Camron McDaniels rallies Jeffersontown, keeps dreams of Sixth Region three-peat alive

Thanks to a strong second-half performance by Camron McDaniels, Jeffersontown's dream to three-peat in the Sixth Region Tournament remains a reality.

Behind McDaniels’ game-high 26 points, the Chargers rallied for a 51-45 quarterfinal victory against Butler on Tuesday night.

McDaniels scored 15 points in the second half and 10 in the fourth quarter to lead Jeffersontown.

“I'm just built for this,” McDaniels said. “My confidence is at an all-time high.”

Chargers coach Richard Duncan Jr. has seen this type of performance before, he said.

“Cam and I have been through a lot of wars together, man,” Duncan said of the junior guard. “He knows what I expect of him. Cam is a big-time big-time player. I (knew) he'll step up in that second half. If given the opportunity, he will make them,” Duncan said.

Duncan said he has talked to his team about what it would mean to be the region champion for the third consecutive year.

“Absolutely, everybody, everybody wants to make history,” Duncan said.

“To be able to put your name next to those guys (Pleasure Ridge Park) would be an awesome accomplishment.”

Jeffersontown is trying to become the first team to achieve the feat since Pleasure Ridge Park did it from 2004-06.It didn’t appear that things would go the Chargers’ way after they trailed, 31-23, at halftime.

The Bears grabbed an early lead behind the sharp shooting of sophomore guard Santana Anderson, who made four 3-pointers in the first half, including a last-second 3-pointer to end the first quarter.

Anderson, who averages 4.2 points per game, finished with 16 points.

“In the first half, adversity hit. We got really selfish and started looking for our own shot instead of looking for the best shot of the team,” Duncan said. “Then defensively, we just had to sit down and defend a really good offensive team that can beat you off the dribble.”

In the third quarter, the Chargers (16-16) switched to a full-court press and held the Bears to seven points.

The Chargers went on an 11-2 run to cut the Bears' lead to two.

In addition to the press, Duncan said the Chargers switched their defensive focus from Butler scoring leaders Dontre Russell and Dayton Williams to Anderson.

In the second half, Jeffersontown focused on keeping Anderson from making 3-pointers.

After a 14-point first half, Anderson was held to two points.

In the fourth quarter, McDaniels knocked down a 3-pointer with 7:31 left to put the Chargers ahead, 39-38. It was the Chargers’ first lead since the first quarter.

Williams had a team-high 17 points for the Bears (14-17).

JEFFERSONTOWN 10 13 13 15– 51

BUTLER 13 18 7 7 - 45

Jeffersontown (16-16) – Camron McDaniels 26, Damere Clark 10, Jaylen Ellis 6, Gabriel Cruz-Rivera 5, Jayden Miles 2, Omarie Cox 2.

Butler (14-17) – Dayton Williams 17, Santana Anderson 16, Ryder Robinson 6, Dontre Russell 6.

Evangel Christian 75, Holy Cross 60

Kyran Tilley scored 28 points to lead the No. 9-ranked Eagles (27-6) over the visiting Cougars (20-12).

Christian Doerr scored 17 points and Davier White added 16 for Evangel, which advanced to the regional semifinals for the third straight season.

Mike Loftis hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 27 points to lead Holy Cross.

HOLY CROSS 7 20 15 18 – 60

EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 19 14 23 19 - 75

Holy Cross (20-12) – Mason Miles 2, Andre Woods 11, Wes Meiman 2, Mike Loftis 27, Jacob Hand 7, Alex Jenkins 6, Cameron Myers 5.

Evangel Christian (27-6) – Johnny Djema 6, Christian Doerr 17, Brayden Trice 2, Ben Mukadi 2, Kyran Tilley 28, Isaiah Chitapa 4, Davier White 16.

Fairdale 87, Moore 72

Cameron Croney scored 22 points and Jacob Tucker added 21 to lead the host Bulldogs (27-6) over the Mustangs (17-13).

Dalton Hicks pitched in 18 points for Fairdale, which will face DeSales at noon Saturday in a regional semifinal at Valley.

The Bulldogs shot 54.4% from the field (37 of 68) and totaled 21 assists. Tucker led the way with seven.

Dashawn Hall scored 20 points to lead Moore.

MOORE 13 17 21 21 - 72

FAIRDALE 20 21 22 24 - 87

Moore (17-13) – Dayvone Harrison 8, Jacob Forney 7, Dashawn Hall 20, Sean Anderson 5, Jonathon Thomas 15, Jerry Bartlett 6, Bruce Sweeney 9, Marco Harris 2.

Fairdale (27-6) – Cameron Croney 22, Damon Howard 3, Dalton Hicks 18, Joe Hurt 11, Jacob Tucker 21, Jarel Butler 2, Blake Russell 2, Brandon Smith 8.

DeSales 71, Fern Creek 50

The Colts (24-9) hit seven 3-pointers in the first quarter on their way to a 27-10 lead and never looked back in a victory over the visiting Tigers (13-14).

Brady Cummins and Damone King both hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter. Cummins finished with a game-high 18 points, and King added 17.

Noah Glover scored 16 points to lead Fern Creek.

FERN CREEK 10 15 9 16 - 50

DESALES 27 13 22 9 – 71

Fern Creek (13-14) – Tahj Boston 7, Noah Glover 16, Jordon Brown 3, Julian Bunton 11, Jordon Bender 2, Naz Shahid-Stevenson 5, Kaden Martin 4, Britain Clark 2.

DeSales (24-9) – Prince Kahnplaye 6, Cam Bischoff 3, Brady Cummins 18, DaVon Martin 2, Logan Tharp 4, Landon Thompson 9, Damone King 17, Will Gibson 10, Brandon Williams 2.

Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA basketball: Jeffersontown bounces Butler in Sixth Region game