As we get closer to the end of January, things are becoming clearer in the rankings as teams separate themselves with head to head match ups. Let's recap the past week and see which teams made moves, and which players helped.

 

Top 10

 

1. Covington Catholic (14-1)

 

Why: The Colonels 2-1 this week with their loss coming to an out of state team.

 

Covcath 60 Dayton Chaminade Julienne, OH 48

Nick Ruthsatz led the Colonels with 22 points, while Mark Schult and Ben Heppler finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds apiece.

 

Fairfield, OH 78 Covcath 69

The Colonels dropped their first game of the year as they fell to Fairfield in the Royal 8 Hardwood Classic at Fairfield. Nick Ruthsatz finished with a game high 32 points. Bo Schuh (12 pts, 7 rbs) and Mark Schult (12 pts, 5 rbs) were the other Colonels in double figures, while Ben Heppler finished with 9 points. Those 4 and VonHandorf were the only Colonels to score.

 

Covcath 80 Anderson, OH 37

It was all Colonels as 11 different players got their name in the scorebook. Nick Ruthsatz once again led the Colonels with 13 points, while Matt Schumate and Cooper Theobald finished with 11 points, each. Will Heppler had a game high 7 rebounds to go with 7 points.

 

Overall:

Even though Covcath lost to Fairfield, they maintain their #1 spot in this week's rankings. While Nick Ruthsatz continues to lead this team, it is the consistent play of Bo Schuh and Mark Schult that has stood out over the recent games. Covcath continues to get better at both ends but it is their defense that has been the strength over the first two months.

 

Up Next: 1/20 v Cincy St Xavier, OH, 1/25 v Cincy Summit Country Day, OH

 

1B. Newport Catholic (12-3)

 

Why: Newcath went 1-0 this week.

 

Newcath 73 Lloyd 38

In a blowout win, Jake Schulte led the Breds with 13 points, while Tanner Moeves finished with 11 points.

 

Overall: Not much has changed since last week. Newcath maintains their #1 ranking and likely won't move unless the Covcath game is made up or one of the two suffer a 9th region loss. Simply too close of a call to rank one ahead of the other at this point.

 

Up Next: All A Classic 1/20-1/25

 

 

3. Holmes (14-3)

 

Why: The Bulldogs went 2-0 this week.

 

Holmes 64 Woodward, OH 55

Despite trailing at the half and end of the third quarter, the Dogs found a way to get the win as Bolden and Chames sat the majority of the first half with foul trouble. Bolden finished with 24 points to lead Holmes, while Chames had 18.

 

Holmes 50 Cooper 40

Once again, Holmes trailed at the end of the first quarter with Bolden sitting the final 10:29 of the first half with 2 fouls. The senior duo of Quinton Chames and Daequan Glover stepped up with 12 points each, however in the win. Chames also had 11 rebounds as Bolden finished with 10 points and Markel McClendon right behind those 3 with 9 points.

 

Overall:

Since the loss to Covcath, Holmes is giving up just 47 ppg defensively. When they focus on that end of the court, they are a very tough team to beat. They will need to continue to play at that level at that end of the court if they want to move back up to #2 or #1 in the rankings. Still, not much separates the top 3 teams in the 9th region.

 

Up Next: 1/21 v Mason Co, 1/23 v Scott, 1/25 v Trinity at Montgomery Co (Joe B Hall Classic)

 

4. Dixie Heights (12-6)

 

Why: The Colonels went 3-0 this week and have now won 6 straight.

 

Dixie Heights 78 Ludlow 60

It was an all around team effort as Brandon Hatton finished with 29 pts, 5 asts, Austin Schreck 9 rebounds, Adam Daria 12 points, and Nick Niehaus 9 points. With the win, Dixie guaranteed themselves the #1 seed in the district tournament.

 

Dixie Heights 59 Scott 40

Brandon Hatton led the Colonels once again with 23 points while Austin Schreck finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds.

 

Dixie Heights 81 Conner 62

Brandon Hatton scored 35 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers. Juniors Liam Rabe and Andrew Hedger added 16 and 12 points

 

Overall: Brandon Hatton is just 127 points away from breaking the 9th region all time scoring record of 2,865 points for a career. More importantly, his team has won 6 straight and the junior duo of Liam Rabe and Austin Schreck continue to elevate their game. Schreck is been on a tear lately, crashing the boards and playing well at both ends, while Rabe has been steady offensively and continues to be one of the better defenders in the region. This is a team nobody will want to see in the first round of the 9th region tournament.

 

Up Next: 1/22 v Lafayette at Scott Co (Toyota Classic)

 

 

5. St Henry (9-6)

 

Why: The Crusaders made the biggest jump this week after going 2-0 and knocking off the previous #5 team.

 

St Henry 64 Newport 58

Jordan Noble led four Crusaders in double figures with 14 points. Adam Goetz added 13, while Jake Plummer and Paul Wallenhorst added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

 

St Henry 59 Boone County 53

Playing without Jake Plummer, the Crusaders got the win behind the front court duo of Jordan Noble and Conner Kunstek, who had 15 points each.

 

Overall:

Coach Faust's squad is making their usual late season push as they continue to get better. Their only 9th region losses are to teams ranked ahead of them (Holmes and Covcath). The front court duo of Kunstek and Noble will keep them in every game, but it is the guard play that will determine If they can knock off teams ahead of them late in the season or not.

 

Up Next: All A Classic 1/20-1/25

 

6. Cooper (9-7)

 

Why: The Jags went 1-1 this week.

 

Cooper 41 Simon Kenton 40

Colin Hathorn led the Jaguars in scoring with 10 points, with Zach McNeil having 8 points, including the game winning free throw with 0/5 left on the clock. Senior Spencer Holland had 9 points.

 

Holmes 50 Cooper 40

The Jags got off to a hot start, leading Holmes 13-8 at the end of one but were outscored by 15 the rest of the game. Zach McNeil led the Jags with 12 pts, 12 rebounds, while Jon Liechty and Spencer Holland had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

 

Overall:

Cooper has top 5 talent but has struggled with consistency. Spencer Holland and Jon Liechty both had solid games against Holmes and that will need to be a regular occurrence going forward as both can score at all three levels and take a lot of pressure off of Zach McNeil. With Sean McNeil coming back sometime in the next two weeks, expect Cooper to continue to improve.

 

Up Next: 1/23 at Boone Co, 1/25 v Campbell Co

 

7. Boone County (13-4)

 

Why: The Rebels fall two spots after going 1-1 this week.

 

Boone Co 66 Scott 54

Brendan Stanley led the Rebels with 27 points as Boone beat the Eagles for the 2nd time this season. Junior Stockwell finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds in the win.

 

St Henry 59 Boone Co 53

Bendan Stanley led the Rebels with 23 points in the loss,

 

Overall: Boone drops one spot in the rankings this week. The biggest problem for the Rebels has been no go to scorer outside of Stanley. They will need others to step up if this team is going to make a serious post season run not only in the district, but also the region tournament.

 

Up Next: 1/23 v Cooper, 1/25 v Highlands

 

8. Ryle (6-6)

 

Why: The Raiders did not play this week.

 

Up Next: 1/24 v Conner

 

9. Newport (8-5)

 

Why: The Wildcats went 0-1 this week but had a solid showing in their loss.

 

St. Henry 64 Newport 58

Newport led by 2 at the half, were down 5 at the end of the third quarter, and then had a 4th quarter lead but couldn't hang on. Ethan Snapp finished with a game high 21 points, while sophomore Kam Covington had 12 pts, 5 rbs. Paul Price finished with 6 rebounds for the Wildcats.

 

Overall: Newport has shown that they belong in the top 10 and move up to #9 with the solid showing against St Henry. While many haven't seen this team, they are very scrappy and play hard at both ends, while boasting one of the best scorers in the region in Ethan Snapp. With the young talent this team has, they are only going to get better as the season progresses.

 

Up Next: All A Classic 1/20-1/25

 

10. Conner (5-7)

 

Why: The Cougars went 0-2 this week.

 

Campbell Co 78 Conner 71

Landon Lamblez and Sam Hemmerich both finished with 19 points in the loss, while Nick Watts and Andrew Way rounded out the double figuring scoring for the Cougars with 12 and 10 points.

 

Dixie Heights 81 Conner 62

Conner was led by Landon Lamblez's 21 points, followed by 17 from Nick Watts, and 9 from Sam Hemmerich.

 

Overall: Conner falls to #10 in the rankings. They are a team that has lacked an identity this season, despite having some solid talent. On a positive note, the play of Nick Watts and Landon Lamblez lately is promising as it gives them a second and third scoring option to compliment Sam Hemmerich. Still, much like last week, this team still has some kinks to work out.

 

Up Next: 1/24 at Ryle, 1/25 at Seneca

What? No love for Beechwood?

Nice work, as usual, Walter. One note to point out though...

 

"Overall:

Coach Faust's squad is making their usual late season push as they continue to get better. Their only 9th region losses are to teams ranked ahead of them (Holmes and Covcath). The front court duo of Kunstek and Noble will keep them in every game, but it is the guard play that will determine If they can knock off teams ahead of them late in the season or not."

 

Dixie beat St. Henry 71-58 on January 3rd.

 

On the one hand this shows that I am being anal... yet, on the other hand, it shows I'm thoroughly reading what you are writing

(ps: are we allowed to use the word "anal" on BGPs?)

Good review. Shocked #10 has a losing record.

Good review. Shocked #10 has a losing record.

 

Conner lacks an identity. They have a solid team, as far as individual talent goes, but don't play well as a team.

Nice work, as usual, Walter. One note to point out though...

 

"Overall:

Coach Faust's squad is making their usual late season push as they continue to get better. Their only 9th region losses are to teams ranked ahead of them (Holmes and Covcath). The front court duo of Kunstek and Noble will keep them in every game, but it is the guard play that will determine If they can knock off teams ahead of them late in the season or not."

 

Dixie beat St. Henry 71-58 on January 3rd.

 

On the one hand this shows that I am being anal... yet, on the other hand, it shows I'm thoroughly reading what you are writing

(ps: are we allowed to use the word "anal" on BGPs?)

 

Not sure why I forgot those two played. I was at that game between St Henry and Dixie.