article Inside the 3rd Region(1/2/17)

1.Apollo Eagles(11-1) – SAME – Since losing their season opener, Apollo has won 11 straight. This includes a 4-0 run in the OIT and a 3-0 run in their own Holiday tournament. While Hopewell is the leader of the team, Apollo is getting great contributions from its role players like Alex Gray 13/7 & Austin Tyler who took home MVP awards in the Apollo tournament. Nathan Boyle(12ppg) is a great shooter, but has really improved taking the ball off the dribble this season. This has helped open him up from the outside. Apollo’s biggest improvement from this year to last however, is probably on the defensive end of the floor. They are only allowing 50ppg thus far. This week : vs Daviess County

2.Muhlenberg County Mustangs(9-5) – UP 2 – After playing one of the toughest schedules in the region, the Mustangs showed to be very competitive against very good competition. Outside the lopsided loss to Lexington Catholic, they were extremely competitive in every game in the Tradition Bank tourney last week. Over the holiday tournaments they picked up nice wins over Boyle Co, West Jessamine, Knott Central and W Gwinnett, GA. The Mustangs may be the most balanced team in the region, placing McElwain, Noffsinger & Saling in double figures while getting solid contributions from Mitchell, Terry and Van Hook. Muhlenberg continues its difficult schedule this week as they take on Henderson & #1 Trinity.

3.Hancock County Hornets(12-1) – SAME – While starting the season with the best record in the region, its hard to get a read on just how good Hancock can be. They haven’t played the schedule the other teams in the top 7-8 have played, but you can’t fault them for beating who is in front of them. They won their Christmas tournament as well as winning the Tecumseh, IN holiday tournament. On Friday, they survived a double overtime scare from Butler County. Hancock has a good chance to sweep the week again, as they take on Breck Co, Tell City, IN and Mason Christian, In.

4.Meade County Greenwave(8-5) – DOWN 2 – Since starting the season 8-1, the Waves have dropped 4 games in a row. James Baker(17ppg) suffered a hand injury in the tournament at Louisville Eastern and had to finish the tournament without his services. It’s a situation worth monitoring, as losing him would really hurt Meade as they only average one other player in double figure scoring(Aiden Matthews). This week they travel to Bullitt Central and finally return home to take on John Hardin.

5.Owensboro Catholic Aces(8-5) – UP 1 – Catholic finished their tournament run at 5-2, with two tournament runners up trophies. They got picked up high profile wins over Boyd Co & Bullitt East before falling in the championship to DeSales. Luke Hayden led the way for the Aces at 17ppg. JD Marshall is starting to emerge as a true big man for Coach Riley, coming alive over the last few weeks at 13ppg. The Aces will be in for the long haul and are among the most talented teams in the region. They host OHS on Friday night and Grayson on Saturday.

6.Daviess County Panthers(9-5) – UP 1 – The Panthers continue to impress, as they went 5-1 over their holiday tournament schedule. DC knocked off Highlands, North Bullitt and Grayson County to win the Magnolia Bank tournament in LaRue County. Blake Boswell(16ppg), Jay Owen(10ppg) & Tyler Boling all made the all-tournament team for the Panthers. DC comes back this week at Greenwood on Tuesday and at Apollo on Friday.

7.Owensboro Red Devils(6-7) – DOWN 2 – Owensboro lost 2 of 3 games in a very tough Bowling Green Holiday tournament last week. They opened with a 63-49 win over South Warren before falling to #4 Bowling Green 72-51 and Male 72-70. The Devils have played one of the toughest schedules in the region, which has left little margin for error. Cory Gardner and Jacoby Harris have been steady hands, but they need to find more consistency from other guys night in and night out. Jaron Tinsley has shown he can be a force inside, and Deonte Douglas has recently stepped into the starting lineup, but they need to show a more consistent effort for Owensboro to get where they need to be. Things don’t get any easier this week as they travel to Castle, Indiana on Tuesday and to Owensboro Catholic on Friday.

8.Ohio County Eagles(6-7) – SAME – After dropping all 3 games in the OIT, Ohio County bounced back to win 3 games in Edmonson to win their holiday tournament. They knocked off Edmonson 52-45, Barren Co 60-49 & Clinton Co 48-34. Dylan Decker had a nice tournament for the Eagles, winning a player of the game honor. Ross Tichenor continues to lead the way in the paint, with 14/6. Ohio returns to the area, traveling to Russellville on Tuesday and Mclean on Friday.

9.Grayson County Cougars(6-7) – SAME – Grayson is starting to show improvement as they reeled off 3 wins in a row before dropping the Magnolia tournament championship to Daviess County. They gave LaRue County their first loss in the season, and beat Thomas Nelson 43-29 enroute to the title game. Trey Goff & Bailey Logsdon both averaged 13ppg though the tournament. Connor Shultz also chipped in with double figures scoring. Grayson has 2 12th district home games this week against Trinity & Butler County.

10.Edmonson County Wildcats(5-6) – SAME – Edmonson is another team who has started to come on as of late. The Wildcats are 5-1 since starting the season 0-5. They came up short against Ohio County in the opening round of their tournament last week, but bounced back with wins over Clinton County and Barren County. All State football running back, Daniel Caudill sank a mid court shot to get the dramatic 57-55 win over Barren. Edmonson has 2 12th district games this week, at Butler County Tuesday and then at home against Trinity on Friday.

11.Butler County Bears(3-7) – SAME – The Bears have lost 6 or their last 7 games, after a nice start to the season. They did push Hancock into double overtime on the road last week, but came up short 59-56. Will Moore, Blake Graham, Baylee Anderson and Rex Henderson are all contributing but have to find ways to close out games. This week they host Edmonson on Tuesday, travel to Grayson on Friday and on Saturday they are at Whitfield Academy to face North Oldham.

12.Breck County Tigers(3-8) – SAME – Breck took the week off last week, but will return to action against Hancock on Tuesday. On Thursday, they travel to Cloverport and then to Lou Holy Cross on Saturday.

13. Mclean County Cougars(2-9) – SAME – Mclean split a pair of games in Carbondale, Illinois this past week, losing to Murphysboro, IL before bouncing back against Lake County, TN. They host Ohio County on Friday before traveling to Lexington Catholic on Saturday.

14.Cloverport Aces(4-8) – SAME – The Aces were off last week but have 4 games this week. They host Brown, Cannelton,IN & Breck before traveling to St Francis on Friday.

15.Trinity Raiders(5-7) – SAME – The Raiders had won 3 straight before falling to Burgin on Saturday. They have 2 12th district contests this week, on the road at Grayson and Edmonson.

3rd Region All-A information...

http://www.allaclassic.org/Boys%20Brackets/3rd%20Region%20Boys%20Brackets.pdf