Christian County 70 Newport 51

That's the final from Rupp Arena. Christian County was just too fast for Newport to keep up with tonight. Still a great season for the Cats. Congratulations to Coach Aric Russell and the Wildcats family as they represented the region well here in Lexington. Watch the Commonwealth Orthopaedic Centers Sports page from extensive highlights of this game.

CCHS 55 Newport 44

3:40 remaining. Quickness has killed them in the second half. It's that simple.

CCHS 46 Newport 37

That's the score after 3. Christian County's quickness really caused problems for the Wildcats during the middle of the quarter, but even so, Newport is still with in striking distance.

CCHS 37 Newport 30

4:10 left in the 3rd. Cody Collins is on the Newport bench with 3 fouls, and the Colonels quickness seems to be giving the Wildcats some fits.

Halftime Stats

Much as you'd expect in a close game, the stats are close as well. Newport is 9-22 from the floor for 41%, Christian
County is 11-28 (39%). 15 Rebounds (9 offensive) for the Colonels, 13 (6 offensive) for Newport. Cats are 4-11 from behind the arc, Colonels 2-12.

Christian County 27 Newport 24

That's the score at halftime. Anthony Luther banked in a half court shot just after the buzzer that would have tied the game at half, but it was clearly after the horn. Newport has played a solid first half. Here's to hoping that they can make the halftime adjustments and come out strong in the second half.

Newport 20 CCHS 15

Newport grabs the lead on an old fashioned 3 point play by Cody Collins followed by a trey from Damarko Foster. 4:30 left in half number 1.

Colonels 15 Wildcats 13

That's the score after 1. Anthony Luther and Brandon Tucker hit 3's on consecutive offensive possessions to pull Newport to within 1. A mini run by Christian County opened the lead up, but Casey McDaniel hit a three before the buzzer to put us at 15-13 after 8 minutes.

CCHS 9 Newport 4

2:40 left in qtr number 1. Newport got off to a slow start but seemed to have reigned it in a little bit. Luckily for the Cats, Christian County was a bit slow to start as well. Looks like it could be a tight one.

Finally in Lexington

A little less than 20 minutes from the tip of Christian County vs Newport. It will be interesting to see how Newport handles this game. Certainly they aren't sneaking up on anyone here, having just beaten the defending state champions by 26 points in the 9th Region Final. Certainly, Newport has the talent to be successful here at Rupp, but Christian County has the experience, having been here last season and giving Holmes its toughest test here last year until the final against Louisville Central.

On a side note, it was odd to look at the PNC/KHSAA Sweet 16 program for the 9th Region and not see Simon Kenton listed as the last team to win a State title. It now reads Holmes across the board. Hopefully the Wildcats can make a run at having it read Newport when the tournament tips off in 2011.