Beech Tree News Network

OWENSBORO - Butler County came up short in the opening round of the 3rd Region Boys' Basketball Tournament. Owensboro Catholic pulled away to beat Butler County 77-61 in the 3rd Region Boys' Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals at the Sportscenter on Wednesday night.

Butler County ended its season 21-10 with the loss.

With the win, Owensboro Catholic improved to 19-14 and advanced to the 3rd Region Boys' Basketball Tournament Semifinals.

Brian Griffith scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Aces to the victory. Joining Griffith in double figures, Gray Weaver posted 18 points, Drew Hartz added 15 points and Ji Webb contributed 11 points. Narrowly missing double figures in scoring for the Aces, Andrew Riney netted nine points.

Owensboro Catholic carried a lead out of each quarter. The Aces used a 21-4 scoring advantage in the second quarter to lead 36-16 at halftime.

Luke Scales and Sam McFarland rounded out Owensboro Catholic's individual scoring, chipping in three points and two points, respectively. 

Parker Rice paced Butler County, scoring a game-high 25 points for the Bears in the season-ending setback. Rice was the only Butler County player to reach double figures in scoring. Nearly reaching double figures for the Bears, Macauley Hampton netted nine points. 

The additional scorers for Butler County were Brody Hunt (eight points), Leevi McMillin (eight points), Solomon Flener (six points), Jagger Henderson (two points) and Hayden Hodge (two points).