GAME OF THE WEEK: GRC vs. Boyd County

Published 3:34 pm Tuesday, February 18, 2020

The George Rogers Clark boys basketball team will finish up their regular season this Friday with a matchup against Boyd County, one of the 16th Region’s top teams.

The game was added to the Cardinals’ schedule last week as a replacement game after the matchup with Frederick Douglass was postponed until next year.

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The Lions will come into the new GRC Arena Friday night at 8 p.m.

Boyd County has three players averaging double figures this season. Their leading scorer is senior guard Blake Stewart, who is averaging 18.2 points per game. Stewart is also the Lions’ second-leading rebounder, pulling down 7.1 boards per game.

Carson Webb (11.7 ppg) and Austin Gibbs (11.3 ppg) are the other two double-digit scorers for Boyd County. Gibbs is the team’s leading rebounder at 7.9 rebounds per game.

The Cardinals and the Lions have three common opponents this season: Louisville Butler, Ashland Blazer and Mason County. Both teams lost each game against the common opponents. Ashland Blazer, the last remaining undefeated team in the state of Kentucky, has had some of their closest games against the Cards and the Lions. GRC is the only team to take the Tomcats to overtime this season and Boyd County lost by five points at home and 11 points on the road.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Boyd County sits at 29th in the state in offense, scoring 69.6 points per game. They’re also 24th in the state in team rebounding, bringing down 32.4 rebounds per game.

George Rogers Clark is one of the state leaders in those categories as well, with slightly higher numbers than the Lions. The Cardinals are 17th in the state in scoring, averaging 70.8 points per game. GRC is ninth in the state in rebounding, averaging 34.5 rebounds per game.

A large part of that rebounding success has been thanks to senior Lincoln Bush’s impressive season cleaning the glass. Bush is fourth in the state in rebounds per game, hauling in 12.9 a game.

Bush will likely be responsible for slowing down Gibbs, Boyd County’s best big man.

Bush’s success this season has largely translated to team success. Bush has recorded 20 double-doubles on the year, and in games when he has a double-double, the Cards are 17-3.

The Cardinals are shooting 31.3 percent from outside the arc this season, slightly below Boyd County’s 32.5 percent.

Since opening the new gym, GRC’s 3-point percentage has had a slight uptick. The Cards are 22-of-65 from outside in GRC Arena, good enough for 33.8 percent.

Clark County will need Jared Wellman to continue his 3-point success in the new gym. Since the gym’s opening, Wellman is shooting 52.6 percent on 3-point shots.

The final game of the regular season for the Cardinals will tip off Friday at 8 p.m. in the new GRC Arena.