article Bluegrasspreps.com 3rd Region Rankings 2/5/18

With just 2 weeks left in the regular season, things at the top of the region have tightened up a little bit. As usual, the 9th district looks like it is going to be a dog fight. Ohio County is surging in the 10th, but don't sleep on that first round matchup against Mclean. In the 11th district, Meade can secure the 1 seed with a win over Hancock this week, setting up a Hornets vs Tigers showdown. In the 12th, good luck. Its as wide open as ever. Any 2 of the 4 teams could make the trip to the Sportscenter.

1.Owensboro Red Devils (16-6) – SAME – The Devils slipped up a little this week, showing a bit of humanity inside the region. On Tuesday, Breck County pushed the Devils, before Owensboro prevailed late, 73-62. Friday night, Owensboro was upset at Apollo in a tournament-like atmosphere. The Devils tailed off late and never matched Apollo's energy. They are without 6th man Jeron Tinsley with a shoulder injury, and their inside out game has taken a hit without him. Its gut check time for the Devils this week, as they host their final home game against Bowling Green on Tuesday. On Friday, they finish their 9th district schedule at Catholic.

2.Owensboro Catholic Aces (16-7) - UP 1 – Owensboro Catholic is one of the hottest teams in the region right now, winning 8 of their last 9 games. This past week, they strung together 3 straight impressive wins. Tuesday, they defeated Madisonville on the road 64-58. Luke Hayden had 18 in the win. Friday, they Aces got a come from behind win at Daviess County, 38-37. Peyton Survant was huge in the 4th quarter, knocking down 2 deep 3's to push Catholic back into the game. Then on Saturday, Catholic went to Breck County and won, 62-51. The Aces will look to stay hot this week against a tough gauntlet of games, starting Tuesday against Ohio County. Friday, they host Owensboro. They close out the week against #6 Fern Creek, in the Wes Strader Shootout in Bowling Green.

3.Daviess County Panthers (16-9) – DOWN 1 – Daviess County got 2 impressive regional wins this week, but lost a tough 9th district matchup against Catholic. Tuesday, they blew out Muhlenberg County on the road, 73-44. Blake Boswell led the Panthers with 22. Friday, they stumbled at home against Catholic, losing 38-37. They bounced back in a big way on Saturday, with a 74-54 drubbing of Meade County. Jay Owen set a school record with 7 3 pointers to finish with 23 points. The Panthers continue their home stand this week, with games against Mclean on Tuesday and a big district rematch against Apollo on Friday.

4.Ohio County Eagles (11-10) – UP 4 - Tony Hopper has his Eagles playing their best basketball of the year at the right time. On Tuesday, the Eagles knocked off the Eagles from Apollo, 59-55. John Parker led Ohio County with 16. Friday, they traveled to Harned and got a 79-75 win over Breck County. The Eagles knocked down 18 3's in the win. Trey Lewis hit 7 of the 18 to lead Ohio County with 21. Logan Sandefur had 20. They have 3 more regional games this week, starting tonight against Catholic. Tuesday, they travel to Whitesville Trinity and Friday, they head to Edmonson.

5.Apollo Eagles (10-11) – DOWN 1 – Apollo went 2-1 this week and got one of their biggest wins of the season on Friday, knocking off Owensboro 59-55. Nathan Boyle played his best game of the year, attacking the rim, to finish with 22. Hayden Shelton hit a huge go ahead 3 with just under 2 minutes to play to put Apollo up for good. The defense of point guard Angel Saldana has been a big lift for the Eagles. On Tuesday, he limited Kobe Pool in a 65-51 win at home. They did slip up in Ohio County on Tuesday, losing 59-55. Apollo will be a dangerous test for someone in the 9th district tournament. They have games this week against Henderson, Daviess County and Hancock County.

6.Muhlenberg County Mustangs (10-12) – SAME – The Mustangs ended their skid on Friday with a 72-62 win over Mclean County. They had lost 3 straight prior to the win. Back on Tuesday night, they were blown out at home by Daviess County 73-44. Their lone game this week, is Thursday at Butler County.

7.Meade County Greenwave (10-7) – SAME – The Waves have lost 4 of 5, but did get a district win over Cloverport on Friday. Meade put 4 players in double figures in the win, led by Kobe Nikolao's 13. Saturday, Daviess County hammered Meade 74-54. The Waves kept it close for a half, but turnovers got Daviess County in transition and Meade couldn't slow them down. They have 3 road games this week against Grayson, Hancock and North Oldham. The Thursday game at Hancock is a big one for Meade. They will clinch the 1 seed in the 11th district with a win.

8.Breckenridge County Tigers (12-10) – DOWN 3 – It was a tough week for the Tigers, going 0-4 against top regional competition. They lost at Apollo and Owensboro to open the week and returned home to losses to Ohio County and Catholic this weekend. The team was hit with the flu bug and it effected their depth in the gauntlet of games. One constant for this team is Kobe Poole. Poole scored over 24 in each of the 4 games. For Breck to reach their potential, someone else is going to have to step up and score consistently. They have an opportunity to bounce back this week, with home games against Edmonson and Mclean.

9.Whitesville Trinity Raiders (13-12) - UP 1 - The Raiders got a big district win this week over Butler County. They led for most of the game but had to make a late push to win it. Cameron Wright went for 24 in the win. They have 3 regional games this week, starting tonight at Cloverport. They return home Tuesday against red hot Ohio County before closing out the week at home against Butler County.

10.Grayson County Cougars (10-13) – UP 2 – Grayson County ended their skid this week with 2 wins inside the region. On Tuesday, they knocked of Mclean 59-56. Friday, they got a big district win over Edmonson County in overtime. Bailey Logsdon joined the 1000 point club for his career with the win. The Cougars have tough tests this week against Meade Tuesday and at John Hardin Friday.

11.Edmonson County Wildcats (8-16) – UP 2– The Cats are starting to come on a little bit, winning 3 of their last 4 games. They went 2-1 this week, starting with a 74-66 win over Trinity. Logan Lindsey led all scorers with 21, as 4 Cats reached double figures. Saturday, they lost a heartbreaker to Grayson County in overtime before bouncing back with a 64-49 win at Hancock County. They have 3 games this week, starting tonight at Breck. They stay on the road Tuesday at Butler Co and finish the week at home vs Ohio County.

12.Hancock County Hornets (11-12) – DOWN 3 – The Hornets have lost 3 in a row, dropping 2 games this week. On Saturday, they lost back to back games against Evansville Reitz and Edmonson County. They have 3 tough games this week against Evansville Day, Meade County and Apollo.

13.Butler County Bears (8-11) – DOWN 2 – The Bears lost their lone game this week to Whitesville Trinity 65-59. They made a furious 2nd half comeback but were unable to hold off the Raiders. They have games this week against Muhlenberg County, Edmonson and Trinity.

14.Mclean County Cougars (7-15) – SAME – Mclean went 0-3 this week, but were very competitive in every one. Tuesday they lost by 3 to Grayson County. Friday, they battled Muhlenberg before coming up 11 points short. On Saturday, they lost to Union County by 3. Logan Patterson and Keegan Smith are one of the best scoring duo's in the region, both averaging 17 points per game. That makes the Cougars a dangerous team come tournament time. They have games against Daviess County, Breck County and Logan County this week.

15.Cloverport Aces (2-19) – SAME – The Aces dropped 2 games this week to Meade on Friday and Dawson Springs on Saturday. They will look for a win this week with 2 home games, first tonight against Trinity. Then Saturday against Eminence.

GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

MON - Ohio County at Owensboro Catholic - the 2 hottest teams in the region going head to head.

TUE - Bowling Green at Owensboro - always a great rivalry game. Rematch of the 2015 state title game.

THUR - Meade County at Hancock County - the Waves have a chance to lockdown the 1 seed with a win.

FRI - Final 9th District Match-ups - Owensboro at Catholic - Can the Aces show better than the 20 point loss in the first meeting? Apollo at Daviess County - huge rivalry. First game was a great one, expect the same here.

SAT - Owensboro Catholic vs Fern Creek - Can Tim Riley's Aces compete with a state power?

9th district is as tight as its been in a while. Apollo may finally be coming together at the right time. Seeding is still up in the air...

Flip a coin in the 9th District this year. All 4 are very capable of winning the 3rd region championship IMO. With the district runner up going in opposite brackets, there could likely be a 9th district showdown to win it all. Injuries are going to be a factor and a lot of luck as well. Every team has key people injured or playing with injuries. Catholic's Luke Hayden has been plagued with chronic patella tendonitis in both knees all season according to Catholic insiders. He's only been a fraction of himself all season playing in very limited minutes all season. The injury to Jeron Tinsley at OHS couldn't have come at a worse time. Word inside Owensboro's camp is that he will be available at District tourney play. I see the teams that can find a little magic in the bottle and get some of these injuries healed up to a degree, we should be in for some exciting basketball to close out the season.

Owensboro looks as though the ship may be righted. Tinsley was in the game and he had some significant minutes. They were clicking on all cylinders. Interested to see if this continues against Catholic Friday.

Congrats to Corey Gardner for joining Owensboro's 1000 point club.:thumb:

Meade picked up a really nice win against a very good North Oldham team last night. Probably the most hostile environment that they've played in all year and they responded. After looking at the scores from the 3rd region this past week, I would say that this is the best win from any team outside of the 9th District during the week.

Matt Collard stepped up and hit some big shots last night. That was important because Schwartz was ejected from the game (early in the game) and he has been on a really good run lately. Teams are trying their best to just limit the damage from Matthews, which is about all you can really hope for. Last night was one of Matthews' worst games from the floor on the season and he still found a way to score 19. North Oldham played relatively well last night and hit a lot of shots, but Meade showed some toughness in this win. We will have to see how the team handles the loss of Schwartz for the last two regular season games.

One of the biggest keys for Meade is cutting down on turnovers. Daviess County beat Meade several games ago and you can clearly see where turnovers had a massive effect. If Meade is not turning the ball over, they appear to matchup really well with DC (just as they did last year when they beat DC without James Baker in the regular season and with James Baker in the 3rd Region tournament).

Maybe this team is starting to figure things out at the right time.