[Stardust]

LEXINGTON, KY. — His team missing two starters because of a violation of team rules, Nathan Dieudonne delivered a performance that may have moved him to the top of the list of Mr. Basketball candidates.

The 6-foot-7 senior nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 25 points and eight rebounds as the Trinity High School basketball team whipped Clark County 62-39 in Friday’s quarterfinals of the PNC/KHSAA Sweet 16.

A crowd of 14,181 at Rupp Arena saw Dieudonne hit 8 of 11 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Earlier in the day Dieudonne was named one of five finalists for Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball honor.

“That’s the last thing on my mind is being Mr. Basketball,” said Dieudonne, who has signed with Boston University. “I was just really focused all day because missing two starters is hard on a team. Me and Charles (Foster) and Troy (Saxton) got together and stepped it up.”

Foster (14 points) and Saxton (12 points) joined Dieudonne in double figures and helped the Shamrocks (33-3) —No. 1 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings — advance to the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

Trinity will face No. 14 Pulaski Southwestern (29-8) at 10 a.m. Saturday. A victory would send the Shamrocks to Saturday’s 8 p.m. championship game.

Shamrocks coach Mike Szabo said juniors Darryl Hicks and James Quick will be available to play Saturday after serving one-game suspensions Friday. The two did not dress for the game after violating team rules, Szabo said.

“All these guys have to live up to expectations,” Szabo said. “Every family has rules, and sometimes there are hard lessons to be learned. That’s the job of the adults to try to help these guys grow and mature and learn.”

The Shamrocks hardly missed the two, shooting 52.4 percent (22 of 42) overall and nailing 10 of 15 3-point attempts. Foster was 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and Saxton was 2 of 4 from behind the arc.

Trinity also won the rebounding battle 31-18.

Clark County coach Scott Humphrey credited Trinity’s depth.

http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/article...39?Avis=B2