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03-04-2012, 10:03 AM
There were times this basketball season when defense wasn’t the strong suit of the Campbell County boys’ team, but not anymore.
The Camels held their third straight postseason opponent to 40 points or less by smothering Deming, 65-30, in a quarterfinal round game of the 10th Region Tournament on Saturday night at Montgomery County High School in Mt. Sterling.
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That game was originally scheduled to be played on Friday, but was postponed because of the severe weather that swept through the area on Friday afternoon.
Campbell County (19-12), which won its fifth straight game, advances to play defending regional champion Clark County in a semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Clark County (28-5) advanced with a 75-53 win over Augusta in Saturday’s first quarterfinal game.
The Campbell County girls’ team will face Montgomery County for the 10th Region championship at 3 p.m. today at Campbell County Middle School.
“(Defense) was a weak point, but now it’s starting to become our strong suit,” said second-year Campbell County head coach Aric Russell, who guided Newport to the 2010 Ninth Region championship. “A lot of it was getting used to me and my style and what I like.”
Campbell County played a brutal schedule that had it face just about every Ninth Region power, including defending champion Dixie Heights and regional finalists Newport Central Catholic and Boone County, and some of the top teams in the state, including Madison Central and Louisville Male, and Russell said that’s starting to pay off.
“Our schedule was brutal, but we’re not worried about our record, it got us prepared for this,” said Russell. “I don’t think they’re scared at all. They’ve faced a lot of really good teams.”
Russell said he warned his team not to take Deming (12-21) lightly, especially in light of Dixie’s upset loss to Cooper in the quarterfinals of the Ninth Region Tournament and Simon Kenton’s loss to Gallatin County in the quarterfinals of the Eight Region Tournament in which it blew a 19-point fourth-quarter lead.
“I just told them we don’t want to be an upset victim, too,” said Russell. “We played well from the start.”
Junior forward Nate McGovney led Campbell County with 25 points and sophomore guard Corey Holbrook added 13.
Russell admitted he needs consistent big offensive games from McGovney to win the regional title.
“Every game we’ve not had Nate play well we haven’t done so hot,” said Russell. “Holbrook’s taken the pressure off him a little, but we have to have big games out of Nate to beat good teams.”
Russell said he’s drawing on his experience from leading Newport to the Ninth Region title to drive his team to a 10th Region title.
“I draw on it a ton,” said Russell. “All of my experiences as a coach has helped me along the way. It’s helped me keep the kids level headed. That being said they believe they’re down here to win this tournament.”
http://preps.cincinnati.com/nky
The Camels held their third straight postseason opponent to 40 points or less by smothering Deming, 65-30, in a quarterfinal round game of the 10th Region Tournament on Saturday night at Montgomery County High School in Mt. Sterling.
• Enquirer's Recruiting Trail blog
• Enquirer high school sports blog
• Check us out on Facebook
• More prep coverage
That game was originally scheduled to be played on Friday, but was postponed because of the severe weather that swept through the area on Friday afternoon.
Campbell County (19-12), which won its fifth straight game, advances to play defending regional champion Clark County in a semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Clark County (28-5) advanced with a 75-53 win over Augusta in Saturday’s first quarterfinal game.
The Campbell County girls’ team will face Montgomery County for the 10th Region championship at 3 p.m. today at Campbell County Middle School.
“(Defense) was a weak point, but now it’s starting to become our strong suit,” said second-year Campbell County head coach Aric Russell, who guided Newport to the 2010 Ninth Region championship. “A lot of it was getting used to me and my style and what I like.”
Campbell County played a brutal schedule that had it face just about every Ninth Region power, including defending champion Dixie Heights and regional finalists Newport Central Catholic and Boone County, and some of the top teams in the state, including Madison Central and Louisville Male, and Russell said that’s starting to pay off.
“Our schedule was brutal, but we’re not worried about our record, it got us prepared for this,” said Russell. “I don’t think they’re scared at all. They’ve faced a lot of really good teams.”
Russell said he warned his team not to take Deming (12-21) lightly, especially in light of Dixie’s upset loss to Cooper in the quarterfinals of the Ninth Region Tournament and Simon Kenton’s loss to Gallatin County in the quarterfinals of the Eight Region Tournament in which it blew a 19-point fourth-quarter lead.
“I just told them we don’t want to be an upset victim, too,” said Russell. “We played well from the start.”
Junior forward Nate McGovney led Campbell County with 25 points and sophomore guard Corey Holbrook added 13.
Russell admitted he needs consistent big offensive games from McGovney to win the regional title.
“Every game we’ve not had Nate play well we haven’t done so hot,” said Russell. “Holbrook’s taken the pressure off him a little, but we have to have big games out of Nate to beat good teams.”
Russell said he’s drawing on his experience from leading Newport to the Ninth Region title to drive his team to a 10th Region title.
“I draw on it a ton,” said Russell. “All of my experiences as a coach has helped me along the way. It’s helped me keep the kids level headed. That being said they believe they’re down here to win this tournament.”
http://preps.cincinnati.com/nky
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