By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Three seniors set career scoring records and another led his team to its first 9th Region championship in eight years during the Northern Kentucky boys basketball season that ended last week.
The players that finished careers as their team’s all-time scoring leader were Aaron Gutman of Walton-Verona with 2,050 points, EJ Walker of Lloyd with 1,914 and Landon Lorms of Ryle with 1,546.
Gutman, who broke Walton-Verona’s previous scoring record set in 1958, averaged 23.2 points this season to win a tight race for Northern Kentucky’s scoring title.
The two players behind him were Lorms (22.8) and Cooper senior Andy Johnson (22.1).
Johnson was named 9th Region Player of the Year for being the leading scorer on the Cooper team that won its first region title since 2017 under head coach Tim Sullivan, who’s future with the program remains unknown.
Sullivan said the school principal asked him to resign as head coach after the season ended. When the Cooper players found out, it gave then an added incentive. They won 19 of their last 21 games before a season-ending loss in the state tournament quarterfinals to eventual state champion Great Crossing.
Simon Kenton tied a team record for most wins in a season with a 24-7 mark. The Pioneers won 17 of 20 games over the last four months of the season under Trent Steiner, who was named co-winner of the 8th Region Coach of the Year Award.
Campbell County senior point guard Garyn Jackson was voted 10th Region Player of the Year by coaches. He averaged 16 points, six assists and six rebounds for the Camels and finished with the state’s seventh highest field goal percentage (67.9).
Four of the six 9th Region boys basketball teams that entered the season with a new head coach posted winning records. The most successful newcomer was Covington Catholic coach Jake Thelen. His team made it to the region semifinals and finished 24-9 with four underclassmen in the starting lineup.
The other coaches who took charge of teams that finished with winning records were Scott Code at Dixie Heights (21-10), Nathan Browning at Conner (18-10) and Sam Elsbernd at Holmes (15-14). Holmes finished above the .500 mark for the first time since the 2015-16 season and 15 wins were the most since 2014-15.
Northern Kentucky had three boys teams in the Kentucky All “A” Classic small-school state tournament for the first time since 2019. Beechwood, Brossart and Walton-Verona all won region titles, but they had a combined record of 1-3 in state tournament games.
Kinney among top players in elite league
Taylen Kinney of Newport was one of 10 players selected All-Overtime Elite after his first season in the league for highly talented prep players being recruited by major college programs.
The 6-foot-1 point guard averaged 20.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals for his RWE team that placed third in the eight-team regular season standings and finished 15-8.
In the league’s final individual statistics, Kinney was No. 8 in scoring, No. 5 in assists and No. 3 in steals.
RWE’s season ended with a 97-96 loss in overtime to Fear of God Athletics in the second round of the Overtime Elite playoffs. In that game, Kinney scored 23 points with eight assists and four rebounds.
After playing two varsity seasons at Newport High School, Kinney transferred to Overtime Elite in Atlanta where he will continue studying for a high school diploma while training to improve his skills and competing in an elite league.
Several teams that earned berths in this year’s NCAA Division I playoffs have made him scholarship offers, including Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, Purdue, Oregon, Creighton, Louisville and Xavier.
Baseball coach picks up 300th career win
Campbell County baseball coach Scott Schweitzer notched his 300th career win on Tuesday when the Camels defeated Cooper, 3-1, behind an impressive pitching performance by senior Zach Franzen.
In six innings, Franzen allowed no runs on three hits with six strikeouts to pick up his second win in three starts. He’s the Camels’ top returning pitcher after posting a 4-1 record and 2.42 ERA last season.
Campbell County is off to an 8-2 start in its 16th season under coach Schweitzer. His teams have won 20 or more games for nine consecutive seasons, not counting the 2020 season that was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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