article BluegrassPreps.com 3rd Region Rankings 12/11/17

While competitive within the region, 3rd region teams have not faired well against outside competition. The top 5 teams have some bad losses to Warren East and Madisonville. Meanwhile top ranked teams Warren Central and John Hardin have also had their way with 3rd region opponents. The 3rd has a ways to go before they can prove they can hang with top state competition.

1.Owensboro Catholic Aces (4-1) - SAME - The Aces continued their hot start this week with big double digit wins over Muhlenberg 50-38 & Apollo 75-59. The win over Apollo was especially impressive with Apollo's solid start to the season. The Aces put 4 guys in double figures in Bailey Ballard 16, Gabe McFarland 16, Luke Hayden 15 and JD Marshall 10. Seeing the game in person, it felt like Tim Riley and the Aces could be big players inside the region AND on a state level. On Saturday however, the Aces suffered a head scratching defeat to Warren East 54-50. It goes to show that Catholic will need to bring a high energy level night in and night out to reach their potential. The Aces only have one game this week, a 9th district battle vs Daviess County.

2.Daviess County Panthers (4-1) – UP 2 - Since dropping their season opener at Madisonville, the Panthers are starting to roll. Their biggest win of the week came at Owensboro on Friday. DC was able to escape with a 74-73 win. Blake Boswell had 22 and Jay Owen had 20 in the win. The Panthers added 2 more blowout wins this week against Edmonson 67-26 and Logan County 81-54. Jay Owen won game MVP honors in Saturdays win over Logan. On Monday, Daviess hosts Trinity before heading to Owensboro Catholic on Friday.

3.Breckenridge County Tigers (4-1) – DOWN 1 - Breck suffered a big setback at the hands of state power John Hardin on Wednesday but bounced back nicely with a district win over Hancock County. Against the Hornets, Breck got 20 from Kobe Poole enroute to a 63-51 win. Tuesday, the Tigers host Whitesville Trinity before heading to Meade County for another 11th district showdown.

4.Apollo Eagles (0-1) – DOWN 1 - It was an up and down week for the Apollo Eagles. On Monday, they scored an impressive win over Webster County in their home opener, 71-53. Nathan Boyle hit 5 3's to lead all scorers with 24. Chambers also had a big game for Apollo with 23. Friday, Apollo ran into a buzz saw in Owensboro Catholic in a 75-59 defeat. Boyle had a big game but got little help in the loss. Saturday, Apollo won at Grayson County 65-54. Alex Gray led Apollo with 20. Apollo has a solid mix of talent and athleticism but its going to take time for them to come together offensively. On Tuesday, Apollo hosts red hot Butler County before traveling to Owensboro on Friday.

5.Ohio County Eagles (2-0) – SAME - Ohio County split a pair of games this week. On Tuesday, they lost a heartbreaker to Logan County 82-80. John Parker went over 20 in the loss, while freshman Q McHenry broke into double digit scoring with 16. Friday, the Eagles overcame an upset minded Mclean County team on the road, to get the 82-80 win. Mclean led the entire game, but Ohio was able to tie the game late and held on in overtime. Parker again led the way with 22 and McHenry added 16. Ohio County has another big 10th district game on Tuesday, hosting Muhlenberg. On Friday, they travel to the Bear Cave in Butler County.

6.Owensboro Red Devils (2-2) – SAME - After getting a late start to the season, Owensboro got going with 4 games this past week, to mixed results. The Devils scored big wins over Trinity 87-51 and North Hardin 81-42. On Tuesday, Warren Central took it to Owensboro 76-60. Coach Drake will use that defeat as an early season learning experience. On Friday, they battled DC to the end, coming up just short. Cory Gardner's 3 pointer at the buzzer just missed, giving the Panthers the win. Owensboro is a work in progress but have a ton of talent. They are going to be a team to watch through the holiday tournament season. The Devils tough schedule continues this week, as they host state power Christian County on Tuesday and Apollo on Friday.

7.Butler County Bears (4-2) – SAME - The Bears continued their solid start this past week, going 2-1. Butler opened the week with a 69-62 win over Mclean County. Will Moore had 23 to lead the way. On Tuesday, they defeated Nelson County 77-67. Will Moore again had a monster game, with 34. The Bears battled a good Madisonville to a 10 point defeat on Thursday. Early on, Butler has 4 players averaging double figures in Will Moore (23), Caleb Beasley (15), Brennan Grubb (16) & Parker Rice(11). Butler has big tests this week at Apollo on Tuesday before returning home to host Ohio County Friday.

8.Meade County Greenwave (3-2) – SAME - Meade County had a nice week with 3 straight wins. They knocked off Providence, IN 53-52, Cloverport 83-33 and Campbellsville 72-56. This team has talent all over the roster, but are still finding their identity after James Baker graduated. Aiden Matthews leads the team in scoring with 14ppg. Noah Schwartz is back in the lineup which should provide a nice lift. Meade only has one game this week as they travel to Breck County for a big 11th district showdown.

9.Whitesville Trinity Raiders (3-2) – UP 4 - The Raiders may be the biggest surprise in the region thus far. They picked up a nice win over Union County on Thursday, 74-62. Cameron Wright led the way with 20 and Crisp checked in with 12. Saturday, they knocked off Brown 75-72. Trinity will face big tests this week at Daviess County tonight and back home for a game against Breck County.

10.Muhlenberg County Mustangs (2-4) – SAME - While only going 1-2 this week, the Mustangs have battled against some very good competition. After losing 5 of their top 6 scorers from last years team and adding a new coach, the Stangs are still trying to find their way. They suffered double digit losses to Catholic and LaRue County, but got a 63-39 win over Hopkins Central. A big bright spot has been Will Noffsinger who is putting up 23 points per game. Muhlenberg continues its tough schedule this week at Ohio County Tuesday and McCracken on Friday.

11.Hancock County Hornets (3-3) – DOWN 2 - The Hornets lost a couple of games this week, 63-51 to Breck County and 52-49 to St Francis. Jaxson Gray and Jacob White have each averaged double figures through the first 6 games. Hancock hosts Herritage Hills, IN tomorrow beofre heading to Bloomington to take on Lighthouse Christian on Friday.

12.Edmonson County Wildcats (1-2) – SAME - The Cats split a pair games this week. On Monday, they beat Caverna 79-69. Tucker Cole led Edmonson in scoring with 26 and Logan Lindsey had 23. Daviess County took it to Edmonson on Tuesday, 67-26. This week, the Wildcats get back in action this week with 3 games vs LaRue Tuesday, vs Barren County Thursday and at Grayson County on Saturday.

13.Mclean County Cougars (1-3) – DOWN 2 - The Cougars dropped a pair of games this week but battled Ohio County into overtime before losing a heartbreaker, 82-80. Mclean led most of the game, but was unable to hold off the Eagles. The good news for Mclean, they have been getting consistent 20 point efforts from senior Keenan Smith and Sophomore Logan Patterson. Mclean hosts Webster on Tuesday and Madisonville on Friday.

14.Grayson County Cougars (1-3) – SAME - Grayson lost a pair of games this week. On Tuesday, they battled Central Hardin to the wire but came up short 56-54. Logan Majors led all Cougars with 15. On Saturday, Apollo defeated Grayson 65-54. Bailey Logsdon was big in defeat, going for 26. They have Thomas Nelson on Tuesday and host Edmonson County on Saturday.

15.Cloverport Aces (0-6) – SAME - Cloverport is off to a tough start after losing a large contributing senior class to graduation. They dropped games this week to Hancock, Meade and Burgin. They travel to Emience on Tuesday and to the Cannelton Indiana shootout on Saturday.

GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

Tue - Christian Co at Owensboro - State power coming into the Devils Den!

Tue - Butler Co at Apollo - Big early test for the red hot Bears

Fri - Breck Co at Meade Co - 11th district showdown

Fri - DC at Catholic & Apollo at OHS - 9th district battles are always fun! DC at Catholic is the 1 vs 2 matchup.

Let's see what Owensboro looks like coming off that win against Christian County. I have read that CC has a really good team. OHS must have caught them flat because they were down 21 before CC scored and there was a running clock before the end of the 3rd quarter (admittedly my first time seeing that in a basketball game). If OHS builds on this, they'll be a power to reckon with going forward. IMO if Lance Lewis continues his 3 point shooting as he has in his last two games, He'll be one of the top scorers in the region if not the state.

The potential has always been there with this group but they have lacked consistency in the past. We'll see where it goes from here, but if they come together, Owensboro has one of the most talented rosters in the region. Just have to do it night in and night out. Remember last year, they defeated Evansville powerhouse Bosse and followed that up with a loss at Breck County if I remember correctly.

I agree, consistency has been a problem with the entire athletic program over on Frederica St. If the basketball team is willing to do the little things they may surprise quite a few people. They have shown that they can run and score, but rebounding and defense; isn't that always the way? Everybody wants to score but who wants to rebound and play defense? That will determine how far the devils can go. Hogg definitely needs to play up to his size, if he decides to, he could easily become a dominate force in the region, on both ends of the court. Tonight against Apollo should give us a clue.

Is Chambers hurt?

Huge win for Meade Co. on the road last night at Breck Co. Meade got contributions from its entire starting five. Poole, as usual, was tremendous in the loss for Breck. Poole may not be very big, but man that kids knows how to score around the basket. It was nice to see some of Meade's guards play the way they are capable and they knocked down shots all night. Matthews did not have his best shooting game as he's battling an illness and was laboring for most of the night, but he did a great job of handling the ball and passing to help his team. He also hit some clutch shots down the stretch. Schwartz and Collard were the big stars last night. Schwartz is crafty and scores in many different ways (which he has shown he is capable of in the past) and Collard shot the ball confidently last night. This team looks like it is starting to put some things together.