The roster has changed significantly since the beginning of the season, but the Fern Creek High School boys basketball team now finds itself exactly where it expected to be – in the hunt for the Sixth Region championship.
Displaying a renewed focus on defense, the Tigers bolted to an early lead and never looked back in a 60-50 victory over Bullitt East on Friday in the 24th District Tournament championship game at Mercy.
Fern Creek broke a three-year losing streak to Bullitt East in district finals and picked up its first district title since 2007.
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“It’s just a blessing,” said Tony Washington, the only senior starter on the team. “We won it for our coaches.”
And coach James Schooler said it also was for Anthony Wales, the sophomore guard who was lost for the season two weeks ago with a sports hernia. He was the second significant loss this season for the Tigers (18-12), who saw sophomore Trey Hill transfer to Pleasure Ridge Park in December.
“The guys love Wales so much that they rallied around him, and they wanted to do this for him,” Schooler said. “This one was for the community of Fern Creek and Anthony Wales, because he led us through so much.”
Three Tigers scored in double figures, led by Ahmad Price with 15 points. Daiquan Jones added 14 points, several coming after offensive rebounds, and Washington chipped in 12 points.
Tyler Sharpe, the Sixth Region Player of the Year, scored 20 points to lead the Chargers, No. 9 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings.
Bullitt East’s run of six straight district championships came to an end, but coach Bob Blackburn downplayed the significance of entering next week’s Sixth Region Tournament as a district runner-up.
“If you want to go to the state tournament and be the best, you have to beat the best,” Blackburn said. “We’re going to have to beat the best somewhere down the road anyway.”
After a slow start by both teams, Fern Creek showed it was the best Friday night during a dominant second quarter.
Jones scored four straight points and Washington capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer that gave Fern Creek an 18-9 lead at the 3:46 mark.
Bullitt East trailed 26-16 at halftime after making just five field goals over the first two quarters.
“We had OK shots; we didn’t have great shots,” Blackburn said. “There were a couple of shots we probably knock down most of the time. But Fern Creek gets all the credit. They’re the ones who ‘D’d’ up on us and hit the offensive glass. They’re the ones who contested shots.”
Schooler said the first half was a showcase for his team’s improved defense.
“We’ve been working on that, and the kids have been listening,” he said. “Whenever you listen and you’re coachable, things like this happen.”
Sharpe scored 11 points in the third quarter, but the Chargers couldn’t get closer than seven points because of eight second-chance points by the Tigers.
Blackburn said his guards’ inability to stop penetration left the Chargers’ big men out of position to get rebounds.
“Our rebounders were stepping up to stop the penetration, and we didn’t have the back row rebounding,” he said.
Konnor Polson’s layup pulled the Chargers within 45-37 with 4:15 left, but the Tigers responded with an 8-2 run that put the game away.
Fern Creek will host a district runner-up – Valley, DeSales or Moore – at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a Sixth Region quarterfinal.
“The ultimate goal is to win the community of Fern Creek a regional championships,” Schooler said. “That’s what we want to do.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
FERN CREEK 7 19 16 18 – 60
BULLITT EAST 7 9 17 17 – 50
Fern Creek (18-12) – Stanton 6, Price 15, Jones 14, Hawkins 2, Washington 12, Rogers 7, Owes 2, Childress 2.
Bullitt East (25-5) – Sharpe 20, Rakes 10, Polson 6, Klefot 7, Wilson 5, Farris 2.
3-point goals – Price, Washington 2; Sharpe, Wilson.