article Inside the 3rd Region (12/12)

With two weeks in the books in the 3rd Region, there are even more questions than there were in the preseason. It seems like every night is different across the region. While the overall talent level is somewhat down, it makes for very competitive games and a wide open race for the top spot.

1.Meade County Green Wave(4-1) -UP 1 - Meade opened the week with a loss to Providence, Indiana who were previously unbeaten coming into the game. They bounced back with wins over district foe Cloverport and Campbellsville. Its hard to get a pulse on how good Meade is due to their strength of schedule, but the win over Catholic in Owensboro gives them the top spot. James Baker has proven to be a force on both ends of the floor and gives Meade a little more margin for error. The Waves have 2 big district matchups this week.

This Week: vs Breck & vs Hancock

2.OHS(3-2) -UP 1 - Owensboro dropped 2 games this week to very good teams in Warren Central and Evansville Harrison. They also scored a big overtime win over 9th district rival, Owensboro Catholic. The Devils had a nice showing vs Warren Central, erasing a 17 point lead to force overtime. The Dragons needed a last second shot to get the win. Owensboro then knocked off Catholic in overtime on a last second shot of their own, by Cory Gardner. Coach Drake's group looks to be much improved over last years team. The Devils continue their difficult schedule as they travel to Christian County on Tuesday.

This week: at Christian Co & at Apollo

3.Owensboro Catholic Aces(3-2) -UP 1 - The Aces opened the week with an impressive thrashing of previously top ranked, Muhlenberg County 83-54. Although the Mustangs were without all region guard Noah Mcelwain, the win was still very impressive. On Friday, Catholic made a furious comeback in regulation before falling to Owensboro in overtime. If the Aces have shown any weakness early in the season, its struggling with ball pressure. Turnovers have doomed Catholic in both of their losses. They have the week off until a 9th district showdown on Friday vs Daviess County.

4.Muhlenberg County Mustangs(3-2) - DOWN 3 - Muhlenberg dropped 2 of their 3 games this week and struggled to hold off an upstart Breck County team on Thursday. The 29 point setback to Catholic was a bit of an eye oepner. Although Muhlenberg has been battling the injury bug, they will be looking for improvement as they head into the holiday tournament season. They have a sneaky interesting district matchup against Ohio County on Tuesday.

This Week: vs Ohio Co, at Hopkins Central

5.Apollo Eagles(2-1) -UP 1 - Apollo has started the season with a limited schedule but bounced back nicely this week, with 2 wins. The Eagles put together a strong 4th quarter to knock off Daviess County on Friday. They carried that momentum into a Saturday win against Madisonville 69-46. Zach Hopewell has played as well as anyone in the region, averaging 20 points per game in his first 3 outings.

This Week: vs Grayson Co & vs Owensboro

6.Hancock Co Hornets(5-0) - UP 1 - The Hornets may feel a little disrespected after not breaking into the top 5 and being the only undefeated team left in the region. They have shown to be a very solid team early on, surprising many. Their strength of schedule isnt quite as tough as the other teams inside the top 5. Brennan Lewis has been the most consistent scorer in the region in the first few weeks, powering his team to an undefeated record. Hancock has a winable game at home against Cloverport Tuesday before traveling to Meade County on Friday, for a big 11th district showdown.

7.Daviess County Panthers(2-3) - UP 2 - Even though DC has dropped 3 of its first 5 games, they have been very competitive in all 5 games. They defeated Edmonson County on Tuesday before dropping a hard fought game to district rival Apollo, in which they led in the 4th quarter. The Panthers have led or been tied in the 4th quarter of all 3 losses. Coach Hayden is still looking for that guy that is going to lead the way late in games. This is a team that should improve throughout the season.

This Week: at Butler, vs Catholic

8.Ohio County Eagles(2-3) - UP 3 - After dropping their first 3 games of the season, Tony Hopper's Eagles seem to have things rolling in the right direction. They bounced back this week with nice wins over Logan Co(63-50) & Mclean County(65-41). The Eagles have a nice leader at the point guard spot in Conner Wilson and a cast of role players who will only get better under Hopper as the season wears along. They have two interesting regional matchups this week(Tuesday at Muhlenberg and Friday vs Butler Co).

9.Butler County Bears(2-3) - DOWN 4 - After getting off to a nice start, the Bears dropped both games this week. The 20 point road loss to Madisonville stands out as a bad loss after Apollo handled them by 23 and Daviess County took them into overtime. The Bears have the ability to score the basketball with Henderson, Graham and Moore and still have the potential to be one of the better teams in the region. They will get a chance to prove it this week against Daviess County at home and Ohio County on the road.

10.Breck County Tigers(2-4) - DOWN 2 - Although the Tigers went 0-3 this week, they very competitive against good competition. They battled Muhlenberg and Hancock to within 5 points. Sophomore Kobe Poole is leading the way early on, with 15ppg.

This Week: at Meade & vs Grayson

11.Grayson County Cougars(1-2) -DOWN 1 - Grayson dropped a tough one at home vs Central Hardin in overtime. Its been a balanced attack early on. Grayson will look to get it going this week vs 2 regional opponents at Apollo and at Breck Co.

12.Edmonson County Wildcats(0-4) -SAME - Edmonson dropped 2 competitive games this past week to Daviess County(57-48) & Greenwood(68-58). The Cats will look to get in the win column this week with games against LaRue Co, Barren Co & Metcalf Co.

13.Mclean County Cougars(0-4) -SAME - The Cougars are really struggling to open the season, but that is to be expected with new guys in nearly every spot. Sam Miller put up 30 against Madisonville earlier in the week but it wasn't enough, as Mclean lost to Madisonville 72-69. On Friday, Mclean was blown out by Ohio County in a big 10th district matchup. Things don't get any easier for Mclean this week as they travel to Webster County and come home Friday to face Henderson.

14.Cloverport Aces(2-3) - SAME - Cloverport is off to a much better start this season, as they knocked off Ft Knox this week to bounce back from a 30 point loss to #1 Meade County. The Aces travel to Hancock County this week before heading to Cannelton Indiana to take on Columbus Christian.

15.Trinity Raiders(2-3) - SAME - The Raiders suffered two big setbacks against region opponents this past week, 80-50 vs DC & 76-39 against Hancock. They bounced back to get a win over St Francis on Saturday. They have two winnable games this week vs Ft Knox and Dawson Springs.

GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK :

Tuesday - Owensboro at Christian County // Ohio County at Muhlenberg County

Friday - Owensboro at Apollo // Hancock County at Meade County