article BluegrassPreps.com 3rd Region Rankings 12/26/17

1.Owensboro Red Devils (9-2) – UP 2 - All the way to #1 this week, there is no hotter team in Western KY than the Owensboro Red Devils. Since starting the season 1-2 the Devils have reeled off 7 straight wins. Not only have they been winning, they have been dominate, winning by an average margin of 20 points. This past week, OHS knocked off Stewarts Creek, TN, St X, Daviess County and Bullitt East to win the Owensboro Invitational. The schedule shows them taking the week off before returning to action vs Castle, In next week.

2.Daviess County Panthers (8-3) – DOWN 1 - The Panthers went 1-2 this past week in the OIT, losing tough battles to Owensboro and St X. In the loss to St X, the Panthers led by 12 with 2 minutes to go before falling apart late. They picked up their lone win vs Stewarts Creek, TN. They will continue their tough schedule this week in the Tradition Bank Tournament at Lexington Catholic.

3.Owensboro Catholic Aces (5-4) - DOWN 1 - Since starting the season 4-0, the Aces have struggled to win games, going 1-5 since. Their lone win over Apollo came in overtime, after Max Reid went coast to coast to force the extra period. Luke Hayden hit a layup as time expired in OT to give the Aces the win. They lost close games to Monroe County and Bullitt East in other tournament action. The Aces head to Ashland this week for the Ashland invitational.

4.Meade County Greenwave (6-3) – UP 1 - The Waves have won 6 of their last 7 games, with thier only loss coming to state power Louisville Doss. They picked up wins this week vs Garrard and Whitley County in the Henry Clay tournament. They travel to Ryle this week for their lone contest.

5.Breckenridge County Tigers (9-2) – UP 1 - The Tigers reeled off 4 straight wins this past week, including 3 in their own holiday tournament to take home the title. They started the week with a 54-51 win over Grayson County. Kobe Poole's 3 point play with 4 seconds left, lifted them over the upset minded Cougars. In tournament action they picked up wins against Hart County, Louisville Holy Cross and Ft Knox to win the championship. They are off this week before returning to action at Hancock County.

6.Apollo Eagles (4-5) – DOWN 2 - Apollo went 1-2 in OIT action, getting thier lone win over Monroe County 63-60. They dropped a heartbreaker to Catholic in overtime. Missed free throws and lack of defensive execution late cost the Eagles the win. Saturday, they lost to Bullitt East. This week, Apollo hosts their own holiday tournament with Louisville Ballard, Collins, Mayfield and others.

7.Muhlenberg County Mustangs (5-6) – SAME - The Stangs split a pair of games this past week down in Graves County. Will Noffsinger poured in 39 to help defeat Calloway County 66-62. Mulenberg dropped a 63-43 decision against the host, Graves County. They travel to Bowling Green this week for the Mejer holiday tourney against Hopkins Central, Monroe County, South Warren, Bowling Green & Murray.

8.Ohio County Eagles (5-4) – SAME - The Eagles ended their losing skid with an 86-47 win over Carslie County. They also dropped a close game to host Graves County, 55-51. Ohio County gets back in action this week with tough home games against Holmes and Warren Central.

9.Whitesville Trinity Raiders (7-6) – UP 1 -The Raiders continue to be impressive in the early part of the season. They split a pair of games this past week. In a close loss to Warren East, Cameron Wright dropped 48 points. They went 2-1 in Hancock County, posting wins over Cannelton and host Hancock County. Their lone defeat was against Jeffersonville, IN. They head to the Louisville Colegiate holiday tournament this week.

10.Butler County Bears (5-6) – DOWN 1 - Butler County split a pair of games at home this past week. They defeated Cumberland County 95-75 before falling to Bullitt Central 63-53. They host Hancock County in their lone game this week.

11.Grayson County Cougars (5-5) – UP 1 - Grayson County continues to show improvement as the season wears on. They started the week battling a tough Breck County team to the wire. They picked up wins over Ft Knox and Hart County before falling to Louisville Holy Cross in the Breck County tournament. This week, they travel to LaRue County for their holiday tournament.

12.Mclean County Cougars (4-5) – UP 1 - Mclean picked up 3 straight wins this week in Trigg County. They knocked of St Mary's twice and got a 73-71 win over Hickman County. They head to Greenup County for their lone contest this week.

13.Hancock County Hornets (5-6) – DOWN 2 - The Hornets went 1-2 in their holiday tournament this past week. They opened with a 77-69 win over Russelville before dropping 2 games to Central Hardin and Whitesville Trinity. They travel to Butler County this week.

14.Edmonson County Wildcats (2-9) – SAME - The Wildcats have dropped 7 straight games. They lost 3 at Warren East this past week to North Hardin, Franklin Simpson and Greenwood. The Cats host their own tournament this week with Jeffersontown, Adair County and Franklin Simpson.

15.Cloverport Aces (1-9) – SAME - Cloverport dropped their lone game this week to Tremble County. They are back in action this week at home against Burgin.

Great break down, look forward to it every week. There's a chance OHS slips up against Castle because they are looking forward to Friday V Catholic. Now that I've said it...........

Awesome breakdown this week. Now that we've had quite a few games to get a gauge of where teams are at, I think this is the most accurate ranking I've seen so far.

Meade had a decent showing last week in the Henry Clay tournament. Aidan Matthews made the all-tournament team and was one of the best players in the tournament, if not the best that I saw. Louisville Doss couldn't guard him in a fast paced game. He scored 29 with 9 rebounds against Garrard Co. Double/double against Whitley Co. I think the big question is how does Meade Co. utilize him. At 6'4", he handles the ball really well and is a pretty good passer. At this point, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone in the 3rd region with his ability to score, rebound, pass and handle the ball as well as he does (as a whole package). If we had all that information available for the top players in the region, I'd like to see how he compares.

Chezney Weick and Noah Schwartz also played well at times last week. Schwartz has been showing why he was a big absence from the Ohio County game in the season opener.

Overall, not a bad start to the season for a team adjusting to life without James Baker. There are enough pieces that the team can win games if one or two of its best players are not having a great night (as it showed against Breck Co.) However, they do need to close out games a little better when they have a lead (an issue last week). They also need to respond better when teams come out on fire like Owensboro Catholic and Doss did at the beginning of games .

Being in NKY, I rarely get to see the 3rd Region, but had the chance to watch Daviess County yesterday. Very disciplined, very intense, and very well-coached bunch. A lot of good ball handlers and they move the ball really well. Looking forward to following their progress the rest of the season.