article Bluegrasspreps.com 3rd Region Rankings 1/8/18

1.Owensboro Red Devils (13-4) – SAME – The Devils returned home from the holiday’s and went 3-0. They knocked off a good Castle Indiana team 79-62 on Tuesday. On Friday, OHS dominated Owensboro Catholic, 64-43. Cory Gardner led all scorers with 21, while Lance Lewis scored 16. Saturday, the Devils kept the blowout trend alive with a 81-47 win over Taylor County. Owensboro put 5 scorers in double figures, led by Deonte Douglas’s 14. Through the first week of January, the gap between OHS and everyone else feels like it is getting wider. Not only are the winning, they are winning convincingly. They only have one game this week, at Muhlenberg on Friday.

2.Daviess County Panthers (11-6) – SAME – DC won their only game of the week at Apollo on Friday night, 66-59. It is a very competitive game though out, but the Panthers made plays down the stretch to seal it. Jay Owen hit a huge 3 to break a tie with 1:40 to go and DC was able to seal it at the free throw line. Blake Boswell scored 24 and Owen had 21. The Panthers were 18-19 from the free throw line and clutch down the stretch. Even though Owensboro won their last meeting, the Panthers are now 3-0 in 9th district regular season play and are in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed. Daviess has a pair of tough regional road games this week at Breck County on Tuesday and at Ohio County on Friday.

3.Owensboro Catholic Aces (8-6) - SAME – Catholic split a pair of games last week. On Friday, the Aces were blown out at Owensboro. The game was competitive for a half, but Owensboro put them away with a big 2nd half. Gabe McFarland led the Aces with 16. On Saturday, they bounced back with a 57-40 win at Grayson County. Luke Hayden and JD Marshall had 10 each. The Aces have a game against Whitesville Trinity on Tuesday and begin All-A play vs the Raiders later this week.

4.Meade County Greenwave (8-4) – SAME – The Waves went 1-1 this week, opening with a 62-57 win over Bullitt Central. Chesney Wieck led all scorers with 17 and Aiden Matthews put up a double double with 16 and 10. Friday, John Hardin got a big win over Meade, 90-62. Matthews was a monster in defeat, scoring 38 points and pulling down his second straight double double with 10 rebounds. Meade has shown the ability to pickup wins against mid-level competition, but have not been competitive against upper level teams. They have a big 11th district game on Tuesday, as they host Hancock. A win would nearly seal their fate as the #1 seed in district. Friday, they travel to Elizabethtown.

5.Apollo Eagles (5-9) – UP 3 – Even though they have only won 5 games, Apollo has been very competitive against top competition. While their record is not as good as Breck County, their strength of schedule has been much much tougher. On Friday, they battled Daviess County right down to the wire before coming up short. The loss continued their trend of losing tight games against good teams. Alex Gray was great in the loss with 19. James Graham also altered the game in the paint, as he protected the rim with 6 blocks. On Saturday, Apollo finally finished strong and knocked off a tough McCraken County team on the road, 58-54. Nathan Boyle and Hayden Shelton each had 16. Apollo is off this week. Their next game is on the 16th at home against Breck County.

6.Muhlenberg County Mustangs (7-9) – SAME – The Mustangs got a big region win on Thursday night at home against Breck County. Will Noffsinger continued to show he is one of the best players in the region, dropping 24 in the 69-63 win. On Friday, they came up short in Henderson, losing 59-49. Landon Gunterman scored 17 in the loss. The Stangs host Mclean County on Tuesday in a district contest and #1 Owensboro on Friday before traveling to George Rogers Clark on Saturday.

7.Breckenridge County Tigers (10-4) – SAME – The Tigers dropped 2 in a row to open the week. On Tuesday, they lost in overtime to Hancock County 62-58. Kobe Poole led the way with 21. On Thursday they dropped a tough road game at Muhlenberg 69-63 before bouncing back Friday with a 72-30 win over Cloverport. Tanner Whitworth hit 4 3pointers to finish with 14 against the Aces. While they have a nice looking record, the Tigers have struggled against good competition. They have an opportunity to get a big win on Tuesday, as they host Daviess County. They head to North Bullitt on Thursday.

8.Ohio County Eagles (7-7) – UP 1 – The Hartford Eagles picked up 2 wins last week, opening with a 70-63 win over Russellville on Tuesday. OC put 4 players in double figures in the win (Tichenor 13, Decker 12, Pharis 11 & Parker 10). On Friday, they avenged an early season loss to McLean County in the 10th district, with a 73-48 win. John Parker scored 30 and Trey Lewis knocked down 5 3’s in the win. Freshman QDaryius McHenry has transferred to Grayson County. While he wasn’t logging a ton of minutes for the Eagles, it’s still a blow to their depth. Ohio has a pair of region games this week, hosting Grayson County Tuesday before traveling to Daviess County on Friday.

9.Whitesville Trinity Raiders (11-8) – DOWN 1 – The Raiders went 2-1 this week, splitting 2 12th district games. On Tuesday, they knocked off Grayson County 58-55. Cameron Wright scored 15. Friday, they were upset by Edmonson County 60-51 before bouncing back on Saturday with a 70-35 win over Burgin. Trinity will face tough tests this week as they open with Owensboro Catholic tomorrow before playing them again to open the All-A tournament on Thursday.

10.Hancock County Hornets (9-6) – UP 2 –Since falling below .500 back on 12/22 in a loss to Whitesville Trinity, the Hornets have not lost. They have won 4 in a row, none bigger than on Tuesday against Breck County. The Hornets won 62-58 in overtime. On Friday, Hancock kept up the dramatics, as Jaxson Gray buried a 3 pointer at the buzzer to knock off Tell City, In 42-40. Gray finished with 17. They followed that up by defeating Walden 53-39. They Hornets have another big 11th district game on Tuesday before opening All-A tournament play later this week.

11.Grayson County Cougars (7-9) – SAME – The Cougars continue to show improvement as the season rolls along. They opened the week with a district loss to Trinity before bouncing back with a 61-58 win at Butler County. Sophomore Nolan Shartzer knocked down the game winning 3 at the buzzer to win it. Saturday, Owensboro Catholic defeated Grayson 57-40. They have tough games this week against Ohio County and Collins.

12.Mclean County Cougars (5-8) – DOWN 2 – It was a tough week for Mclean County, losing to Hopkins Central and Ohio County by an average margin of 19. Coming into the week, they had won 4 of 5. They are at Muhlenberg on Tuesday and home for Edmonson County for the All-A Classic.

13.Butler County Bears (6-8) – SAME – The Bears stopped the bleeding a little bit this week with a 67-57 win over Edmonson County in 12th district play. Will Moore had 25 and Brennan Grubb had 16. Friday, they dropped a tough one to Grayson County 61-58, as the Cougars knocked down a big shot at the buzzer. They play Cloverport tonight in their only game this week.

14.Edmonson County Wildcats (3-14) – SAME – The Cats split a pair of 12th district games this week with a loss to Butler and an upset win on the road at Trinity. Logan Lindsey leads the way for Edmonson with 12 ppg. The Wildcats head to the All-A later this week vs Mclean County.

15.Cloverport Aces (2-12) – SAME – The Aces dropped games this week to Cannelton, IN, Breck County and St Francis. They have games this week vs Butler County, Hopkins Central and Portland Christian.

GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

TUE - Daviess County at Breck County - Breck needs to show they can compete vs good teams. They will have a good chance vs the Panthers at home. Hancock County at Meade County - big 11th district match-up. The winner moves to 3-0 in district play and will be in the drivers seat of the #1 seed. Very important in the 11th to have to avoid a tough elimination game.

FRI - Owensboro at Muhlenberg - Can anyone in this region challenge the Devils? Daviess County at Ohio County - The Eagles are finding their way, should make for an interesting regional game.

Starting Thursday - All-A Tournament at Mclean County

Thanks for the great info. Just wanted to point out that I believe Hancock County already has one district loss (to Breck earlier in the season). With a win Tuesday night Meade would take a significant step toward the #1 seed in the District.

Yes they do!! Missed that. Huge game for Meade to take the drivers seat on Friday!

Meade dominated tonight. Went up by 20 very early in this one and it never really got close. Hancock shot the ball very well from the outside and the Jaxson Gray kid had a very nice game today.

Matthews scored 32 (including 5 of 6 on 3 point shots). Some of his 3's were long bombs. I'm assuming that he had enough rebounds for his third straight double double.

He put up those numbers without playing anywhere near a full 4 quarters. He did it inside, outside, mid range, passing and rebounding. He looks unstoppable right now with his size. I'm not suggesting that he will put up those kind of numbers every night, but anyone would have a hard time convincing me that he is not the best overall player in the region right now. You cannot key on him because he will hurt you with his passing. Tonight he scored 32 points and played "unselfishly". Keep in mind that he has had huge games against two top ranked teams this year (John Hardin and Louisville Doss).

11 Rebounds confirmed for Matthews last night. 3rd straight double double.