Lloyd had won by 13, 91-78, in Fort Thomas Feb. 8, which gave the team some added confidence in the all-to-play-for rematch.
“We were confident coming in,” said Lloyd second-year head coach Mike Walker. “Highlands is the defending champs: Great program, great coach. The win there was one of the significant wins of our season, and it let us know we’re one of the top programs. They’re a good matchup for us. They like to go up and down, we go up and down. I thought it was a good draw for us.”
Davis was the team’s leading scorer for the season before the injury put him out for six weeks. He came back in mid-February but his conditioning isn’t back yet.
Davis hit three-straight 3-pointers to lift Lloyd from a 12-7 deficit to within one at 17-16 early in the second period. Lloyd shot 11-of-19 from the 3-point line in the game.
“Really just trusting my shot and trusting my teammates to put me in position to be successful,” Davis said. “Staying in the gym and building confidence. That was my main role going into the game, catch and shoot, because I’m a little slower from the injury. Play hard, play some defense.”
Trailing 31-28 at halftime, Lloyd outscored the Bluebirds 22-14 to lead 50-45 after three periods. Six different players scored in the quarter. That was the key to the game, as including Davis, five players scored in double figures.
“That’s our biggest thing,” Walker said. “That’s the way I coach. I want to have five, six guys in double figures or close to it. That makes it tougher for teams to guard us when we share the ball and play together.”
Lloyd led 56-50 in the fourth quarter when Highlands junior Will Herald hit a 3-pointer. Herald led Highlands with 29 points and was 5-of-9 from the 3-point arc.
Senior Teyon Neale answered with a 3-pointer for Lloyd. Nathan Vinson scored a layup for Highlands, then Neale hit another three to put Lloyd up 62-55. Those threes were Neale’s only points of the game but came at a big time.
More: Cooper girls basketball celebrates first Ninth Region championship
Davis’ fifth three put the game away by putting Lloyd up 11 at 66-55.
Walker had to give younger players more time on the court after his midseason injury, which he said is helping the team now.
“We’re starting something different here at Lloyd, changing the culture,” Davis said. “I hope once we (the seniors) go out, the younger kids can keep it going.”
Jeremiah Israel had 16 points and four assists for Lloyd. Freshman E.J. Walker, a 6-foot-7 freshman with two Division I offers, had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Garrett Vogelpohl had 12 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Zaire Monroe had 10 points. Lloyd outrebounded Highlands by 10 and shot 57.5 percent from the floor.
The historic win was a season-long project for the Juggernauts.
“It means we changed the culture, changed things at Lloyd,” Walker said. “It allows us to become one of the best programs in Northern Kentucky. I stand by that, I stand by these kids. We have great community support.”
For Highlands, senior Zach Barth had 10 points, four assists and four steals. Senior Oliver Harris had nine points and five assists, and senior Cole Kocher had seven points. Austin Duncan and Leyton Read, a starter who suffered a season-ending injury late in the season, are other seniors.
The Highlands seniors leave with 100 all-time wins, reaching the century mark by winning the 36th District final over Newport last week.
“That was a big accomplishment,” Barth said after that game. “Coach mentioned it a couple of games ago and that was another step forward for our team.”
LLOYD MEMORIAL : Walker 5 2 13, Israel 3 8 16, Davis 6 1 18, Monroe 3 3 10, Neale 2 0 6, Vogelpohl 4 4 12. Totals: 23 18 75.
HIGHLANDS : Kocher 3 1 7, Barth 4 2 10, Moeves 1 0 3, Harris 3 3 9, Herald 9 6 29, Vinson 2 0 4, DeSylva 1 0 2. Totals: 23 12 64.
Halftime, H 31-28. 3-pointers: L 11 (Davis 5, Israel 2, Neale 2, Walker, Monroe), H 6 (Herald 5, Moeves 1.
Covington Catholic basketball staves off a Cooper upset in 49-37 win
COVINGTON CATHOLIC 49, COOPER 37: The Colonels, ranked third in the Associated Press state poll, staved off an upset bid by the Jaguars, who finished the season 22-7.
CovCath, 26-4 overall, faces Lloyd in the first semifinal 6:30 p.m. Sunday at BB&T Arena. The teams did not play this season.
CovCath had won all nine of its previous games against Ninth Region foes this season by an average of 47 points, with the closest win by 20 points.
The quarterfinal game was a different story. CovCath and Cooper were tied at 36 after three quarters. Cooper began the fourth quarter deliberately passing the ball looking for a shot and trying to limit the total number of possessions.
Three minutes into the fourth period, CovCath junior guard Evan Ipsaro rebounded a missed 3-pointer and outran everyone on the floor from Cooper to the basket for a layup, and CovCath led 38-36.
With four minutes to go in the fourth, CovCath senior center Mitchell Rylee stole a pass in the CovCath backcourt and raced to the front-court in transition. He drew a foul and made both free throws to put CovCath up 40-36.
Cooper got one free throw after that from Caleb Brooks, but the Jaguars didn’t make a field goal in the fourth quarter. CovCath made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Rylee finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. He led the Colonels to a 12-rebound advantage on the boards, 32-20.
Ipsaro, who didn’t score until the third quarter, had 12 points and two assists. Brady Hussey had nine points, seven in the first quarter for CovCath. Chandler Starks posted seven points and seven rebounds.
CovCath shot 45.7 percent from the floor and limited Cooper to 35.9.
Brooks and Yamil Rondon led Cooper with 12 points apiece. Senior Blake Berry had five assists for the Jaguars.
COVCATH : Ipsaro 2 8 12, McGillis 0 3 3, Rylee 6 4 16, Johnson 1 0 2, Hussey 4 0 9, Starks 3 1 7. Totals: 16 16 49.
COOPER : Staten 1 0 2, Phillips 2 0 6, Rondon 4 3 12, Lutz 2 0 5, Brooks 5 1 12. Totals: 14 4 37.
Halftime , CC 22-19. 3-pointers: CC 1 (Hussey), CO 5 (Phillips 2, Rondon, Lutz, Brooks).
