#1- Top ranked Indians keep on winning

Jason Holland & the Montgomery County Indians took to the court three times this past week, coming away victorious in each contest. After earning their 18th consecutive win against Region competition, a 60-46 victory over Paris, the Indians traveled to Madison Central on Friday & trailed well into the 2nd half. But MoCo battled back & won the game 64-62 after Bryan Wallace drained a deep 3 with one second left. Twenty-four hours later, Montgomery went head-to-head with fellow BGP Top 20 team Henderson County in the Kentucky Bank Classic at Bourbon County. Though Wallace was sidelined most of the 2nd half due to foul problems and finished with only 9 points, the Indians won 64-57 behind strong performances from their front line. DeAnte Cisero finished with 16 points & 9 boards, while Darius Jones had 13 points--9 of them coming in the final quarter--and two thunderous dunks to help his team pull away from the Colonels.

#2- Cards lose heartbreaker, then rebound to win 2

George Rogers Clark also went toe-to-toe with defending state champ Madison Central last week. On Tuesday, GRC responded to a third quarter scoring drought with its trademark pressure defense & sent the game into not one, but two overtime sessions. All-Region big man Khmarkis Blanton scored a game-high 35 points, while lightning quick guard Damion King added 17, but Scott Humphrey's team fell 71-67. The Cardinals didn't allow the loss to deflate them, though, as they bounced back with a pair of convincing victories over 10th Region opponents: 69-45 over Pendleton County on Wednesday & 69-52 over District rival Bourbon County on Friday. In the latter of the two wins, Blanton finished with 18 points & 18 rebounds, while King also notched a double-double of 11 points & 12 rebounds.

 

#3- Breds go 2-2

Before its games against Montgomery & GRC, Madison Central traveled to Cynthiana on Monday night to battle Harrison County. The Breds came up short, despite 26 points from swingman Dillon Pulliam and fell 77-72. From there, Larry Kendall took his team to Northern Kentucky for three games. Harrison fell behind to Scott early, finding themselves in a 13-2 hole, but battled the rest of the way en route to a 68-58 victory. D.J. Jenkins (27) & Trenton Thompson (16) combined for 43 points. Thompson & Pulliam both went for 19 points on Friday in a 71-58 win over Holy Cross. Then the Breds lost 63-61 on Saturday after St. Henry's Nick Rechtin hit an improbable 3-pointer at the buzzer. Thompson was strong in the loss, scoring a game-high 23 points.

#4- Shawn Johnson does his thing as Mason County stays perfect

 

Mason County hosted Scott on Thursday & the Royals led the Eagles until the 1:42 mark in the 4th quarter. Trailing by 2 points with 3 seconds left, Royals sophomore Antwavon Williams stepped to the free throw line for his first attempts of the year & calmly hit them both, sending the game into OT. The extra session was dominated by star big man Shawn Johnson, who had a couple of and-1's, leading his team to an 84-77 victory. Johnson totaled 22 points & 15 boards. Two nights later, the 6'7" senior went for 20 points & 11 boards as the Royals easily discarded Western Brown (OH) 81-52.

 

#5- Mustangs first loss sandwiched by 2 easy wins

 

Mike Code's Bishop Brossart team found out the hard way just how good Beetle Bolden & the Holmes Bulldogs are. The 'Stangs had no answer for the mega-talented Bolden, who scored a whopping 37 points in a 74-51 home win. Brossart got a lot from its heralded front court, as Alex Trentman (20) & Drew Burns (16) combined for 36 points. But the five other 'Stangs combined to go 3-13, scoring the team's other 15 points. The Holmes contest fell between two other games for Brossart, a pair of easy victories over Silver Grove (57-24) & St. Patrick (58-22).

 

#6- Bach, Maddox, & Snapp lead Panthers to 3 more victories

 

6'1" senior Brent Bach was the 10th's top-ranked player in the pre-season & he's backed that ranking up after six games. In Augusta's closest contest of the season, Bach hit an off-balance 12-footer at the buzzer to beat cross-county rival Bracken County 69-67 on Tuesday night in Brooksville. For the season, Bach is averaging a whopping 31 ppg & 6.3 rpg. However, Bach has plenty of support from a pair of sensational sophomores. Guard Connor Maddox averages 15.7 ppg and is shooting a sizzling 57.1% (16-28) from beyond the arc. Forward Camryn Snapp is at an even 15 ppg & 9 rpg. Snapp was outstanding in the win over Bracken County, finishing with 26 points & 9 rebounds. In addition to the Tuesday night thriller, Augusta was victorious over Bourbon County 95-87 & Nicholas County 105-59. Jason Hinson's team is a perfect 6-0 & will seek the program's first 7-0 start in school history on Monday night at home against Pendleton County.

 

#7- Bracken has 2 nail-biters, winning 1 & losing 1

 

Chad Persinger's Polar Bears came out on the short end of the stick in another barn-burner with Augusta, but it was good to see senior Nate Haight return to form. The 5'11" guard has battled a wrist injury in the early going, but scored 20 points in the loss. Freshman star Austin Crawford also had 20 in the Augusta game, 14 of which came in an impressive first half performance. Crawford & Haight were again huge in Bracken's 65-63 win over Robertson County on Friday. Crawford led the Bears with 19 points & 7 boards, while Haight added 15 points & 9 boards. Senior forward Ryan May also had another very nice game, finishing with 14 points & 10 boards. On the year, May is averaging a double-double of 10.8 ppg & 12.2 rpg. Crawford (20.5 ppg) & Haight (13.7 ppg) lead Bracken County in scoring.

 

#8- Eagles handed 3 losses

 

The second week of the season was a rough one for Scott, as Brad Carr's squad fell to Harrison County 68-58, Mason County 84-77 in OT, & Tates Creek 59-53. The loss at Mason County seems the most painful, with the Eagles battling back to take a late 4th quarter lead, only to have it slip away at the end of regulation & in overtime. Scott continues to get good production from senior post man Kameron Crim and junior guard Blake Schneider. Both scored 18 in the loss at Mason County & Schneider poured in 28 in the loss to Harrison County.

 

#9- Camels maintain winning trend

 

Campbell County improved its season record to 4-0 after three wins last week. Two victories were achieved with ease--a 102-38 win over Calvary Christian & a 73-47 triumph over Ludlow--but the Camels ended their week with a Saturday night 59-57 road victory over Newport. The Camels dynamic back court of Corey Holbrook (24) and Dre Jackson (17) continued to shine, as the duo combined for 41 points and 5 3pt. FG's. in the Newport win. Aric Russell's bunch will face its stiffest test of the season on Monday, as they play host to #19 Covington Catholic.

 

#10- Mike Murphy Classic gets underway Wednesday

 

Mason County will host the 8-team "Mike Murphy Classic" starting Wednesday night. Participants include four 10th Region squads: Augusta, Harrison County, Mason County, & St. Patrick. Joining them will be Cooper, Fleming County, Lewis County, & Russell County. It's hard to avoid looking ahead, but looming on Friday night is an Augusta/Mason County semi-final round matchup. Check the schedule for the "Mike Murphy Classic" by visiting this thread: http://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/us-bank-mike-267823.html

Edited December 16, 201312 yr by Randy Parker

The 10th has been producing alot of good games so far this season. Lots of talent in our region.

I like that the top ranked players are playing like top ranked players, for the most part.

 

I also like that non top ranked players are playing like top ranked players. Both Jenkins & Thompson from Harrison County have had nice seasons so far, as have Scott's Crim & Schneider. Austin Crawford of Bracken County, Damion King of GRC, Dre Jackson of Campbell County. Probably a handful of others could be included there too.

Harrison's Thompson can knock down the trey.

Even with his opponent jumping up to alter the shot, he is still spot on.

I like that the top ranked players are playing like top ranked players, for the most part.

 

I also like that non top ranked players are playing like top ranked players. Both Jenkins & Thompson from Harrison County have had nice seasons so far, as have Scott's Crim & Schneider. Austin Crawford of Bracken County, Damion King of GRC, Dre Jackson of Campbell County. Probably a handful of others could be included there too.

 

Agree. We have some players as mentioned above that are really playing well. Some are a very pleasant surprise.

Agree. We have some players as mentioned above that are really playing well. Some are a very pleasant surprise.

 

Yep.

 

Next couple of weeks should tell us more about the teams. I like these Christmas tournaments a lot.