[Stardust]

cincinnati.com

For one half of Saturday's game, the Campbell County Camels stayed with one of the best teams in the state and played nip-and-tuck basketball against Holmes, the top-ranked squad in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches' poll.


But the Bulldogs changed that by reviving their full-court pressure to begin the second half. Dormant since the first month of the season, Holmes' press flustered the Camels, who began turning over the basketball at a high rate.

The Bulldogs converted many of those turnovers into points and overcame the Camels for a 62-49 victory in Covington.

"They got a couple consecutive turnovers and scores to give them momentum at the beginning of the second half, and they just pulled away," Campbell County coach Scott Code said.

Holmes forced 11 second-half turnovers, which helped generate 13 Bulldogs points.

"When we tried pressing earlier in the year, it was a layup line at the other end," Holmes coach David Henley said. "We pressed Bryan Station in the second game and we allowed 86 points and lost. So we backed off it a bit and won 22 games in a row. But I feel we've become a little complacent lately, and I thought the press would give us a spark."

Campbell County, No. 8 in the Northern Kentucky poll, tied the score at 39 in the second half's first minute on a 3-pointer from Brady Jolly, who finished with 10 points.

Propelled by its suffocating press, Holmes embarked on a 9-0 run and built a 38-29 lead with 4:07 left in the third quarter.

Center Elijah Pittman, back in the starting lineup for Holmes after straining his left wrist in Tuesday's loss to Boone County, put the Bulldogs (25-2) ahead to stay at 31-29 on a stick-back basket.

Pittman, who played with a wrap on his injured wrist, also hit two free throws during the game-changing run, which was capped by Jeremiah Johnson's 3-point basket.

"Everybody wants to win state this year, and we need everybody," Pittman said. "My wrist is sore, but I'm not going to stop playing. I need to help my team."

Pittman, Holmes' leading scorer this season, finished with seven points and four rebounds and played nearly 24 minutes.

"You can tell he's favoring the wrist a little bit on defense and when he comes to catch the ball," Henley said, "but he'll be fine."

Johnson hit another 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up by 10 points. The Camels answered with back-to-back baskets, but JaMel Riley's 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in the quarter put Holmes back in control.

The Bulldogs sank 11 of 14 fourth-quarter free throws, with six conversions by Riley, who enjoyed a perfect shooting performance. Riley finished 4-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, and made all six free throws for a team-high 16 points. He also had four steals.

Brandon Housley added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who were state finalists last season.

Petey Albrecht scored a team-high 16 points for the Camels (15-9), who played without leading scorer and second-leading rebounder Patrick Nerl.

"Pat's our primary ball-handler," Code said. "So we obviously missed him, especially against the press."