Day One of the 13th Region Boys’ Basketball Tournament is over, and this is what we know:
• The shot heard ‘round the 13th Region
Where were you when North Laurel senior nailed his biggest shot as a Jaguar?
That question maybe asked a lot here in the next few weeks, especially if North Laurel continues its current postseason run.
For you that don’t know what happened during North Laurel’s 55-52 win over Harlan that many believe is now an instant classic, I’ll explain.
With the game tied at 52 apiece and less than 10 seconds remaining and the Jaguars with the ball, this transpired — Ball is thrown in, Brody Brock passes the ball off to Reed Sheppard, and the McDonald’s All-American drives to the basket for the winning basket but instead throws the ball out to an open Ryan Davidson, who by the way was 1-of-11 from the floor, before knocking down the biggest shot of his career to give his team the 3-point win.
For Davidson, he was cool and calm as ever after the game when asked about his game-winning 3-pointer.
“I just wanted to get a shot off because it was tied, you know if I missed, worse thing that happens is we go into overtime,” he said. “I’m not going to make it if I don’t shoot it, so I had to shoot it even though I hadn’t had that great of a game. I thought it was a rough game for us, we didn’t play like we wanted to play, but we stuck with it, kept our defense up, and that’s what pulled us through in the end.”
North Laurel coach Nate Valentine seemed really relieved after the game, and admitted the play he drew up had three to four different scoring options.
“We run that probably once a week, just at the end of the game, and it has three to four different options on it — that shows you what type of teammate Reed is,” he said. “Ryan had struggled the whole game — you want it in Reed’s hands to go make a play. I was proud of the way we shared the ball, and I don’t think there was any way he (Ryan) was going to miss it after Reed gave it up — You know Ryan Davidson was 1-of-11 at the time, and he makes the game-winning 3.”
And of course, Sheppard is Sheppard, always giving his teammates, and opponents the credit.
“Nobody wants to come out and lose in the first round,” he admitted. “My teammates, I got to give them credit. They guarded really well down the stretch, knocked down some free throws, and knocked down a big 3.
“You got to give all the credit to Harlan,” Sheppard added. “They came out and played a great game, and made shots. They were physical, and fought the whole game. I’m just super-proud of my teammates. We were positive, and stayed in it.”
• Gotta give credit where credit is due
Everyone knows just how great of a player, and teammate Reed Sheppard is, but how about his assist to Ryan Davidson that won the game?
It put a big smile on my face for no other reason to see the assist silence the folks that for some reason can’t seem to enjoy someone like Sheppard succeed.
Here we have a once in a generation player come through, and some folks would rather see him fail than succeed.
For a player that some of these folks label as “selfish” with the ball, he once again let his game do the talking and dished the ball to a teammate that he trusted in.
It didn’t surprise me, he’s done it his entire high school career.
• Don’t forget about Gavin Chadwell
Just two years ago, Gavin Chadwell was on top of the 13th Region, helping Knox Central win its third straight 13th Region title while being named the 13th Region Tournament MVP.
Far forward to Wednesday’s matchup between North Laurel and Harlan, and you’ll quickly see just how happy Chadwell was to play a big role in North Laurel’s 55-52 win over Harlan.
How about a 15-point, 12-rebound effort while hitting in 6-of-7 shot attempts?
“I’m happy to be here with this team, and be here with these boys,” Chadwell said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
• Defense wins championships
No team plays defense like Jeff Davis’ South Laurel Cardinals. They take pride in it, and if you don’t believe me, just take an overall look at their body of work they’ve done this season.
A team that many had rated as low as sixth and seventh in the region in the preseason is now two wins away from winning the the tournament.
Why?
It’s because a group of kids have bought into Davis’ system.
The Cardinals are 24-8 this season and have held their opponents to 50 points or less in 20 of their 32 games they’ve played — that’s impressive.
And guess what South Laurel’s record is in those 20 games? A perfect 20-0.
So it’s safe to say if the Cardinals can find a way to slow down the North Laurel Jaguars Saturday, the magic number for them is 50.
The Jaguars have been limited to under 50 points one time this season, a 54-48 loss to nationally ranked Mount St. Joseph.
