Jack Armstrong keys Spencer County's rally in upset over No. 6 Male at King of Bluegrass
Winless in two previous trips to the Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic, the Spencer County High School boys basketball team finally broke through in a big way Tuesday.
Jack Armstrong’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left completed the Bears’ rally in a 63-61 victory over No. 6-ranked Male in the opener of the 42nd annual tournament at Fairdale.
Spencer County went 0-3 in the tournament in 2018 and 2022.
“It’s huge because it’s our first King of the Bluegrass win and a big win in general,” Armstrong said.“It feels good.”
Armstrong was one of three Bears to score 15 points, joining Luke Erhardt and Camden Cox. Keaton Baird added 14 points. Spencer County will face Fairdale in Thursday’s 6 p.m. quarterfinal.
The Bears (4-4) were the only team in the 16-team King of the Bluegrass field to enter with a losing record.
“We haven’t played a lick of defense,” coach Jason Burns said. “We got after it a little bit tonight, especially at the end. You could tell we were a little more locked in than we have been.”
Cole Edelen scored 16 points to lead Male (5-2), which shot 22.2% from 3-point range (6 of 27). Still, the Bulldogs led, 56-45, early in the fourth quarter before Spencer County rallied.
Male coach Tim Haworth said a lack of conditioning — especially from several key players making the transition from football season — has been an issue in the fourth quarter all season.
“It’s hard when you come from football,” he said. “It takes a good five or six weeks. It’s going to be mid-January before we start playing really well, but we have to find ways to win these close games right now.”
Armstrong hit two free throws with 2:03 left to tie the score at 60. Male’s Terrence Hall hit a free throw to make it 61-60 with 50.5 seconds left, setting up Armstrong’s game-winner.
Entering the game, Armstrong was 3 for 10 from 3-point range this season.
“I felt really confident,” he said. “It was just another shot, but I knew as soon as that one came off my hand it was going in. It was a great game, a good team win.”
Burns said he wasn’t surprised by Armstrong’s shot.
“We’ve got a bunch of them that come in at 6:30 every morning,” he said. “It’s no coincidence they’re the best shooters in the gym.”
SPENCER COUNTY 15 13 13 22 – 63
MALE 11 19 21 10 – 61
Spencer County (4-4) — Luke Erhardt 15, Keaton Baird 14, Drew Barron 4, Jack Armstrong 15, Camden Cox 15.
Male (5-2) — Cole Edelen 16, Keashawn Jordan 6, Antonio Harris 2, Max Gainey 12, Landon Cowan 6, Terrence Hall 6, Jayson Gasaway 13.
Fairdale 70, Taylor County 67
Brandon Smith’s 3-pointer from the left corner gave the Bulldogs (8-1) the lead for good, 66-65, with 2:02 remaining. It was just the third 3-pointer of the season for Smith.
“He’s one of our glue dudes,” first-year Bulldogs coach John Hunt said of Smith. “He just kind of does whatever we ask, and he’s not scared of it. I don’t have any problem with him shooting that shot.”
Dalton Hicks led Fairdale with 21 points, and Joseph Hurt added 18.
Smith, a 6-foot-6 senior, finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. He sank two free throws with 22.8 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 70-67 lead.
Taylor County (6-4) had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but C.J. Johnson’s 3-point attempt was short.
Johnson scored 27 points to lead the Cardinals. Layken Lyons added 21 points and seven rebounds for Taylor County, which trailed 44-34 at halftime but rallied for a 57-56 lead entering the final quarter.
TAYLOR COUNTY 15 19 23 10 – 67
FAIRDALE 20 24 12 14 – 70
Taylor County (6-4) —Jalen Gribbins 8, C.J. Johnson 27, Layken Lyons 21, Jackson Wise 2, Keeton Clements 7, Bryten Close 2.
Fairdale (8-1) — Cameron Croney 6, Dalton Hicks 21, Joseph Hurt 18, Jacob Tucker 6, Blake Russell 4, Brandon Smith 15.
Great Crossing 64, North Oldham 61
The No. 2-ranked Warhawks (7-0) rallied from a 55-49 hole with 38.9 seconds left to force overtime and then pulled out the victory over the Mustangs (7-1).
“Honestly, we just really did dumb things,” North Oldham coach David Levitch said.
North Oldham missed two free throws in the final 30 seconds of regulation, and Vince Dawson’s basket tied the score at 57 with five seconds left, forcing overtime.
Junius Burrell nailed two free throws with 22.2 seconds left in the extra period to give Great Crossing a 64-61 lead. North Oldham had a final shot to tie, but Brooks Cargould’s 3-point try was off.
Malachi Moreno, a 7-foot-1 junior center, led Great Crossing with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Burrell added 16 points. The Warhawks will face the Newport-Washington County winner in Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
Grant Neal scored 23 points to lead North Oldham, which shot 26.7% from 3-point range (8 for 30) and 35.8% overall.
“I thought we’d be in the game,” Levitch said. “I didn’t know we’d be up with 30 seconds left and then lose. Losing sucks, but now we know we’re right there with some of the best teams.”
NORTH OLDHAM 10 12 13 22 4 - 61
GREAT CROSSING 12 9 9 27 7 - 64
North Oldham (7-1) — Grant Neal 23, Gray Schmittel 5, Brooks Cargould 9, Ryan Howard 6, Jack Fischer 6, Jakobi McRoberts 12.
Great Crossing (7-0) — L.J. Holman 3, Vince Dawson 9, Jaylen Warren 4, Junius Burrell 16, Gage Richardson 6, Christian Martin 2, Jeremiah Godfrey 4, Malachi Moreno 20.
DeSales 74, Frederick Douglass 62
Damone King posted 20 points and seven rebounds and the No. 14 Colts (8-2) shot a blistering 55.4% to beat the No. 5 Broncos (4-2).
Brady Cummins scored 18 points — hitting 4 of 5 3-point attempts — and Logan Tharp added 16 for DeSales, which will play the Little Rock Central-Chicago De La Salle winner in Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
DeSales jumped to a 20-10 lead after one quarter and led 34-18 midway through the second. The Broncos got within 57-52 with six minutes remaining but got no closer.
Armelo Boone scored 25 points to lead the Broncos. Sophomore DeMarcus Surratt, the Broncos’ second-leading scorer (16.2 ppg), missed the game with an illness.
DESALES 20 20 15 19 - 74
FREDERICK DOUGLASS 10 18 17 17 - 62
DeSales (8-2) — Prince Kahnplaye 2, Brady Cummins 18, Logan Tharp 16, Landon Thompson 8, Damone King 20, Will Gibson 10.
Frederick Douglass (4-2) — Armelo Boone 25, Aveion Chenault 14, Dakari Talbert 3, Terry Cayson 4, Travis Jones 8, Logan Busson 8.
More high school sports: Ex-Louisville star Brandon Dunn returning to Pleasure Ridge Park to lead its football team
Reach Jason Frakes at jfrakes@courier-journal.com and follow him on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: King of Bluegrass: Spencer County upsets No. 6 Male in opening game
