Daniel Allen and the LaRue County Hawks got off to such a hot start, scoring the first 11 points in Sunday’s game against Washington County in the Boys’ 5th Region Basketball Tournament semifinals.
But like has happened many times before this season, the Commanders surged back in the second half, cutting what was once a 20-point lead down to three in the fourth quarter.
Fortunately, the Hawks were able to weather the storm down the stretch. Allen scored a game-high 30 points and pulled down nine rebounds as LaRue County held off Washington County 67-59 at Citizens Bank Arena in Campbellsville.
“We came out a little sluggish in the third,” Allen said. “We got off to such a great start in the first half, and everything was just clicking. We had to regain our shot and regain the momentum to come out with the win.”
The Hawks advanced to the region final for the first time since 2018 and faced longtime rival Elizabethtown Tuesday night at Hart County. The winner of that game moved on to the Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
LaRue County seized momentum early on against Washington County, building a 34-14 lead in the first half. The Hawks appeared to be on cruise control, but Coach Paul Childress warned his players during the halftime break about getting too far ahead of themselves.
“It was great to see our guys get off to such a great start,” he said. “We’ve done that so many times this year. We went through a couple of games at the end of the regular season where we got off to a terrible start, but over the last few games we’ve gotten back to it. And that’s such a confidence booster coming into a tough environment in the region tournament.
“Hats off to Washington County. I told the guys at halftime that they weren’t going to pack it in, that they were going to keep coming at us,” Childress added. “We missed a few shots in the third quarter that we were hitting in the first, and we were getting a little antsy shooting the 3s, but we started getting the ball back inside to Daniel for some easy points and then we started knocking down some shots.”
The Commanders pulled within 50-47 after Beau Baker converted a three-point play with 5:03 left to play, but Allen gave the Hawks some breathing room when he drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key over the 6-foot-7 Baker to make it 55-47 with 3:52 to go.
Allen hit 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and said the one over Baker felt good when he released it.
“He kept sagging off me.” Allen said. “I saw an opportunity and I just took it.”
Washington County’s Noah Reynolds hit a 3 from the wing and the Commanders cut to within 61-57 with 44 seconds left, but the Hawks closed it out from the free throw line down the stretch.
Though his team came up short in the end, Washington County’s Gabe Weis said the Commanders had nothing to hang their heads about.
“We wanted it more in the second half and I thought we were playing more as a team,” Weis said. “We weren’t being selfish. It was a lot better team ball.”
LaRue County improved to 23-7 with the win, while Washington County ends its season with a 23-10 record.
The Hawks shot 52.3% from the field (23 of 44) and made 11 of 28 from the 3-point arc. They also went 10 of 16 from the free throw line.
Luke Trumbo chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and one block, while Carson Childress had nine points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals. Jagger Mardis and Jaxson Thomas each scored six.
Carson Childress said his team did what it needed to pull out the victory down the stretch.
“It wasn’t as nerve wracking as Thursday night, but we let them back in the game,” he said. “Credit to them, they played really hard in the second half and they kind of out-toughed us in the second half. But we made a few plays down the stretch that kept us up and helped us win.”
Allen, who was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player, said the Hawks are ready for the rematch with the Panthers.
LaRue County beat Elizabethtown 55-46 on Feb. 7 and Round 2 should be just as intense, especially with a spot in the Sweet 16 up for grabs.
“It’s going to be tough as always,” Allen said. “Every game is going to be tough from here on out, but we can’t look back at the last time we played them. We’ve got to play the game like it’s a new game.”
LaRue County started the year with somewhat tempered expectations, and the Hawks were picked to finish fifth in the region in a preseason coaches’ poll.
Coach Childress felt his squad was being overlooked as a region contender, and that drove his players all throughout the season.
“I’m very proud and excited for our guys to get to play for the region championship. We started the year with the goal just to be the best version of ourselves at the end of the year and we didn’t have too many high expectations,” Childress said. “I think we were ranked fifth or sixth at the start of the year, so nobody really gave us much chance to get to the region final this year. So I’m proud of our guys. They worked their butts off in the offseason, and I don’t think we’ve had a bad practice all year. That’s a testament to our guys.
“Getting to the final is good, and we’ve got some unfinished business. E’town has the same goal we’ve got, so we’ve got to come in prepared for a battle.”