By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cooper clinched the top seed in the 33rd District boys basketball tournament with a 61-55 win over Conner on Wednesday in Hebron.
It was the fifth straight win for the 15-3 Jaguars, who posted a 5-11 record last season and lost in the first round of the district playoffs. They have a 5-0 record in district seeding games this season with two of the wins over Conner, last year’s district champion and 9th Region runner-up..
Caleb Brooks
Cooper forward Caleb Brooks scored a game-high 20 points in Wednesday’s win over Conner. It’s the fourth time in the last six games that the 6-foot-6 junior has netted 20 points or more.
The other double-figure scorers for the Jaguars were freshman guard Rondon with 13 points and senior guard Montana Phillips with 10. Rondon had 12 points during his team’s 24-9 scoring run in the second quarter that resulted in a 38-19 halftime lead.
A 3-point goal by junior guard Trevor Ollier gave Cooper its biggest lead of the night, 45-23, early in the third quarter. Conner chipped away at the margin and got it down to 60-55 on a 3-point goal by junior guard Landen Hamilton with 16 seconds remaining.
After Rondon made a free throw to give Cooper a six-point lead, Conner missed a long shot as the final horn sounded. The leading scorer for the Cougars (13-5) was Hamilton with 18 points, followed by juniors Ayden Lohr with 14 and Daniel Campbell with 11.
Cooper will play its final district seeding game against Ryle on Friday. Conner will play back-to-back games in Indiana against Lawrenceburg on Friday and South Dearborn on Saturday.
Covington Catholic clinched the top seed in the 35th District with a win at Holmes on Tuesday. The top seeds in the 9th Region’s other two boys basketball districts have not been decided.
