article 3rd Region Rankings (1/18/16)

1.Meade County(15-3 SAME) - It appeared the rest of the region may have been closing the gap on the Waves, but a big 2 win week and a loss by Daviess County, pushed the margin back out for them. Meade got a big game from Josh Durbin(23/12) in a district win vs Hanock on Tuesday. They came back on Friday with a nice 68-54 win over E-Town. Meade has very tough games this week at home vs North Hardin and at Bullitt East on Friday.

2.Breck County(13-4 UP 1) - Breck and DC have traded spots every week on this poll. The Tigers were able to get a 70-67 win over DC on Tuesday to move them back into this spot. Tyler Haycraft had a monster 22/11 game while Cody Mingus added 21 for the Tigers in the victory. Breck will go on the road this week at Apollo and North Bullitt.

3.Daviess County(14-5 DOWN 1) - While DC lost a close one on the road to Breck, it wasnt for lack of effort from All State candidate Stewart Currie. The 6-7 UL baseball commit, combined for 61 points and 34 rebounds this week as DC bounced back to beat Ohio County Friday. DC travels to Warren East this week and hosts Owensboro in a big 9th district contest.

4.Owensboro Catholic(11-6 SAME) - Catholic was poised to make a leap up the poll before Mclean County upset the Aces Saturday in the All-A tournament. It wasnt without controversy, as the Aces were the victim of a mid court hail mary that appeared to come after the buzzer. Coach Tim Riley blamed poor free throw shooting for the loss. The Aces did knock off Apollo earlier in the week to keep them atop of the 9th district standings. Due to the loss, Catholic doesnt have a game scheduled this week.

5.Edmonson County(12-6 SAME) - The Wildcats took care of business in their lone game vs Butler County this week, winning 68-56. Edmonson got a first round bye in the 3rd region All-A, but will now play Mclean County in the semi finals on Tuesday.

6.Owensboro(6-6 UP 2) - Owensboro got two nice wins this week vs Apollo and on the road against Muhlenberg County. The Devils got a really nice week from point guard Jacoby Harris who had 24 against Apollo and 27 against Muhlenberg. Ishawn Murphy returned to the lineup for the Devils on Friday and gave them a lift with 20 points of his own. Owensboro is at home vs Grayson on Tuesday and at Daviess County on Friday.

7.Hancock County(9-8 DOWN 1) - The Hornets split a pair of games this week, losing to district rival Meade County 62-52 on Tuesday before bouncing back on Saturday 52-43 vs Fort Knox. Ty Ogle chipped in 20 points in the win over Ft Knox. The Hornets will play Whitesville Trinity on Tuesday in the semi finals of the All-A regional tournament. They are the defending 3rd Region All-A champions.

8.Apollo(6-11 DOWN 1) - Apollo has dropped 3 straight games, losing two district games this week to Owensboro and Owensboro Catholic. Apollo played both teams well, but let the games get away in the 4th quarter. Alex Gray is coming on nicely for the Eagles, averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds in his 2 games last week. Apollo has tough home games against Breck County and Evansville Central this week.

9.Ohio County(9-10 UP 2) - Ohio County has won 3 of its last 4, with the only setback coming against a top team in Daviess County. Coach Steve Sparks have the Eagles improving every time out. They have Barren County at home on Tuesday before heading to Muhlenberg County on Friday for a big big 10th district matchup.

10.Trinity(10-8 UP 2) - The Raiders are a very capible bunch, as they showed by pushing Owensboro Catholic into overtime this past week. Trinity is a battle tested unit, playing 3 overtime games and pushing other top 5 teams in DC and Edmonson to the limit. They are starting to learn how to win. They play Hancock County in the All-A semiinals on Tuesday and have a big district contest with Edmonson County on Friday.

11.Muhlenberg County(6-10 DOWN 2) -Muhlenberg has dropped 4 games in a row, including a big district setback to Mclean County on Tuesday. The Mustangs head to Russelville on Tuesday before returning home to host Ohio County Friday.

12.Grayson County(8-9 DOWN 2) - The Cougars have lost 5 games in a row. All 5 losses have came to regonal opponents. They lost a big 12th district matchup on Thursday in Whitesville, on a last second 3. Grayson will look to get back on track at Owensboro on Tuesday before returning home for a district game vs Butler County.

13.Mclean County(5-11 UP 1) - Mclean finally responded this week with 2 nice wins. They beat district rival Muhlenberg on Tuesday and upset Owensboro Catholic in the All-A tournament on Saturday. Dispite only having 5 wins, they are in 1st place in the 10th district. If they can finish there, they will get a bye into the regional tournament. They play Edmonson County Tuesday in the All-A semifinals.

14.Butler County(9-7 DOWN 1) - Butler County fields a nice record vs lesser competition but has dropped 4 of its last 5 games. They have 3 games this week vs Cloverport, Hopkins Central and Grayson County.

15.Cloverport(3-11 SAME) - The Aces 3 game win streak came to and end with a loss at Trinity on Saturday. They have games against Butler County and Ft Knox.

OC moves down with HUGE loss vs McLean in All A.

I considered it, but i dont know who you can move above them?? They have beaten Edmonson County head to head and just walloped OHS by 26 points. Combine that and the fact they were beaten by a half court shot, under serious controversy, i left them at 4.

McLean is playing pretty good basketball right now. Based on the talent they have, i expected them to be a top 5 team in the region coming into the season. They have just not played well early this season BUT are starting to get it together. They got another big win vs Edmonson tonight, making 3 straight region wins(Catholic & Muhlenberg last week). They will face Trinity Friday for the All-A 3rd region championship.

Breck County moves into 2nd place, but that 2nd spot continues to be cursed as the Tigers got smashed on the road by Apollo. The Eagles put together their best showing of the season beating Breck by 20 plus. If you dont bring energy with you in this region, the talent margin is so close, youre going to lose. Energy is everything.

OHS got a nice 9 point home win over Grayson tonight. Sounded like Ishawn Murphy, who has been missing from the OHS lineup as of late, has returned with a bang. He carried the Devils in the 2nd half putting up over 20 points. The Devils are really playing good basketball right now. They get up and down the court as well as anyone.

The interest in the 3rd region is at an all-time low, it seems. Coming off a state championship season, i realize the region is WAY down, but with as wide open as things are, it seems like there would be more fans talking about their teams. The likely hood of a team making a run at Rupp is slim to none but a trip to Rupp for one of these smaller schools would be a nice story. As we get closer to March, i hope more people start taking an interest.