article BluegrassPreps.com 5th Region Weekly Rankings (12/17/17)

1. John Hardin (6-0): John continued its winning ways, by winning both district games this week. They blew out Central Hardin 93-69, and beat North Hardin at North in their first close game of the year, 55-51. John has shown they are the class of the 5th region, so far this year. Pearson and Wright have been great, but Alex Matthews has been a pleasant surprise, as he had 20 and 15 vs Central. He has provided great rebounding for John for an already big team.

2. Larue County (6-0): Larue, like John, is still undefeated this year, and they blew out two teams this week. They beat Edmonson at Edmonson 68-41, and beat Caverna 74-49. Larue has taken care of business so far versus lesser teams, and we will find out soon, just how good Larue is. Shane King who hasn’t had a big year so far, did have 16 vs Caverna. If they can get King to play like that with their bigs, they will be very dangerous.

3. Elizabethtown (5-1): The panthers continue to show they are a top team in the 5th this year. They beat Desales at Desales in a shootout 87-83. Then they got a statement win at Adair County 83-71. Minus the Bowling Green game, this is a team that has scored at least 80 points in every game. They have gotten great play from Seniors Tyler Durbin, and Darius Harding. That’s what is expected, but freshman Jaquais Franklin has made a name for himself. He scored 18 vs Desales, and 22 vs Adair.

4. Adair County (4-3): The Indians have continued to beat the teams they are supposed to beat, but still lack a signature win. They beat Campbellsville 80-38 and lost to E-town 83-71. Harmon continues to be excellent, but the defense has continued to be a problem for Adair. Dre Boyd has had some big games, and had 17 and 7 vs Campbellsville. Adair will have to get better play from the supporting cast if they want to contend for region.

5. Central Hardin (4-2): The bruins only played one game this week, and that was vs the region favorite. They lost at John Hardin 93-69. Central has lost two games this year, but it has been vs two good teams in E-town and John Hardin. The problem for Central is, they play in the best district in the region. Jacob Hobbs, like expected, has been good inside for Central by leading them in rebounds this year.

6. Marion County (6-2): Marion continues to impress, as they won 4 games in a busy week. They won at Thomas Nelson 80-54, and won at Green County 61-48. They blew out Cumberland at Cumberland, 90-48 and ended the week beating district opponent Campbellsville 75-67. The knights have won 5 straight and are gaining more confidence every game. Tyshay Epps has had a breakout week, and if he can keep up the good play, Marion could be a dangerous team in the 5th.

7. Bardstown (3-3): The tigers continued their hot play as they won their only game of the week. They beat district opponent Thomas Nelson 71-30. They started off 0 and 3, but Bardstown is now riding a 3-game winning streak. Dsamuel Butler has led Bardstown, as he has shot a tremendous 50 percent from the 3-point line this year. It looked like a rebuilding year for Bardstown, but they are still the team to beat in the 19th district.

8. Taylor County (1-4): Lost both games this week, but there is a positive after the last game of the week. They lost at Bullitt East 85-68, and then lost to 8th region favorite Oldham County 66-59. Been a disappointing season so far, but Taylor could gain some confidence after such a competitive game vs a very good Oldham County team. Trevon Smith has done his part this year, as he had 40 and 9 vs Bullitt East.

9. Green County (4-4): After playing such a tough schedule to start out, the dragons have started to play a lot better basketball. Green lost to Marion 61-48, and they beat Campbellsville at Campbellsville 67-59, they beat Thomas Nelson at Thomas Nelson 57-48. This is a team that will play very hard every night, and it doesn’t matter who they are playing. They got a big game from Brody Bush vs Marion, as he led them by scoring 17 points.

10. North Hardin (1-6): North lost both games this week, but really impressed when they played two good teams, and lost close both games. They lost at Boyle County 63-56 and lost to region favorite John Hardin 55-51. They gave John the best game anybody has given them all year. The record hasn’t been good, but they have played the top 2 teams in the 5th and both games have gone down to the wire.

11. Washington County (5-5): Washington won one district game and lost one district game this week. They continued to struggle in close games, as all 5 losses have been by less than 5 points. Washington still has a great shot to make it out of the district this year.

12. Campbellsville (2-5): Rough week for the eagles as they lost all three games, including two district games. After the big Taylor County win, they have lost 4 straight.

13. Hart County (3-3): Hart hasn’t been bad so far, but haven’t made the jump that I expected. The positive for Hart is, after Larue in their district, the district is very wide open.

14. Bethlehem (3-3): They have started to play better as the season is going on. They got a nice win beating district opponent Washington County. Making region could happen, if they continue to get better.

15. Caverna (2-5): Things haven’t been going well for Caverna. They started off 2 and 0, and have lost five straight games. If Caverna could get a win soon, that could turn things around.

16. Nelson County (2-6): Tough week for Nelson, but they did pick up one win this week. New coach, and a lot of new players, so this will be a process for Nelson County.

17. Fort Knox (1-4): Played one game this week, and got their first win of the season. Fort Knox will be hoping to build off that win for the rest of the season.

18. Thomas Nelson (1-9): Rough week, as they lose all four games this week. On the positive side, they have been competitive in a lot of games this year.