2012 Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Classic: OHIO TEAMS WIN 4 OF 5 GAMES AGAINST KENTUCKY OPPONENTS

Sunday, January 15, 2012

OHIO TEAMS WIN 4 OF 5 GAMES AGAINST KENTUCKY OPPONENTS

Ohio high school basketball teams won four of five games against their Kentucky opponents during the 2012 Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Classic that was played Saturday, Jan. 14 at two local high schools.

Proceeds from the games will be donated to the Ruth Lyons Children's Fund, Neediest Kids of All and Chicks and Chucks, a breast cancer awareness organization. Our sincere thanks to all of the teams who participated in this worthwhile event and the fans who came out and supported it.

Here is a rundown of the BBCC games:

COLERAIN 68, COVINGTON CATHOLIC 60 (overtime)

Colerain let a 13-point lead slip away in the second half, but the Cardinals made eight of 10 free throws in overtime to come away with the victory.

Colerain junior guard Milton Davis made four free throws in overtime and finished with a game-high 23 points. CovCath's leading scorers were junior guard Nick Fredrick with 18 points and sophomore guard Nick Ruthsatz with 16.

With less than two seconds left in the fourth quarter, CovCath senior Ryan Hayden scored off an inbounds pass to tie the score at 58-58 and send the game into overtime.

DIXIE HEIGHTS 66, LAKOTA WEST 61

Sophomore guard Brandon Hatton made five throws with 1.3 seconds left to give Dixie Heights the lone victory for Kentucky teams in the classic.

Hatton was fouled while attempting a three-point shot. He made three free throws as a result of that penalty and made two more because a technical foul was called against Lakota West coach Sean Van Winkle for protesting the first call.

Hatton got 14 of his game-high 25 points at the free throw line. He has been a double-figure scorer in each of Dixie's games this season. Lakota West's leading scorers were junior guards Monty Boykins (20 points) and Ali Barnes (17 points).

FINNEYTOWN 75, CONNER 57

Finneytown took a 36-23 lead in the second quarter even though senior team leader Demarco Hunter was on the bench with three fouls. The Wildcats extended the margin to 58-37 in the third quarter and coasted to the victory.

Finneytown junior guard Bradley Nelms scored 12 of his 15 points during the first half to help his team take an early lead. He shared game-high honors with Conner senior guard Carter Byrns, who got 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

OAK HILLS 37 RYLE 34

Oak Hills senior forward Jack Pflum scored his team's last six points to seal the victory in the low-scoring game.

Ryle took a 16-4 lead in the first quarter, but the Raiders had a hard time putting the ball in the basket after that opening surge. Oak Hills came charging back in the second quarter and took a 23-21 lead on a driving basket by Pflum just before the half ended.

Pflum and teammate Mitch Richmond each scored 14 points and accounted for nine of Oak Hills' 11 field goals. Ryle's leading scorer was Tate Mullins with 10 points.

LaSALLE 69 CHRISTIAN COUNTY 35

LaSalle controlled the game with its aggressive defense that forced 32 turnovers and set up numerous fast-break scoring opportunities.

The Cardinals ended up scoring 35 points off turnovers with most coming in the first half when they took a 45-17 lead. The defending Ohio Division I state champs also did a good job on the offensive boards, getting a total of 18 second-chance points.

LaSalle senior guard Josh Lemons finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and two assists. Christian County's top scorer was Cj Cotton with 10 points, but he also had a team-high five turnovers for the defending Kentucky state champs.

MISSION STATEMENT

It is the mission of the BBCHC to instill in our young athletes the importance of giving back to their community whenever and wherever they can.

Our logo depicts the bringing together of both sides of the Ohio River through high school basketball to benefit the less fortunate. It signifies the united efforts of all of our teams and volunteers who are working to make a difference.

It is hoped that the skill, team work and unselfish play exhibited on the court will be carried over to a life-long habit of helping those who are less fortunate.

It is equally important to teach our athletes that they can have fun while at the same time do something very good for those in need.

All of the money raised, after expenses, has gone to the various charities and the participating schools.

Over its 10-year history, this event has raised over $112,000 for local charities. Many needy children have benefited from our efforts throughout this time.

BBCHC HISTORY

The BBCHC started in December 2001 with four teams (Covington Catholic, Bishop Brossart, Louisville Trinity and Owensboro Catholic) in the gym at Covington Catholic. It was originally called the Catholic Social Services Classic and benefited Catholic Social Services in Latonia.

In the second year, it expanded to twelve teams and moved to the Thomas More College gym. The proceeds were donated to Catholic Social Services of N. KY as well as C.S.S. of Southwest Ohio since Ohio teams were now part of the event.

In 2003 and 2004, the name was changed to Bluegrass-Buckeye Holiday Classic and the games were played at the Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University.

In 2003, there were sixteen schools from Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky participating in the event. The charity list was expanded to include the Neediest Kids of All and the Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund. This change was made because of the area-wide appeal of these charities to ALL members of the community who were supporting the event.

From 2005 to 2010, the games were played at two sites on the campus of Northern Kentucky University. Regents Hall was the site from 2005 to 2007 and Bank of Kentucky Center hosted the event from 2008 to 2010. The charity list over the those six years included NKOA, Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund, Queen City Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, WSNS Academy and Chicks-n-Chucks, a breast cancer awareness organization.

This season, the classic was moved to Jan. 14 and renamed the Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Classic since it's not being played during the holidays. To make the classic more accessible for fans, we're playing games at high schools
in both states -- Dixie Heights High School in Kentucky and Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati. The charities benefiting from the 2012 classic are NKOA, Ruth Lyon's Children's Fund and Chicks-n-Chucks.

2012 Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Classic

Sunday, January 15, 2012

OHIO TEAMS WIN 4 OF 5 GAMES AGAINST KENTUCKY OPPONENTS

SLIDE SHOW: Photos from 2012 BBCC

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARDS

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARDS

2012 CLASSIC INFORMATION

MISSION STATEMENT

BBCHC HISTORY