article 7th Region Week 6 Review: Back to Work

Friday night’s Trinity-St. X game, won by Trinity 46-43, shows what Seventh Region basketball fans can look forward to the rest of this season. It has been a while since there have been so many teams competing to be the best of the Seventh Region. With so many good teams, there will be a number of good match-ups through the rest of the season.

 

Two of those good intra-region match-ups will be contested Friday night. The battle between St. Matthews neighbors Trinity and Waggener will take place at Trinity, while St. X will be hosting the Male Bulldogs. I wish I could be at both of those games.

 

In addition, five Seventh Region teams (Collegiate, KCD, St. Francis, Brown, and Walden) will be playing in the All A Classic Seventh Region tournament this week. The games will be played in one of the Seventh Region’s hallowed halls of basketball, the Old Male Gym on Brook Street in downtown Louisville.

 

The following week brings a highlight of the Louisville high school basketball season, the 72nd Louisville Invitational Tournament. I will provide a preview of the LIT next week.

 

 

 

1. Trinity Shamrocks (10-5)

 

Down 43-37 to rival St. X with less than 5 minutes to play, Trinity scored the last 9 points in the game to beat St. X 46-43. Stan Turnier led the Rocks with 11 points against St. X, which included 3 3-pointers. On Saturday, Trinity played top-ranked Scott County (who was playing without Michael Moreno) tough but fell to the Cardinals 56-53. These results, achieved without the still-injured David Johnson, should be encouraging to the Trinity faithful. Trinity hosts the Waggener Wildcats on Friday night in a contest between two of the Seventh Region’s best teams.

 

2. St. Xavier Tigers (11-3)

 

St. X led for most of its game with rival Trinity Friday night and was leading 43-37 with less than 5 minutes to play before failing to score the rest of the way, ultimately falling to Trinity 46-43. Junior Sebian Dillard continues to show why he is one of the Seventh Region’s best players, leading the Tigers with 27 points against Trinity plus pulling down 6 rebounds. On Saturday, St. X easily dispatched the Brown Bears, 80-44. The Tigers play at DeSales on Tuesday before hosting the Male Bulldogs on Friday night in what should be a hotly contested game.

 

3. Waggener Wildcats (14-1)

 

All Waggener does is keep winning. This week, the Wildcats notched wins over Moore (49-44), a game in which Jacobi Hendricks led the Wildcats with 14 points (which included 4 of 6 3-point shooting), and Jeffersontown (68-49). The Wildcats play Bullitt East on Tuesday before facing the Trinity Shamrocks on Friday night in a big Seventh Region match-up.

 

4. Ballard Bruins (8-7)

 

Ballard fell to Floyd Central, a good team from Indiana, 61-56 on Thursday. The Bruins bounced back Friday night to beat Pleasure Ridge Park 59-55. Walter Johnson led the Bruins with 18 points against PRP, while Terrence McDaniels contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds. Ballard’s only game this week is a home game against the Eastern Eagles on Friday night.

 

5. Central Yellowjackets (10-3)

 

Central has not played since the finals of the City of Middletown Holiday Classic on December 29. On the season, the Yellowjackets continue to be led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Josh Watkins (14.9 ppg), Devin Perry (13 ppg), and Eric Rice (11 ppg). Watkins is averaging 3.2 made 3’s per game. The Yellowjackets play Fairdale and Portland Christian this week to prepare for the following week’s LIT.

 

6. Male Bulldogs (9-5)

 

The good news for Male is that Howard Fleming is back from his off-season shoulder surgery and playing for the Bulldogs. The bad news is that his return was not enough for Male to avoid losing the only game it played this week, falling to Silver Creek (IN) 82-63 as part of the Indiana-Kentucky Challenge Cup played at New Castle, Indiana. Fleming scored 11 in the loss, one of 4 Bulldogs to score in double figures. In the 12 games for which statistics have been provided to the KHSAA, Tyren Moore leads the Bulldogs at 20.8 ppg while Noah Courtney contributes 11.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg. The Bulldogs travel to Poplar Level Road on Friday to play the St. X Tigers.

 

7. Seneca Redhawks (9-6)

 

Seneca played once this past week, beating the Western Warriors 71-57, getting back on the winning side of things after losing its last 2 games in the Ashland Invitational Tournament. The Redhawks’ only game this week is a Friday night game with the Atherton Rebels.

 

8. Louisville Collegiate Titans (9-6)

 

Collegiate took care of business on Thursday, beating Thomas Nelson 59-37 to improve to 9-6 on the season. Joey Leachman continues to be a significant contributor for the Titans, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds against Thomas Nelson. The Titans will play in the All A Classic Seventh Region tournament this week.

9. Eastern Eagles (7-7)

 

Eastern played just once this week, losing to Mercer County 50-36 as part of the Lindsey Wilson College Classic. Seniors Jacob Robinson (13.8 ppg) and Trent Robinson (11.2 ppg) continue to lead the Eagles in scoring. The Eagles play the Ballard Bruins Friday night.

 

10. Christian Academy of Louisville Centurions (6-8)

 

CAL lost both of its games this week, losing to Christian Academy of New Albany, IN 51-44 and then losing a close one to Fairdale 75-74. The Centurions are very balanced offensively, with four players (Jacob Sangalli, Brayden Daniels, Eric Mowder II, and Nathaniel Saettel) averaging between 9.1 and 8.6 ppg. CAL plays Taylor County in the 2A Classic tournament on Tuesday.

 

11. DuPont Manual Crimsons (4-10)

 

Manual did not play any games this week. For the season, junior Eli Roberts leads the Crimsons in scoring at 13.2 ppg. This week, the Crimsons play Atherton on Tuesday and Shawnee on Friday.

 

12. Shawnee Golden Eagles (9-6)

 

Shawnee won its first game in the All A Classic Sixth Region tournament this week, beating Portland Christian 63-44 in the semi-finals. Shawnee plays Holy Cross in the All A Classic Seventh Region final on Monday night. The Golden Eagles are then on the road with regular season games at Iroquois and Manual.

 

13. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (7-9)

 

The Bearcats got a nice 61-56 win over Bullitt East on Friday, a win that was even more impressive in light of the fact that the Bearcats played without two of their leading scorers on the season, Michael Collis (13.8 ppg) and McKay Howell (10.1 ppg). Anthony O’Neal, who is averaging 12.6 ppg on the season, led the Bearcats with 17 against Bullitt East. KCD plays in the All A Classic Seventh Region tournament this week.

 

14. St. Francis Wyverns (3-8)

 

The Wyverns led for most of their game against Whitefield Academy but ended up on the short end of a 71-59 score. Things did not get better for St. Francis against the Western Warriors, to whom the Wyverns fell 76-64. St. Francis plays in the All A Classic Seventh Region tournament this week, starting with a Wednesday afternoon game against the Brown Bears. St. Francis beat Brown 67-64 in the first week of the season.

15. Portland Christian Eagles (6-5)

 

The Eagles participated in the All A Classic Sixth Region tournament last week, losing in the first round to Shawnee 63-44. On Saturday, Portland Christian lost to Calvary Christian 74-48. The Eagles have a busy week ahead of them, with games against Beth Haven, Central, and Rock Creek Academy of Sellersburg, Indiana.

 

16. Brown Bears (4-11)

 

Brown played the St. Xavier Tigers on Saturday and came out on the short end of a 80-44 score. Cousins Jai’Rus Bibb and Josiah Bibb are among the leading scorers in the Seventh Region, with Jai’Rus averaging 22.2 ppg and Josiah averaging 17.8 ppg. Brown opens play in the All A Classic Seventh Region tournament against St. Francis Wyverns on Wednesday. The Bears will be seeking revenge for its earlier 67-64 loss to St. Francis.

 

17. Atherton Rebels (1-13)

 

did not play this week and currently is on a 9-game losing streak. The Rebels stay at home this week with games against Manual and Seneca.

 

18. Walden Wolverines (8-2)

 

The Wolverines welcomed in the new year with a 64-32 win over Frederick Fraize on New Year’s Day. On Saturday, the Wolverines suffered their second loss of the season, falling on the road to Hancock County 89-47. Walden has a home game against Henry County on Tuesday before playing Whitefield Academy on Wednesday in the All A Classic Seventh Region tournament. The Wolverines also have a Friday night home game against Beth Haven.

St.X isn’t playing DeSales since DeSales playing 2A Classic on Tuesday.

I think Atherton is too low. Atherton beat Shawnee, and have no doubt Atherton would beat Brown.

I think Atherton is too low. Atherton beat Shawnee, and have no doubt Atherton would beat Brown.

 

You may be right. Brown has not been playing very well lately, although I will note that Brown also beat Shawnee.

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