The 1993 GCHS Cougars basketball team’s historic run to the Sweet 16

perkins-making-trey
perkins-making-trey

Coming off five consecutive losing seasons, the Grayson County High School boys basketball team’s historic 1993 season opened unceremoniously with a five-point loss at home to Whitesville Trinity.

In fact, the squad lost three of its first four contests, as the team beat Ohio County in the second game of the season followed by two straight roads losses to Breckinridge County (78-57) and Bowling Green (85-59).

The Cougars, though, soon found their rhythm, winning six of the next seven games. The only loss GCHS took during that early stretch of success was to, oddly enough, South Australia, in a game played at Edmonson County.

Fulfilling the sports adage — it’s not how you start but how you finish that matters — the 1993 team, which ended the regular season 15-10, went on the shock the high school basketball world by winning the Third Region tourney and advancing for the first time in school history to the Mecca of Kentucky high school basketball: The Sweet 16.

When looking for the impetus behind the success of the team, two of the squad’s star players, Ernie Perkins and Doug Robinson, first mention the impact head coach Bill Lee had on the unforgettable season

“Coach Lee was outstanding. He took a bunch of average boys to the state tournament,” Perkins said. “You break us apart individually and we probably were not that good, but put us together and we were a tremendous team. We didn’t have a bunch of superstars, just a bunch of well coached players.”

Lee, who previously coached Caneyville High School to the Sweet 16 in 1968, had lofty expectations for his team and fostered a strong connection between coach and players, which was manifested on the hardwood.

“Coach Lee always pushed us to be our best, play hard, and play as a team. I really believe he thought any of his teams could win any game,” Robinson stated. “He held us to a high standard on and off the court, and built great relationships with his players. I am a little biased because I have been around him for so long, but he never takes the easy way and always tries to do what is right.”

Cougar magic in the Cougar Den

Grayson County’s 1993 postseason run to the Sweet 16 came perilously close to not happening, as the Cougars needed overtime to dispatch McLean County 61-59 in the first round of the 12th District tournament.

The first round district tourney win secured Grayson County’s appearance in the region tournament, despite falling to Ohio County in the district title game.

The Third Region Tournament, which was held at the Cougar Den, featured several strong squads, including Whitesville Trinity, which boasted two Division I players; Breckinridge County, which beat Grayson County twice in the regular season by a combined 34 points; and the tournament favorite, traditional basketball power, Owensboro High School.

Since the Cougars lost the 12th District championship game, they were forced to play teams that won their respective district tournaments in every region game. A tall task, indeed, but one the players embraced.

“We knew our freshman year that we would be hosting the region tournament our senior year and always talked about that,” Perkins said. “We probably never knew what our record was or how many points anybody was averaging; we were always taught to just go play basketball.”

And “just go play basketball” is precisely what the Cougars did.

In the first round of the 3rd Region Tournament, GCHS faced Whitesville Trinity, a team that twice beat the Cougars during the regular season by a combined 10 points. But on that night, March 10, 1993, the Cougars triumphed 69-63 in front of a raucous Cougar-centric crowd.

Surely, though, the Cougars season would end against mighty Owensboro, a program that currently leads all Kentucky high schools in Sweet 16 appearances with 44 … Not so fast, my friend.

Grayson County, in a nod to underdogs everywhere, “played above our heads and had a bunch of luck on our side,” Robinson declared, as the Cougars battled Owensboro in a historic hardwood tussle that ended with GCHS celebrating a 59-57 double overtime victory.

Now one win away from the program’s first-ever Sweet 16 appearance, the Cougars would face their season-long nemesis, the Breckinridge County Tigers.

Breckinridge County soundly beat the Cougars twice during the 1993 regular season, winning by 21 points in an early December matchup and by 13 in a January 26 contest. Coincidentally, the Cougars scored 57 points in both losses.

But none of that mattered. Not to a Cougars team with a bad memory.

“We always had the confidence that we could win no matter who we were playing. I didn’t know that we had lost by 34 points combined in the two (Breck Co.) losses and definitely didn’t know that when we played them,” Perkins emphatically said. “We were always focused on the game in front of us and that comes from coach Lee and coach Leon Davis. We were all close friends and always played as a team. We didn’t care who led us in scoring, when someone was hot or a certain play was working, we kept feeding it. We never cared about stats.”

It was that attitude that cleared the heads of the Cougars, and led the team to an improbable comeback in what surely is one of the most memorable region title games in Kentucky high school basketball history.

Down between six and 10 points for most of the contest, the Cougars found themselves on the brink of a heartbreaking loss … until the basketball gods conjured up a helping of Cougar Den magic.

With 1:13 left the game and GCHS down 52-46, Perkins drove the ball down the right side of the court and nailed an off-balance three-point shot from the corner while being fouled, sending the crowd of Cougar backers into a frenzy.

Perkins’ and-1 free throw was perfect. The Cougars were now down 52-50 with 1:07 left in the game.

Perkins, who’s seven treys – four in the fourth quarter — propelled him to 25 points in the contest, followed up his acrobatic trey with yet another three, this one while being left wide open on the right wing. The splashdown gave the Cougars a 53-52 lead with under a minute to play (and helped bestowed Perkins the moniker, “State Tourney Ernie”).

The Cougars outscored the Tigers 4-2 the rest of the way to capture the Third Region title, 57-54, sending GCHS to Rupp Arena for the Sweet 16 for the first time ever (and giving the Cougars 57 points scored in all three Breck County games).

“It was a fun experience to host and win the region in our own gym. The gym was packed, and it was an exciting atmosphere for high school basketball,” Robinson fondly remembered.

Perkins also gave a nod to one of the largest crowds ever assembled in the Cougar Den.

“The crowd was huge. We loved playing off the crowd; probably the biggest crowd ever,” he said.

The aftermath 

While winning is the ultimate goal in sports, the foundation for a good life high school coaches are in a position to construct for players is decidedly more important. Teaching good sportsmanship, selflessness – putting team above self – and the importance of hard work are lessons the GCHS basketball coaching staff most effectively conveyed to the players during that magical 1993 season.

“Bill Lee and Leon Davis didn’t just teach us basketball, but life lessons that I have carried with me my whole life,” said Perkins, who now serves as Grayson County PVA. “Every player on that team has been very successful in life and I attribute that to coach Lee, coach Davis, and coach Shawn Majors.”

Robinson, now superintendent of Grayson County Schools, echoed Perkins’ sentiments about sports and coaches being integral in teaching young people how to succeed in life, even when faced with adversity.

“I do believe that sports teaches you some valuable life lessons and skills. You have to work as a team; get along with other people; they (teammates and coaches) push you to your limits; you deal with adversity and experience wins and losses. You develop an attitude not to give up, and so many other lessons. I think these are things that stick with you well after your playing days.”

After winning the region tourney, the Cougars lost in the opening round of the Sweet 16 to a strong Warren Central squad. But that has not dispelled the memories, or the life-changing lessons learned, from that magical season of joy.

In addition to Perkins and Robinson, the 1993 GCHS Cougars basketball team was comprised of Ralph Bostick, Joe Hack, Todd Gibson, Dan Peterson, Jason Davis, Chad White, Talbott Behnken, Darren Embry, Bobby Adams, and Jody Henderson.

(Photo: A still shot of Ernie Perkins making a three-pointer while being fouled in the Third Region title game)

Below is a one-minute, thirty second video of the end of the Cougars victory over Breckinridge County in the Third Region title tilt. Turn up the sound to hear the radio call by the longtime Voice of the Cougars, Dave Thompson.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com