article Inside the 3rd Region (1/30)

Apollo retains their top spot this week, but the gap between them and the rest of the region may have gotten a little closer. After a disappointing showing against Bardstown on Saturday, it will be interesting to see how the Eagles respond. Owensboro is the team to watch, after getting a big time win over a very good Evansville Bosse team. Outside Apollo, Daviess County has shown the most consistency, while Owensboro Catholic continues to prove up and down. Outside the city, Ohio County looks like they may be the team to emerge down the stretch.

1. Apollo Eagles(17-3) SAME - The Eagles ran into a buzzsaw Saturday against Bardstown. Apollo didnt match the Tigers energy and couldnt match their athleticism either. Hopewell led Apollo with 22 in the 20 point loss. They started the week with a big win over Mclean County. Hopewell again led all scorers with 22. Friday night, they survived a wild trip to Muhlenberg County, winning 70-64 over the Mustangs. The game got ugly when both coaches got into a heated exchange over a Muhlenberg County player who got into a verbal altercation with the Eagles bench. Several Mustang fans ran onto the court and 3 technicals were assessed before control was finally restored. It was an ugly situation that could have been much much worse, as cooler heads finally prevailed and the game even ended with a cordial handshake line. This week: vs Ohio Co Tuesday, at OHS Friday & vs Paducah Tilghman Saturday.

2.Daviess County Panthers(15-7) - SAME - DC opened the week with a convincing 60-42 win over Hancock County. The score was tied at halftime but the Panthers used furious ball pressure to run away with the game in the 2nd half. DC was led by Jay Owen and Blake Boswell with 16 & 15 respectively. On Tuesday, they made the trip to Henderson County and let a late lead slip away, losing the game 63-62. Owen had 18 and Boswell finished with 15. The Panthers have 3 road games this week at a red hot Hopkinsville Tuesday, Catholic Friday & Meade on Saturday.

3.Owensboro Red Devils(12-10) - UP 2 - OHS had a great week on and off the floor. They picked up 3 wins and got Jacoby Harris back in the lineup. On Tuesday night, the Devils held off Madisonville on the road to get a 64-60 win. It wasnt until Friday until the real statement was made, as OHS knocked off Evansville Bosse, ranked #3 in 3A in Indiana. Cory Gardner had 23 while the returning Harris had 22. The Devils defeated Mclean County on Saturday 89-48. Deonte Douglas led all scorers with 22. If Owensboro can continue to get that type of production from their guards, they are going to be tough. They travel to Breck County on Tuesday before returning home to host Apollo in a game for a share of the 9th districts #1 seed.

4.Owensboro Catholic Aces(14-8) DOWN 1 -The Aces made the trip to Frankfort for the All-A state tournament this week and opened play with a 58-23 win over Pineville. They could not continue their momentum into the quarterfinals however, losing to eventual All-A champion, Paris 46-44. JD Marshall led Catholic with 16 points and 11 boards. Catholic returns home this week with games against Madisonville on Tuesday and Daviess County on Friday.

5.Hancock County Hornets(18-3) DOWN 1 - Hancock suffered its 2nd 3rd region setback in a row on Monday against Daviess County. They played the Panthers tough for a half, but ultimately turned the ball over to much to compete with DC. Hancock will have to limit their turnovers vs top competition in the future. On Friday, they stopped the bleeding a bit, with a 59-41 win over Cloverport. They also got help from Breck County, as the Tigers win over Meade helped Hancock secure the #1 seed in the 11th district tournament. The Hornets only game of the week comes tonight, on the road against South Spencer Indiana.

6.Ohio County Eagles(11-11) UP 2 - Coach Tony Hopper's group took a lot of momentum into this week, after knocking off Muhlenberg in OT last week. The Eagles are now on a 4 game win streak. Wins over Hopkins Central 70-53 & South Warren 61-44 set the stage for a big road contest in Henderson County. The Eagles went into Colonel gym and got a big 55-47 win. Ross Tichenor had 13 and Jay Newcomb had 12. This sets up a very interesting mid week game against Apollo on Tuesday. Ohio County played Apollo to within 2 back in the OIT in December. On Friday, they host Breck County.

7.Edmonson County Wildcats(12-7) - SAME - The Wildcats continue to reel off the wins, as they have won 3 straight since losing to Catholic in the All-A regional final. On Monday, they got an impressive come from behind win over Warren East 86-80. After trailing by as many as 18, Caleb Skaggs took over, finishing with 28. Bailey Board had 20. Tuesday, Edmsonson survived their final trip to the barn as they held off the Raiders. 56-49, Bailey Board had 21. They got a 5 point win over Butler County on Friday, to all but secure the #1 seed in the 12th district. This week: Monday at Allen Co, Tuesday vs Trinity & Friday at Grayson County.

8.Muhlenberg County Mustangs(10-12) - DOWN 2 - The Mustangs cannot stop the bleeding, as they have lost 6 in a row and 8 of their last 9. It seems like they have not been at full strength all season as illness and injury has really hampered them. On Friday, without Will Noffsinger and Austin Sailing, the Mustangs played very well against #1 Apollo before falling by 6. Noah Mcelwain is good enough to keep Muhlenberg in any game, as he scored 29 vs the Eagles. He is going to need some help if the Stangs are going to be able to reach their potential. This week: at Marshall Co Tuesday, vs Mclean Friday & in Lyon Co, vs Poplar Bluff, MO.

9.Grayson County Cougars(10-14) UP 2 - The Cougars got wins over Breck County and Trinity this week before losing at John Hardin against ETown on Saturday. Trey Goff leads Grayson County in scoring with 13ppg. They are at Mclean on Tuesday before returning home against Edmonson on Friday.

10.Meade County Greenwaves(8-14) DOWN 1 - It seems like forever ago that the Waves were the #1 team in the region sitting at 8-1. 13 losses and 2 key injuries later, here we are. They lost a chance at a share of the #1 seed in the 11th district with a loss against Breck County on Friday. They will now have to play Breck in an elimination game in district, where they hope to be back to 100% healthy. LaRue County knocked them off on Saturday, 63-53. Meade is at Cloverport on Friday before hosting Daviess County on Saturday.

11.Butler County Bears(7-12) DOWN 1 - The Bears dropped back out of the top 10 this week, failing to capture the momentum of their big last second win over Grayson County last week. They dropped a 78-69 decision to Caverna and a district game in Edmonson 70-65. They get back in action tonight at Hart County before heading to the Barn in Whitesville for another 12th district game.

12.Breck County Tigers(5-14) SAME - The Tigers showed some life this week getting back to back wins(67-53 over Cloverport & 75-69 over Meade). The win against Meade sets a rematch for that contest in the first round of the 11th district. This week, they host Owensboro on Tuesday before traveling to Ohio County on Friday.

13.Cloverport Aces(8-15) SAME - The Aces went 1-3 in their 4 games this past week. They lost to Bethlehem, Breck Co and Hancock County before bouncing back Saturday with a 68-50 win over Trimble County. They host Meade County on Friday and Dawson Springs on Saturday.

14.Trinity Raiders(6-14) SAME - The Raiders went 0-3 this week with losses to Edmonson, Grayson County and Harlan. On Tuesday, the Raiders battled Edmonson hard, leading until late in the game before falling short. Senior Eric Howard had a big game with 21 points. Trinity gets back to it this week at Edmonson Tuesday, vs Butler Friday and Hopkins Central on Saturday.

15.Mclean County Cougars(2-18) SAME - It was another tough week for the Cougars as injuries have really helped their season go south. They lost to Apollo, Logan and OHS by 20 plus. This week they host Grayson on Tuesday, head to Muhlenberg on Friday and travel to Union on Saturday.

Tuesday - Daviess County at Hoptown // Muhlenberg Co at Marshall Co // Ohio Co at Apollo

Friday - Daviess County at Catholic // Apollo at OHS

Saturday - Daviess County at Meade Co // Paducah Tilghman at Apollo

Ohio county vs Henderson was at Ohio county. Also Henderson did not play point guard or 6"6 starting center. So nice win for Ohio but it was at home and Henderson not a full strength.

Ohio county vs Henderson was at Ohio county. Also Henderson did not play point guard or 6"6 starting center. So nice win for Ohio but it was at home and Henderson not a full strength.

I was on the road Friday night and completely missed that game being at Ohio County. My mistake. In all my years of watching HS basketball it seems like more kids are missing games than ever. Flu season in full effect this year!

Interesting results around the 3rd last night with Ohio County giving Apollo their first home loss of the season and Breck County pulling the major upset over OHS. Ohio County is really starting to have the looks of a Tony Hopper team, while Apollo still looked like they were reeling from the Bardstown loss on Saturday. Owensboro goes and beats Bosse on Friday but lays another regional egg in Breck County. I do not exaggerate when I say, there are as many as 9 different teams(counting Meade if Baker is healthy), that I could see winning the 3rd region tournament.