"We've played a pretty tough schedule, and we've been behind quite a bit this year," Rockcastle County coach Clayton Cash said. "I think that really helped us a lot."
The Rockets also received a boost from a reliable source, senior point guard Aaron Cash. The coach's son, who has led Rockcastle to the regional finals each of the past three years, poured in 31 points, including three 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Rockets battled to get back into the game after Cawood dominated the second period.
"We weren't getting any movement the first half," Cash said. "We were doing a lot of standing and taking some bad shots. We made some bad choices, and we weren't getting 15 (Cash) enough touches a time or two. We played almost two different halves."
Rockcastle (18-11) changed its defensive strategy in the second half, going exclusively to a man-to-man in an effort to cover the Cawood guards. Junior point guard Derrick Watkins, who hit all five of his shots in the first half, did not take a shot in the second half before fouling out.
"We had to get out on (Watkins). We were kind of keying on (Shawn) Ely and Blake (Hubbs)," Cash said. "We said before the game that after he makes one, get out on him, and we didn't do that the first half.
"He's a pretty good shooter, and we knew that. We've seen them a couple of times, and he doesn't take it unless he's left wide open, and we left him wide open."
The Rockets also did a good job on Hubbs, limiting the all-state senior guard to only 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting.
"We went straight man and tried to deny Hubbs the ball a little more and force them the opposite direction that they were trying to go," Cash said.
Cawood shot only 36 percent (8 of 22) from the field in the second half after hitting 12 of 19 shots in the first half.
"I thought we settled sometimes, and poor shot selection put us on our heels a little bit," Cawood coach Anthony Nolan said. "But then again, I thought we were getting rode and hand-checked on all night and never could get to the foul line."
Rockcastle also did a good job on the boards, outrebounding Cawood 30-23, including several huge offensive rebounds down the stretch.
"We played them down here earlier in the year, and they killed us," Cash said. "It was just the opposite. They beat us on the offensive glass. That was one our goals. If we were to stay in the game, we had to get some offensive boards and not give them as many second-chance points."
"One possession they got three or four shots until they did score," Nolan said, "and that was probably the first time I've seen that all season."
Cawood raced to a 5-0 lead behind Watkins' hot hand, but Cash and senior center Blake Roberts each had three baskets in the first quarter as Rockcastle fought back. The lead changed hands four times late in the quarter before Watkins' second trey gave Cawood a 14-12 advantage after one period.
Rockcastle could manage only one field goal in the second quarter as Cawood alternated a man-to-man and 2-3 zone. Baskets by Andrew Brock and Watkins followed by a 3-pointer from Ely gave Cawood a 27-16 lead with 3:53 left in the half.
The Trojans may have missed an opportunity to blow the game open as they didn't score again in the half. Rockcastle could manage only a single free throw by Cash during that span to cut the deficit to 10 at halftime.
Cash found the range from the perimeter midway through the third quarter and pulled the Rockets within two with 2:36 left. Cawood answered as senior forward Travis Clem scored five straight points to help the Trojans take a 36-31 lead into the final period.
Colby Brown, a junior guard, had the hot hand in the fourth quarter, hitting two straight 3-pointers after missing his previous five shots. Brown's second 3 gave Rockcastle a 39-38 lead with 6:22 left.
The Rockcastle lead grew to five on a three-point play by Cash with 3:46 remaining, but like they've done all season, the Trojans battled back even with Ely on the bench with his fifth foul.
A 3-pointer from the corner by Hubbs cut the deficit to two with 1:47 left. One free by Roberts pushed the lead back to three.
Cawood appeared to force a turnover with a minute to play when Brown went out bounds against the Trojans' press. Watkins, however, was called for a foul on the play, much to the chagrin of Nolan.
"It should have been our ball, and they were shooting free throws rather than it being our possession," Nolan said. "That totally changes the game. That was a crucial call."
Nolan also wasn't happy with the disparity in free throws. Cawood had three more baskets, but Rockcastle shot 13 more free throws.
"I thought they rode us all night long, and we had foul problems," Nolan said. "That makes you adjust your game plan, and that forced us away from what we were doing so well the first half. It was like if we breathed on them they were at the foul line, but on the other end we were getting held and hacked.
"That's not to take anything away from Rockcastle. They are a tough team, and they've proven that."
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