MATTHEW SPARKS -- All about 'A' for 'Z': Carter sharing special season

Mar. 13—MOREHEAD — As Ashland's name was called for winning its sixth straight 16th Region title, the star player ushered his teammates out to collect the hardware.

Zander Carter was ready to celebrate but wanted to share the limelight with the whole team even more.

"Eventually, this ball will stop bouncing," Carter said, "and the morals that I instill in myself and that can rub off on the team is really what matters. It's being a light in this world of darkness for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If I keep serving him and serving others, and washing the feet of others as Jesus did, there's no telling how far this team will go."

The Tomcats are headed back to Rupp Arena, a place they know well because they have had a standing reservation in the Sweet Sixteen since 2019. Carter and his teammates have more basketball to play but the junior took a moment to reflect on the season after becoming the school's all-time leading scorer during the Ashland Invitational Tournament last December. The reflection centered around team goals.

"It's a blessing from the Lord for sure," Carter said. "We had some ups and downs this season. We played a really tough schedule. We had to fight through a lot of adversity, internally and externally. We had two trips to Boyd County and then at our place and lost. To be in this position, we are truly blessed. I am thankful the Lord put us in this position."

Former Ashland player, assistant coach and second-year head coach Ryan Bonner believes Carter has solidified his status as one of the greats to wear the prestigious uniform.

"He's in the elite," Bonner said. "I'm biased and people might not like me saying this but to me, he's on the Mount Rushmore when you talk about Ashland basketball. At the rate that he has won games, and what he has done for this program, I always say this about Zander. It's not so much what he does on the court compared to what he gives us off the court and in our locker room to help drive our culture in the right direction."

Carter scored 61 points over three games in the region tournament and took home his second straight Most Valuable Player trophy on Tuesday night.

The four region titles he's helped capture remain the number he's focused on.

"He wants to win and that's the bottom line," Bonner said. "On the floor, he's a winner. He's a winner in life. He's always going to do the right thing. It's in the classroom, in the weight room and on the practice floor. All those great components that go into being a great teammate, he provides it. It's important to us because those kind of traits trickle down."

The team mentality broke through in the region final. After leading the team to two victories in Morehead, the scoring numbers were dispersed among four double-figure scorers. Nate Freize shared team-high honors with Carter after each scored 16 points against the Lions. Asher Adkins tallied 12 points and Braxton Jennings added 10.

"It's a complete confidence boost for our whole organization," Carter said. "If I'm not scoring, there can be four other guys that can score double digits. We really stay solid and keep working. It allows us to keep pushing the pace the entire game. We can stretch that lead out."

It was the 16th meeting between Ashland and Boyd County in the 16th Region Tournament. The Tomcats win evened the series at 8-8 but Ashland has won the last three finals against the rival Lions.

Boyd County won the previous three meetings, including the 64th District championship in overtime, but the Tomcats revived the region magic and held the Lions to their lowest point total of the season in the 61-47 win.

"We really had to stay solid as far as our defense goes," Carter said. "We stayed locked in to the game plan. We had a great day of game prep before the game. Our coaching staff spends hours watching film every day. We had to stay locked in the entire game and not have any defensive letdowns."

Carter still has time left in an Ashland uniform and more opportunities to display his big-game ability. He will get that chance on March 20 at Rupp Arena in the opening round of the Sweet Sixteen. The Tomcats meet Second Region winner Lyon County and Kentucky signee and Mr. Basketball frontrunner, Travis Perry.

Carter doesn't look ahead to No. 7. It's time to acknowledge how difficult it's been to win six in a row.

"There are a lot of late nights, a lot of pressure and a lot of outside noise that goes with it," Carter said. "I would not want to be in any other position. At the end of the day, guys will be in the gym at 7 and 8 and even on Sunday nights getting their shots in so we can have moments like these."

"People on the outside just don't understand how hard it is to accomplish this feat," Bonner added. "To have the opportunity to do it and at the rate that we have, it is special. I wake up every morning grateful for that and to be with these young men."

All-Tournament team

Blake Hall (East Carter)

Elijah Neel (Russell)

Brayden Mirus (Rowan County)

Lucas Jolly (Fleming County)

Braxton Jennings (Ashland)

Jason Ellis (Boyd County)

Griffin Taylor (Boyd County)

Logan Spencer (Morgan County)

Dashawn Watson (Rowan County)

Seth Hickerson (Fleming County)

Asher Adkins (Ashland)

Nate Freize (Ashland)

Adam Hargett (Fleming County)

Jacob Spurlock (Boyd County)

Zander Carter (MVP) (Ashland)

Reach MATTHEW SPARKS at msparks@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671. Follow @SparksWillFly35 on Twitter. (X).