Things didn’t look so hot early in the game for defending Sixth Region boys’ basketball champion Bullitt East High School on Sunday. The Chargers struggled from the field, while Butler hit 8 of 14 from the field and built a 22-8 lead after one quarter.
But the Chargers’ defense took its toll.
The long and lanky lineup coach Troy Barr employs, with a lift from pesky guards Trey Rakes and Luke Francke, held Butler to 7 of 37 shooting for the rest of the game as the Chargers slowly chipped away and then pulled away for a 49-39 win before a packed house at Knights Hall on the Bellarmine campus.
“We struggled for shots and they had us confused,” Barr said. “We told our kids we had to lock them down on defense. They have been putting some points up and have three Division I players. Our guys did a great job.”
Bullitt East didn’t take a lead until Trey Rakes scored with 55.6 seconds left in the third quarter. The Chargers never trailed again and hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final quarter, including 10 of 12 in the final 2:08.
The Chargers’ defense held Butler to five points in the second and third quarters and just seven in the final period. Butler was 15 of 51 shooting in the game, including 5 of 27 (18.5 percent) in the second half.
“You can’t score five, five and seven and expect to win,” Butler coach Shawn Purlee said. “I thought we settled too much, we didn’t turn our offense over. The shots we were making in the first quarter we didn’t make the rest of the game.
“We were not patient enough, just digging in.”
Junior Derek Willis, a Kentucky commitment, led Bullitt East with 16 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots despite going 3 of 15 from the field. He was 1 of 5 on 3-pointers but was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
“My shot was not falling, so coach said get into the post,” Willis said. “I went down there and I got to the free-throw line.”
Junior Rusty Troutman finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and two steals. He had 12 points in the first half to keep the Chargers close, trailing 27-19 at the break.
Rakes and Francke are two quick guards who kept the Butler offense on its heels with defensive pressure. Both had three steals apiece in the game.
“Coach told us we had to keep (Demetrius) McReynolds and (Jalen) Palm out of the game as much as we could,” Troutman said. “We kept them in front of us and locked down.”
The Chargers (26-4) avenged a 63-52 loss from the King of the Bluegrass semifinals and will play Pleasure Ridge Park (26-6) in Tuesday’s 7 p.m. title game. Bullitt East whipped PRP 81-58 in last year’s regional final.
“It’s awesome and feels great,” Troutman said.
Palm led the Bears (16-14) with 14 points but was 2 of 10 after the first quarter. McReynolds missed his final 10 shots and finished with eight points and 12 boards.
Butler 22 5 5 7 - 39
Bullitt East 8 11 14 16 - 49
Butler (16-14) - McReynolds 8, Palm 10, Harbin 3, Woodford 4, Hunter 2, Hayden 2, Stewart 6.
Bullitt East (26-4) - Francke 2, Rakes 8, Troutman 16, Caufield 6, Willis 16.
3-point goals - Harbin 1, Palm 4, McReynolds 1.
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