'Really happy for the kids': Newport defeats Evangel Christian in All 'A' championship

In back-to-back days, the Newport Wildcats conquered the demons that haunted them earlier this season.

At the King of the Bluegrass tournament, the Wildcats lost close games to Great Crossing and Trinity, two of the top-ranked teams in the state. In the last two days, they beat Lyon County and Evangel Christian by a combined nine points.

They needed overtime to defeat Evangel Christian, 69-62, and win their first All "A" state championship, a sign of the progress this team has made.

"This is awesome. I think it's really special for all the people that put in all the work and time in. Of course, I'm happy, and I'm really happy for the kids," Newport head coach Rod Snapp said.

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A dazzling debut

It was the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Eagles. The Eagles, who were in the small-school state championship for the second straight season, expected a repeat. Evangel Christian head coach Larry Miller wasn't happy with the result but applauded his team's effort in making the title game.

"I was glad to coach against an outstanding team and both teams played great. If we played like this all the way through the tournament, we might have had some gas," Miller said. "They're just an outstanding team. They don't turn the ball over, very well coached and just an excellent champion."

The game was defined by scoring droughts and spurts. Evangel scored the first five points of the game before Newport rattled off 10 straight. Leading 42-36 in the fourth quarter, Jabari Covington converted a three-point play to help the Wildcats to a 47-38 lead. The Eagles responded with a 16-7 lead to tie the game with a minute left to send it to overtime.

"I'm proud of my players," Miller said.

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Unselfishly feeding the hot hand

Newport had three different players step up when it needed a boost.

James Turner scored 11 of the Wildcats' 13 points in the second quarter, finishing the game with 16. His last six quarters of play, against both Lyon County and Evangel, yielded 20 points and 20 rebounds and earned him all-tournament honors.

"My motor just kicked in. I wasn't really finishing that well around the basket, so I just decided to crash the boards as hard as I could," Turner said.

Covington converted a total of three three-point plays to establish separation in the second half. He also scored six points in overtime to finish the game with 22 points and six rebounds.

Speaking of overtime, Taylen Kinney opened the stanza with a corner three, then had a breakaway layup for a 3-point play. Nine of his 18 points came in the extra four minutes. Playing through an ankle injury, Kinney said his ankle felt the worst it had all week. He played through it and was rewarded with a trophy.

"It was bad today, but I knew it wasn't gonna fall off. Everyone was telling me that I had to play through it. These 32 minutes, I just played my all," Kinney said.

For Evangel, senior Kyran Tilley led all scorers with 28 points, including six three-pointers. Every time the Eagles were in a hole, his shooting helped them climb out of it. Tilley has stepped up in the past when leading scorer Christian Doerr missed time with an injury. He did the same when Doerr fouled out in Sunday's game.

"He's a big-time player, and he practices hard. He's the best practice player I've had since I left Cincinnati Woodward in 1988-1989, so that's a long time ago," Miller said.

Newport's DeShaun Jackson was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 10.3 points and 3.8 rebounds over four games. His contributions to his team were more than numbers could measure as he displayed hustle and passion in each game when the going got tough.

"We definitely know that we can compete with everybody. We had a couple losses that we shouldn't have had but we just hope we can make a big run in the bigger tournament," Jackson said.

What's next for Newport and Evangel Christian?

The Wildcats have a few days off before playing district-seeding games against Bellevue on Jan. 31 and Newport Central Catholic on Feb. 7.

Evangel doesn't return to the court until Friday, Feb. 2, when they face Madison Central. The Eagles then travel to Owensboro to play Muhlenburg County the next day.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: KHSAA boys basketball: Newport wins 2024 All 'A' state title