article 12th Region Week 6 Review: Milestones and Rivalries

Week 6 wrapped up the holiday break, some District action commenced this past week but most of the District rivalry games are still in front of us. There are some clear contenders (Wayne, Danville, Lincoln), some potential contenders with the talent to win the Region that have yet to play their best (Mercer, West Jessamine), and some rising young potential contenders that could really shake things up if they continue to improve (Pulaski, Somerset, Garrard). The next tier is for Boyle County alone, who doesn’t currently appear to be a serious contender but that could change with the return of Smith and Hotchkiss. East Jessamine has shown some improvement, and while they are probably not yet a contender they certainly can play the spoiler role if they continue to get better.

45^th District games are going to be huge, Danville and Garrard both have District wins under their belt but the fun is just beginning. Not only is a really good team or two going to fail to reach the 12^th Region tournament, but some lucky District champion is possibly going to have to face a top-3 team in the opening round. The 45^th runner-up will likely have a tougher road in the 12^th, so every District game will be critical. That is usually the case, but with the 45^thbeing so strong and deep this year it is magnified in that District.

Here is a look at the Week 6 results, rankings, and Week 7 key match-ups:

1. Wayne County – The Cardinals went 2-0 this week, starting with a win over Perry County Central 66-48 at home.The following night, Wayne traveled to Lincoln County to take on 10^th Region power George Rogers Clark (GRC) in the Patriot Classic and came away with an impressive 69-57 victory. GRC has some talented players, but at least on this night the Cardinals looked to be the better team. They took control of the game early, maintained composure when the game got quite physical late in the first half, then held off a GRC rally late in the 4^th quarter. Wayne County is possibly the best 3-point shooting team in the Region, hovering around 40% for the season; they play solid defense, but it’s their scoring balance and ability to get good looks on offense that sets them apart. If there were a statistic for good shot selection, the Cardinals would likely lead the Region in it.

2. Danville – The Admirals continue to roll and are now 14-1, their lone loss being to #1 Wayne County. Danville opened 45^th District play at Lincoln County on Friday this past week, and with a 30-30 halftime tie it appeared the game was going down to the wire. As has been the pattern in a few other games this season, the Admirals came out of the halftime locker room with heightened defensive intensity and dominated the second half on their way to a 63-47 win on the Patriots home floor. The Admirals followed this win with a home victory over Casey County on Saturday, 70-59. Danville seems to play with multiple gears, they size teams up early and lock them down late physically, making good use of their athleticism and are likely the best defensive team in the Region when they do so. An important week in the 45^th District is up next, at Boyle County on Tuesday and home vs. Garrard County on Friday.

3. Lincoln County – The Patriots hosted District rival Danville this past week, played well in the first half but succumbed to a strong defensive showing by the Admirals in the second half on the way to a 63-47 loss. Lincoln bounced back the following night with a 43-41 home win over Hopkinsville. The Patriots hold on the #3 spot as they do appear to be one of the top three teams in the Region, and they will have at least one other shot at the Admirals for 45^th District supremacy.

4. West Jessamine – West hosted North Bullitt on Friday this past week and won 72-67, then traveled to face Newport Central Catholic (NCC) on Saturday where they surrendered a 10-point second half lead and lost 67-65. The Colts played both games without leading scorer Dalton Bruner, who has been battling illness and unable to practice or play. West played well offensively in both games, ball movement and shot selection was improved over what was demonstrated in December; not having Bruner on the defensive side of the ball may have hurt the Colts more than on offense, as against NCC they struggled to stop penetration and close out shooters while surrendering their second half lead. West plays host twice this week, to top-10 power Lexington Christian on Tuesday and District rival East Jessamine on Friday.

5. Mercer County– Two wins for the Titans this week, starting with a 67-59 home win over East Jessamine on Friday. Mercer then traveled to Adair County to play Louisville Eastern in the Lindsey Wilson Classic on Saturday and came away with a 50-36 victory. The Titans play Western Hills on Tuesday in the new ‘2A Classic’. The three-pronged attack of Baughman, Lewis and Drakeford continues to make Mercer a threat to beat anyone in the Region, but Pulaski and Somerset are rapidly improving and pushing both the Titans and West Jessamine for a claim on the #4 and #5 positions in the Region.

6. Pulaski County – The Maroons may be hitting their stride, they traveled to Boyle County on Wednesday this past week and won 51-40 and took down Rockastle County at home on Friday by a score of 73-65. Pulaski is doing it with a balanced scoring attack as four players (Fraley, Combs, Oaks, Heath) are averaging in double figures. This is a huge week for the Maroons, starting with a District game at Somerset on Monday, a tough road trip to Lincoln County on Tuesday, a home game vs. Southwestern on Friday, and a matchup in Southwestern’s Iron Warrior Classic Saturday afternoon vs. Montgomery County. We should learn a lot this week about how Pulaski is going to stack up in the Region the rest of the way, their lone loss within the 12^th came in week 2 against West Jessamine and they own a road victory over #1 Wayne County. The Maroons are primed to move up the rankings with a good showing this week.

7. Somerset – Two road wins this week, 70-66 over Rockcastle County and 72-56 at Casey County, keep the Briar Jumpers at #7. Junior Forward Jase Bruner went off at Rockcastle, going for 27 points (on 10-11 shooting) and 11 rebounds in a dominating performance. A huge District rivalry game is up next, Somerset hosts Pulaski County on Tuesday before traveling to Anderson County ono Friday. The Briar Jumpers are starting to have the look of a potential contender, the matchup with the Maroons will be a good litmus test.

8. Garrard County – The Golden Lions dropped a road game Montgomery County on Wednesday this past week, 76-66, but returned home for a critical 45^th District matchup vs. Boyle County on Friday and prevailed in a hard-fought battle, 51-49. The win over Boyle included a couple of milestones, Junior Braden Sebastian passed the 1,000-point mark and coach Ryan Young now has victories over each 45^th District in his short tenure at Garrard. This team and program is headed in the right direction and is now a threat to beat any team in the Region, and while Sebastian is scoring the ball (25.4 points per game) at a high level the surrounding cast is strong enough to make the Golden Lions competitive. Only one game this week but it is a tough one, Garrard travels to Danville on Friday night to play the #2 Admirals in a 45^th District matchup.

9. Boyle County – The Rebels dropped a Wednesday home game vs. Pulaski County this past week, 51-40, and followed that up with a road trip to Garrard County on Friday where they lost a close one, 51-49. The young Rebels have their work cut out for them this week, hosting #2 Danville on Tuesday before traveling to #3 Lincoln County on Tuesday.

10. East Jessamine – The Jaguars are showing consistent improvement week to week and move up a few spots this week as a result. This past week they played well vs. #5 Mercer County in a 67-59 loss, are now 7-8 in the Region and have been competitive in every game since their beat down at Lincoln County a few weeks ago. Senior Tyler Pitney continues to be the anchor averaging a double-double in points and rebound, while Sophmore Ben McNew has become a dependable threat from the 3-point line. East hosts Western Hills on Tuesday in preparation for their huge District rivalry game at West Jessamine on Friday. The Colts seem to be regressing a bit so the Jaguars have a real chance to take this rivalry game.

11. Rockcastle County – The Rockets dropped two close ones this week, at home to Somerset on Wednesday (70-66) and on the road at Pulaski County (73-65) on Friday, dropping them to 3-10 on the season, 1-6 in the Region. Rockcastle travels to North Hardin on Tuesday this week, then plays 47^th District foe Casey County on Friday night in an important seeding matchup.

12. Casey County – The Rebels had a difficult week, dropping a 72-56 home game to an improving Somerset team on Friday and losing 70-59 at Danville on Saturday. Casey plays at Anderson County on Tuesday this week before hosting a big District game vs. Rockcastle County on Friday.

13. Southwestern - Southwestern had only one game this past week, and not an easy one as they played top-10 Lexington Christian at Lincoln County on Saturday in the Patriot Classic, losing 68-49. The Warriors host Jackson County on Tuesday this week, travel to Pulaski County on Friday, then host Nelson County on Saturday in their Iron Warrior Classic event.

14. McCreary Central - McCreary played only one game this past week, a 78-65 loss at Williamsburg on Friday evening. The Raiders have a home game vs. Williamsburg on Tuesday and travel to take on #1 Wayne County on Friday evening.

15. Burgin – The Bulldogs moved to 10-1 with a 53-50 win over Rose Hill Christian on Saturday. Burgin will have that nice record tested this week when they play host to Berea at home on Tuesday, they then travel to play Frankfort Christian and Silver Grove on Thursday and Saturday.

16. Danville Christian – One game this week for the Warriors, a 67-55 loss to Frankfort Christian, they play Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) on Thursday.

17. Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) – KSD did not play this past week, they face Danville Christian this coming Thursday.

Key 12^th Region Games of the Week:

Monday, January 7

Pulaski County at Somerset, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 8

Pulaski County at Lincoln County, 7:30 p.m.

Lexington Christian at West Jessamine, 7:30 p.m.

Danville at Boyle County, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, January 11

East Jessamine at West Jessamine, 7:45 p.m.

Garrard County at Danville, 7:30 p.m.

Boyle County at Lincoln County, 7:30 p.m.

Casey County at Rockcastle County, 8:00 p.m.

Southwestern at Pulaski County, 7:30 p.m.

You’re dead right about the 45th. Once Boyle gets Reese and Hotchkiss back they’ll be fine. Garrard’s supporting cast will continue to improve as the season goes along, and Jones is just getting back into the flow after missing two weeks. Danville is really a force with their depth and size. When Hayden is making shots they become extremely tough to beat!

Friday, January 11

East Jessamine @ West Jessamine, 7:45 p.m.

Garrard County @ Danville, 7:30 p.m.

Boyle County @ Lincoln County, 7:30 p.m.

Casey County @ Rockcastle County, 8:00 p.m.

Southwestern @ Pulaski County, 7:30 p.m.

Great article. It seems like every Friday night is a war in the 12th Region. This week is no different.

ttt

Key 12th Region Games of the Week results:

Monday, January 7

Pulaski County 81 at Somerset 88 OT

Tuesday, January 8

Pulaski County 41 at Lincoln County 71

Lexington Christian 62 at West Jessamine 69

Danville 65 at Boyle County 41

Lincoln County, West Jessamine, Wayne County, or Danville will win the region this year. IMO

I wouldn't rule out Somerset or Pulaski County winning the region either. This is the most balanced year in 12th Region basketball I have seen in awhile. When tournament time comes, 7 of the 8 teams that make it to region could win. I think Danville and Wayne County are probably the front runners, but Lincoln is playing good and West had a really nice win over LCA. Should be some really good games to watch during the 12th Region Tournament!

Garrard County has a big stretch with @ Danville tomorrow night, @ Lincoln Tues and @ Boyle the following Friday. I want to see these matchups, and the progression of this team before we just hand an automatic berth for Lincoln and Danville into the regional tournament.

Garrard County has a big stretch with @ Danville tomorrow night, @ Lincoln Tues and @ Boyle the following Friday. I want to see these matchups, and the progression of this team before we just hand an automatic berth for Lincoln and Danville into the regional tournament.

So many district games in the 12th Region are played within about a three week period in January. You do start to see some separation among contenders, potentials, and pretenders during this stretch. Both the 45th and 47th districts will be very interesting to follow.

Danville is the team to beat if they bring A game no one in region will beat them.

Last year Pulaski and Mercer seemed to be head and shoulders above everybody else. Mercer was undefeated in the region. Southwestern was ranked 6/7 range going into the tourney and probably beat the top 3 favorites. Anything can happen in the region tourney. A good indicator of who can win region is a really good half court defense and balanced scoring which Danville and Wayne probably the best in the region with both of those with Lincoln a slightly below them. Mercer and Pulaski last year weren't great defensive teams and did not have balanced scoring.

The big thing with Danville this year is they play such good defense. They may not score a bunch every night but they do play defense every night. I think hat will be a huge benefit to them come tournament time. They still give them selves a good chance to win even when they have a bad night offensively. I like them in he 12th.

Danville is the team to beat if they bring A game no one in region will beat them.

I think they are the best team overall. However, Wayne Co. did beat them by 11 on a neutral court.

Last year Pulaski and Mercer seemed to be head and shoulders above everybody else. Mercer was undefeated in the region. Southwestern was ranked 6/7 range going into the tourney and probably beat the top 3 favorites. Anything can happen in the region tourney. A good indicator of who can win region is a really good half court defense and balanced scoring which Danville and Wayne probably the best in the region with both of those with Lincoln a slightly below them. Mercer and Pulaski last year weren't great defensive teams and did not have balanced scoring.

Agree with this completely. Also, Southwestern started 5 experienced Seniors, whereas this year's 4 through 8 teams rely upon some younger players which may make it more difficult to win three consecutive games. When I look at the teams who may have to win three straight nail-biter games scored in the 40's, it's currently hard to find one to trust fully outside Wayne and Danville and possibly Lincoln.