article 8th Region Week 6 Review: Week 7 Looms Large

8th Region Week 6 Review: Week 7 Looms Large

By Colonelmike

 

As we complete the sixth week of the season, the 8th Region continues to be a very competitive region – one that has multiple potential contenders. Legitimate contenders. That said, the top three have separated themselves from the rest of the pack – and this coming week will see those three squaring off against one another in what should be a very telling week.

 

Week 7 features two big matchups involving the top 3 teams, all three of which are ranked in the state Top 20:

 

Tuesday, January 14th – South Oldham vs. Collins

Friday, January 17th – South Oldham vs. Oldham County

 

The top of the rankings is dominated by the south end of the region; four of the top 8 teams hail from the 30th District (#1 Collins, #4 Spencer County, #6 Woodford County, and #7 Anderson County) and three of the top eight come from the 29th (#2 Oldham County, #3 South Oldham, and #8 North Oldham).

 

Simon Kenton, from the 32nd, rounds out the top 8 at #5.

 

Roughly halfway through the season, the 8th is making its mark as sharp-shooting region. In fact, 8 of the 18 teams in the 8th Region rank in the top 50 statewide in terms of overall shooting percentage, with Woodford County leading the 8th region pack. The Yellowjackets rank #5 in the state in shooting percentage at 52.6%. Also ranking in the top 50: Collins (#14 in KY), North Oldham (#17), Simon Kenton (#20), South Oldham (#28), Oldham County (#43), Anderson County (#47), and Carroll County (#49).

 

Injuries have certainly been a big story over the last two weeks, as multiple teams have suffered critical injuries to their rosters. At North Oldham, the Mustangs’ status as a serious region contender may well hinge upon whether or not star guard Justin Powell returns or not.

 

As of this writing, the seriousness of Powell’s groin injury is still unknown, as is the question of whether or not he will return this season for the Mustangs. North also lost senior backup Nick Kokoski to a knee injury suffered in pre-game warm-ups, and talented freshman Ian Higdon went down with a back injury in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game with Woodford County.

 

Simon Kenton is hoping to get leading scorer Logan Schwartz back to action later this week… Kelly Niece is playing, but the Pioneers have been spelling him frequently to ensure he is 100% by the end of the season…

 

Carroll County watched the state’s leading scorer, Wyatt Supplee, go down with an ankle sprain against Gallatin County in the semi-finals of the 8th Region All-A tournament. Coach Moore indicates they will be re-assessing the injury on Monday, and hopes to get his star scorer back shortly. Meanwhile, center Trever Sandusky and Cole Supplee are both out with concussions; Sandusky may return this week.

 

Grant County’s Ben Vickers and Henry County’s Trevor Hardin – both all-region caliber performers – have been in and out of the lineup with injuries.

 

And so the story goes throughout the region as the “bumps and bruises” accumulate.

 

Finally, the new “RPI” ratings are beginning to become part of the conversation. These rankings are mathematical in nature, and – as such – should become more valid as the season progresses. The jury is out on whether these ratings are a reasonable tool for ranking Kentucky high school basketball. Just for fun, though, I decided to review the RPI rankings of each team in each region across the state, to see which regions had the most teams ranked in the RPI Top 50. The RPI may or may not turn out to be a valid tool, but it was interesting to note that the 8th Region is well-represented. Only the 7th Region (6 teams in the Top 50) had more teams ranked in the top 50 than Region 8 (5 teams). The 6th and 13th Regions also had 5 teams ranked in the Top 50.

 

On to this week’s Region 8 rankings…this week, besides listing any teams with bluegrasspreps Top 20 rankings (there are three), I’ve also indicated the current RPI rankings, just for giggles:

 

1 - Collins (13-3) Last week: #1 Bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #5 RPI: #5 .68385 No change at Number One as the state’s 5th-ranked team stays put for yet another week. Collins had just one game last week, but made a statement in that game as the Titans travelled to Taylorsville and delivered a message to the rest of the 30th District as they hammered the Spencer County Bears, 69-52.

 

Collins, who has played the region’s toughest schedule – their opponents to date have a combined win-loss percentage of .648 – dominated the game on the road against what may be their chief district rival. Coach Chris Gaither said afterward:

 

“We have been talking about getting control of games and maintaining that control all game. I felt like the Spencer County game was a great step in that direction. We were pretty active on defense and created some early offense in the 1st quarter. We shared the ball really well.”

 

Collins has won four games in a row, and is averaging 70.6 ppg, third-best in the region.

 

The Titans are 4-0 against Region opposition, and already own victories over #4 Spencer County and #5 Simon Kenton. They’ll face another region heavyweight this week in South Oldham.

 

This week:

1/14/2020 – at #19 South Oldham 1/17/2020 vs. Shelby County

 

2 – Oldham County (14-2) Last week: #2 Bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #13 RPI: #11 .65592 Oldham County stays put at number two in the rankings after going 2-0 last week, including solid victories over Beechwood, 67-54, and Scott County, 74-59.

 

The Colonels hold the region’s longest winning streak, having now won five in a row.

 

The Colonels – whose top four scorers are all juniors – are number 2 in the region in scoring at 72.1 ppg and number 2 in the region in points allowed per game at 56.2 ppg, resulting in a region-best average victory margin of 15.9 points.

 

The remainder of the season will include a ramping-up of the Oldham schedule as the Colonels face the likes of South Oldham, Collins, Anderson County, North Oldham, PRP, Tates Creek, and LaRue County.

 

This week include the annual Battle of Highway 146 as Oldham faces county and district rival South Oldham in Crestwood.

 

1/13/2020 at Gallatin County 1/17/2020 at #19 South Oldham

 

3 – South Oldham (13-4) Last week: #3 Bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #16 RPI: #21 .63196 The Dragons also stay put this week, as they sit in third after a week in which they took care of business against the Iroquois Raider-Wolves, 95-69.

 

The Dragons – who are averaging 83.3 ppg over their last eight contests – put up 95 against Iroquois as the team hit 18 of 37 threes (48.6%), with both Seth Johnson and Luke Morrison connecting on 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Johnson had 29 against Iroquois, Morrison 18, and Nick Cranfill and Tim Stragand both had 10 as South scored over 90 points for the third time in the last eight games.

 

South has now made 187 threes on the year, the most of any team in Kentucky.

 

The Dragons seem to be reaching the form people expected from them in the pre-season; South leads the Region in scoring at 77.0 ppg and is winning games by an average margin of +15.6. And despite the large number of threes attempted by the Dragons, South is sitting at #5 in the region in field goal percentage at 49.6%, quite a phenomenal feat.

 

This week, the Dragons – who have played the fifth-toughest schedule in the region – face arguably their toughest week of the season, facing both of the two teams ranked ahead of them in this ranking. South will have the advantage of playing both games at home in Crestwood, where South is 5-0.

 

This week:

1/14/2020 vs. #5 Collins 1/17/2020 vs. #17 Oldham County

 

The Next Group – “In the Hunt, but Needing Something”

4 – Spencer County (10-5) Last week: #4 RPI: #34 .61047 Spencer has been hot of late, winning 8 of their last 10 games. But the Bears had an up-and-down week last week, defeating Nelson County by a convincing 66-28 score, before losing big at home to Collins, 69-52. The loss to Collins was the Bears’ worst loss of the season since falling by 15 to Oldham County, their only other double-digit defeat.

 

Sam Conley – who has led Spencer in scoring for the last 8 games – scored 16 against Nelson and 20 in the loss to Collins. But in the win over Nelson County, it was the defense’s turn to shine as the Bears held the Cardinals to just 28 points – nearly 26 points below their average.

 

Against Collins, Spencer County’s shooting woes rose up to haunt them as the Bears hit just 34.1% from the field. Facing the region’s top-ranked team – and a district rival – the Bears had hoped to make use of their home court advantage, but it was not to be as the Titans raced out to a big early lead and never looked back.

 

It was the fourteenth consecutive game that Spencer shot below 50% from the field. For the season, Spencer is hitting 41.9% from the floor, tied with Shelby County for 15th in the 18 team region.

 

Spencer’s schedule – which currently ranks as the second-toughest in region 8 – lightens considerably in the second half of the season. The Bears, who are 0-4 against region competition, will have two more chances to beat one of the better region teams. Spencer will likely be slight favorites, but will have definite challenges on hand when they face Woodford County on January 24th and Anderson County on February 7th.

 

Spencer has one more ranked opponent on the horizon, with a game scheduled against #16 St. Xavier on January 25th.

 

This week: no games

 

5 – Simon Kenton (9-6) Last week: #5 RPI: #61 .58022 – If Spencer County needs a dose of shooting elixir, SK needs a strong dose of “healing”.

 

Leading scorer Logan Schwartz remains out, and missed both games last week, when SK went 1-1. Kelly Niece is back playing, but the coaches continue to give him plenty of rest opportunities as the staff seeks to ensure he is truly 100% before they play him full-time. Senior guard Nick Brann was also out at the end of last week.

 

With all the attention from the medical folks, it’s no wonder SK struggled a bit last week, dropping a close 48-45 decision to Conner (who defeated previously-unbeaten Highlands in their next outing), and fighting hard to hang on to a 79-77 victory over Holy Cross.

 

In a good sign for SK fans, Niece led the way both nights, scoring 15 points against Conner and 24 against Holy Cross. Best of all, his shooting – though perhaps not quite up to Niece’s standards – was reasonable, as he hit 16 of 31 shots (overall) in the two games. There’s still work to do for Niece to get back to 100% - the normally accurate perimeter shooter hit just 1 of 7 shots from beyond the arc last week.

 

SK hopes to get Schwartz back this week.

 

Jeremy Davis, the Pioneers’ premier outside threat, was also “on” last week, scoring 14 and 20 points, respectively. Davis is the region’s top three point shooter, with 56 makes on the season so far, while hitting 45.5%.

 

SK has played a brutal schedule so far – third-toughest in the region, based on opponents’ combined winning percentage of .589 – and the record reflects that, but the Pioneers have shown the ability to perform, even when undermanned. Midway through this rugged schedule, Simon Kenton is hitting 50.1% of their shots from the floor, the third-best shooting percentage in the region behind Woodford County and Collins.

 

This week:

1/14/2020 vs. Cooper 1/17/2020 vs. Dixie Heights

 

6 – Woodford County (9-7) Last week: #7 RPI: #71 .56648 Woodford had a busy week last week, playing three games. The Jackets dropped a hard-fought game to Tates Creek, 57-54, before edging Estill County, 50-46, and defeating North Oldham on the road, 63-54.

 

Woodford moves up one this week, and maintains their one-spot lead on Anderson County thanks to their victories over #13-Oldham County and North Oldham.

 

Woodford has been one of the region’s hottest teams of late. The Yellowjackets started the season 1-5, but have gone 8-2 over the past ten games.

 

Woodford has played a very strong schedule, but has been able to compete largely due to their shooting prowess – the Jackets are hitting 51.3% from the floor. They are one of the top shooting teams in the 8th Region.

 

I watched the Yellowjackets defeat North Oldham on Saturday; some observations: Woodford isn’t necessarily a very deep team. Only seven players played, and just six scored. Their scoring options are limited to 3 or 4 players, primarily. But those players are talented; Hunter Penn is a strong presence inside, and can hit the 15 foot jumper. Riley Gardner – who came into the game averaging less than four points a game – really impressed with his hustle on the offensive glass, and he finished with ten points. Ashton Myles-Devore (a guard), doesn’t physically remind anyone of his father, former University of Louisville center Ellis Myles (a big, burly center), but he plays tough, can pass and score.

 

However, the most impressive player that night was point guard Anthony Tabor. The senior guard hit 4 of 7 inside the arc, 3 of 4 outside the arc, and 2 of 2 at the line en route to a team-high 19 point outing. He hit floaters, bank shots, deep threes, free throws. He was a threat to score from anywhere on the court all night long. It was just one game, but if he maintains this level of play, Tabor is a slam-dunk for all-region honors.

 

Woodford’s tough schedule continues this week against two 13-win teams:

 

1/14/2020 vs. George Rogers Clark 1/17/2020 vs. Anderson County

 

7 – Anderson County (13-2) Last week: #8 RPI: #47 .59713 Anderson continues to move up in the rankings, pushing up one spot this week after going 2-0 last week.

 

Despite their glossy record – in the 8th Region, only Oldham County has so few losses as Anderson - and amazing defensive statistics, the Bearcats are really having to work to earn respect in the rankings due to a weak schedule to date.

 

Last week was really no exception, as the Bearcats toasted a four-win Shelby County team, 63-47, and followed that up with a defensive gem, winning 55-19 over three-win Powell County.

 

I’ve never felt that it’s fair to overly penalize a team that’s winning, just because their schedule may be weak. But by the same token, we’re all just waiting to see how good this Anderson squad really is, by measuring it against some of the elite teams. To date, Anderson has only beaten one team with a winning record (Grant County, 8-6). Their best opponent to date has been Simon Kenton. To the Cats’ credit, they played SK close in a four-point loss, and that respectable showing is a large reason why they have moved to #7 this week, just two spots behind the Pioneers.

 

The Bearcats’ defense this year is bordering on freakish. Coach Bryan Hyatt pointedly said in the preseason that it was a focus of his to return the defense to level of the vaunted Anderson County defenses of past years. It certainly appears he has achieved his goal. The Bearcats held a strong Grant County offense to just 28 points, Powell County to 19(!), and four other teams to 40 or fewer points. That’s 6 of 15 opponents who have not exceeded 40 points against the Bearcats…wow.

 

Not surprisingly, Anderson County is not just the #1 scoring defense in the region, they are the #1 scoring defense in the state, allowing an average of just 41.1 ppg, more than 5 points fewer than second-ranked Lincoln County.

 

Even the Pioneers could manage a meager 44 points in their win over Anderson.

 

Making time and possessions precious, the Bearcats have made life miserable for everyone they’ve faced.

 

Now if they can get the offense going, it will give Coach Hyatt a little more breathing room. To date, Anderson has scored under 50 points (five times) as often as they have scored over 60 points. Their average of just 53 ppg ranks next to last in the region.

 

This week:

1/14/2020 at Casey County 1/17/2020 vs. Woodford County 1/18/2020 vs. Gallatin County

 

8 – North Oldham (8-8) Last week: #6 RPI: #107 .52621 If Simon Kenton needs the medics, North needs a MASH unit.

 

On December 27th, North was riding high. The Mustangs were 6-2, had just come off a phenomenal run in the King of the Bluegrass tournament, finishing as the runner-ups to #1 ranked Ballard. During the tourney, the Mustangs had defeated then-#1 Male. Mr. Basketball candidate and Auburn-signee Justin Powell was averaging 22 ppg and nearly 9 rebounds, and goodness-knows how many assists. The Mustangs had emerged on the Bluegrasspreps.com Top 20 at #10. Life was good in Goshen.

 

Then Powell injured his groin in that four-point loss to Frederick Douglass on 12/27/19, and life hasn’t been the same since. Injuries have mounted; Nick Kokoski, a senior backup guard, dislocated his knee during pre-game warmups and was lost for the season. Luke Barry missed a game or two with a pinched nerve. On Saturday, freshman sensation Ian Higdon went up for a layup, got undercut, and fell hard on his back. He left the game and did not return; no word on his status for this week.

 

And, oh yeah, in case you asked, Justin Powell is still not back.

 

In the six games since Powell went out, North has limped along, losing 4 of 6 games as the team tries to find its new identify. It’s no simple task; a head coach typically can’t look down his bench and find a sub who can come in and replace 22 points and 9 rebounds a game, much less replicate the nightmare a 6’7” point guard can be on defense.

 

Last week, North fell in a rematch with #2 Male, 74-62. The team played well; the Mustangs hit 53.5% from the floor against the Bulldogs, with Tyler Higdon scoring 34 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.

 

North bounced back to defeat Valley, 62-49, with Tyler Higdon again leading the way with 23 points.

 

But the week ended on a sour note; after being tied at 31 at the half, North couldn’t find the basket in the second half of a 63-54 loss to Woodford County.

 

Good news: Tyler Higdon has been playing at an all-region level of late. In the last five games, the 6’4” senior center is averaging 24.8 ppg / 6.6 rebounds, with a high of 34 against Male.

 

Austin “Rico” Carr-Cole emerged on Saturday as an offensive weapon. The sophomore guard came into the game averaging just 6.8 ppg, but he finished the game with 17 points to lead North, hitting 6 of 10 from the floor (including 3 of 6 threes) and 2 of 3 at the line. If he keeps this up, it will be hard for Coach

Levitch to keep the young man out of the starting lineup.

 

Bad news: North has gone back to their free throw shooting woes of early in the season. Over the last three games, the Mustangs have hit just 29 of 52 free throws for 55.8%.

 

The scary news for the rest of the region is that this team – with or without Powell – has talent. The Mustangs can still make noise in the district and region even if Powell does not return. But there’s much work to be done.

 

This week:

1/18/2020 vs Shelby County

 

The Third Tier – Three of the eight teams that make it to New Castle will almost certainly come from this group. The 32nd district runner-up and the two representatives of the 31st district.

9 – Grant County (8-6) Last week: #9 RPI: #104 .52936 Grant County had a four-game winning streak stopped last week in their only game of the week, as the Braves fell to Beechwood, 67-53. It was the second-lowest point total of the season for the Braves, who shot just 30.2% from the floor and hit only 2 of 19 threes (10.5%). Jack Epperson had 20 points (on 7 of 13 shooting) to go along with 7 rebounds, but the rest of the team shot a paltry 12 of 50 from the floor in the loss.

 

Grant is a team that looks the part, but a team that still needs a few things to come together. The pieces are there; will they come together in time for Grant to make a deep run in New Castle? Consider:

 

Luke Dawalt is averaging 13.9 ppg (2nd on the team) and 8.6 rebounds (1st on the team); but has hit just 11 of 44 threes (25%). Dawalt is a solid three point shooter, and we watched him hit 44 from beyond the arc last season. At 6’4”, he’s tough for your average guard to defend outside, and many post players don’t want to stray that far from the basket to defend him. If he can get started from the outside, that re-inserts another weapon in the Braves’ arsenal.

 

Grant has gotten tremendous play from two critical freshmen, Mason Guffey and Dylan Hammonds. Both are averaging 6.3 ppg; Hammonds is hitting 57.8% from the floor, and Guffey has hit 24 threes, and tops the team in three point accuracy at 38.7%. If those two can become consistent performers on a night-in, night-out basis…

 

Grant is shooting 44.8% from the floor. I’ve watched this team several times over the past 1 ½ seasons…I think it’s a better shooting team than that. The 44.8% mark puts Grant County at #10 in the region in shooting accuracy. Four of Grant’s six losses have come by 8 points or less. What does a couple of points of improvement in shooting do for the Braves?

 

The jury’s still out on this team. As of now, the Braves are favored to reach the region as one of the two representatives out of the 32nd district. But if the squad from Dry Ridge can improve in a couple of areas, this could be the surprise team of the spring.

 

The Braves get an opportunity later this week to get a big win at home when they face the Conner Cougars, a ninth region team that seems to have hit its stride.

 

This week: 1/14/2020 at Williamstown 1/18/2020 Conner

 

10 – Gallatin County (9-6) Last week: #10 RPI: #92 .54411 Gallatin stays put at #10 this week, but for the first time this season, the Wildcats are firmly on the plus side of .500 after going 3-0 last week in the 8th Region All-A Tournament.

 

Gallatin is now on its longest winning streak of the season, having won four straight.

 

Gallatin County entered the 8th Region All-A as the prohibitive favorite, but a lot of observers felt that the semi-final matchup with Carroll County was going to be a major hurdle; after all, despite two wins already over the Panthers, Gallatin had found the going against Coach Jonathan Moore’s squad to be a scratch & claw affair in both contests.

 

In the end, only one of the three games was close, and Gallatin cruised to the 8th Region All-A title. The Wildcats had to survive a tough opening round game, edging Walton-Verona, 59-56, to avenge an earlier loss to the Bearcats. But the anticipated “battle royale” between Carroll and Gallatin never materialized, as Carroll’s star guard, Wyatt Supplee, left the game early with an ankle sprain and never returned. With two other key players out with concussions, the Panthers were no match for the Cats, who cruised to a 49-30 win.

 

Gallatin then captured the title over the homestanding Williamstown Demons in the final, 70-44.

Jarin Rassman had a superb tournament for the Wildcats, scoring over 20 points in each game and averaging nearly 23 ppg. Gage Ashcraft also had a solid tourney, with a double-double against Carroll (11 points / 12 rebounds) and 14 points against Williamstown.

 

Gallatin will take on the Region 12 champ on Thursday, January 23rd, at 8 pm at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena. Best of luck to Coach Jones’ crew as they represent the 8th!

 

The Wildcats are now 6-0 against District 31 opposition this year. In addition, the Wildcats are undefeated so far in 2020.

 

This week: 1/13/2020 vs. Oldham County 1/18/2020 at Anderson County

 

11 – Walton-Verona (6-8) Last Week: #11 RPI: #173 .46265 It was a tough week for the Bearcats as Walton-Verona dropped both of their games last week, falling to Gallatin County in heartbreaker, 59-56, in the first round of the 8th Region All-A, and then dropping a 77-60 decision to Mason County.

 

Walton is still searching for ways to consistently get stops. Although Mike Hester’s squad is #4 in the region in scoring at 67.8 ppg, they have little margin for error as they are giving up 65.4 ppg (15th out of 18 in region 8).

 

For the first time this year, Walton finds itself on a bit of a slide; the Bearcats have dropped four in a row.

 

Walton-Verona will be favored in both of their contests this week, which gives them a chance to get back to .500. Looming next week are big regional battles against Woodford County and Spencer County.

 

This week: 1/13/2020 at Owen County 1/17/2020 vs. Bracken County

 

12 – Carroll County (6-6) Last week: #12 RPI: #187 .44886 Carroll County played just once last week, falling in the semi-finals of the 8th Region All-A to Gallatin County, 49-30. The big news, though, wasn’t the loss of the game, it was the loss of Wyatt Supplee, the Panthers’ leading scorer, and the #1 scorer in the state of Kentucky at 30 ppg.

 

Like Simon Kenton and North Oldham, this merely added to the trainer’s already busy schedule in Carrollton as Supplee joined Trever Sandusky (concussion) and Cole Supplee (concussion) on the sideline.

 

Sandusky didn’t play against Gallatin; the Supplees both went out during the game. Wyatt still led the Panthers in scoring with 13 points in the contest. But with a lineup in turmoil, Carroll hit just 30% from the floor and missed all 8 three point attempts.

 

Carroll County expects to get Trever Sandusky back this week; Cole Supplee is likely out a week or two. Wyatt Supplee will be re-evaluated today (Monday 1/13/2020), but Coach Moore is optimistic he won’t be out long.

 

This week: 1/14/2020 vs. Franklin County 1/16/2020 vs. Boone County 1/18/2020 vs. Iroquois (1 pm tip)

 

13 – Henry County (5-8) Last Week: #13 RPI: #194 .44226 The Wildcats went 1-1 last week, falling by 22 points to Western Hills, but rebounding to defeat Lloyd Memorial, 82-74.

 

Both games were a bit of a surprise. While it was not really a surprise that Henry lost to the 8-6 Wolverines, it was a surprise that Western Hills was able to win by such a large margin, 72-50, after Henry had won the previous matchup earlier in the season.

 

But just when that score made Wildcat fans nervous, the next score should have gotten them excited, as Henry knocked off the Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts (9-5) by eight. The Jugs already were 3-0 in NCKC play, having routed Owen County, Eminence, and Carroll County – by 37, 50, and 21 points, respectively.

 

No stats were immediately available for either game.

 

Things appear to be looking up in New Castle; the Wildcats have gone 4-4 over their last eight games, while averaging 62.8 points – over five points more than their season average.

 

This week presents three games in which Henry County will be the favorites. If the Cats take care of business this week, they should be 8-8 at the end of the week and riding the confidence of a four-game winning streak.

 

This week: 1/14/2020 vs. Eminence 1/17/2020 vs Trimble County 1/18/2020 at Frankfort Christian

 

The Longshots…

14 – Shelby County (4-11) Last week: #14 RPI: #223 .40103 Kaden Dugle led the way with 15 points as Shelby opened last week with a 53-47 win over Atherton. Dugle has now led the Rockets in scoring in four of the last six games.

 

The Rockets then dropped a district seeding game, falling to Anderson County, 63-47. The Rockets have now lost 10 of their last 12 games.

 

The Rockets face a pair of tall orders this week as they tangle with crosstown rival and region favorite Collins and then travel to North Oldham to face the Mustangs, a team they upset by one last year in Shelbyville.

 

This week: 1/17/2020 at Collins 1/18/2020 at North Oldham

 

15 – Williamstown (6-7) Last Week: #17 RPI: #211 .4237 The Demons move up two spots this week after going 2-1 last week, with dominant victories over Eminence and Trimble County in the All-A Tournament and a runner-up finish in that tournament to Gallatin County.

 

Cole Kightlinger had 22 points and 7 boards against Eminence, and hit 5 of 9 threes. Caleb Tritschler led the way against Trimble with a double-double; 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kightlinger had 18 against the Raiders and hit 4 threes that night.

 

Both Kightlinger and Tritschler are averaging over 16 ppg this season.

 

Williamstown, which won just nine games last season, would seem to be on a path to make it to 13-15 victories this season, a significant improvement.

 

The next two games on the schedule offer some opportunities to gain statement wins for the Demons, who will be heavy underdogs in district matchups against Grant County and Simon Kenton.

 

This week: 1/14/2020 vs. Grant County

 

16 – Owen County (4-10) Last week: #16 RPI: #237 .37556 Owen fell in the 2A Championship Sectional Tournament to Christian Academy of Louisville, 89-57 to start the week. The Rebels got 27 from freshman Teagan Moore and 14 from Isaac Wash in the loss.

 

But the Rebels bounced back to defeat Frankfort Christian, 95-23, with a strong shooting night. Owen shot 53.8% in the win, led by Wash, who had 14 points. Three other players chipped in 13 – Moore, Jack Spurgeon, and Lincoln Cobb.

 

Owen is developing a reputation as a very strong free throw shooting team. Updated stats on Kentucky High School Athletic Association | KHSAA – Student-athletes of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow show the Rebels shooting 73.1% at the stripe. In last week’s games, the Rebels went 20 of 25 in both games… Isaac Wash – just a sophomore - at over 83%, is the #3 shooter at the line in the region.

 

Moore – a freshman guard – is averaging 20.2 ppg, good for sixth-best in the region.

 

The “Youth Movement” is definitely taking hold in Owenton for coach Devin Duvall; last year’s Rebels won just 5 games. This year’s team has won four – and the three leading scorers are a freshman, sophomore, and a junior. The fifth scorer is a sophomore. The top two rebounders are a freshman and a sophomore.

 

This week: 1/13/2020 vs. Walton-Verona 1/17/2020 vs Whitley County

 

17 – Trimble County (2-12) Last week: #15 RPI: #240 .37354 Things just aren’t going well in Bedford right now.

 

The Raiders have now lost 10 straight, the region’s longest current losing streak. Trimble is averaging just 51 ppg and giving up 77.3, with both averages ranking last in the 8th Region.

 

Last week, the Raiders played just one game, falling, 75-59 to Williamstown in the All-A regional tournament. The Raiders shot just 36.4% from the field and hit just 1 of 11 threes. Trimble shot 33 free throws, but was unable to take advantage, hitting just 18 (54.5%).

 

Dylan Jennings had 19 in the loss, and was supported by Beau Turner with 13 points and Tate Ogburn, who had a double-double (12 points / 11 rebounds).

 

This week: 1/13/2020 at Iroquois 1/15/2020 at Eminence 1/17/2020 at Henry County

 

18 - Eminence (3-12) Last week: #18 RPI: #256 .34001 Eminence played once last week, falling to Williamstown in the 8th Region All-A tournament, 66-40.

 

No stats are available at this time.

 

The Warriors are the only team in Region 8 other than Spencer County without a win in region play.

 

The Warriors have put up some points this year, but in six of their last ten contests, Eminence has managed 51 points or fewer. They have just one win in that stretch of games.

 

This week: 1/14/2020 at Henry County 1/15/2020 vs. Trimble County 1/16/2020 at Iroquois

 

8th Region Leaders:

Scoring

Wyatt Supplee, Carroll County 30 ppg (ranks #1 in the state)

Ethan Lankford, Henry County 21.7 ppg*

Dayvion McKnight, Collins 21.5 ppg

Sam Conley, Spencer County 21.5 ppg

Luke Morrison, South Oldham 20.6 ppg

Teagan Moore, Owen County 20.2 ppg

*Estimated; Henry County has not reported stats for their last four games. This figure is Lankford’s accumulated average for the other nine Henry County games.

 

Rebounding

Keyshaun Mumphrey, Carroll County 10.5 / game (ranks #16 in Kentucky)

Hunter Penn, Woodford County 8.7

Tyler Higdon, North Oldham 8.6

Luke Dawalt, Grant County 8.6

 

Shooting Percentage (overall)

Aaron Thompson, Collins 65.9% (#18 in Kentucky)

Hunter Penn, Woodford County 65.7%

Tyler Higdon, North Oldham 64.5%

Logan Schwartz, Simon Kenton 63.2%

Free Throw Shooting (minimum of over 3 attempts per game)

Luke Morrison, South Oldham 84.6% (#19 in Kentucky)

Dallas Roberts, North Oldham 83.0%

Isaac Wash, Owen County 82.3%

Jack Epperson, Grant County 82.0%

Reece Webster, Trimble County 81.0%

 

Free Throw Shooting, Team (the 8th Region is doing particularly well at the line this year, with seven teams hitting over 70% at the stripe)

Walton-Verona 75.9% (#7 in Kentucky)

Simon Kenton 75.3% (#10 in Kentucky)

Collins 74.0% (#15 in Kentucky)

South Oldham 72.1% (T#25 in Kentucky)

Oldham County 72.1% (T#25 in Kentucky)

Owen County 71.4%

Spencer County 71.0%

 

Made Three Pointers, Team

South Oldham 187 (#1 in Kentucky)

Walton-Verona 115 (#9 in Kentucky)

Simon Kenton 110

Oldham County 108

Woodford County 73

 

Three Point Shooting, Team

South Oldham 41.3% (#11 in Kentucky)

Oldham County 40.6% (#14 in Kentucky)

Walton-Verona 36.7%

 

Three Point Shooting, Individual (minimum 10 games)

Jeremy Davis, Simon Kenton 45.5% (56 made threes)

Luke Morrison, South Oldham 43.6% (51 made threes)

Brant Smithers, Walton-Verona 42.3% (33 made threes)

Deaton Oak, Oldham County 41.7% (35 made threes)

Edited January 14, 2020 by ColonelMike

Big Games in Week 7:

 

1/14/2020 - #5 Collins at #16 South Oldham

Woodford County vs. #19 George Rogers Clark

 

1/17/2020 - #13 Oldham County at #16 South Oldham

Woodford County at Anderson County

Shelby County at #5 Collins

For Grant to take that next step, those Freshman need to do what they can do against the better teams. The good teams that have beaten Grant this year have given them the chance to do so when concentrating on the four upper classmen. Unfortunately, Guffey has a hard time creating his own shot, but can most definitely knock down the uncontested three and Hammonds is still learning to pound inside with the much older players. In my opinion, Hammonds is going to be a really good player in the very near future. But I agree, if it starts to click and they move the ball on offense, watch out! they can all score.

Somebody's winning streak had to come to an end tonight, and Oldham winds up winning its sixth straight with a 69-60 victory over Gallatin County. Colonels withstand a barrage of late Gallatin threes that pulled the Cats from a double-digit deficit after three to within six points with just over a minute to play.

 

Great start to Week 7!

 

CM

Bump.

Incredible showings for the 8th last night...

 

Woodford County knocked off a ranked GRC...

 

South Oldham and Collins played one of the most intense and entertaining games I've seen this year - they proved themselves to be two of the elite region teams.

 

Oldham County at South Oldham Friday looms as a key region battle this Friday in Crestwood....

 

CM