article BluegrassPreps.com Seventh Region update and rankings - 1/29/18

All in all, this was not a great week for the Seventh Region. The eighteen Seventh Region teams combined to go 13-20 against teams from other regions this week. And the Region’s top-ranked team, Trinity, lost its second game of the season, a 53-52 loss to Madison Central.

 

Of course, it was not all bad news for teams in the Seventh Region. Ballard went 3-0 for the week, including an impressive win over the Fern Creek Tigers from the Sixth Region. And the Collegiate Titans represented the Seventh Region well in the All A state tournament, beating Raceland in the first round before falling to Lexington Christian in the quarter-finals.

 

But the team of the week in the Seventh Region has to be the Brown Bears. Entering the week with 4 wins on the season, the Bears went 3-0 this week to improve to 7-13. Well done, Brown Bears.

 

This week’s rankings:

 

1. Trinity Shamrocks (20-2)

Fresh off winning the LIT, Trinity returned to the court on Tuesday and beat Henry Clay 62-55. Trinity’s big three once again led the Rocks, with Justin Powell scoring 17 and David Johnson and Jay Scrubb adding 15 points each. The Rocks went on the road on Friday to play Madison Central without Powell, who was sick, and fell to the Indians 53-52. A close loss to 17-5 Madison Central is not cause for great concern, although it may lead some to wonder about the strength of Trinity’s depth. The Rocks bounced back on Saturday to beat DeSales 83-59. Trinity plays at Atherton Tuesday night and at home against Male on Saturday.

 

2. Ballard Bruins (16-4)

 

Ballard had a great week, going 3-0 against quality opponents. The Bruins started the week with a 66-56 victory over Jeffersontown and followed that up with a convincing 75-49 win over St. X on Friday. But the best win came on Saturday night when the Bruins beat the Fern Creek Tigers 72-66, shooting 55% from the field as a team with 14 assists and only 7 turnovers. Dorian Tisby led Ballard with 21 points and 8 rebounds. The Bruins host Kentucky Country Day on Tuesday and Shawnee on Friday before going on the road to play at Madison Central on Saturday.

 

3. Waggener Wildcats (14-6)

The week started for Waggener with a comfortable 76-40 win over Christian Academy. The Wildcats then hosted Fern Creek and, despite having four players score in double figures (led by J. J. Kalakon’s 21 points), Waggener fell to the Tigers 80-74. On Saturday, Waggener beat North Hardin 64-56 as part of the Nathan McCurry Classic. Waggener plays three games on the road this week, at Oldham County on Tuesday, at Seneca on Friday, and at Indianapolis Crispus Attucks on Saturday.

 

4. St. Xavier Tigers (11-9)

 

St. X had a convincing 67-38 win against Eastern on Tuesday, with Sam Boarman leading the scoring for the Tigers with 15 points on 5-of-6 3-point shooting. St. X then fell to Ballard on Friday night 75-49. The Tigers play at Collegiate on Tuesday, at Moore on Wednesday, and at home on Friday against Collins.

 

5. Male Bulldogs (12-9)

 

Male played just once this week, suffering a 66-57 loss at Valley. Howard Fleming led the Bulldogs with 13 points, while Noah Courtney had an impressive 16 rebounds. The loss to Valley was the third straight loss for the Bulldogs. Male will spend the upcoming week on the road, playing at Collins on Tuesday, at Eastern on Friday, and at Trinity on Saturday. The Bulldogs lost to Trinity 53-39 in the LIT on January 10.

 

6. Manual Crimsons (11-10)

 

The Crimsons beat Seneca (91-81) and Western (77-56) to extend their winning streak to five wins in a row. That streak came to an end on Saturday when Manual went to John Hardin to participate in the Nathan McCurry Classic and lost to Larue County 57-54. Manual hosts Portland Christian in a district game on Tuesday and then plays Butler on Wednesday and at South Oldham on Friday.

 

7. Seneca Redhawks (7-11)

Seneca’s six-game winning streak came to an end this week, with the Redskins losing both of their games. Seneca fell to Manual 91-81 on Tuesday, playing the second half without leading scorer Carl Parker, who suffered an injury late in the second quarter. The Redskins then fell to Fairdale 94-82 on Friday. Seneca has three games on its schedule this week, an away game at Jeffersontown on Tuesday, a home game against Waggener on Friday, and an away game at Boone County on Saturday.

 

8. Eastern Eagles (7-14)

 

The Eagles went 0-3 this week, losing to St. X (67-38), Central Hardin (64-54), and Dixie Heights (61-47). Eastern has lost 6 out of its last 7 games. Eastern hopes to turn that around this coming week, hosting CAL on Tuesday and Male on Friday before playing Frankfort at Franklin County on Saturday as part of the Gary Moore Classic.

 

9. Central Yellow Jackets (4-12)

 

Central lost to three teams from the Sixth Region this week, falling to Pleasure Ridge Park (75-56), Butler (53-45), and Jeffersontown (62-59). The Yellow Jackets continue to play hard but at times have trouble putting the ball in the basket. The Yellow Jackets play at St. Francis Tuesday night and then tangle with the Atherton Rebels on Friday.

 

10. Louisville Collegiate Titans (18-5)

 

Collegiate traveled to the All A state tournament in Richmond as the All A Seventh Region champion and faced Raceland in the first round. After falling behind early by a 15-3 margin, Collegiate outscored Raceland 50-24 the rest of the way to win 53-39. In the second round, the Titans ran into the eventual champion Lexington Christian Eagles and fell to the Eagles 64-42. At 18 wins, Collegiate has tied the school record for wins in a season (set last year). The Titans have a district game Tuesday night against the St. X Tigers and then on Friday have a re-match with Kentucky Country Day, who it beat in the Seventh Region All A final.

 

11. Atherton Rebels (6-11)

 

The Rebels have hit a bit of a dry spell. On Tuesday, Atherton fell to Fairdale 92-65. Thursday’s game against Valley was closer but also was a loss, with Valley prevailing 74-63. The Rebels have now lost 5 of their last 6, and things are not getting any easier right away, as Atherton hosts Trinity on Tuesday. After that, Atherton plays at home on Friday against Central and on the road on Saturday at North Oldham.

 

12. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (8-7)

 

The Bearcats lost a tough one to a good Bardstown team, falling to Boo Brewer’s Tigers 62-60. Solomon Mathis continues to be among the leading scorers in the Seventh Region at 21 ppg. KCD has a challenging district game against Ballard on Tuesday before getting a shot at revenge Friday night against Collegiate, who beat KCD in the Seventh Region All A final. KCD then plays Portland Christian on Saturday.

 

13. Christian Academy Centurions (6-14)

 

Christian Academy lost the three games it played this week, starting with a 76-40 loss to Waggener on Tuesday. The Centurions fell to DeSales 69-59 on Friday before losing to Elizabethtown 73-53 as part of the Nathan McCurry Classic played at John Hardin. CAL will try to end its 5-game losing streak when it plays at Eastern on Tuesday. It then travels to Bullitt East for a game on Friday.

 

14. St. Francis Wyverns (8-10)

 

St. Francis faced three Sixth Region opponents this week, coasting past Evangel Christian 80-46 Monday night before falling to Fairdale 77-49 and to All A Sixth Region champion Louisville Holy Cross 64-49. Freshman Darian Wade scored 22 points in the game against Fairdale. The Wyverns will be busy again this week, playing Central on Tuesday, Eminence on Wednesday, and Covington Latin on Friday.

 

15. Shawnee Golden Eagles (5-15)

 

Shawnee did not play this week. For the season, Lajuantre Gray leads the Golden Eagles in scoring at 10.3 ppg. Jermon Boyd contributes 9.9 ppg and an impressive 10.1 rebounds per game. Shawnee has two games on its schedule this week, a home game against Southern on Tuesday and a challenging game at Ballard on Friday night.

 

16. Portland Christian Eagles (7-10)

 

Portland Christian beat Beth Haven 68-48 before playing in the Cougar Classic at Calvary Christian over the weekend. The Eagles beat Heritage Christian 66-43 in the first round with both Quincy Dye (24 points, 12 rebounds) and Keller Mackey (15 points, 10 rebounds) recording double-doubles. Portland Christian lost in the championship game of the Cougar Classic to host Calvary Christian 65-50. The Eagles play Manual in a district game on Tuesday before playing Brown on Friday and KCD on Saturday.

 

17. Brown Bears (7-13)

The Brown Bears are roaring! After losing to Collegiate in overtime the prior week in the All A Seventh Region tournament, Brown came out on Tuesday and gained its best win of the season, a 63-61 win over Trimble County. The Bears followed up that win with a convincing 83-51 win over Beth Haven and then beat Williamstown on Saturday 76-65, capping off Brown’s first 3-game winning streak of the season. Brown hopes to keep that streak going with three home games this week, against Burgin on Tuesday, Eminence on Thursday, and Portland Christian on Friday.

 

18. Walden Wolverines (2-11)

 

Walden played once this week, losing to Tenth Region All A champion Robertson County 80-40. Walden does not have any games on its schedule for the coming week.

Jason Frakes at the Courier-Journal is reporting the Christian Academy Coach Chad Carr has taken a leave of absence, with no timetable set for his return. He further reports that Coach Carr's son, Austin, is currently not a member of the team. Grant Hendrix has been named the interim head coach.