Feb. 26, 2019, when Beechwood posted a 57-53 win over the Colonels in the 35th District Tournament championship game.
CovCath has won its opening three games this season by an average margin of 73-36. The Colonels are seeking their fourth consecutive 9th Region championship.
Cooper, which opened the season with a 59-50 win over Simon Kenton, dropped to 1-1. A year ago, CovCath posted a 50-33 triumph at Cooper. The Colonels have defeated the Jaguars five straight times.
CovCath plays at Louisville DeSales on Jan. 15. Cooper visits Bryan Station on Saturday.
NORSE BATTLE VIKINGS: Northern Kentucky University visits Cleveland State at 7 p.m. Friday to begin a key Horizon League two-game weekend series.
Cleveland State is atop the Horizon League standings with a 6-0 record. After dropping a narrow 67-61 decision at Ohio State on Dec. 13, the Vikings (6-3 overall record) have reeled off six straight wins.
Cleveland State features a balanced scoring attack with D’Moi Hodge (16.8 points per game), Torrey Patton (14.7 ppg) and Tre Gomillion (12.5 ppg) all scoring in double figures.
Cooper’s Jacob Deere (35) is trapped by CovCath defenders on Thursday night. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
NKU is 5-4 overall, 3-1 in the Horizon League. The Norse defeated Purdue Fort Wayne twice last week at BB&T Arena.
NKU’s Trevon Faulkner averages 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals. The Norse’s Adrian Nelson is 12th nationally in rebounds per game (10.8).
Marques Warrick was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week for the third time this year after exploding for back-to-back 22-point games against Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend. The NKU freshman is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per contest.
NKU is 7-4 all-time against Cleveland State. The Norse are 4-1 all-time in Cleveland, claiming road victories in each of the last four visits.
TMU MEN DEFEAT CAMPBELLSVILLE: Ryan Batte scored 30 points to lead Thomas More to an 82-78 win over Campbellsville on Thursday night at the Connor Convocation Center.
Reid Jolly added 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Saints improved to 4-3 overall, 2-3 in the Mid-South Conference.
Thomas More drained 13 shots from 3-point range in 26 attempts. The Saints converted 51.8 percent of their shots from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 32-27 margin.
Garren Bertsch buried four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for Thomas More. Max Reyes led Campbellsville (6-5 overall, 4-4 Mid-South Conference) with 28 points.
(Information compiled from NKU Athletics Communications, Thomas More and staff reports)
Donovan Stocks of CovCath drives past Cooper’s Teyon Neale. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Cooper’s Jacob Deere (35) is trapped by CovCath defenders. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
