article Bluegrasspreps.com Inside the 14th Region Week 12 Recap - District Tournament Preview

And just like that, a blink of an eye, the basketball season has came and gone for the 2017/18 season. Post season starts tomorrow, meaning that 13 teams will see their season come to an end, fortunately, every team in the 14th region will have an extra day of practice as no boy games for the 14th region will be played tomorrow, those district games will get underway on Tuesday.

 

1. Knott County Central (24-5): The Patriots ended their season with a 55-41 road win at Hazard, picking up their 8th straight victory and 9 of their last 10 games. 7 of those 8 straight wins, have been blowouts, against region foes.

 

2. Estill County (21-7): The Engineers rallied off 4 straight wins last week, 3 of them on the road into hostile environments. 61-59 win @ East Carter, 48-34 road win @ Owsley County, 55-49 road win @ Hazard. Stinging from their 54-42 home loss to Breathitt County two weeks ago, the Engineers seem to be ready and prepared for a post season run.

 

3. Perry County Central (17-7): The Commodores split both games last week to end their season at 17-7. Huntington St. Joseph Prep, WV handed Perry Central their 7th loss on the season in a 95-89 double overtime win. The Commodores would bounce back and make a statement by thrashing Letcher County Central by 28, 86-58.

 

4. Cordia (16-11): Cordia picked up a 9 point win, 53-44 over visiting Harlan County last week to end the regular season. Cordia is playing better as of late than what they were in the first half of the season, meaning that, they could be a scary first round opponent for anyone this post season.

5. Leslie County (15-8): Leslie County ran their win streak to 4 straight games last week when they picked up two convincing wins, defeating Breathitt County 66-46 and OBI 86-64 to close out the regular season.

 

6. Powell County (14-12): The first part of January, the Pirates were playing good ball, winning 4 of their first 5 games of the new year, but since, they have taken a completely wrong turn, losing 6 of their last 10 games. The Pirates did pick up a win on senior night last Wednesday, defeating Anderson County, who was a late pick up game, 60-44 but the Pirates would pay, and pay big time, as they would get thrashed by Morgan County 79-48 to end the regular season.

 

7. Wolfe County (15-13): After struggling for biggest part of the season, Wolfe County has came on strong as of late, winning 7 of their last 9 games. However, both loses during that stretch have came against region foes, Estill County 53-39 and Knott County Central 66-45. The Wolves, at the start of the season, were considered by many, a region threat to win the region, but as the season progressed, a lot of ?'s started to arise with the Wolves, but, the regular season is over and the main season begins. Can they right the Wolves Den or will the region winning hype be just that, hype?

 

8. Breathitt County (12-18): The Bobcats split their last two regular season games last week, falling to Leslie County 66-45 but crushing Piarist School 91-41 on senior night. The Bobcats have struggled greatly this season but have been playing better as of late, winning 4 of their last 6 games. 2 of those wins have came against region foes, Estill County and Hazard.

 

9. Hazard (12-12): The Bulldogs have lost 5 of their last 6 games, including 1 that was a first timer. The Bulldogs dropped a 55-49 contest to Estill County, a team, that they have owned for the past several years. The Bulldogs lone win during that stretch, was a 62-51 home win to Letcher County Central.

 

10. Letcher County Central (7-20): The Cougars have also dropped 5 of their last 6, including a current, 4 game losing streak. Their only win during the stretch, came against district rival, June Buchanan 64-46.

 

11. Buckhorn (9-19): The Wildcats have won 3 of their last 4 games, which is better than what they've been playing all year. Could it mean for an upset in the first round of the district tournament?

 

12. Owsley County (12-15): The Owls have dropped 5 of their last 7 games but more importantly, they are 1-4 in their last 5 games.

 

13. Jackson City (6-20): This season has been a nightmare for Coach Fugate and the Jackson City Tigers, as they have now lost 7 of their last 8 games.

 

14. June Buchanan (10-17): The Crusaders had been playing sloppy ball all season long but seem to have things going in the right direction, winning 4 of their final 5 game

 

15. Riverside Christian (2-25): The Rams losing streak has now reached 22 straight losses.

 

16. Lee County (0-29): This has been a season of nightmares for the Bobcats. Once a district and region powerhouse, dwindled down to being a ping pong getting batted around like it's nothing.

 

 

2018 DISTRICT TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS:

 

53rd District (Letcher County Central):

 

Tues, 6 PM, (1) Knott County Central vs. (4) June Buchanan. The Patriots, took both regular season games by big margins and this one more than likely won't be any different and will probably mean, that Coach King will rest his starters before a district championship game.

 

Tues. 8 PM, (2) Cordia @ (3) Letcher County Central. The Lions took both regular season games by 7 and 20. The Cougars have had a rough season but they are hosting the district tournament but unfortunately for them, Cordia defeated Letcher Central by 20, @ Letcher Central.

 

54th District (Hazard):

 

Tues. 7 PM - Leslie County vs. Perry County Central. This district will have two of the better first round games. Perry Central took both regular season games against Leslie County by 24 and by 5. This one has all the makings of a barn burner, down to the wire, possibly overtime game.

 

Wed. 7 PM. Buckhorn @ Hazard. Hazard took the only regular season game by 12, 46-34 at Hazard but the Dawgs have had a hard time as the season ended losing 4 of their final 5 games, while Buckhorn, on the other hand, have been playing very well to close out the regular season.

 

55th District (Breathitt County):

 

Tues. 6 PM, Wolfe County vs. Riverside Christian. The Wolves took both regular season games, fairly easy and this one really shouldn't be any different.

 

Tues. 8 PM. Jackson City @ Breathitt County. The Bobcats took both regular season games by 13 and 27. This one maybe a little closer but I suspect a double digit win for the Bobcats.

 

56th District (Lee County):

Tues. 6 PM (1) Estill County @ (4) Lee County. The Engineers took both regular season games by 50 and 54. This one will probably be closer as the younger kids will get a lot of playing time but still probably a 20+ win for the Engineers.

 

Tues. 8 PM. (2) Powell County vs. (3) Owsley County. The Pirates took both regular season games with ease and I suspect that this game will be similar to those, however, Owsley has been known to keep post season games close, within a few points and have been known to upset teams this time of the year.

 

 

 

14th Region Top 10.

 

1. Caleb Bonny (Estill County): The 14th Region player of the year has showed why he was player of the year, all year long and he will continue to show why he is the region player of the year this post season. Surpassing long time Estill County score leader, Delmar McGee with over 1,900 points when he passed him. Caleb scored his 2,000 career point in a blowout win over Franklin County earlier in the season. Caleb currently stands at 2,310 for his career (not counting the road game @ Owsley County last Thursday).

 

2. Isaac Caudill (Knott County Central): Isaac and Caleb Bonny of Estill County are the region's 1 and 2 top players and it's very close. Isaac is the main horse that makes the Patriots charge. He can fill up a bucket fast, averaging 19 points a game and has a deadly 3 point shot, making 38% from 3.

 

3. Kareem McDonald (Cordia): Another outstanding guard in the 14th region. Throughout the season, Kareem, averaged just under 19 points a game. He's fast and can get to the rim.

 

4. Deven Stone (Wolfe County): Despite Wolfe County's struggles this season, Deven Stone has lived up to his hype. Senior guard averaged 25 points a game this season and his probably the region's best 3 point shooter and he has the range.

 

5. Austin Bennett (Buckhorn): The Wildcats best player, can do it all. Score, rebound, steal. You name it, he can do it.

 

6. Oumar Keita (Cordia): Not known for his scoring abilities, Oumar is Cordia's big man on the inside and it's hard to get to the rim or in the paint because of him. Averaging 9 rebounds a game.

 

7. Andrew Doty (Estill County): Big man that can grab rebounds and can shoot and get to the basket. Also a excellent free throw shooter as well as he can step behind the arc and make them.

 

8. Noah Back (Perry County Central): One of the best scoring guards in the region at 18 points a game. Not to mention, he can also be deadly from outside, shooting a 42% from distance.

 

9. Marquis Frazier (Cordia): Another weapon for Coach Stacy to use. Marquis can shoot the ball from anywhere and can be dangerous once he gets going.

 

10. Richard Cornett (Perry County Central): He doesn't lead the Commodores in scoring nor rebounding, but he is one of the best underrated guards in the region with this abilites to pass and score as well as other things.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention:

 

Joe Benton (Estill County): The best PG in the region, that can be a shooter too and when he's on his game, he can fill it up from deep and I mean DEEP.

 

Payton Barnett (Powell County): An underrated player, who at the beginning of the season, no one hardly knew anything about, now they do. Payton leads the Pirates in scoring at 18 points a game.

 

Lane Doty (Estill County): Brother to Andrew Doty, Lane is another big man for Coach Bentley to use, probably not as good as Andrew in ways, but he can still get his and then some.

 

Carlos Hernandez (Powell County): Second leading scorer for the Pirates at 14 PPG.

 

Branson Couch (Knott Central): Under the radar player, averaging 10 PPG for the Patriots.

 

Wade Phelphrey (Hazard): Wade, outside of Wolfe County's Deven Stone, is the region's 2nd best 3-point shooter at 37% on the year.

 

Gregory Kincer (Letcher Central): The leading scorer for the Cougars at 15 PPG. Also Letcher Central's best outside threat.

 

Elijah Raglin (Letcher Central): One of the top ranked players in the region in the preseason, but with the struggles LCC has suffered this season, his stock has dropped, he's their second leading scorer.

Edited February 20, 2018 by True blue (and gold)

The players list is not ranked, except for #1 and #2. You could probably put both at #1 in a tie, that's just how good they are and how much they mean to their teams. If I've forgotten anyone, please list.