IF YOU GO

The Danville Admirals boys basketball team plays Somerset in a 12th Region Tournament semifinal game tonight at 8 p.m. at Pulaski County High School. The winner will face either Pulaski County or West Jessamine on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

 

Danville buckled down and played through less-than-stellar shooting to seal a win again Wayne County last week in the first round of the 12th Region Boys Basketball Tournament.

The Admirals beat Wayne 70-60 to advance; they face Somerset in the semifinals tonight at Pulaski County.

Admiral Head Coach Ed McKinney said his team got off to a good start Thursday.

“Defensively, we had good intensity and executed what we wanted to do,” he said.

The Admirals were up by 26-10 at one point, and held an 8-point lead, 32-34, at the half. But Wayne tied it up late in the third quarter. That’s when “Ethan Cooper hit a big 3 to put us up 3 going into the fourth,” McKinney said.

“Trey (Dawson) and Aden (Slone) did a good job attacking the basket late and we got some easy ones and got some big stops,” McKinney said. “Trey really scored the ball when we needed it late. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, and that made it a little more satisfying to me because we kind of grinded out the win.”

McKinney said perfect shooting from the free-throw line — 14 of 14 — was also “obviously a huge part of the win.”

“We got good play from all of our starters, with four guys in double figures and Darrian (Bell) (with) 9 and another double-figure rebound game,” McKinney said. “… Also, Damion Givens-Ford played really well and gave us a spark on offense. And Dante (Hayden) hit a huge 3 late to kind of seal the game.”

Dawson scored 19 for the Admirals; Slone scored 15; Hayden scored 13; Givens-Ford scored 11; Bell had 9; and Cooper had 3.

It was a “good win over a good program and great coach,” McKinney said. “Coach (Rodney) Woods is sixth all-time in wins in Kentucky and first among active coaches, and he has 12th Region titles. I have great respect for him as a coach and the classy way he goes about his business.”

McKinney said Somerset will be a “tough test” for the Admirals tonight.