article Inside the 5th Region (12/26/16)

There has been a surprise or two to start the season in the 5th Region. North Hardin stumbled out of the gate as did Taylor County and both appear to be righting the ship. Bardstown has gotten off to the start we expected from them and Adair County only has one loss at the moment. Bethlehem and Larue County are still undefeated. John Hardin was undefeated until they faced Central Hardin along with a couple of games immediately after that but have turned things around. Lots of season left for what looks to be a very competitive chase for the crown of 5th Region champion!

 

 

1. Bardstown (5-3)

 

Bardstown has gotten off to a good start. They have defeated Marion County, North Oldham and West Jessamine. Their best wins so far are most likely against West Jessamine and Male but being led by Kel Livers and Santrel Farmer is something most schools in this state covet. Bardstown has four players scoring in double figures with Santrel Farmer leading team with his 18.6 points a game average. Kel Livers is adding 15.1, TraJan Walls is at 13.1 and Daydrian Allen is at 10.5 points but Daydrian has only played two games so far according to their stats. Kel Livers is hitting three pointers at a clip of 59% and is proving to be dangerous from behind the arc so far this season. Next up for Bardstown is the City of Middletown Classic a Eastern High School. They are slated to face Central and Mayfield in this tournament. After the tournament they will begin district and region play and we will see if they are truly the #1 team in the 5th Region.

 

 

2. Adair County (10-1)

 

Adair County is searching for that one signature win to announce to the state and region that they are legit and with the bona fide scorers that they put on the court it would be foolish to dismiss their talent. Kel Stotts is scoring 23.5 points a game. Corey Melton is scoring 17.s points a game, Chance Melton is scoring 14.3 points a game and Cameron Lashley is at 10 points a game after scoring 17 points per game last year. The scoring ability of Adair County from four different players is one of the aspects that makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the region as well as the state. Their only loss came from the hands of Collins and while that isn't a bad loss fellow 5th Region team John Hardin has defeated Collins this year. Up next for Adair County is Mercer County at the Campbellsville High School Holiday Classic on December 28th.

 

 

3. North Hardin (6-4)

 

North Hardin began the season as the top team in the 5th Region along with Bardstown. Tony Jackson is worth the price of admission and freshman Roger Mcfarlane is proving to be as good as advertised. Once they put Trace Young into the mix and throw in James Pitre's contributions this will be one of the teams to beat in the 5th Region. When looking at North Hardin's record of 6-4 it must be noted that three of their losses came from the hands of three of the top 10 teams in the state in Covington Catholic, Bowling Green and Christian County. As mentioned Trace Young is now eligible and I imagine we will see a much different North Hardin team going forward. Up next for North Hardin is the Wes Unseld Classic at Seneca where they will face Bryan Station on December 27th.

 

 

4. Central Hardin (6-3)

 

Central Hardin started off the season in a rough fashion dropping games to Nelson County and Southwestern but they have rebounded nicely by finding their bearings in having wins over Elizabethtown, Butler and John Hardin. Mason Rothrock is scoring 12.5 points a game, Trent Woods is at 12.2 and Jacob Hobbs is chipping in 11. They recently went 2-1 at the Simon Kenton Invitational with wins over Scott and Gallatin County. Up next is Newport Central Catholic at the Apollo Holiday Classic at Apollo High School in Owensboro on December 27th.

 

 

5. Taylor County (3-3)

 

Taylor County has had a challenging schedule to start the season as they got off to a 2-3 start. They then reeled off four straight victories including a victory over John Hardin and are now sitting on a 6-3 record. TreVon Smith leads the team in scoring at 18.9 points a game. Dylan Gaines is chipping in 13.8 and Ezra Oliver is adding 13.2 points a game. Elizabethtown is up next for Taylor County on January 3rd.

 

 

6. John Hardin (3-2)

 

John Hardin got off to a good start and then dropped two games in which they expected to win. Sitting at #6 now they began the season as the #3 team in the 5th Region. Mickey Pearson and Devonte Guillory lead this John Hardin team that recently went 3-1 at the Farmers Bank of Jessamine County Tournament with their only loss coming from a strong Harlan County team. Things appear to be turning around for John Hardin and I wouldn't be surprised to see them shoot their way back up to the top of the rankings in the 5th Region. Logan County is up next for John Hardin on December 28th.

 

 

7. Larue County(8-0)

 

Larue County is one of two undefeated teams left in the 5th Region and a lot of that is due to their schedule to date. Larue County is proving to be a good team but without a true signature win it is hard to get a good gauge of where they sit amongst the best of the 5th Region. Led by MJ Embree and his 14.8 points a game, Derek Goode at 13.1 points and Mark Goode at 11.6 points Larue County has enjoyed a great showing at the Smoky Mountain Classic. Next up for Larue County is the Magnolia Bank Holiday Classic where they will play host to an 8 team tournament beginning December 28th.

 

 

8. Bethlehem (8-0)

 

Much like Larue County, Bethlehem is sitting on an 8-0 record and are still searching for that signature win to vault them to the top 5 of the 5th Region. Recent wins over Marion County, Washington County and Glasgow are helping to prove Bethlehem's mettle as probably not many people besides themselves expected them to be undefeated at Christmas. Matthew hagan is dropping 20.6 points a game and Jacob Taylor is pouring in 16.4 points. John Prescott is adding 7 points a game and 9 rebounds. Up next for Bethlehem is the Beth Haven Holiday Classic beginning December 28th where they will face Louisville Collegiate and Evangel Christian.

 

 

9. Elizabethtown (4-4)

 

Elizabethtown is sitting on a 4-4 record and they land into the top 10 on the strength of a victory over Marion County. They don't have any bad losses right now as they have lost to teams most would expect them to lose to. Up next for Elizabethtown is the South Central Bank-Halton Classic at Allen County-Scottsville where they will face Allen County-Scottsville on December 28th.

 

 

10. Marion County (5-5)

 

Marion County rounds out the top 10. Led by Lez Means and his 15.5 points a game and Luke Thomas and his 10.8 points a game Marion County is looking to improve their record at the Campbellsville High School Holiday Classic where they will face Monroe County on December 28th.

 

 

11. Nelson County (4-5)

 

Nelson County has enjoyed wins over Central Hardin and Washington County. Led in scoring by Max Ryan at 17.8 points a game they are looking to crack the top 10 as the season goes forward. The Nelson County Classic is up next for them as they look to snap a four game losing streak.

 

 

12. Green County (7-3)

 

At 7-3 Green County has one of the better records in the 5th Region. Unfortunately for them all of their wins have come against teams ranked lower than them so it is hard to see just how good this team is. We will find out going forward as district and region play intensifies. Up next for Green County is district opponent Hart County who Green County has already defeated once this season. Isaac Landis leads Green County with his 12 points per game average. Green County will next face Hart County on January 3rd.

 

 

13. Washington County (6-5)

 

Washington County is led by DT Yocum and his 23 points per game average. They recently went 2-2 at the Arby's/KFC Classic with wins over Whitley County and Lynn Camp. Up next for Washington County is a district matchup with Bardstown on January 3rd.

 

 

14. Caverna (3-7)

 

Caverna is in the midst of a four game losing streak. Jobby Howard is pouring in 24.8 points a game, Devon Paul is putting up 17.2 points a game and Travis Henley is putting up 12 points a game. Up next for Caverna is the Wes Unseld Classic at Seneca where they will face Calloway County on December 27th.

 

 

15. Campbellsville (1-10)

 

Tyrion Taylor leads Campbellsville at 23.8 points a game. Campbellsville is currently in a 7 game losing streak but they have faced some tough opponents this season. They look to get in to some winning ways as they host the Campbellsville High School Holiday Classic and will face Betsy Layne on December 28th.

 

 

16. Hart County (1-6)

 

John Shoulders is putting up 25.8 points and 6.3 rebounds a game for Hart County. While they only have one win thus far under new coach Josh Henderson they look to get things going in a positive direction at the Magnolia Bank Holiday Classic at Larue County where they will face North Bullitt on December 28th.

 

 

17. Fort Knox (2-7)

 

Led by Camron Gore's 15.1 points per game Fort Knox has secured 2 wins this season. Up next for Fort Knox is a tough matchup with North Hardin on January 6th.

 

 

18. Thomas Nelson (0-11)

 

Thomas Nelson has yet to win a game this season. Things have been tough for Thomas Nelson and leading scorer Jerry Wimsett and hopefully they will be able to get on track and secure that first victory of the season. Up next for Thomas Nelson is Grayson County at the Magnolia Bank Classic at Larue County. on December 28th.