With return of Christian Doerr, Evangel Christian looks to repeat as All 'A' Classic champ
Set to defend its All “A” Classic state championship, the Evangel Christian boys basketball team got some uplifting news over the weekend.
Senior Christian Doerr, the Eagles’ leading scorer at 19.6 points per game, has received medical clearance to return to the team and will be eligible to play in the tournament opener at 9:30 p.m. Thursday against Kentucky Country Day.
Doerr suffered a broken hand Dec. 28 and has not played since. The 6-foot-3 guard has scholarship offers from Jacksonville State and Morehead State.
“That’s good news for him and the team,” Eagles coach Larry Miller said. “Him being out might have helped us a little bit in the long run because we developed a little more depth than we would have. Obviously, we didn’t want to see him get hurt or miss time because he’s had a really good senior year. We’re glad to have him back.”
Traditionally played at Eastern Kentucky University, this year’s All “A” Classic will be held at the Corbin Arena. EKU’s Alumni Coliseum is currently under construction.
All “A” events are open to the smallest high schools in Kentucky, based on enrollments in grades 9-12. A total of 121 schools are participating this school year.
Last year Evangel became the first Louisville school to win the All “A” boys title since the event started in 1980, beating Covington Holy Cross 65-62 in the final.
The Eagles lost three starters off that squad — including 6-11 Cyr Malonga, who’s now a freshman at East Carolina — but are 13-4 this season behind the play of Doerr and fellow senior guard Kyran Tilley (16.6 ppg). Evangel is ranked No. 12 in the state in the Kentucky High School Basketball Media Poll.
Miller said the Eagles have missed Malonga’s presence on the defensive end.
“We probably don’t have as good of team as we had last year, but we do have experience and that can help you win games,” Miller said. “I’ve been blessed to have (Doerr and Tilley). They’re really good players.”
Evangel goes eight-deep and has size that most All “A” competition can’t match with 6-8 senior Johnny Djema (7.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg), 6-8 junior Ben Mukadi (7.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and 6-4 freshman Davier White (9.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg).
“When we’ve been able to beat good teams it’s because we’ve controlled the offensive boards,” Miller said. “That’s a big key for us.”
Evangel is one of three ranked teams in the All “A” field and drew on the opposite side of the bracket from No. 2 Lyon County and No. 6 Newport.
Lyon County features University of Kentucky signee and Mr. Basketball frontrunner Travis Perry.
“Lyon is definitely the favorite,” Miller said. “They’re an outstanding team with three Division I players. … Lyon County consistently plays so much harder than most teams.”
On Thursday, Evangel will face a KCD squad that is 9-4 after beating Highlands Latin 63-52 for the All “A” Seventh Region title. Senior Cam Edwards, who has committed to play football at Western Illinois, leads the Bearcats in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg).
On the girls side, Whitefield Academy and Shawnee will represent Louisville.
Whitefield Academy (13-4) will open play at 10 a.m. Wednesday against defending champion and No. 11-ranked Covington Holy Cross (15-5). Whitefield reached the All “A” semifinals last year and features four players who average double-figures in scoring — seniors Allison Spieker (12.2 ppg) and Sara Ritter (10.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and juniors Noel Smith (11.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Gwynnie Franz (10.8 ppg).
Shawnee (10-3) qualified for the All “A” state tournament for the first time in program history and will face Danville Christian (16-1) at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Joining Covington Holy Cross as ranked teams in the girls field are No. 4 Pikeville and No. 6 Owensboro Catholic.
Here is the tournament schedule:
Girls
Wednesday – Cumberland County vs. Owsley County, 8:30 a.m.; Covington Holy Cross vs. Whitefield Academy, 10 a.m.; Mayfield vs. Walton-Verona, 11:30 a.m.; Nicholas County vs. Menifee County, 1 p.m.; Danville Christian vs. Shawnee, 5 p.m.; Bethlehem vs. Owensboro Catholic, 6:30 p.m.; Crittenden County vs. Lexington Christian, 8 p.m.; Harlan vs. Pikeville, 9:30 p.m.
Friday – Quarterfinals at 8:30, 10 and 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Saturday – Semifinals at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Sunday – Final, noon
Boys
Thursday – Sayre vs. Newport, 8:30 a.m.; Breathitt County vs. Danville Christian, 10 a.m.; Lyon County vs. Owensboro Catholic, 11:30 a.m.; Walton-Verona vs. Augusta, 1 p.m.; Clinton County vs. Raceland, 5 p.m.; Murray vs. Williamsburg, 6:30 p.m.; Pikeville vs. Caverna, 8 p.m.; Kentucky Country Day vs. Evangel Christian, 9:30 p.m.
Friday – Quarterfinals at 5, 6:30, 8 and 9:30 p.m.
Saturday – Semifinals at 4 and 5:30 p.m.
Sunday – Final, 2 p.m.
More high school sports: GRC, without Byars, enters girls LIT with same lofty expectations
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: All A Classic Kentucky: Evangel Christian basketball looks to repeat
