Getslow Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Schedule Monday, February 24 at Portland Christian 4) St. Francis vs. 5) Portland Christian; 4:30 pm Tuesday, February 25 at Shawnee 2) Central vs. 3) Shawnee; 6:00 pm 1) DuPont Manual vs. St.Francis/Portland Christian winner; 7:30 pm Thursday, February 27 at Shawnee Championship; 8:00 pm Breaking Down the Matchups 4) St. Francis vs. 5) Portland Christian St. Francis has taken several steps in the right direction under first-year head coach Tony Williams. After suffering 13 consecutive losing seasons, the Wyverns finished 13-13 in a regular season that included winning the Portland Christian Holiday Tournament. They were an overtime loss to Lexington Sayre just last week from posting a winning record. They’re still a long way from competing with the top teams in the district, but the improvement was noticeable from just last season. Portland Christian lost a great deal of their scoring to graduation last year and spent 2013-14 in a rebuilding process, going 0-4 in regular season district play and posting a 6-14 overall record. Nonetheless, an opening round victory in district play would be a great parting moment for senior players. St. Francis won their regular season meeting by just 12 points, 62-50, a deficit not impossible for the Eagles to overcome. 2) Central vs. 3) Shawnee Another program in the midst of a rebuilding effort, Central lost nearly all of it’s production from last year’s district championship team that went to the regional semifinals. Nonetheless, Central played the toughest schedule of any team in the 25th District and it showed as the Yellowjackets posted an 8-18 record. Brandon Johnson and Daivon Thompson have come on as outstanding scorers as the year has progressed, but it’s unlikely they’ll be enough to do any more damage than they’ve done so far this year. Nonetheless, coach Doug Bibby has done an excellent job in his time at Central, especially considering the number of departures and transfers in recent years, so no postseason victories here in the district tournament would come as too much of a surprise. A team that has demonstrated marked improvement, Shawnee had posted no more than four wins in the previous three seasons until this year’s 7-win effort under second-year coach Carl White. That season included a win over 7th Region All-A runner-up, Louisville Collegiate and posting a 2-2 record in district play with wins over St. Francis and Portland Christian. Shawnee lost the regular season meeting with Central by a mere five points, 56-51. 1) DuPont Manual vs. 4)St. Francis/5) Portland Christian winner No two ways about it, the Crimsons have been the class of the 25th District all season: a 3-0 district record, a 17-10 overall record and wins over Bardstown, Central, Jeffersontown, Fairdale and St. Xavier. A late-season loss to archrival Male took some of the luster off that list of accomplishments, but Manual can nonetheless be considered the overwhelming favorite to win the district tournament. Dwayne Sutton is having an outstanding season and has become one of the top scorers in the Seventh Region. Senior wing player Trey Chon Jones-Boyd is right there along side him every night. It remains to be seen if Manual will have enough firepower from those two to compete in the regional tournament, but they can be fully expected to be in the field. Predictions St. Francis over Portland Christian Central over Shawnee DuPont Manual over St. Francis DuPont Manual over Central DuPont Manual (Champion) and Central (Runner-Up) to represent the 25th in the 2014 7th Region Tournament at Valley.
Getslow Posted February 25, 2014 Author Posted February 25, 2014 Per smallhoops' report in the game thread, St. Francis edged out Portland Christian in the first round of the 25th district on some last-second heroics last night, setting up a game against DuPont Manual. The Crimsons and the Wyverns did not play during the regular season.
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