Seeing their 13-point halftime lead cut to four, Daviess County didn’t blink. Instead, the Panthers’ response was an efficient onslaught. Jonathan Moss hit a tough basket and then followed that up with a three, Davyn Randolph splashed a pair of triples, and DeAaron Watkins’ dunk almost brought the gym down.
Pushing their lead to 17, Daviess County had no problem closing out Owensboro 72-57 and advancing to the 9th District Championship and securing their spot in the 3rd Region Tournament.
“I have a ton of respect for Coach Drake and Owensboro, and I knew they weren’t just going to fold at halftime,” Daviess County Head Coach Neil Hayden said. “We knew that and I thought the maturity of our guys handled it well. I thought our guys stayed poised and stuck to our gameplan.”
Despite the Red Devils DaMarcus Ganaway Jr. scoring six points in the opening quarter, Daviess County took an 18-13 lead into the second quarter, hitting four threes. In the second quarter, Watkins took over the game, hitting a pair of threes and dominating on the inside – scoring 10 of his team-high 20 points.
On the other end, Ganaway and Tre Shemwell kept the Red Devils in the game, combining for all 12 of their second-quarter points. Trailing 38-25 at halftime, Shemwell and Kade Arnold spurred the team’s attempted comeback. Arnold hit a pair of threes and scored eight of his game-high 21 points, while Shemwell utilized his athleticism on the inside. Cutting the lead to deficit to four, they ran out of steam and were unable to pull off the upset.
“We were right there, cut it to four, and had the ball,” Owensboro Head Coach Rod Drake said. “We missed a couple of put-backs, but we played hard, and I can’t take that away from them.”
Arnold finished with 21 points, Ganaway Jr. scored 14 points, and Shemwell added 10 points.
Watkins led the Panthers with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Moss finished with 19 points, six assists, four rebounds, one block, and one steal, and Michael Acton recorded 15 points and nine rebounds.
For Owensboro, their season has come to an end, and after the game, Drake announced his retirement to his team.
“Owensboro is my home. I went to school there, my daughters graduated from there, my entire family is there, and my mother worked in the OPS school system,” Drake said. “It is kind of bittersweet, but you need to know when it’s time.”
The Panthers are off till Friday as they await the winner of Apollo and Owensboro Catholic in tonight’s 9th District match.
