article Inside the 14th Region - Week 12

1.Perry County Central (22-7):

The Commodores had the week off last week. Perry Central will face Leslie County in the first round of the 54^th district tournament on Tuesday night at John C. Combs Arena in Hazard. These two met in Leslie County back on January 31^st and it wasn’t even close to being a game as the Commodores routed the Eagles 69-27.

2.Knott County Central (19-8):

The Patriots as well as the Commodores had the week off last week. Knott Central awaits the Jenkins/June Buchanan winner in the first round of the 53^rd district tournament. The Patriots blew both teams out during the regular season.

3.Letcher County Central (21-8):

The Cougars picked up 3 wins last week to end the regular season at 21-8. 2 out of the 3 games, Letcher won by double figures, defeating both Union VA and Pike Central by 15+ points. Letcher Central also edged out Hazard 64-59. The Cougars have a tough first round district game with Cordia, who they split the regular season with, losing 67-63 but winning 69-59.

4. Powell County (19-9):

Powell County split the last two regular season games of 2016/17, losing to Wolfe County 70-63 who they demolished earlier in the season but bouncing back and defeating Hazard 63-53 on the road. The Pirates open up district play with Lee County on Tuesday night at 6 PM at Estill County. The Pirates crushed Lee County twice this season, both times putting up 100+ points on the bobcats. Powell County also outscored Lee County 209-96, that’s an average of 105 PPG. Will it happen for a 3^rd straight time or will Powell County need a late spurt to keep from losing as they’ve had in the past two years?

5.Wolfe County (16-13):

The Wolves started the season off on a bad note, losing 6 of their first 8 games and hit a rocky road during the middle part of the season but have been playing the best ball they have all season here lately, winning 7 of their final 10 games as they head into district play. Wolfe County will host Jackson City in the first round of the 55^th district tournament, a team they defeated by 30 earlier in the season on the same court.

6.Estill County (22-7):

For the first time in 25 years (1992) the Engineers have won 20+ games. The Engineers reached the milestone last week when they picked up 3 straight wins; crushing Owsley County (the same team they meet in the first round of the 56^th district) 77-22….Menifee County 64-50 and St. Patrick 63-38. The Engineers open up district play Tuesday night at 7:45 PM against Owsley County, the same team that they demolished twice during the regular season, the Owls know how to upset teams, can they do it again or even take the Engineers down to the last shot or will Caleb Bonny and company be too much for the Owsley County Owls?

7.Buckhorn (17-13):

The Wildcats seem to have things going in the right direction, winning 4 of their final 5 games with wins over; Cordia, Hazard and Leslie Counties. Speaking of Hazard, the Wildcats do own a 47-35 victory over the Bulldogs this season, can they make it 2 wins over the Dawgs or will the defending regional champs have an early exit?

8.Cordia (13-10):

The Lions finally ended their 4 game losing streak as they picked up a big road win @ Rowan County on Friday night 56-53. The Lions will need all they have and then some in order to get past the Cougars, who they open up with in the first round of the 53^rd district tournament. Cordia split the regular season with Letcher Central, winning 67-63 in OT but falling to the Cougars 69-59.

9.Breathitt County (17-13):

The Bobcats continue to struggle, have gone 3-4 in their last 7 games but that shouldn’t really matter come district tournament time as they open up with Riverside Christian, a team they defeated by 50 and 63 points earlier in the season.

10.Hazard (13-13):

Hazard was riding high and mighty going into last week, carrying a 3 game win streak and having won 4 of their previous 5 games but that all changed when they fell in both of their remaining games, losing 64-59 to Letcher Central on the road and 63-53 to Powell County at home. The Bulldogs opening round district game with Buckhorn should be none other than a barn burner, although Buckhorn has won the only meeting this season, 47-35.

11. Leslie County (17-12):

The Eagles started the season and played the season mid-way through like a district and region contender but have since played like they won’t even make it out of the first round of the district tournament. The Eagles have lost 10 games in 2017, that’s seen a 2 game and 6 game losing streaks. That’s not good, especially with Perry Central awaiting in the first round of the district tournament.

12.Jackson City (7-23):

The Tigers ended the season on a 8 game losing streak and have now lost 16 of their last 18 games.

13.Owsley County (4-24):

The Owls have not lost 6 straight and have been pounded with a capital P in all of those 6 games, giving up 65+ points in each game.

14.Lee County (7-22):

The Bobcats have also lost 5 straight games and 12 of their last 14 games, not to mention that they have gave up 100+ points in both games to Powell County this season, the same team they meet in the first round of the 56^th district tournament next week.

15.Jenkins (4-25):

Even though the Cavaliers have lost their remaining games, they have played each team close. Losing 83-81 in OT to Red Bird who defeated them by 13 earlier in the season and losing 81-75 to Betsy Layne on the road. Despite having just 4 wins, the Cavs have played some decent ball this season.

16.June Buchanan (4-25):

The Crusaders ended the season on a 1-8 note and a 4 win season, after putting up 20 wins last season. The good note, the Crusaders open up district play with Jenkins in a play-in game, the same team that split with JBS during the regular season but the bad news? The winner gets #2 Knott Central in the first round game.

17.Riverside Christian (5-25):

This has been the best season for Riverside in a long long time. The Rams picked up 5 wins this season, that’s the same number of wins, they picked up since 2009/10 season combined up til this season. Rams must be doin’ something right.

This is probably my best 14th region article all season!

Good job ASB!