3rd Region Championship Predictions?

Owensboro(18-10) v Owensboro Catholic(28-5) - This is round 4 of this 9th District match-up! The Aces won round 1 in OT, 80-78.  They put together a furious 2nd half come back together to get the game into overtime where the Devils were without Kenyatta Carbon due to fouling out.  The game was an instant classic.  Round 2 was dominated Catholic, as they won by 20.  Round 3 took place in the district championship and saw an Owensboro team that started to take their game to another level.  The Devils won by 14.

Owensboro entered the postseason struggling, only going 4-7 after Christmas break. Since entering the postseason, Coach Drake shortened his bench and found rotations that have worked very well together.  He has gotten great defensive minutes from Ji Webb and much better spacing on offense to help them go 22-54 from beyond the arc.  Kenyatta Carbon has taken his game up a notch, putting up 25 ppg in the postseason 

The Aces are on the opposite side of that coin, as they have not been at their best in the postseason.  They benefited from playing Apollo, Edmonson and Breck on their way to the regional championship. Brian Griffith is averaging 21 ppg.  Owensboro Catholic will need big games from their role players in Bikeman, Gray and Eblehar.  If those 3 can knock down some shots beyond the arc, it will keep this game within striking distance.

The Coaching match-up is an interesting one.  Tim Riley is in his 8^th season, has 2 regional titles and a total record of 169-95 at Catholic.  He is 20-5 in 3^rd region elimination games.  Against the Devils though, he is only 5-19 and 3-4 in the postseason.  That said, he is 3-0 against Owensboro in elimination games.  State Championship winning Coach Rod Drake is in his 15^th season.  He has 3 regional titles & a state title in 2015.  His overall record at Owensboro is 264-159.

PREDICTION - Owensboro 66 - Owensboro Catholic 54