Boys’ Sweet 16: Trinity overpowers Pulaski with inside game down the stretch

Drae Vasser scored 19 points and Trinity played to its strength inside in the fourth quarter to defeat Pulaski County 50-43 in the first round of the UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena on Thursday.

Shamrocks coach Bret Saxton credited Pulaski County for slowing his team’s attack and keeping it close throughout. Pulaski never trailed by more than eight points and trimmed Trinity’s lead to 40-37 on Will Blankenship’s 3-pointer with 5:07 to play.

“I thought we weren’t ourselves,” Saxton said. “But anybody that’s played or coached in tournaments like this, you know ultimately what it comes down to is: ‘Can you finish with more points than the other team?’ And so, we were able to make some plays late.”

Trinity (27-7) stretched its lead in the fourth quarter by going to the paint. After Blankenship’s 3-pointer, Julius Edmunds scored a pair of layups, including a putback to help start a 9-4 Trinity run. Avery Frasher scored another down low and Jayden Johnson’s dunk put the Rocks up 49-41 with 1:03 left.

“Early, we were able to do some of the things we wanted to do defensively to keep them out of the lane and keep the score low,” Pulaski County coach John Fraley said. “In the second half, they pounded us on the boards a little bit. But we battled hard, and I couldn’t be more proud of these kids.”

With Pulaski cutting off drives into the lane with its zone, Vasser took the opportunities he had to keep Trinity out front. He went 3-for-3 from the 3-point line and converted seven of his 10 field goal attempts overall.

“My teammates did a great job of finding me open and coach told us earlier ‘If you’re not shooting when you’re open, you might put us in a bad situation,” Vasser said. “So, I felt like if I was open, just let it fly. Once I saw the first one go through, confidence is a true thing … I just kept shooting.”

Lance Chandler scored five of his nine points at the free throw line for the Rocks. Alex Johnson added eight.

Blankenship, who missed out on playing in last year’s Sweet 16 due to a knee injury, led Pulaski with 14 points. Zak Anderson and Carson Fraley added nine and eight points, respectively.

The Maroons (23-11) were making their second straight Sweet 16 trip despite injuries to key players earlier in the season and despite graduating their top two scorers from the 2023 12th Region champs.

“We were picked third in our district and we were picked seventh in our region,” Fraley said. “This group did nothing but persevere. They stayed right with the program and they battled.

Next Trinity, the 7th Region champion, was to face fellow Louisville school and 6th Region champ Evangel Christian in the 8:30 p.m. Friday quarterfinals matchup. The schools haven’t played each other since 1994. The Rocks are 4-0 over the Eagles all-time, according to the Courier Journal.

“They are very, very talented. They’re big. They’re fast,” Saxton said of Evangel. “It’s going to take a much better defensive effort from us tomorrow. … It should be fun. I think tomorrow will be a little bit faster and so, hopefully, we can benefit from that.”

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