Blazers Make Historic Run in KCSAA Tournament

24 Feb 2019 by Justin Hensley

Cumberland Athletics Basketball 2018-19 season ended Saturday with a loss to the Christian Academy of Lawrenceburg (CAL) in the KCSAA 2A State Championship game. The Blazers came out strong in the first half, but was unable to endure foul trouble and ended up missing the mark with a final score of 76-73.

After taking a 27-14 first quarter lead, the Blazers led by 5 at the half 40-35. Foul trouble plagued Cumberland and lost two starters in the third. CAL outscored Cumberland 28-20 in the fourth while the Blazers continued to lose personnel to foul trouble. With a little under one minute left in the fourth, Cumberland was forced to play with four as three had already fouled out.

Tanner Pilarski led the Blazers with 26 points with Micah Stargel providing 20. Shane Jung and Ben Pruette added 13 and 10 respectively.

Cumberland finished 2-1 in the KCSAA State Tournament and finished in second place in the 2A division. The tournament marked the first time in organization history that a basketball team had competed in a championship game in in 2A. Tanner Pilarski and Shane Jung won All-Tournament accolades with Pilarski adding on an All-Region award and All Star honorable mention.

“That was a tough loss. The guys played their tails off and went at it with all they had," said Head Coach Justin Hensley after the game. "It came down to us getting in foul trouble and the fact that we don’t have a deep bench this season. We’re looking forward to next season and hope to get more guys interested in playing basketball for our organization. Really proud of our guys and the way they represented the organization and our team today.”

Assistant Coach Carlo Wahlstedt said that "our guys laid it all on the line today. Not only was this a historic day for our organization, but it was also a momentum builder for upcoming season.”

Cumberland Homeschool Athletic Teams, Inc is a 501c3 nonprofit organization designed to provide opportunities for K-12 student athletes to participate in competitive athletics principally in the Cumberland Valley region of Southeast Kentucky.