[Stardust]

GLASGOW — Every team goes into every game confident they can win. The players and the coaches are, after all, competitive people by nature and they want to win every time they play.

That’s no different in basketball. Blake Button, the boys’ head basketball coach at Caverna High School, has a lot of confidence in his team and as the Colonels prepare for next week’s Boys’ District 18 Basketball Tournament at Green County High School, Button said his team is ready to go.

“I think we have a good chance going into the district tournament. We’re the fourth seed, but there is always the chance for an upset,” Button said. “That’s why they play the games.

“Our season has been frustrating. We’re 0-6 in the district, but we played our district opponents a lot better the second time around than we did the first time.

“I think they know we can play with them and I think our guys understand that we can play with them. We’ve got a lot more confidence going into the tournament.”

The Colonels will open the competition on Monday against No. 1 seed LaRue County. The game is set for 7 p.m.

“We’re probably playing better than we have all year. We played Glasgow the other night, it didn’t look great, but we played hard,” Button explained. “I think we’ve played a lot better lately. We’ve got a lot more people playing defense and contributing and that always help.

“We have four wins this year and these kids could have just given up. But they didn’t. They have continued to fight and scrap for every win.”

The Colonels offense centers around talented guard Dearrick Lindsey. Lindsey has the quickness to dribble by an opponent, but also the ability to stop and shoot the 3-pointer.

“Everyone expects Dearrick to play well, but Will Ballou has really become more aggressive, taking more shots,” Button explained. “Colby Woodard is getting his hands on a lot more balls, being aggressive on the backboards and we need Colby to be more than just a shooter. And Tyrone Franklin, when he’s in the point guard role, we’re a a lot better.”

Button said he knows the Colonels are going into the tournament in the underdog role. And that’s OK with him. He knows what his team can do.

“I don’t think LaRue County, which is one of the better teams in our region, they probably think they’re going to run away with the tournament,” Button said. “But I think if anyone is going to beat them, no offense to the other teams in our district, but it will probably be us. I think we matchup with them well.”

Button said you never know what will happen in tournament play, but he believes his team is ready to play.

“I am hoping tournament time brings out the best in all of our kids. To beat LaRue County on Monday, we have to play a good game,” Button said. “Their guards are tough, so we’re going to have to slow them down. If we come out and don’t play well, we can’t win.

“A win for us on Monday would be huge. We’ve worked hard, we haven’t had the wins we wanted, but for them to work so hard all year and then come up with a win on Monday and show that all that work has paid off, that would be big. If we play like we’re capable of, we can play with anyone.”
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