article BluegrassPreps.com Seventh Region update and rankings - 2/5/18

The calendar has flipped over to February, meaning district tournaments can’t be too far away. In fact, a mere two weeks are left in the regular season. With several district games having been played this week, the pairings for the district tournaments have come into focus.

 

But we still have the regular season to complete. This week presents us with plenty of good games, none more interesting than the Ballard-Waggener match-up. Ballard and Waggener are about 3.5 miles from each other. Since Ballard opened in the early 1970’s, Ballard and Waggener have played each other 69 times, and Ballard has won 69 times. That’s a 69-0 record. But it was extremely close last season, with Ballard winning 61-59, and this season might present Waggener with an even better chance of winning. The game is Wednesday night. I am not sure I am going to make it. But I am going to try.

 

Now, for this week’s rankings:

 

1. Trinity Shamrocks (22-2)

 

Trinity opened the week with a comfortable 70-43 win over Atherton in what likely was a preview of a first round match-up in the upcoming 27th district tournament. Trinity closed the week with a 56-41 win over the Male Bulldogs. Justin Powell is back from his illness, Jay Scrubb’s averages are up to 19 ppg and 7.7 rpg, and David Johnson contributes 15.1 ppg. The Rocks appear ready to head down the stretch. Trinity plays at Taylor County Tuesday night and at Lexington Lafayette on Friday.

 

2. Ballard Bruins (18-5)

 

Ballard beat Kentucky Country Day 76-59 to go 3-0 in the 28th district and secured the top seed in the upcoming district tournament. The Bruins beat Shawnee 87-38 on Friday to extend its winning streak to seven games before heading to Madison Central on Saturday. The Indians from Madison Central dominated Ballard throughout, beating the Bruins by a final score of 76-50. It seems that Madison Central challenged Ballard to beat them from the outside and Ballard couldn’t do it. Coach Renner tweeted it was the worst Ballard loss to a Kentucky team in his 20 years at Ballard. The Bruins will be busy this week with three games in four days, playing at home against Seneca on Tuesday, at home for the big match-up against Waggener on Wednesday, and on the road at Male on Friday.

 

3. Waggener Wildcats (15-8)

 

Waggener lost early in the week to a good Oldham County team from the Eighth Region 72-58 with J. J. Kalakon being limited to 4 points. Playing without Kalakon and with Coach O’Neill also being absent on Friday, Waggener beat Seneca (who was playing without its leading scorer, Carl Parker) 54-46. On Saturday, the Wildcats traveled to Indianapolis without Kalakon and fell to Crispus Attucks 65-61. Waggener seeks its first ever win against Ballard on Wednesday night and then hosts Eastern on Friday night.

 

4. St. Xavier Tigers (14-9)

 

St. X secured the top seed in the 26th district tournament with a 67-40 win over Louisville Collegiate on Tuesday. The Tigers then easily outdistanced the Moore Mustangs 73-43 on Wednesday. On Friday, St. X got perhaps its best win of the season with a 66-58 win on the road at Collins. With Pierce Kiesler leading the way with 18.1 ppg and 7.7 rpg for the season, St. X has now won five of its last six games. The Tigers have two home games this week, hosting Fern Creek on Tuesday and Manual on Thursday.

 

5. Male Bulldogs (13-11)

 

Male fell to Collins from the Eighth Region 54-51 early in the week, its fourth loss in a row, before beating Eastern 63-52 on Friday. On Saturday, the Bulldogs lost to the top dog in the Region, Trinity, 56-41. Howard Fleming (11.7 ppg) and Tyren Moore (11.6 ppg) lead the Bulldogs in scoring for the year. Male plays the Brown Bears on Tuesday and then hosts Ballard on Friday.

 

6. Manual Crimsons (12-12)

 

Manual easily bested fellow 25th district member Portland Christian 72-36 before hosting Sixth Region power Butler on Wednesday night. Perhaps indicating that it is gearing up for the post-season like it did last year, the Crimsons played well before falling to the Bears 90-80 in double overtime. But then the Crimsons lost 81-74 to South Oldham on Friday. Manual hosts St. Francis in a district game on Tuesday (a preview of their semi-final match-up in the upcoming 25th district tournament) and then plays at St. X on Thursday.

 

7. Seneca Redhawks (7-14)

 

Seneca has been playing without its leading scorer, Carl Parker, since he suffered a leg injury against Manual on January 23. Seneca is a different team without Parker, and lost all three of its games this week, falling to Jeffersontown 56-51, Waggener 54-46, and Boone County 65-46. After winning six games in a row, the Redhawks have now lost five in a row. Seneca plays at Ballard on Tuesday and at home against Central on Thursday.

 

8. Eastern Eagles (8-16)

 

With Nick Sparks tallying 17 points, including hitting 5 3-pointers, and Jacob Robinson adding 16 points, Eastern started the week with a 70-51 win over Christian Academy. The Eagles dropped its other two games this week, losing to Male 63-52 and then losing a tough one to Frankfort 46-44 on Saturday as part of the Gary Moore Classic. Eastern is on the road this week with games at Waggener on Friday and at Atherton on Saturday.

 

9. Central Yellow Jackets (6-12)

 

The Yellow Jackets won both of the games they played this week, starting with a comfortable 78-49 win over 25th district foe St. Francis on Tuesday. With wins against both Manual and St. Francis, Central appears to have earned the top seed for the upcoming 25th district tournament. On Friday, Central beat Atherton 73-63. Central hosts Shawnee on Tuesday and then plays at Seneca on Thursday.

 

10. Louisville Collegiate Titans (20-6)

 

Collegiate fell early in the week to St. X 67-40. The Titans added a game against Frankfort Christian on Thursday and prevailed 79-51. With that win, Collegiate set a new school record with 19 wins in a season, besting the previous record of 18 wins set last year. On Friday, Collegiate renewed its rivalry with Kentucky Country Day, which it had beaten 58-43 two weeks earlier in the All A Seventh Region championship game, and beat the Bearcats again, this time by a 55-52 margin for its 20th win of the season. The Titans play on Saturday at Beth Haven.

 

11. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (9-9)

 

Country Day lost to Ballard 76-59 on Tuesday, not a bad margin when you consider how well Ballard has been playing this season. The Bearcats fell to Collegiate 55-52 on Friday, a much closer game than when those teams previously met in the All A Seventh Region final. KCD bounced back on Saturday to beat Portland Christian 67-54. The Bearcats play at North Hardin on Tuesday and at home against Moore on Thursday.

 

12. Atherton Rebels (6-14)

 

Atherton went 0-3 for the week. The Rebels started the week with a 70-43 loss to Trinity and followed that with a 73-63 loss to Central and a 64-43 loss to North Oldham. The Rebels have now lost six games in a row and eight out of their last nine games. Atherton hosts Whitefield Academy on Thursday and Eastern on Saturday.

 

13. Christian Academy Centurions (6-16)

 

As reported in last week’s thread, Christian Academy coach Chad Carr has taken a leave of absence and his son, Austin, currently is not with the team. On the court, CAL lost this week 70-51 to Eastern and 90-61 to Bullitt East to extend its losing streak to 7 games. After winning 24 games and making it to the Seventh Region championship game last year, this has certainly turned into a challenging season for the Centurions. CAL has games against Iroquois and Oldham County on its schedule this week.

 

14. St. Francis Wyverns (10-12)

 

The Wyverns came out playing hard and led the Central Yellow Jackets 15-9 after the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Wyverns, Central cranked up the pressure and pulled away to win 78-49. The next night St. Francis went on the road and lost to Eminence 76-69. The Wyverns got back to winning on Friday night with an easy 84-13 win over Covington Latin and followed that game with a 68-33 win against Walden on Saturday. That win was the Wyverns’ tenth of the season, giving St. Francis at least 10 wins for the second season in a row. St. Francis plays Manual Tuesday night in a preview of a 25th district semi-final game. St. Francis also plays Beth Haven and Christian Fellowship this week.

 

15. Shawnee Golden Eagles (5-17)

 

Shawnee dropped its game against Southern on Tuesday by a 58-51 margin. The Golden Eagles then ran into the Ballard Bruins Friday night and fell 87-38. It may be a challenge for Shawnee to win any more games in the regular season with the games it has remaining, which this week include games against Central on Tuesday and Pleasure Ridge Park on Saturday.

 

16. Portland Christian Eagles (8-12)

 

The Eagles went 1-2 this week, falling to Manual 72-36 and to KCD 67-54. Portland Christian’s win this week came on Saturday, a 69-62 victory over the Brown Bears, who had won five straight going into that game. Junior Quincy Dye continues to lead the Seventh Region in both scoring (21.8 ppg) and rebounding (11 rpg). The Eagles have two games this week, playing at Burgin Friday night and hosting Covington Latin on Saturday.

 

17. Brown Bears (9-14)

 

Brown continued its late season surge with a convincing 72-37 win over Burgin on Tuesday. Brown then extended its win streak to five with a 83-76 win over Eminence on Thursday. Alas, the Bears’ winning streak ended there when they fell to Portland Christian 69-62 Friday night. Brown plays at Male on Tuesday and hosts Walden on Saturday.

 

18. Walden Wolverines (2-12)

 

Walden played once this week, a rescheduled game against St. Francis in which the Wolverines fell to the Wyverns 68-33. Walden has a busy week this week with four games on its schedule. Walden plays Evangel Christian twice (at home on Monday and at Evangel Christian on Friday) and also hosts Heritage Academy on Tuesday and plays at Brown on Saturday.

Was surprised by the Madison Central-Ballard score; didn't think the Indians had that in them. I still think Ballard can give Trinity trouble in the 7th region tourney, but outside of that I don't see any major challengers to Trinity's path to the regional crown.

 

Congrats to Lou Collegiate on an incredible season. Don't think many predicted 20 wins from that program with as much as they lost last year, and beating KCD twice is a big feather for them.

 

Male is still young, but if they can infuse their program with some fire, they could be really good. They have great young talent that doesn't always seem to play very hard, but when they do, they can be very dangerous.

ST. X beat Collins at home, not on the road.

ST. X beat Collins at home, not on the road.

 

Thanks for the correction.