For most area high school basketball fans, it was almost a certainty that University Heights Academy would advance to the Boys’ District 8 Basketball Tournament finals, especially after how they had played the last two weeks of the season.
Someone forgot to give Christian County the memo.
Senior guard Na’Darien Rowe hit seven 3-pointers and scored 33 points to power the Colonels into Friday night’s championship game with a 69-62 win over the Blazers on Tuesday night at Tiger Gym.
UHA led even before the clock started as the Colonels were whistled for a technical foul for dunking in pregame warmups. The Blazers’ Tylin George hit two free throws for a 2-0 lead.
George scored 14 points in the first quarter and the Blazers jumped out to a 26-17 advantage. They pushed their lead to double digits in the second quarter as Rowe tried to keep the Colonels in the game with his long-range baskets.
The Blazers held the lead until 1:48 to go to in the third quarter when a Rowe basket gave Christian County a 41-40 advantage. The Colonels’ lead would grow to 46-42 but George hit four straight free throws with 4.4 seconds to go in the third quarter to tie the game. The free shots came after a foul and a technical foul against the Colonels.
For George, who came into the game third in the state in scoring, it was his first points since the first quarter.
The two teams battled in the fourth quarter until Zion Acree, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, teamed with Rowe to push the Colonels’ lead to 59-51 with 4:21 remaining.
UHA, which had won five of six games entering Tuesday’s game, cut the lead to two late in the game but Rowe and Acree secured the win with late buckets. Josh Bridges and Rahsean Stevenson also added free throws to seal the victory.
Christian County improves to 7-22 on the season while UHA ends its year at 9-13.
The Blazers were led by George with 29 points. Elijah Walton added 16 and Keshawn Moore had 11.
The Colonels will take on Hopkinsville in the championship game at 6 p.m. Friday at Tiger Gym. The two teams split their meetings during the regular season as Christian County won the first matchup 73-69 and the Tigers won two weeks later 52-41. Airtime for Friday’s game is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. with the Hoptown broadcast on 99.3 FM and 1230 AM WHOP while the Colonels’ broadcast will be on 95.3 The Farm.
Score by Quarters:
Christian County 17 13 16 23 – 69
University Heights 26 10 10 16 – 62
Individual Scoring:
CCHS (7-22) – Acree 13, Wharton 4, Williams 4, Bridges 7, Rowe 33, Jesse 2, Stevenson 6.
UHA (9-13) – Moore 11, Pollard 2, George 29, Walton 16, Miles 4.
3-Point Goals:
CCHS – Rowe 7; UHA – Moore 3, George 2, Walton.
Photos by Peyton Biaquis