By: Rick Broering, Enquirer contributor
Cole VonHandorf and Covington Catholic will take on Newport Central Catholic in the last game of the Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Classic.(Photo: Jim Osborn for the Enquirer)
Northern Kentucky's top boys basketball talent will be back in action at BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University again Friday night for the 16th annual St. Elizabeth Healthcare Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Classic.
The matchups are the same as last year's event. Cooper, ranked No. 2 in the latest Enquirer Northern Kentucky area coaches' poll, will tip the night off at 5:30 p.m. against Holmes, followed by a big Kenton County public school rivalry at 7 when Scott, which is tied for fifth, takes on No. 4 Dixie Heights, and finally No. 1 Covington Catholic will play Newport Central Catholic, which is also tied for fifth, in a rematch of last year's Ninth Region finals to close the event at 8:30.
Advance tickets for the classic being sold at the six participating schools are $8 for adults and $5 for students. All tickets at the door will be $10. Parking will be $5.
Ticket sales from the Oak Hills at Elder game on Tuesday, Jan. 17 will also be donated to the charities involved.
Transitioning the event to a showcase of Northern Kentucky's top teams on the same court that they'll later play their regional tournament on at the BB&T Arena breathed new life into the event back in 2015. Last year, the game between Elder and Oak Hills was added to the event. This year, St. Elizabeth Healthcare joined on as the title sponsor. Holmes coach Mike Listerman started the classic in 2001 when he was the head coach at CovCath.
Dixie coach Ken Chevalier said agreeing to play in this event every year is a no-brainer for NKY's top teams.
"Absolutely, anytime you can get your kids in an awesome venue, it's a cool experience for them to get the opportunity to play in a big-time arena," Chevalier said. "We don't take anything for granted in terms of reaching the regional tournament, but from a coaching perspective I just think it's great to be able to get your kids on the bigger floor and used to the environment where you're going to hopefully be playing for a regional championship later in the year."
The best matchup of the night figures to be a rematch of the biggest blowout from last year's event. Dixie dismantled Scott last year, 58-29, but this year's game should be more competitive. The Eagles are 13-4 and have won six straight, while the Colonels are 13-3 and have clearly proven themselves as one of the area's top teams.
That matchup could also feature two of the top guards in the area. Scott's Jake Ohmer is the area's leading scorer at 27.2 points per game and just recently went over 2,000 points for his career. Dixie's Hunter Meyer is a disruptive defender and one of the most well-rounded players in Northern Kentucky. He's averaging 15.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game but has missed the last six games with an ankle injury. It will be a game-time decision as to whether or not he plays against the Eagles. If he's unable to go, look for center Reed Bradfield (13.2 ppg) and sharpshooter Cameron Thornberry (11.8 ppg) to lead the way for the Colonels.
"We've had other guys step up since Hunter went down," Chevalier said. "The guys who have played a bigger role off the bench have bought into our defensive system and how hard we're playing. We definitely miss his scoring punch and ability to get in the lane, but we're not going to push it with him. We need him to be healthy for our stretch run."
Cooper is without a pair of starters in the McNeil brothers, Sean and Chris, who are both injured. Sean, a Bellarmine commit, is the Jaguars' leading scorer at 17.6 points per game. Junior guard Adam Kunkel (17.6 ppg), who holds offers from Samford and Winthrop, has had to step up in his absence along with classmate Brayden Runion (9.3 ppg) and senior Dante Hendrix (8.4 ppg).
Even without the McNeil's playing, Holmes will still have its work cut out against Cooper. The Bulldogs will counter the Jaguars' talented backcourt with their own talented guards in seniors Rico Hollis (15.1 ppg) and Raavia Commodore (12.8 ppg).
CovCath is without star junior guard C.J. Fredrick (21.9 ppg), who suffered an ankle injury, but the Colonels still have plenty of talent. Fredrick has offers from Xavier and Iowa among other Division I programs. In his absence, junior point guard Aiden Ruthsatz (11.1 ppg) and junior forward AJ Mayer (9.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg) have stepped up their play to complement senior Cole VonHandorf (17.1 ppg), a Fairmont State commit. Seven-foot center Jake Walter (7.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg), who holds an offer from Ball State, is also capable of changing the game when he's on the floor.
NewCath enters this matchup in a much different place than it was a year ago. The Thoroughbreds were considered a top contender to the No. 1-ranked Colonels last season, and proved as much by winning the Ninth Region tournament nearly two months later. This time around, the 'Breds will be looking to pull off a big upset to help spark their season. They've had ups and downs on their way to a 7-6 record as they've had to implement three new starters under first-year head coach Ken Collopy while also replacing last year's Northern Kentucky player of the year, Ben Weyer. They're led by junior guard Brennan Hall (16.0 ppg) and senior Luke Moeves (10.9 ppg).
The Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Classic has donated more than $208,000 to local charities in Kentucky and Ohio since it's inception in 2001. Proceeds from the event benefit the Ruth Lyon's Children's Fund, Neediest Kids of All, and Chicks & Chucks, a breast cancer support group. Last year's event raised $25,000 to help those three charities provide their services to people in both Kentucky and Ohio, according to the event's website.