Na’Darien Rowe gave host Owensboro at devil of a time in the first half as the Christian County senior scored 29 of his 35 points in the opening two quarters Monday night.
Unfortunately, Rowe and his teammates cooled off in the second half and the Red Devils ralled for a 71-59 high school basketball victory.
Rowe hit six of his seven three-pointers in the first half and helped Christian County take a 40-38 lead into halftime.
While the Colonels’ offense struggled, Owensboro’s Michael Acton was heating up, as the sophomore guard scored 13 points in the second half on the way to a 26-point performance.
Acton helped Owensboro, which was celebrating Senior Night, grab its first lead since early in the contest at 50-49 with 15 seconds to go in the third quarter. Then, he was able to expand the lead 61-54 early in the fourth quarter on a three-point play. Christian County could get no closer the rest of the way.
The Colonels also battled foul trouble most of the night as they had four players on the bench most of the second half with four fouls. Despite the foul woes, the Colonels were able to hold Owensboro’s 6-foot-7 center Keaton Hughes to only four points in the second half. Hughes had 19 for the game.
Kade Arnold hit a 3-pointer and salted the game away with free throws late as the Red Devils led by as much as 13 points late in the contest.
Christian County has now lost five straight games and is 5-21 on the season. The Colonels are scheduled to wrap up the regular season Thursday night at Webster County.
Score by Quarters:
Christian County 22 18 9 10 – 59
Owensboro 18 20 14 19 – 71
Individual Scoring:
CCHS (5-21) – Acree 6, Wharton 5, Johnson 5, Bigbee 5, Bridges 3, Rowe 35.
OHS (12-13) – Day 2, Acton 26, Arnold 12, Richardson 4, Payton 1, Hume 7, Hughes 19.
3-Point Goals:
CCHS – Bigbee, Rowe 7; OHS – Acton, Arnold 2, Hume.
File Photo