HIGH SCHOOL

Mike Hutchens notches No. 500 as Catholic rolls

Mike Blackerby
KNS-sports@knoxnews.com

Catholic High School’s boys basketball team is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in school history.

Saturday night following their 86-51 home win over Union County in the Region 2-AA quarterfinals, the Irish took a quick timeout to honor their longtime coach.

Mike Hutchens, in characteristic fashion, dismissed all the fuss about his milestone 500th victory as coach of the Irish.

“The most important thing was getting this game under our belt,” said Hutchens, who ran his career record at Catholic to 500-244 in 28 years.

He was mobbed by players, former players and presented the game ball on the Catholic court  as the surging Irish (26-1) won their 23rd game in a row.

“It (winning 500 games) is kind of hard to believe,” continued Hutchens, who got his first victory in 1989 against the now-defunct Knox County Training School.

“It just seems like yesterday that we were getting started.”

The Irish, ranked No. 1 in Class AA for much of the season, advance to Region 2 semifinal elimination play against Alcoa at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at Austin-East.

Catholic's Brock Jancek (34) goes for a layup during a Region 2-AA boys tournament game between Knoxville Catholic and Union County at Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, February 25, 2017.

“This (beating Union County) sets everything up we’ve been working for,” said Hutchens.

The Irish, behind 6-foot-7 junior Brock Jancek, roared to a 24-10 lead against Union County (12-15) and were never threatened.

Jancek had nine first-quarter points and the Irish opened 10 for 15 from the field.

“We had a great first quarter,” said Hutchens. “We came out ready to play.”

Jancek had a game-high 25 points and claimed seven rebounds despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter.

“He’s getting better every night,” noted Hutchens.

Senior point guard Luke Smith had 20 points, five assists and four rebounds for the Irish. Davari Reeder added 15 points and eight rebounds. Chase Kuerschen and Tony Scott contributed nine points each.

Landan Oaks scored 12 points to lead the Patriots. Trent Cooper added 10 while Austin Lay and Cam Smith had seven apiece.

Stat of the game: Jancek hit his first seven shots Saturday night and finished 10 of 12 from the field. He has seven dunks in his last three games.

Board work: Catholic outrebounded Union County 39-16 as six Irish players had at least four rebounds each.

Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor.