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KY Boys end losing streak with convincing victory

By: Brett Blevins

(Louisville, KY)  The KY Boys All-Star team put together a strong performance Sunday night in Louisville Gardens, defeating the IN All-Stars 95-78.  The win ends a losing streak dating back to 2004 and avenges Friday night’s loss in Indianapolis.

Morehead State signee and Apollo graduate Tyler Brown got the KY Boys off to a hot start hitting five threes in the first half, giving KY a 51-38 halftime lead.  Brown finished with a team-high 19 points. 

Kentucky bound Darius Miller did a little bit of everything, and for a stretch in the second half was the best player on the court.  Miller finished with 13 pts including 9-11 from the FT line.  He also added 9 rebounds, 6 of them offensive, to go along with 4 assists, 3 steals, and a blocked shot.  Miller said after the game that it felt great to end the losing streak to the IN team. 

“Coach (Tim Davis) had been telling us about the streak (so) we wanted to come out, represent Kentucky well and leave it all on the floor.”

Miller and Coach Davis both echoed the same feeling about what triggered the turnaround after Friday night’s loss.  The KY boys did a better job taking care of the ball, cutting their turnovers almost in half with 15, after committing 29 turnovers Friday.  Coach Davis appreciated his team’s effort and praised Shelvin Mack for helping get the KY boys into a better offensive flow.  Mack scored 16 points, grabbed 6 boards, and dished out 4 assists.  Mack is headed to Butler.  Coach Davis said of Mack, “Butler got an absolute jewel”. 

Also, in double figures for the KY boys were Victor Moses and Scotty Hopson with 16 and 10 points respectively.  Moses is headed the JUCO route, while the Tennessee bound Hopson looked disinterested at times and never got into the flow of the game. 

Leading the IN boys was the combination of Tyler Zeller and Larry Stone.  Zeller scored 16 and grabbed 10 rebounds, while constantly being double teamed.  Stone, a 5’9 PG, led the way with 24 points.  The IUPUI signee scored in a variety of ways, hitting outside shots, pull-ups, slashing to the rim, and in transition.  Zeller is taking his game to Chapel Hill to play for UNC.

IN Boys Coach Rick Baumgartner gave credit where credit was due.  “They were quicker to rebounds and anticipating plays.  They had tremendous quickness to the hoop.  This is one of the best KY teams I’ve seen in a while, and I’ve seen a lot of these games.  They have a lot of weapons,” he said after the contest.  Coach Baumgartner felt his team was fortunate to win in Indianapolis this year.

After Sunday’s resounding win, one would have to agree.  This year the KY boys had the superior team.