Bailey’s bucket sends Purples past Adair County in OT

Published 1:17 pm Wednesday, March 26, 2025

By Micheal Compton

LEXINGTON – Football will have to wait at least one more day for Deuce Bailey, who delivered Bowling Green into the quarterfinals of the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 with the game-winning shot in Wednesday’s 52-51 overtime win against Adair County at Rupp Arena.

Bailey drove into the basket for the game-winning shot with nine seconds left, allowing Bowling Green (29-6) to survive a late surge from Adair County and move on to Friday’s quarterfinals.

“I kind of just had a matchup I liked,” Bailey said. “I took the opportunity to try to get to the basket – take a good shot – and it went in.”

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Bowling Green coach D.G. Sherrill said Bailey – who has signed to play football at Missouri State – showed why he could be a Division I basketball player too.

“Deuce was the preseason Fourth Region player of the year,” Sherrill said. “He’s going to go play college football, but he’s a college basketball player. Why wouldn’t I want the ball in his hands? I’ve seen him make those plays since he’s been here as an eighth grader with me.”

The late heroics came in a game in which Adair County (30-6) rallied in the fourth quarter before BG was able to secure the overtime win.

Bowling Green opened up a 6-0 lead after 3-pointers from Bailey and Kadyn Carpenter in the first minute, but Adair County answered with five straight and no one led by more than three the rest of the half.

Adair County scored six straight late in the first to take its first lead at 13-11 before Braylon Banks was able to tie on a drive in the lane to close the quarter.

The Indians held a 17-14 advantage with 5:40 left in the half, but Bowling Green answered with four straight to regain the slight edge. A jumper from Carter White gave the lead back to Adair County, with Banks’ bucket in the paint late in the first half pushing the Purples back in front 20-19 at halftime.

Bowling Green was able to build a cushion in the third.

The Purples scored the first four points in the second half to make the score 24-19, with the lead growing to 30-23 after a bucket by Banks with 2:45 left in the third quarter.

The margin grew to 34-26 by the end of the third with a layup from Carpenter giving the Purples the largest lead of the night at 36-26 with 6:34 left in regulation.

The Indians started to chip away, getting within 44-43 with 1:19 remaining in regulation.

An offensive foul by Carpenter in which he inadvertently elbowed Adair County’s Connor Loy with 1:16 left was changed to an intentional foul and Loy was able to split a pair of free throws to tie it, with Isaiah Cochran’s point-blank basket giving the Indians the lead 15 seconds later.

“Obviously at that moment anybody watching knew I disagreed with that call,” Sherrill said. “It’s one of those situations where it is above the neck, I understand, but they are up in our bodies. How is my kid supposed to start dribbling if he is all up in us? Probably by the letter the right call, but obviously we didn’t like that call at that moment.”

On the next possession, Banks’ layup tied the score. Adair ran the clock down to three seconds, but missed the shot – with a tip-in coming up short as time expired.

Luke Idlett gave the Purples a 48-46 lead to open OT, but a 3 from Lane Grant put Adair County back in front.

The lead volleyed back and forth as both teams hit a pair of free throws to set up Bailey’s final basket. Adair County opted to not take a time out and try to come down for the win, but a 3 attempt was well short – allowing the Purples to hang on.

“It’s about what we expected,” Sherrill said. “It was going to be a war from the start. We were playing a really good opponent. We kind of got a little lead there, but they were never going to quit playing. That’s a good win over a really good basketball team. That thing started teetering – it could have gone either way. We just feel fortunate we were able to come out on the right end of that one.”

Banks led the Purples with 16 points. Carpenter added 13 points, while Bailey finished with eight points.

“I told them in the locker room before the game that you win these games by refusing to lose,” Sherrill said. “We caught some breaks that didn’t go our way. We had some bad possessions. Hat’s off to Adair they had some great possessions, but in overtime for us to make that play in that moment – when he turned the corner I thought something good was gonna happen here or we were gonna go home saying we tried to do something. If it doesn’t go you can say we tried the right play at the right moment.”

Cochran and Loy had 14 points each to lead Adair County, while Brayton Coomer added 13 points.

“It was a good game back and forth,” Adair County coach Deron Breeze said. “They hit one there at the end, but I thought the first half was the difference in the game. I thought we played well in the second half. I thought the first half we missed too many layups. I guess it kind of carried over into the third quarter. Somebody had to lose and somebody had to win the game. We would have liked to have been on the other side obviously.”

Bowling Green advances to face the winner of Wednesday’s final game between Calloway County and Ashland Blazer at 10 a.m. CDT on Friday at Rupp Arena.

ACHS 13 6 7 20 5 – 51

BGHS 13 7 14 12 6 – 52

AC – Cochran 14, Loy 14, Coomer 13, White 4, Grant 3, Bardin 3.

BG – Banks 16, Carpenter 13, Bailey 8, Wardlow 7, Idlett 6, Hurt 2.

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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