Final: Holmes 55, South Laurel 49

Updating the quarterfinals of the 90th Sweet Sixteen …

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• Holmes earned a semifinal date with Scott County. The Bulldogs were led by Greg Rice (23 points) and Austin Hill (21 points), who had all but 11 of their team’s points. South Laurel was led by Jordan Hammonds with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Ty Proffitt had 13 points, all in the fourth quarter.
• Greg Rice (21 points) and Austin Hill (19 points) have carried Holmes to a 48-40 lead with 1:53 left. South Laurel has called timeout to regroup after seeing the Bulldogs go on a 9-2 run to take control.
• After going scoreless through three quarters, Ty Proffitt has 10 straight points to trim Holmes’ lead to 39-38 with 4:10 left.
• Ty Proffitt just scored his first points of the game — 35 seconds into the fourth quarter. After missing eight shots, his layup cut Holmes’ lead to 37-30.
• Going into the fourth quarter Holmes leads 33-26. South Laurel led 26-24 but went scoreless over the last 5:57. Greg Rice’s 15 points pace Holmes. South Laurel is shooting 33% (11-for-33) and has 11 turnovers.
• Holmes leads 32-26 with 2:30 left in the third quarter. Greg Rice has 14 points and Austin Hill has 12. South Laurel star Ty Proffitt is 0-for-7 and still scoreless.
• Photo at right: Holmes senior point guard Duran Jefferson fires up his team.
• HALFTIME SCORE: Holmes 22, South Laurel 20. Austin Hill’s 15-foot jumper with 1:41 left gave Holmes the lead going into the locker room. Hill and Greg Rice have 8 points apiece for the Bulldogs, who are shooting only 31% (8-for-26). Jordan Hammonds leads South Laurel with 10 points and 4 rebounds. Trey Smith has 7 points. Ty Proffitt, one of the Cards’ top scorers on the season, has missed all six of his shots.
• Kejuan Arnold just nailed a three-pointer to cap a Holmes’ rally that has put the Bulldogs on top 15-12 early in the second quarter.
• South Laurel has hit two early three-pointers — by Jordan Hammonds and Jordan Bortnem — to take a 10-6 lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter. Trey Smith has a couple baskets for the Cards. Among the fans watching are former UK teammates Mike Casey and Mike Pratt, who are two rows behind the Holmes bench.
• The last two days South Laurel has had a shoot-around in UK’s Memorial Coliseum. When the Cards were there mid-afternoon yesterday, news had broken about Tubby Smith’s departure and media descended on the place.