Somerset —
In part to a 14-3 run in the second quarter, Southwestern was able to pull away from visiting DuPont Manual by a final tally of 76-51 in the Lake Cumberland Holiday Hoops Classic on Friday evening at the Wigwam.
With the 25-point victory over the Crimsons of Manual, the home-standing Warriors upped their record to 11-2 on the year and earned a spot in the semifinals of the first annual tournament against a very familiar foe, Somerset.
Manual’s William West cut the Warrior lead to 16-14 with a basket just over a minute into the second quarter of hoops action. Juniors David Kapinga and Justin Edwards would both tally a score for Southwestern, allowing them to run out to a six-point, 20-14 advantage. The pair of baskets would spark the 14-3 run.
Andy Tillman knocked down a trey with 5:50 remaining until halftime to lessen the lead to three points, but free-throws from Edwards, along with a steal and lay-up from Kapinga would allow the ‘Blue and Orange’ to run past Manual at 24-17.
One free-throw from Edwards, along with two from sophomore Isaiah Collier, gave the Warriors a ten-point lead at 27-17. With 3:41 left in the frame, sophomore Adam Isaacs converted on lay-up to put Steve Wright’s ball club ahead by 12 points. Isaacs’ basket would be the final score on the 14-3 run.
At the halftime break, Manual went into the locker room trailing the Warriors by ten points at 35-25.
The third period, just like much of the contest, was a free-throw shooting contest. In the third quarter, the Warriors went to the charity stripe on 12 occasions. How many of those free-throw attempts did Southwestern make? How about all 12.
Edwards tallied seven made free-throws, while Kapinga hit three and Schulz converted on two attempts. For the game, Southwestern went 25 of 33 from the line for 76 percent.
After three quarters of play, the Warriors held a 61-44 lead over the Crimsons. In the frame, Southwestern outscored Manual, 26-19.
In the 25-point victory over Manual, Southwestern had three different players have big nights scoring-wise, as Edwards, Kapinga, and Collier, all scored in double figures. Manual, meanwhile, had only one player make it into double digits.
Kapinga’s 26 points were more than good enough for a game-high. The junior’s points were pretty well spread out, as he scored six points in the first quarter, eight in the second, seven in the third, and five in the fourth.
Following Kapinga was Edwards, who finished with 18 points in the game. Of Edwards’ 18 points, 12 of them came at the free-throw line.
Collier wasn’t far behind Edwards, who tallied a double-double in the victory. Collier had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the contest.
The leading scorer for the Crimsons was Jarrett Harness, who tallied 12 points in the game.
Wright was happy with his team’s performance after downing a good team in Manual, who defeated North Hardin earlier this year. North Hardin, along with Somerset, Pulaski County, and Southwestern, is one of four teams remaining in the winners bracket of the tournament.
“I thought it was a pretty good performance,” told Wright, who is in his second year as the Warrior basketball coach. “(DuPont Manual) beat North Hardin about two weeks ago, so they are pretty good. I thought we were really impressive defensively and we moved the ball well offensively.”
“There were certain things in this game that were successful. Our guys followed the game plan and did exactly what they were supposed to do. We kept (Andy) Tillman and (Simon) Clifford both from having big games, so I thought that was a big plus for us.”
Southwestern returned to action last night, hosting the Somerset Briar Jumpers in the semifinals at the Wigwam. In the other winners bracket semifinal Pulaski County and North Hardin went toe-to-toe with another.
MAN - 12 13 19 7 - 51
SW - 16 19 26 15 - 76
DUPONT MANUAL (7-5): Harness 12, Reed 7, Thompson 6, Clifford 6, Tillman 5, Boyd 4, West 4, Sutton 2, Dixon 1.
SOUTHWESTERN (11-2): Kapinga 26, Edwards 18, Collier 15, Schulz 7, Isaacs 5, Gaskin 3, Estes 2.
