Covington Catholic 71 Lloyd Memorial 67

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

The Colonels swept Lloyd tonight, winning the freshman, JV and varsity games tonight in Park Hills.

The varsity game was really enjoyable to watch. The Juggs jumped out to an early lead in the 1Q with the Colonels fighting back and leading at the end of 1. Then Lloyd gets the lead back going into halftime, and extend their lead to 7 early in the 3Q but Cov Cath fought back to lead it by 7 at the end of 3Q. EJ Walker hit two really clutch threes late in the game to keep Lloyd in it, but Cov Cath pulls out the win.

 

 

[Hollywood23]

Nobody in the 9th region was stopping Ej Walker tonight. Lloyd needs that inside performance from him more often and not hanging around the 3 point line. They are a very dangerous team but kudos to CovCath for staying the course and hitting big shots

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

12 minutes ago, Hollywood23 said:

Nobody in the 9th region was stopping Ej Walker tonight. Lloyd needs that inside performance from him more often and not hanging around the 3 point line. They are a very dangerous team but kudos to CovCath for staying the course and hitting big shots

30 points tonight. Big game from the big man!

[theguru]

Credit to Dale Dawn.

[Breds82]

What was the free throw percentage for each team? Lloyd seem to miss a bunch. 

[Hollywood23]

2 hours ago, Breds82 said:

What was the free throw percentage for each team? Lloyd seem to miss a bunch. 

5/13 for Lloyd and 9/19 Cov Cath both teams shot terrible from the charity stripe. 15 turnovers for Lloyd really hurt them and changed the momentum multiple times. 

[GoBucks97]

1 hour ago, Hollywood23 said:

5/13 for Lloyd and 9/19 Cov Cath both teams shot terrible from the charity stripe. 15 turnovers for Lloyd really hurt them and changed the momentum multiple times. 

Which is how CCH would beat them 7/10 times. No coincidence EJ dominated inside, Colonels don't really have that inside presence. But they have a lot of skill and athleticism that can speed the game up, which explains all the turnovers. 

[Hollywood23]

14 minutes ago, GoBucks97 said:

Which is how CCH would beat them 7/10 times. No coincidence EJ dominated inside, Colonels don't really have that inside presence. But they have a lot of skill and athleticism that can speed the game up, which explains all the turnovers. 

Anybody that was at the game last night knows that 7/10 times is absurd. Lloyd is also still without Collins and Blaackar had an unusual “off game” he’s been steadfast this season averaging 17 ppg.  

[Nkybballfan23]

31 minutes ago, Hollywood23 said:

Anybody that was at the game last night knows that 7/10 times is absurd. Lloyd is also still without Collins and Blaackar had an unusual “off game” he’s been steadfast this season averaging 17 ppg.  

This right here is exactly right. Collins is a good ball handler and would definitely help with the turnover issue Lloyd had last night. And Blaackar had 4 or 5 turnovers which never happens for him from what he seen. I would say if these teams play 10 times each team wins 5/10. It’s not like Cov Cath is an easy place to play at. 

[The Oracle]

2 hours ago, Hollywood23 said:

Anybody that was at the game last night knows that 7/10 times is absurd. Lloyd is also still without Collins and Blaackar had an unusual “off game” he’s been steadfast this season averaging 17 ppg.  

Did Blaackar have an off game, or is it possible that when they played a very skilled team like CCH, they were able to cover him well and keep him from scoring his average? It's no secret that CCH's team is lacking in the height department. Maybe their gameplan was to swamp Blaackar all night, taking out one of Lloyd's top 2 scorers and forcing them to have to go to Walker instead.

A lot of the comments seem to point to this being Lloyd mysteriously losing the game somehow and don't address the fact that a very good CCH team won the game.

[Runcible Owl]

Great game, and at this point between evenly matched teams. Would love to see a Round 2.

Walker with 30 and an impressive inside/outside effort - power dunks and his soft touch baseline threes late in Q4. I'll be following the Gamecocks next season.

Collins for Lloyd was mentioned by @Hollywood23 and @Nkybballfan23. I'm unfamiliar. Can anyone tell us when he's expected to return? Injury? Did he play last year?

Harney's clutch 6/6 FT in the final minutes needed to seal the win. 

Colonels shot 80% FG and 83 % 3pt in the second half. They needed to, Lloyd went 57/57 % for the game. 

Nolan Ruthsatz continues to be the "X" factor for CCH. Perfect from the field last night, team's #2 rebounder for the season, and does a lot that doesn't show up on a stat sheet. All-tourney team at Ram Jam last weekend too. 

Game stats for both at the links below:

🔗 scoreboard/khsaa/CCH_vs_Lloyd 

🔗 scoreboard/khsaa/Lloyd _vs_CCH

[Cov_Cath_Hwy]

9 hours ago, The Oracle said:

Did Blaackar have an off game, or is it possible that when they played a very skilled team like CCH, they were able to cover him well and keep him from scoring his average? It's no secret that CCH's team is lacking in the height department. Maybe their gameplan was to swamp Blaackar all night, taking out one of Lloyd's top 2 scorers and forcing them to have to go to Walker instead.

A lot of the comments seem to point to this being Lloyd mysteriously losing the game somehow and don't address the fact that a very good CCH team won the game.

This is exactly what I wanted to say.  Not taking away from Walker’s performance at all in anyway, but an undersized CCH Squad played better and had a better gameplan and won.  A ton, repeat a ton of credit goes to Coach Thelen for developing a great game plan, adjusting in-game, and then coaching the team up. McGillis put the team on his shoulders mid-way through the 3rd and was unguardable for a stretch until Harney (his work at the charity stripe over the last minute of the game going 6-6 was a master class) and Stewart (with the most clutch 3 trey’s I have ever seen) brought it home. Lloyd gave the Colonels everything they could handle and straight played their butts off and lost not due to a bad game, but by being outplayed in a close game with an absolute electric atmosphere for a Friday night in a high school gym.

[GoBucks97]

You guys do realize Cooper and CCH year in and year out have the best defenses? They pressure the best, they collectively guard the best, they create turnovers. It's a culture built off good habits and intensity, so yeah I'm taking CCH 7/10 against this team. Better coached and played harder as well, not to mention have the best offensive weapon in the region maybe outside of Andy Johnson.

[GoBucks97]

Acting like Lloyd is all a sudden on par because of 1 player and a solid roster is kinda odd. EJ is a stud D1 player but just now gaining the mentality to completely overtake games. CCH's wins this year and their schedule speak for themselves, along with recent history. I actually think CCH is heavy regional favorites after their play in some tournaments this year against stiff competition! Obviously Lloyd, Cooper, and Newport would be that group who could upset.

[Cov_Cath_Hwy]

Cooper worries me as always…..that will be a slugfest.