article BluegrassPreps.com 3rd Region Rankings 1/2/18

With the first half of the season in the books, the 9th district teams look to be the toughest in the region. Owensboro has established themselves as the mid season favorite with their inside out game and swarming full court defense. Daviess County has proven to be tough as nails early on, and should be in the mix until the very end. Apollo and Owensboro Catholic both have the potential to make runs at a championship but have a lot of work to do before then. Outside the city of Owensboro, Meade County again looks to have itself in position for another run into the tournament. Can anyone else establish themselves as true contenders?? Breck County, Muhlenberg, Ohio County all have the potential to be in the mix before its all said and done.

1.Owensboro Red Devils (10-4) – SAME - OHS went 1-2 this past week at Louisville Eastern. They opened with an 82-72 win over Russell, but lost 2 very close games, 80-76 to Male and 73-71 to Eastern. The loss to Eastern ended in controversy, as the Devils knocked down what would have a game winning 3 at the buzzer. However, the shot was waved off and the Eagles were saved by the horn. Even with the setbacks, through the holiday season, Owensboro looks to be the mid-season favorite to win the region. They return home this week for games against Castle,IN tonight, Owensboro Catholic on Friday and Taylor County on Saturday.

2.Daviess County Panthers (10-6) – SAME - Daviess County had a busy week that started off well. They knocked off Wolfe County 71-44 & Pendelton County 81-68 to open tournament play at Lexington Catholic. In the quarterfinals, the Panthers were hammered by host LexCath 61-34. They bounced back with a solid showing vs Bryan Station, coming up short in 2 overtimes. In their last game in the consolation bracket, they suffered another blowout loss, this time at the hands of Madison Central. DC returns home with a respectable record having played some great state competition, and remain one of the favorites in the region. They get back to 9th district play this week at Apollo.

3.Owensboro Catholic Aces (7-5) - SAME - Since starting the season 4-0 the Aces have struggled to find wins. They were able to get back on the winning side of things in Ashland, winning their last 2 games of the trip. They opened tournament play with a 68-57 loss to Vestavia Hills, AL before bouncing back with 2 wins against Mason County and Dixie Heights. Catholic has some work to do if they want to get back to the favorite status in the region, where they opened the season. They have a great chance to make up some ground this Friday at Owensboro.

4.Meade County Greenwave (7-3) – SAME - The defending 3rd region champions stayed hot this week with a 67-45 win over Ryle. It was their 3rd straight win and 7th in their last 8 contests. Aiden Matthews has been impressive, averaging 18 points per game and 7 rebounds. The Waves get back in action this week vs Bullitt Central tomorrow and at John Hardin on Friday.

5.Breckenridge County Tigers (9-2) – SAME - The Tigers took New Years week off. Through the first half of the season, Kobe Poole is proving to be the player of the year candidate that everyone expected, averaging 23 points per game. They get back in action this tonight with a big 11th district game at Hancock. On Thursday they travel to Muhlenberg County before returning home for another district game vs Cloverport.

6.Muhlenberg County Mustangs (6-9) – UP 1 - The Mustangs are still young and inexperienced at this point in the season, but they are slowly finding their way. While they only went 1-4 against very good competition in Bowling Green last week, they have competed all year long. They got a nice 59-49 against a solid Murray team. Will Noffsinger leads the team in scoring at 25 points per game. They get a couple of good measuring stick games this week at home vs Breck on Thursday and at Henderson on Friday.

7.Apollo Eagles (4-8) – DOWN 1 - Since moving above .500 on the season, Apollo has lost 5 straight games. The Eagles have been in position to win over half of those games, but cannot find a way to finish. They were swept in their holiday tournament last week, losing late leads to Crockett Co, TN and Newport. They also dropped a game to Louisville Valley. Aside from their two big 9th district defeats, their other 6 losses have been very close, with average margin of defeat of only 4 points. It will be interesting to monitor the status of Meechie Chambers, who has not been with the team since the 2nd week of the season. The Eagles miss his scoring and his added depth could help the team tremendously. Apollo hosts Daviess County on Friday before traveling to McCracken County on Saturday.

8.Whitesville Trinity Raiders (9-7) – UP 1 - The Raiders just keep winning. They have now won 3 of their last 4 games, including 2 at Louisville Collegiate last week. They knocked off Brown 66-51 & Thomas Nelson 76-63 but lost to host Collegiate 73-53. Junior forward Cameron Wright continues to lead the way for the Raiders, leading the team in scoring. Trinity gets back home this week with 3 home games against Grayson County, Edmonson County and Burgin.

9.Ohio County Eagles (5-7) – DOWN 1 - The Hartford Eagles are on a bit of a skid as of late, losing 5 of their last 6 games. They hosted tough competition last week in the Danny Annis Classic, losing games to Marshall County, Holmes and Warren Central. John Parker leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 17 and 7. They stay at home for games this week against Russellville and Mclean County on Friday. The Eagles will be looking to avenge an early season district loss to the Cougars.

10.Mclean County Cougars (5-6) – UP 2 - The Cougars have made their way into the top 10 for the first time in nearly 2 years. Coach Stevens has this unit playing well, as they have won 4 of their last 5. They split games last week, losing to Greenup County 71-56 before bouncing back with a win over Russell County 65-60. Senior Keenan Smith and sophomore Logan Patterson have helped lead the resurgence. They host Hopkins Central tonight before heading to Ohio County for a district showdown with the Eagles on Friday.

11.Grayson County Cougars (6-7) – SAME - Grayson County continues to battle and grow as the season wears along. They went 1-2 in the LaRue County holiday tournament last week. They closed out tournament play with a 20 point win over Cumberland County. Bailey Logsdon (12ppg) and Logan Majors (10ppg) are both averaging double figures. They are at Trinity tonight and to Butler County on Friday for a 12th district showdown. On Saturday they host Owensboro Catholic.

12.Hancock County Hornets (6-6) – UP 1 - Its been an up and down start to the season for the Hancock County Hornets. Last week, Coach Lynam and the Hornets got a nice win on the road at Butler County 42-41. Junior guard Jaxson Gray has been the leader in the first half of the season for Hancock and they will look to build around that as the season continues. They have games this week against Tell City, In and Walden.

13.Butler County Bears (5-6) – DOWN 3 - The Bears silde continued this past week, as they dropped a close game to Hancock County last week. They have now lost 6 of their last 7. They will look to turn things around this week with 2 big district games vs Edmonson and Grayson County.

14.Edmonson County Wildcats (2-12) – SAME - Since starting the season 2-2, the Cats have dropped 10 straight games. They are struggling to find their way after graduating a very successful senior class a year ago. They were swept in their own holiday tournament last week, with losses against Franklin Simpson, Jeffersontown and Adair County. They get into district play tonight vs Butler County and Friday at Whitesville Trinity.

15.Cloverport Aces (2-9) – SAME - The Aces got a win last week over Burgin, 47-33. Senior guard Dylan Simmons is leading the team with 15ppg. They have games this week vs Cannelton, IN, Breck County and St Francis.

GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

12th District Games - TUE(Edmonson at Butler & Grayson at Trinity) FRI(Grayson at Butler & Trinity at Edmsonson) - Can the Raiders take the #1 seed in a wide open 12th district in which they host in their brand new community center?

Thursday - Breck County at Muhlenberg - Can Breck County go on the road in a tough environment and get the win vs the upstart Mustangs? This is a good measuring stick game.

Friday - 9th District Action - Daviess County at Apollo & Owensboro Catholic at OHS - DC and Apollo hook up for the first time since the Panthers ended their season in the district tourney last year and Owensboro looks to get the better of a Catholic team that has had their number since the arrival of Head Coach Tim Riley.

Top 5 Scorers in the Region

1. Will Noffsinger - Muhlenberg - 25 ppg

2. Kobe Poole - Breck County - 23 ppg

3. Will Moore - Butler County - 21 ppg

4. Cameron Wright - Whitesville Trinity - 19 ppg

5. Nathan Boyle - Apollo - 18 ppg

Good info on how things are shaping up in this crazy region. I think that's what makes the region so much fun to watch.

Also, I see that more stats for some of the teams in the 3rd have posted online since you listed the top 5 scorers in the region early this morning. My guess is that Matthews might sneak into the top 5 based on the updated stats. If Meade Co. can continue to find ways to win games and make a run this year, I wonder if there is a chance that he could go from not being on anyone's radar to Region POY??? There is a lot of basketball left to be played, but there may not have been a more underrated player coming into the season.

Great info as always. I knew Chambers was going to be big in apollo's game plans but had no idea he was that big of piece. Hope he gets back to help make Barker's Eagles competitive.

OHS got a nice win against Castle tonight after a first half of playing like they were asleep. The Devils got in gear and took care of business. On another note, do you think Chambers is going to play this year?

A lot of game stats had yet to be reported for sure. Those top 5 were based only on the games that had been reported as of Monday. I meant to post that in my original thread and forgot. As far as POY, I think its a wide open race. There is a lot of teams with top talent guys but not 1 real solid standout. It will be a fun race to see who emerges down the stretch.

Not sure one way or the other if Chambers will return. I had heard he was just suspended from the team and he could possibly return after the new year. Not sure how that is going to play out? He has the ability to score, rebound and defend. Apollo is looking to try to expand their bench to 8-9 deep and it is a struggle without some drop off. His return would be big in that aspect as well. It will be a storyline worth monitoring.

Chambers was indefinitely suspended (kicked off) by the schools principal after actions in the home game against Catholic. He had the chance to return, but, was spotted by school officials in attendance at the Apollo/OHS game, with Chambers sitting in OHS student section cheering against his own team. Straw that broke the camel's back. This was given to me by a school official who wishes to remain anonymous. He won't be back.

Shame, he really could have helped the eagles. Talented kid, but.......WOW! I am sure Barker wishes he could just coach. That's just nuts. Thanks for the up date.

Meade got another decent win last night. Though it struggled once again with some sloppiness and not being able to put away Bullitt Central down the stretch. Lots of missed free throws and a few turnovers at the end made the game look closer than it really was.

Matthews ended up with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Heard he's been ill a bit lately and it wasn't one of his better games, but he still put up those numbers. He has become a tremendous passer and it is fun to watch. Who is a better "all around" player in the region right now? I think it is a valid question and would be a great debate.

Weick also had a decent game. He's not a very skilled player but he's a physical kid that can impact the game (As we saw a few times last year and a couple of times this year). He and Matthews are doing a great job of passing to each other around the rim. Those two kids are critical to the team.

Great update. Completely agree. I thought preseason it was OC DC OHS Apollo in that order. Now it seems to have changed. Ive seen OC, and OHS play, watched OC kinda struggle against Bullitt in OIT, then watched OHS beat a decent Castle team. Its gonna be a good district tourney. I still think it comes down to OHS/OC in finals. But for now it seems OHS is best in city, Friday night will be a good one!

I don't know that catholic has the quickness ohs does. To be pretty much the same team Drake had last year, they are playing faster and quicker.

ApolloFan98 - I hope you are able to see this message soon. Matthews just put the entire 3rd Region on notice tonight. He dropped 38 Pts on John Hardin. He was electric. Outside of Louisville Trinity, John Hardin has to be one of the longest and most athletic teams in the state. Matthews was absolutely dominant while hitting shots from everywhere on the floor. They simply could not stop him. It would take a lot to convince me that there is a better player in the region at this time.

Meade hung with them early, but the game got away from them just before half. The officiating surely did not change the outcome of the game, but it certainly didn't help any either. Made the score look a little more lopsided. Let me say this, what Meade showed today in the losing effort was enough to convince me that they can win this region.

ApolloFan98 - I hope you are able to see this message soon. Matthews just put the entire 3rd Region on notice tonight. He dropped 38 Pts on John Hardin. He was electric. Outside of Louisville Trinity, John Hardin has to be one of the longest and most athletic teams in the state. Matthews was absolutely dominant while hitting shots from everywhere on the floor. They simply could not stop him. It would take a lot to convince me that there is a better player in the region at this time.

 

Meade hung with them early, but the game got away from them just before half. The officiating surely did not change the outcome of the game, but it certainly didn't help any either. Made the score look a little more lopsided. Let me say this, what Meade showed today in the losing effort was enough to convince me that they can win this region.

Matthews played very well tonight. He plays very hard and his motor is constant. Very impressed. As for the score though i have to disagree, this game never was in doubt and the final score was about what the game looked like.

I don't disagree that the game was never in doubt. They could tip it up 10 times with JH and JH would probably win them all. There was too much pushing allowed by JH's bigs under the basket. Moving picks/screens that were obvious on some of the dunks (designed moving screens). Wouldn't make a hug difference but the score should not have been that lopsided (that's all I'm saying). JH doesn't have a deep bench (just not many players), but it should have gone to some of the younger kids as early as Meade did. Pearson did not need to be on the floor that late in the game. But it was sure fun to watch him and Matthews go at each other!!!

I feel like there are a lot of guys that flew under the radar in the preseason that are having fantastic seasons thus far. Guys like Matthews, Noffsinger and Cory Gardener are all having all region type starts to their season. My mid-season player of the year right now is Cory Gardner from OHS. I feel like he can not only score the basketball almost at will in transition, he makes all of his teammates better as well. While OHS's big men have improved quite a bit, Gardner has been the reason for Owensboro looking like an unstoppable force around here.

I feel like there are a lot of guys that flew under the radar in the preseason that are having fantastic seasons thus far. Guys like Matthews, Noffsinger and Cory Gardener are all having all region type starts to their season. My mid-season player of the year right now is Cory Gardner from OHS. I feel like he can not only score the basketball almost at will in transition, he makes all of his teammates better as well. While OHS's big men have improved quite a bit, Gardner has been the reason for Owensboro looking like an unstoppable force around here.

Gardner didn't do anything to disappoint night against Catholic. He had a very good game last night against the Aces.