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Kentucky All-Stars boys basketball team, behind Max Green, rallies to defeat Indiana

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Kentucky All-Stars boys basketball team, behind Max Green, rallies to defeat Indiana

LEXINGTON — Max Green was the leading scorer in Kentucky high school basketball last season at 32.1 points per game.

Now they know about him in Indiana, too.

The Oldham County High School product put on a show Friday night, scoring 36 points to lead the Kentucky All-Stars to a 103-82 victory over Indiana at Lexington Catholic High School.

Headed to Holy Cross, Green hit 14 of 16 shots overall and 5 of 7 from 3-point range — and made a new fan.

“I’m a Holy Cross fan!” a fan in the front row yelled. “I’m fixin’ to go buy a ticket.”

“That’s what I do is score the ball and play fun basketball and entertain the crowd,” Green said. “When I get in a groove like that, there’s not a lot that can stop me.”

It was a rare victory for a Kentucky team that trails the all-time series, 104-46. Indiana had won eight of the previous nine meetings.

But Kentucky coach Jeff Morrow — head coach at Iroquois High School — said his team was not intimidated.

“Unfortunately for Kentucky, that has been the case some years: On paper they’ve looked and gone, ‘There’s no way,’” Morrow said. “But when you have this much talent … we certainly felt like we could win.”

It looked like another Indiana runaway early, as the Hoosiers built a 40-21 lead with 7:21 left in the first half.

But behind its defense, Kentucky made a late push to pull within 49-43 at halftime.

“Once we finally did turn it up and compete on the defensive end, you see what happened,” Morrow said. “The offense is not the issue. It’s never the issue. In this type of setting, it’s a challenge to get talented guys to play defense. But to their credit, they really stepped up and did it.”

The game turned at the 10:26 mark of the second half after Mr. Basketball and McDonald’s All-American Flory Bidunga dunked to pull Indiana within 67-66.

Bidunga was whistled for a technical foul — his fifth foul of the game — and had to watch the remainder of the contest from the bench.

Kentucky immediately put together a 19-2 run for an 86-68 lead. Green capped it with a 30-footer with 7:21 remaining.

Indiana coach John Peckinpaugh said the only explanation he received for Bidunga’s technical foul was that, “He yelled.”

“The kid’s never got a technical in his career, and he’s played in a lot bigger games than this,” Peckinpaugh said. “When Mr. Basketball plays 12 minutes, it’s going to affect your team. I don’t think I did a good enough job of responding to the adversity caused by that, which trickled down to our guys. I have to be a better leader (Saturday) night if something like that happens.”

Seneca product Quel’Ron House added 16 points for Kentucky. Mr. Basketball and University of Kentucky signee Travis Perry scored 12 points.

Jack Benter, a Purdue signee from Brownstown Central, led Indiana with 16 points.

The rematch is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. You can bet Indiana will know where Green is at all times.

“He has the confidence,” said Morrow, comparing Green with former University of Louisville star Russ Smith. “There’s that thin line. As a coach, your hair falls out when he shoots it. But he thinks it’s going in, and they do.”

INDIANA ALL-STARS        49       33 –   82

KENTUCKY ALL-STARS    43       60 –   103

Indiana — Flory Bidunga 13, Jack Benter 16, K.J. Windham 12, Micah Davis 8, Aaron Fine 5, Evan Haywood 6, Keenan Garner 15, Tyler Parrish 6, Tucker Tornatta 1.

Kentucky — Travis Perry 12, Tyler Doyle 9, Ayden Evans 9, Max Green 36, Quel’Ron House 16, Mason Ritter 6, Brady Shoulders 11, Dayton Williams 2, Jashaun Pouncy 2.

More high school basketball: Central product Destiny Jones delivers, but Kentucky girls fall to Indiana

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.

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