LEXINGTON, Ky. — Counted out after a 5-9 start to the season, the Woodford County High School boys basketball team continued to make history Friday.
Jasper Johnson and Aden Nelson both scored 16 points and John McCrear blocked six shots as the Yellow Jackets beat Elizabethtown 59-48 in a quarterfinal of the UK Healthcare Boys Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
Woodford County (22-12) never had won a Sweet 16 game before this week, and not many would have predicted it after a five-game losing streak in December.
“A lot of people doubting us,” senior Aden Nelson said. “We see it. We’ve seen it all season. Coming together as a team and believing with each other, that’s been our biggest motivation. We didn’t need anything else but us … and we’re proving it now.”
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The Yellow Jackets are 17-3 over their past 20 games and will face Warren Central in Saturday’s 11 a.m. semifinal.
Talent never has been a question for Woodford County, with seniors Nelson (West Virginia football) and McCrear (Murray State basketball) both NCAA Division I signees and guard Jasper Johnson ranked among the nation’s top players in the Class of 2025.
Coach Jaron Brown said youth was an issue early in the season, as the 13-man roster includes 10 sophom*ores.
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“We’ve grown a lot,” Brown said. “We have a lot of sophom*ores and two seniors, so it was kind of hard at the beginning of the year. You could tell we were young. But the schedule we played helped us grow, and we continue to grow right now.”
Woodford County jumped to an 8-0 lead and never trailed Friday.
Brown praised a defensive effort that held E’town to 41.9% shooting. The 6-foot-9 McCrear had six of his team’s 13 blocked shots
“Blocking shots is a hard task,” McCrear said. “You have to time everything. Me not playing the majority of the season, getting my timing back was big. To see I had six blocks warms my heart on the inside.”
Taquan Townsend hit two free throws to pull the Panthers within 46-44 with 3:53 left, but the Yellow Jackets closed with a 13-4 surge.
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Woodford County finished 25 of 29 from the free-throw line, including 17 of 20 in the fourth quarter.
WOODFORD COUNTY 1881419 - 59
ELIZABETHTOWN 1381215 - 48
Woodford County (22-12) – Makhi Smith 9, Jasper Johnson 16, Aden Nelson 16, Layton Starks 2, Santonio Waide 12, Jaunte Jenkins 2, John Mccrear 2.
Elizabethtown (24-10) – Trey Durbin 8, Ayden Evans 12, Jujuan Williams 11, Obian Howard 3, J’Quan Williams 2, Taquan Townsend 6, Wyatt McAdams 4, Alex Evans 2.
George Rogers Clark 60, Lyon County 56
All five Cardinals starters scored in double figures — led by Sam Parrish with 15 points — in a victory over the Lyons. Morehead State signee Jerone Morton added 11 points, 10 assists and three steals.
No. 4-ranked GRC (29-5) advanced to face Frederick Douglass in Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. semifinal. The Cardinals are 22-1 in their past 23 games, the only loss coming to Frederick Douglass, 63-52, on Feb. 7.
Travis Perry’s 3-pointer gave No. 9 Lyon County (31-6) a 51-50 lead with 6:47 left, but GRC responded with an 8-0 run. Trent Edwards’ two free throws gave GRC a 58-51 lead with 2:28 left.
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Perry’s 3-pointer pulled Lyon County within 58-56 with 11 seconds left, but Parrish made two free throws with 9 seconds remaining to seal it.
One day after becoming Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer in a victory over Newport, Perry was held to a season-low 19 points. Having joined Lyon County’s varsity program as a seventh-grader, Perry will enter his senior season with 4,359 points.
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 624 20 10 - 60
LYON COUNTY1311 2210 - 56
George Rogers Clark (29-5) – Trent Edwards 12, Reshaun Hampton 12, Jerone Morton 11, Sam Parrish 15, Tyleik Maxwell 10.
Lyon County (31-6) – Brady Shoulders 14, Lukas Breedlove 2, Jack Reddick 14, Travis Perry 19, Bradin Nelson 7.
Warren Central 64, Ashland Blazer 48
Chappelle Whitney posted 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the No. 1 Dragons (34-1) over the Tomcats (23-12).
“One, he’s a really good basketball player,” Dragons coach William Unseld said. “Two, we saw in that zone that the middle was wide open. We wanted to put him there and just let him play one-on-one against those middle guys. … He did a good job of executing what we wanted him to do.”
Omari Glover had 14 points and Kade Unseld added 13 points for Warren Central, which shot 55.8% (24 of 43) and ran its winning streak to 25.
Rheyce DeBoard had 21 points and four assists to lead the Tomcats.
ASHLAND BLAZER13149 12 - 48
WARREN CENTRAL181611 19 - 64
Ashland Blazer (23-12) – Zander Carter 14, Tucker Conway 3, Rheyce DeBoard 21, Braxton Jennings 6, Nate Frieze 4.
Warren Central (34-1) – Chappelle Whitney 20, Damarion Walkup 6, Izayiah Villafuerte 5, Kade Unseld 13, Omari Glover 14, Malik Jefferson 2, Tayvion Wells 4.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.
