PRP vs. Ballard (2005 Quarters)

 

 

I forgot about this one! Spillman got the steal and the bucket that they thought was for the win and celebrated while Walt Allen ran the court and make the layup at the buzzer! Great game!

2004 quarterfinals; Mason County vs. Trinity. Mason down 6 late; hits a 3 (might have been Casey Pfeffer). Down 3 with seconds to go; everybody in Rupp Arena knew that Lofton was going to take and make a 3 unless he was fouled. That he did. Mason eventually won in triple overtime 66-59.

 

To this day no one can tell me why Lofton wasn't fouled. Now I'm not complaining, just wondering.

This.

2004 State Quarterfinals, Trinity vs Mason County. Trinity played stall ball all game long and gave the Royals fits. With three seconds left Chris Lofton did what he did best, save the day. You never forget a Chris Lofton buzzer beater.

That was South Laurel. This was the game where Spillman drained a shot from the free throw line at the buzzer.

1967 Sweet Sixteen Championship Game CovCath vs. Earlington.....

 

Seconds left in the game, CovCath up by one, Earlington takes the ball out from under the CovCath basket, Earlington dribbles down to just a little inside the mid court line shoots and misses but the ball just barley touches the front of the rim and instead of bouncing up and away from anyone, the ball lands into the hands of a surprised Earlington player who is between two CovCath players who are afraid of fouling the player, who then puts it in for the win as the horn sounds.

That was South Laurel. This was the game where Spillman drained a shot from the free throw line at the buzzer.

Good call... I read it wrong... Was that the same year?

One I am surprised no one has mentioned is the 2001 State Finals between Lafayette and Male. Robert Madison led an incredible 4th quarter comeback. That was my first ever Sweet 16 game too.

Yes it was. PRP played 5 overtimes that tournament. Very impressive...even for a Louisville school.

Another one in that vein of thought is the 2003 opener between St. Henry and Mason County when the big kid from St. Henry went down.

 

Mike Schmidt (easy name to remember). He was out for several minutes and it changed the course of the game.

 

A wise person told me the day before the game that it would be a war. Mason County was heavily favored but he said that the St. Henry nucleus had been playing together since they were in diapers and that they would give the Royals all they could handle and then some, and that it would be their toughest game in the tournament.

One that hasn't been mentioned is from Christian Co. run in 2011. The Lexington Catholic game on Friday. Catholic had them down 11 at halftime and what Hickey did in the second half of that game was amazing. Looked like a one man lay up line.

1967 Sweet Sixteen Championship Game CovCath vs. Earlington.....

 

Seconds left in the game, CovCath up by one, Earlington takes the ball out from under the CovCath basket, Earlington dribbles down to just a little inside the mid court line shoots and misses but the ball just barley touches the front of the rim and instead of bouncing up and away from anyone, the ball lands into the hands of a surprised Earlington player who is between two CovCath players who are afraid of fouling the player, who then puts it in for the win as the horn sounds.

 

Remember listening to this one on the radio as a kid.

After I started making this and realized that it would be harder than I thought. In no particular weight or order, I based the rankings on:

- Quality of the game (i.e., 2004 Warren Central vs. Covington Catholic Semi),

- Excitement & atmosphere at the game (i.e., 1998 Lexington Catholic vs. Scott County Semi),

- Anticipation & build-up (i.e., 1999 Scott County vs. Madison Central Quarter),

- Star power in the games (i.e., 2003 Ballard vs. Rose Hill Quarter),

- Finish to the game (i.e., 2009 Holmes vs. Central Final) &

- Stakes of the game (i.e., 2011 Christian County vs. Rowan County)

 

Anyway, here goes:

 

 

Top 3:

Holmes vs. Central (2009 Finals)

Lexington Catholic vs. Scott County (1998 Quarters)

PRP vs. Ballard (2005 Quarters)

 

Good Games, High Stakes:

Mason County vs. Scott County (2004 Semis)

Elizabethtown vs. Russellville (2000 Semis)

Mason County vs. Trinity (2004 Quarters)

Warren Central vs. Covington Catholic (2004 Semis)

South Laurel vs. PRP (2005 Semis)

Christian County vs. Rowan County (2011 Finals)

Lafayette vs. Male (2001 Finals)

Scott County vs. Ballard (2007 Finals)

Lexington Catholic vs. PRP (1998 Quarters)

 

Thrillers:

PRP vs. Pendleton County (2005 First Round)

Eastern vs. Warren Central (2011 First Round)

George Rogers Clark vs. Christian County (2007 Quarters)

Elliott County vs. Shelby Valley (2009 Quarters)

Scott County vs. Paducah Tilghman (1999 Semis) ***Infamous game

South Laurel vs. Male (2001 Quarters)

Hopkinsville vs. Daviess County (2003 Quarters)

Ballard vs. Henderson County (1999 Semis)

Scott County vs. Highlands (1998 Quarters)

 

Last Tier:

Holmes vs. Elliott County (2009 Semis)

South Laurel vs. Campbell County (2001 First Round)

Ballard vs. Rose Hill (2003 Quarters)

St. Henry vs. Mason County (2003 First Round)

*Henderson County vs. Highlands (1999 First Round)

Henderson County vs. Muhlenburg North (1999 Quarters)

Paducah Tilghman vs. PRP (1999 Quarters)

Warren Central vs. Henry Clay (2005 Semis)

Male vs. Warren Central (2002 Quarters)

Fairdale vs. Madisonville North-Hopkins (2001 First Round)

 

 

 

As a kid, really loved watching the Jared Lorenzen and Derek Smith teams from Fort Thomas Highlands play as well. Seeing Lorenzen grab the ball out of the net and stand flat-footed and throw a full court pass to a streaking Derek Smith was something else.

 

Probably the most hyped match-up coming into the game that I can remember is the 1999 Quarters where Scott County and Madison Central seemed to be on a collision course. Paducah Tilghman and PRP also had a good game in that session. If I’m not mistaken, this is one of the most attended sessions in tournament history.

 

I was at the Henderson/Highlands game in 99 and when Lorenzen threw the ball almost full court everybody in the Henderson student section thought it was going in. Great game. All three of Henderson's games were great that year. I especially remember the Muhlenberg North game, not only because it was a great game but also because during the game Ballard's team came walking through and we were all in awe of how big they were. We didn't give our guys a chance but we should have won that game as well and probably the state championship because Scott County was banged up. Overall having been to the state tournament every year since then, that was the best Sweet Sixteen I've been to.

The 1982 Finals between Laurel Co. and North Hardin. Game was tied late in the 4th qtr and Laurel Co was holding the ball for the last shot and turned it over with just a few seconds left. North Hardin tried a length of the court pass to 6'10 Brett Burrow. Paul Andrews leaped in front of Burrow to grab the ball then took 2 or 3 dribbles and launched a shot from the North Hardin side of halfcourt. Nothing but net as the buzzer went off and Laurel Co won the championship.

The 1982 Finals between Laurel Co. and North Hardin. Game was tied late in the 4th qtr and Laurel Co was holding the ball for the last shot and turned it over with just a few seconds left. North Hardin tried a length of the court pass to 6'10 Brett Burrow. Paul Andrews leaped in front of Burrow to grab the ball then took 2 or 3 dribbles and launched a shot from the North Hardin side of halfcourt. Nothing but net as the buzzer went off and Laurel Co won the championship.

 

I spoke with a guy once who was there and he said "it was quiet, almost still, for like a second, then the roof just blew off the arena."

 

Is that a fair representation? I would love to have seen it (unfortunately I was only six months old when it happened)!

This one doesn't qualify as one of the greatest games by any stretch but it holds a special place in ol' papa's heart.

 

2006 quarters, Mason County vs. Apollo. Mason had already upset Clark County in the regional finals and Warren Central in the opening round of the Sweet 16. They would lose this game to Apollo, who went on to the final game that year. But a little story unfolded in the quarterfinal game that I have repeated many times.

 

About 3 or 4 minutes before halftime one of those National Guard guys started talking to my daughter. She was sitting a couple of rows in front of us with her boyfriend at the time, a basketball player from Lawrence County who had never been to Rupp Arena and was kind of google-eyed taking everything in. We didn't know what was going on. Turns out that the Guard guy took her down to the floor; she was picked as one of the fans to participate in the halftime shootout. Although her "team" didn't win and neither did Mason County, she and I can always say that she scored several baskets on the Rupp Arena floor. Memory of a lifetime.