Lexington Christian (4-19) vs. Sayre (8-14)   Feb. 26th

Coach Robert Newton's Lexington Christian Academy squad pulled away from a 29-27 lead at the end of three quarters to defeat Sayre by a score of 61-46.  Lexington Christian was led tonight by 6-1 Jr. John-Michael Holtmann with 19 points.  6-3 Jr. David Toth and 6-2 Jr. Tom Bower added 14 and 13 points respectively.  Coach Gene Kirk's Sayre squad was led by 6-3 So. Hunter Simms with 18 points.
 

Lexington Christian	9	16	4	32	-	61
Sayre	2	9	16	19	-	46

Lexington Christian	(61) -	Holtmann 19, Toth 14, Vogel 7, McKee 1, Bower 13, Griffith 4, Breaux 3.
Sayre	(46) -	Tew 3, Vandegrift 6, Waterfield 6, Simms 18, Porter 8, Teater 5.

Semifinal No. 1  West Jessamine (9-17) vs. East Jessamine (21-5)  Feb. 27th

West Jessamine County coach Tim Peterson started the following lineup:   6-1 Sr. Adam Gilchrest, 6-3 Sr. Travis Spann, 6-4 So. Scott Tarvin, 6-1 So. Cameron Jackson, and 5-8 So. Daniel Thompson.   East Jessamine coach Chris O'Bryan countered with 6-3 Jr. Butch Jointer, 6-1 Jr. Gordon Duke, 6-5 Sr. Chad Gilpin, 5-10 Jr. Brandon Waford, and 5-10 Sr. Josh Reho.

West Jessamine led 30-19 early in the second period before East Jessamine went on a 16-7 run to close within 2, 37-35, at halftime.  East Jessamine tied the game 49-49 but West Jessamine went on a 12-0 run to close the third quarter with a 61-49 cushion.  East Jessamine roared back in the final period and finally took a 75-74 lead on a Gordon Duke steal and dunk with approximately 30 seconds remaining on the clock.  East Jessamine closed out the scoring with a free throw after a West Jessamine turnover to make the final score 76-74.

Butch Jointer led a balanced East Jessamine attack with 16 points. Gordon Duke added 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Josh Reho chipped in with 15 points and 10 assists while 5-8 Jr. Steven Wayne came off the bench to score added 15 points on 6-6 field goal shooting.  West Jessamine was led tonight by Travis Spann with 20 points. Scott Tarvin, Daniel Thompson and Cameron Jackson added 17, 13, and 11 points respectively.
 

West Jessamine	21	16	24	13	-	74
East Jessamine	12	23	14	17	-	76

West Jessamine	(74) -	Gilchrest 5, T. Spann 20, Tarvin 17, Jackson 11, Thompson 13, Miller 2, N. Johnson 2, B. Spann 4.
East Jessamine	(76) -	Jointer 16, Duke 15, Gilpin 0, Waford 5, Reho 15, Wade 8, Wayne 15, Hunt 2.

Semifinal No. 2  Lexington Christian (5-19) vs. Lexington Catholic (21-7)  Feb. 28th

Danny Haney's Lexington Catholic Knights routed Lexington Christian 105-65 to advance to the 42nd district title game.  Lexington Catholic was led tonight by 5-10 Sr. Joey Wilson and 5-9 So. Brian Smith with 20 and 19 points respectively.  Lexington Christian was led tonight by 6-3 Jr. David Toth and 6-1 Jr. John-Michael Holtmann with 19 and 18 points respectively.
 

Lexington Christian	10	24	19	12	-	65
Lexington Catholic	30	28	19	28	-	105

Lexington Christian	(65) -	Holtmann 18, Haffley 3, Toth 19, Vogel 8, Morris 2, Anderson 3, Wiley 2, Bower 4, Griffith 4, Breaux 2.
Lexington Catholic	(105) -	Smith 19, Wolford 10, Wilson 20, Woody 10, Green 10, Hillenmeyer 3, H. Morton 6, R. Morton 8, Heissenbuttel 10, Nichols 5, Bell 4.

Championship  East Jessamine (22-5) vs. Lexington Catholic (22-7)   Mar. 2nd

East Jessamine coach Chris O'Bryan started the following lineup:  6-3 Jr. Butch Jointer, 6-1 Jr. Gordon Duke, 6-2 Jr. Corey Wade, 5-10 Jr. Brandon Waford, and 5-10 Sr. Josh Reho.  Lexington Catholic coach Danny Haney countered with 6-3 Fr. Demetrius Green, 6-4 Jr. Ryan Morton, 5-9 So. Brian Smith, 5-11 Sr. Clay Wolford, and 6-3 Sr. Brendon Woody.

Lexington Catholic pulled away in the closing minutes of the final period to defeat East Jessamine by a score of  75-64.  East Jessamine got on track early and led 19-14 at the end of the first quarter.  Catholic turned up the pressure on defense and went on an 11-0 run to take a 25-19 lead.  Lexington Catholic led 31-29 at halftime.  East Jessamine took a 38-35 lead in the third quarter but Catholic pulled ahead 49-44 at the end of the quarter.  East Jessamine pulled to within 58-55 in the final period before Lexington Catholic made their final run.

Lexington Catholic was led tonight by Brendon Woody with 18 points. Demetrius Green, Ryan Morton, and Brian Smith added 14, 13, and 12 points respectively.  6-5 Sr. Jack Heissenbuttel also chipped in with 10 points.  East Jessamine was led by Butch Jointer with 24 points and 8 rebounds.  Gordon Duke added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
 

East Jessamine	19	10	15	20	-	64
Lexington Catholic	14	17	18	26	-	75

East Jessamine	(64) -	Jointer 24, Duke 13, Wade 11, Waford 4, Reho 6, Richardson 1, Wayne 3, Gilpin 2.
Lexington Catholic	(75) -	Green 14, R. Morton 13, Smith 12, Wolford 3, Woody 18, H. Morton 3, Heissenbuttel 10, Bell 2.

All Tournament Team
 

John-Michael Holtmann	Jr.	Lexington Christian
Travis Spann	Sr.	West Jessamine
Grayson Vandegrift	Sr.	Sayre
Butch Jointer	Jr.	East Jessamine
Gordon Duke	Jr.	East Jessamine
Brian Smith	So.	Lexington Catholic
Clay Wolford	Sr.	Lexington Catholic
Brendon Woody	Sr.	Lexington Catholic

Conclusion

Congratulations to both the champion Lexington Catholic Knights and the runner-up East Jessamine Jaguars who both will advance to the 11th region tournament.  Lexington Catholic appears to be peaking at the right time and their pressure defense wears teams down in the final period.  Coach Haney has done a great job of blending some very talented newcomers with his returning veterans.  The Knights look to Clay Wolford for leadership and to fully appreciate Clay read the entire stat line -- not just points.

East Jessamine coach Chris O'Bryan has done a great job with East Jessamine this year and utilizes a deep rotation of players.  Butch Jointer is very athletic with the ability to score both inside and out.

Once again, a special thanks to the WL Stats crew for providing a very comprehensive stats sheet.   This crew is from Berea, and like all the others, did a wonderful job.

Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the tournament, teams, or players to me at  prephoops@yahoo.com .