‘All the pieces.’ Warren Central puts Ashland on slow burn to reach Sweet 16 semifinals.

There was nothing flashy about Warren Central’s 64-48 quarterfinals win over Ashland Blazer on Friday in the 2023 UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.

The Dragons gradually stretched a five point first-quarter lead to seven at halftime and to nine at the end of the third and then to 16 by the end of the game.

But that might be what’s so frightening about Warren Central, last year’s state runner-up.

“In my opinion, they are the best team here,” said Ashland Blazer Coach Ryan Bonner, whose team kept the margin within striking distance by making five of 11 three-point attempts in the first half. “They are the best team I’ve seen on film all year. They’ve got all the components and all the pieces to make a run at this.”

While Warren Central (34-1) couldn’t break away from Ashland until late, it also never trailed after briefly falling behind 9-8 early in the first period. The Tomcats cut Warren Central’s lead to three early in the second half, but could get no closer.

“That’s a testament to (Ashland) making shots,” Warren Central Coach William Unseld said. “You shoot like that, you’re going to stay in the basketball game. … We didn’t panic. We just made plays. Got the ball around the rim late and made free throws.”

Warren Central shot well, too, making 55.8 percent of its field goal attempts. But compared to Wednesday’s resounding 80-55 win over Pulaski County, Friday’s game felt a little sluggish.

“It’s a state tournament game. You’re not always going to be sharp,” Unseld said. “But we made plays when we needed to.”

Chappelle Whitney led the Dragons with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Omari Glover and Kade Unseld added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Point guard Izayiah Villafuerte dished out a game-high seven assists.

“We know what we can do inside our locker room,” Villafuerte said. “We just want to get back to where we were and even have a better outcome than we did last season.”

Ashland (23-12) shot better than 50 percent from the field in the first half, but cooled off in the second as turnovers and Warren Central transition buckets also began to hurt them. Rheyce Deboard led the Tomcats with 21 points and Zander Carter added 14.

“We just had too many consecutive empty possessions against them,” Bonner said. “With a team that is that good and that talented, when you have too many empty possessions, they are going to make you pay.”

Warren Central advanced to the first semifinal game to be played at 11 a.m. Saturday against Woodford County, a 59-48 winner over Elizabethtown earlier Friday. Woodford and Warren Central each played in the King of the Bluegrass holiday tournament in December, but did not end up on the court together.

“I’ve seen (Woodford) a bunch,” Unseld said. “They are playing well. They’re athletic, they take care of the ball.”

Recent scores indicate Woodford is playing at a slower pace in the postseason than they tried to go at in the regular season, Unseld said.

“We’ve just got to go play and make some shots,” Unseld said. “I think we can match up with them. They match up with us. … It will be whoever’s making shots, whoever’s taking care of the basketball and whoever rebounds. Basketball is real easy. If we do those things, we’ll be OK.”

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