Final. Dogs advance to finals.
Pittman was the man down the stretch going 5-5 and scoring 6 straight to put the game out of reach.
Numbers:
Pittman- 18 pts, 9 rbs
R. Johnson- 15 pts, 9 rbs
Rice- 6 pts
J. Johnson- 5 pts, 9 rbs
Herndon- 5
Slusher- 2
Avery- 2
Boone:
Gabbard- 14 pts, 6 rbs, 6 ast
Earls- 11 pts
Brown- 7 pts
Montgomery- 5 pts
Lay- 4 pts
McQueary- 3 pts
Holmes had big double digit leads twice and boone chopped them both down and actually pulled ahead in the 4th quarter. Holmes then went on a run of there own to close the game out... Sadly I couldn't be there but I will be in attendence for sure tomorrow afternoon...
great game, very questionable officiating on both sides YIKES
holmes came out again on fire first quarter holding boone to 1 point for the majority of it, i think they finished with 6 at the end of 1.
holmes tried a 2-3 (i've hardly ever seen them outta m2m?) later in the game and stayed in it even after boone hit 2 or 3 threes...holmes has gotta start hitting the three ball more consistently.
scary how the lead slipped from the dawgs late in this one, but they came through, elijah had some big buckets, but ricardo was making the plays happen i feel like. just getting the ball around the rim and the putbacks were huge, especially eli's dunk (tech one).
let's hope the big three didn't expel all that energy, they played a lot of minutes, holmes didn't go deep hardly at all, hayes, avery and herndon didn't stay in long at all.
big free throws missed after that and i like how holmes didn't just stall ball and attacked the rim. boone played a heck of a game, gabbard's shots were huge.
gl holmes tomorrow!
Bulldogs came out on fire :flame: Up 32 -20 at halftime. 3rd qtr. it looked like they were taking a nap.:zzz: Boone Co. even took the lead by 1, two minutes into the 4th qtr. Then the big three took over, Pittmans TO was a very bad call. Dont know who the officials were in both games but :please: Can't wait until tomorrow. Holmes by 10+ Newport lacks a point guard. :1:
Congrats Holmes, you beat a team that kept coming back!
Re: "Great game, very questionable officiating on both sides YIKES ... Scary how the lead slipped from the dawgs late in this one, but they came through, elijah had some big buckets, but ricardo was making the plays happen i feel like. just getting the ball around the rim and the putbacks were huge, especially eli's dunk (tech one)."
Good analysis of the game. Third quarter and early part of 4th quarter was about as bad (offensively) as I've seen Holmes play all year. Reminded me of the entire second half in Bulldogs' loss to Ryle earlier in the season. No one was hitting anything for the Bulldogs in third quarter tonight. Actually, they might have been better off trying more treys than having Ricardo and Eli shoot 13-footers. The one constant in the game, though, was Holmes' defense. Boone scored 20 the first half, 24 the second half. And Boone played much better tonight than vs. NewCath.
Excellent game by Boone's point guard. He really elevated his game tonight compared to NewCath game.
Re: "very questionable officiating on both sides": I agree. Cotton for Boone County picked up two fouls in the first 50 seconds of the game. Wasn't a much of a factor after scoring the winning bucket vs. NewCath and limiting Pangallo to 2 points. By the way, it's my opinion that the hanging-on-the-rim-after-the-dunk technical on Eli in the 4th quarter was a makeup call for the T called on Boone coach in first quarter. I watched replay of the Eli dunk on ICN6 tonight. Nineteen out of 20 refs don't call a T on that play.
was it indeed for hanging? that's what i initially thought, but my buddy thought it might have been taunting...so i wasn't sure...either way it was a huge lift momentum wise for the dawgs i feel. especially after the missed free throws.
also, i'm not sure if he meant it but heads up play by ricardo going to the basket to get fouled to get 2 shots instead of the single bonus near the end of the game.
let's get to rupp dawgs!
Congrats to Holmes. This was a good win over a tough opponent, now they are just one game away from a return to Rupp.
hoonsaunglee Wrote:was it indeed for hanging? that's what i initially thought, but my buddy thought it might have been taunting.
Don't know for sure. I was sitting near the Holmes basket in second half. I didn't see anything that looked like taunting after the big dunk. Pittman also had a dunk later in the game, and he very gingerly put the ball through the net ... which led me to believe the first dunk technical was called for grabbing the rim on his way down -- ever so briefly.
By the way, over the past two sessions, the ball has gotten stuck in one of the nets at least a dozen times after a made shot. Would it be too much to replace the net? Or maybe that's a ploy by one of the teams to slow down the game.
Holmes continually gets bashed by outsiders for this or that, but all this group does is win. Plain and simply.
Elijah Pittman showed tonight why he is Holmes team leader and the most talented kid in the state. Late in the game with Holmes up one (after a Pittman put back dunk), Pittman posted Brown up and hollered for the ball in a one on one situation. When Pittman got the ball, Henley screamed for Eli to throw it back out. All Pittman did was back Brown in and go up over him for an easy lay in. After scoring, he looked over to the Holmes bench and calmly responded with "I got this, coach."
That's what a team leader and Mr. Basketball does. Pittman dominated when it came down to it.
Recap to come in a few.
Pittman's tech was for pulling his jersey to the side and showing his chest (not bare skin) after the dunk...not for hanging on the rim.
I was sitting at the scorer's table and this was the report I was given.
Pictures of EP's dunks. The big fella definetly gets WAY up there:
(Click on pic to enlarge)
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From nky.com:
With four minutes to play in the latest installment of Northern Kentucky's best basketball rivalry going, Holmes sent a resounding message with an emphatic run.
The message: It's a really bad time to be a really good team in the Ninth Region.
The defending state champion Bulldogs pulled away for a 53-44 victory over Boone County in Saturday's regional semifinals at The Bank of Kentucky Center. It was the latest in a series of competitive games between the regional powers. Holmes edged the Rebels 32-29 in last season's regional title game. This season, the Bulldogs held serve with an overtime victory.
"Timing, they say, is everything in life," said Boone County coach Greg McQueary. "Holmes is a good team. We've challenged them. We just haven't been able to beat them enough."
Holmes, which blew a large lead in the second half, bounced back. After the Rebels took a 39-38 lead with five minutes to play, the Bulldogs ended the game on a 15-5 run.
Senior forward Elijah Pittman scored 12 points - including two dunks - during the rally. He finished with a game-high 18 points to go with his nine rebounds.
"I wasn't going to let us lose," said Pittman. "... Not this time."
Despite the tight nature of the two teams' recent games, Saturday's looked like a blowout early. Holmes opened the game on a 17-3 run. After the Rebels cut the lead to 17-14, Holmes closed out the first half with another rally. Ricardo Johnson scored seven points in the final 3:12 of the second quarter, as the Bulldogs extended their lead to 32-20 at the half.
Despite the comfortable lead, Pittman said he knew the Rebels weren't done.
"It's Boone and Holmes," he said. "It's crazy. They don't give up. It doesn't matter how much we're up by. We could be up by 50. They'll cut it down to two or one."
The Rebels did better than that. They outscored Holmes 14-4 in the third quarter. Then senior forward Andy Earls scored back-to-back baskets to open the fourth quarter and put the Rebels ahead 38-36.
With 5:11 to play, everything seemed to be going Boone County's way. It had a 39-38 lead, and starting forward Ronald Cotton, who had played less than four minutes due to foul trouble, returned.
Eleven seconds later, Cotton fouled out. Then Pittman kick-started the Bulldogs' final rally with two free throws, a tip-in and a dunk.
"We're a lot better team with Ronald Cotton on the floor," said McQueary. "Tonight we didn't have the luxury of having him play."
The victory advances Holmes to today's 3 p.m. regional final against Newport. The Bulldogs have won three straight titles.
Johnson, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, said the experience from those championship runs paid dividends down the stretch.
"Experience helps a lot," he said.
Holmes outrebounded Boone County 41-28. The Rebels were 2-of-12 from the free throw line. Holmes was 14-of-22.
Holmes coach David Henley said games like Saturday's have made it possible for his team to make deep runs at the last three state tournaments.
"Our guys keep an eye on (Boone County), watch what they're doing," he said. "And I know I always do."
Boone County (19-9) - Gabbard 6 0 14, Montgomery 2 1 5, Lay 2 0 4, Brown 3 1 7, Earls 5 0 11, McQueary 1 0 3. Totals 19 2 44.
Holmes (25-5) - Pittman 7 4 18, R. Johnson 6 3 15, Rice 2 2 6, J. Johnson 2 1 5, Herndon 1 2 5, Slusher 0 2 2, Avery 1 0 2. Totals 19 14 53.
Boone Co: 6 14 14 10 -44
Holmes: 17 15 4 17 -53
3-pointers: BC 4 (Gabbard 2, Earls, McQueary); H 1 (Herndon).
jalfzou Wrote:Re: "Great game, very questionable officiating on both sides YIKES ... Scary how the lead slipped from the dawgs late in this one, but they came through, elijah had some big buckets, but ricardo was making the plays happen i feel like. just getting the ball around the rim and the putbacks were huge, especially eli's dunk (tech one)."
Good analysis of the game. Third quarter and early part of 4th quarter was about as bad (offensively) as I've seen Holmes play all year. Reminded me of the entire second half in Bulldogs' loss to Ryle earlier in the season. No one was hitting anything for the Bulldogs in third quarter tonight. Actually, they might have been better off trying more treys than having Ricardo and Eli shoot 13-footers. The one constant in the game, though, was Holmes' defense. Boone scored 20 the first half, 24 the second half. And Boone played much better tonight than vs. NewCath.
Excellent game by Boone's point guard. He really elevated his game tonight compared to NewCath game.
Re: "very questionable officiating on both sides": I agree. Cotton for Boone County picked up two fouls in the first 50 seconds of the game. Wasn't a much of a factor after scoring the winning bucket vs. NewCath and limiting Pangallo to 2 points. By the way, it's my opinion that the hanging-on-the-rim-after-the-dunk technical on Eli in the 4th quarter was a makeup call for the T called on Boone coach in first quarter. I watched replay of the Eli dunk on ICN6 tonight. Nineteen out of 20 refs don't call a T on that play.
I agree. I talked with him after the game and he told me he was playing hurt. I saw him grimace a few times in the game, but couldn't believe he played after hearing the injuries he has. I have the upmost respect for him now that he refused to let his teammates down and played through those injuries. Shows what a great player/teammate/kid he is! Very gutsy performance!
I would have loved to see how the game would have turned out if Cotton had been able to play. He usually plays the entire game. I'm sure Boone missed him in this one!
kywldcat01 Wrote:Holmes continually gets bashed by outsiders for this or that, but all this group does is win. Plain and simply.
Elijah Pittman showed tonight why he is Holmes team leader and the most talented kid in the state. Late in the game with Holmes up one (after a Pittman put back dunk), Pittman posted Brown up and hollered for the ball in a one on one situation. When Pittman got the ball, Henley screamed for Eli to throw it back out. All Pittman did was back Brown in and go up over him for an easy lay in. After scoring, he looked over to the Holmes bench and calmly responded with "I got this, coach."
That's what a team leader and Mr. Basketball does. Pittman dominated when it came down to it.
Recap to come in a few.
You would think that a team leader and your Mr. Basketball would've made the All Tourney Team. If you have a checkbook, you better be sitting on it, cause your mouth is writing checks that your *** cant cash.:blabbermo
