Bethlehem took advantage of a cold shooting night by Bardstown and made clutch plays down the stretch to win its first 19th District title since 2006.

How big of a upset was this?

How big of a upset was this?

 

Not that big, really. Bethlehem played Bardstown close in two of the three games they played prior to tonight, while the Tigers were without their top big man, who was suspended from the team. Compounding matters, their best player, Devonte Grundy, took a nasty spill in the second half. He tried to come back, but was in too much pain.

 

Bardstown opened the game ice-cold and didn't get its first FG until more than two minutes into the second quarter. They forced a few turnovers to keep within striking distance, but the Eagles were solid down the stretch, hitting 7-for-7 FTs in the final 42 seconds.

 

Bethlehem's Jordan Cooper-Livers had 22 and teammate Jacob Browning added 10.

Bardstown got 19 from LJ Cowherd and 12 from Tavon Johnson.

 

The teams shot a whopping 78 free throws between them, and there were a combined 54 personal fouls called — very uncharacteristic for the 5th Region, which tends to require a bloody stump evidence for fouls to be called. I guess they were getting these guys ready for next week, when the stripes from the 12th Region will be handling the whistles.

I certainly didn't expect this outcome.