Inside the 15th Region (12/22/14)

The Pre-Christmas Tournaments and Showcases have been completed and week 3 is in the books for 15th Region. Pike Central won the Hi Tech Signs and Graphics Tournament (defeating fellow 15th Region participant Prestonsburg in the championship) while Pikeville and Betsy Layne both had good showings in the Derby Classic in Raceland. Shelby Valley struggled in the Gatlinburg-Pittman Invitational going 1-2 while Johnson Central went 1-2 in the Kentucky Bank Challenge (playing 3 games in a 24 hour period). Lawrence County (defeated West Carter lost to Scott County and Lafayette) and Sheldon Clark (defeated Pikeville and Tug Valley, WV) elected not to participate in a Holiday Tournament or Showcase before Christmas but still got tested. All-in-all the 15th Region has shown they are not afraid to compete against upper level competition as they prepare for regional and district play after the new-year. Let’s see how this week’s top 5 pan out.

1. Sheldon Clark (6-0) – Frankie Smith and the Cardinals just keep rolling, defeating Pikeville 60-52 and Tug Valley, WV 55-50 in their first two road games of the season. Led by Sophomore Forward Dylan James (24 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Senior Guard Chase Parsley (20.5 ppg 3.2 apg), SC took down Pikeville on the road in a back and forth contest (Parsley hitting key free throws down the stretch) and Tug Valley, WV in an out of state contest. Don’t look for Sheldon Clark to be tested until the championship of the Mountain School Boy Classic in week four as transfer’s Caleb Sturgill and Marvin Albrecht have provide coach Smith with a formidable rotation that will be tough to deal with come tourney time.

2. Lawrence County (3-3) – The Bulldogs defeated West Carter 100-66 at home then lost to Scott County 80-94 and Lafayette 79-97 both on the road. During week 3 LC saw Sophomore G Brandon Richardson and Junior G Robert Dalton each score their 1,000th career point in a Bulldog uniform. Lawrence County has a very good starting 5, but have yet to defeat a quality opponent in the young season. Foul trouble and lack of bench support (to go along with rebounding difficulties) have proved troublesome for the talented quintet of guards when they face top notch competition out of region. If they can develop depth, then watch out, otherwise they will need to play safe in order to avoid foul trouble. LC will face Lee County in the Pikeville invitational tournament (a team they will be heavily favored against) and you should see them in the championship game come week 4.

3. Johnson Central (4-6) – The Golden Eagles played 4 games in week 3 with three of them coming in a 24 hour period. Tuesday night JC defeated Shelby Valley by a final of 60-54 in the WYMT Game of the Week (televised live). This was an impressive win as the injury plagued Golden Eagles were without iron man Braxton Blair (20.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.1 apg, 3.4 spg) in this game (flu) to go along with all the ankle and knee injuries (in total missing 5 players from their roster). JC did get Senior PF Patrick Rice back from a meniscus/ MCL injury vs. Shelby Valley but he saw limited minutes. On Friday and Saturday, JC traveled to Rowan County where they competed in the Kentucky Bank Challenge. In the first game the Eagles fell to Clark County 64-79 but saw Sophomore G Mason Blair score 30 points in the 2nd half (32 total) (2nd most points in a half in school history – Jamie McCarty [32] vs. Sheldon Clark in 2006) fueled by 8 3-point field goals (the most 3-pointers in a half in a school history). The following Saturday morning, JC fell to Dixie Heights 51-61, but beat Montgomery County 59-57 in the afternoon. JC is still without 15th Region Pre-Season Player of the Year in 6’7’’ SF Kyle Gullett (expected back after Christmas), 6’5’’ PF Truman Salyer (out for season), and 5’11’’ G Austin Davis (out for season) but seem to be improving each week as the younger supporting cast is getting valuable experience. JC will travel to the Lake Cumberland Holiday Classic after Christmas where they will play Warren Central in the first game. If healthy, look for JC to pile up the wins once they get into district and regional play.

4. Betsy Layne (6-2) – The Bobcats defeated East Ridge at home 54-53 in perhaps the most exciting ending in the 15th thus far this year. Down 2 with less than 10s remaining, East Ridge hit a 3 to give them a 1 point lead. Needing to go the length of the floor, Betsy Layne was able to draw a common foul with 1s to go and saw Senior G Dalton Maldonado sink 2 FT’s to give BL the 1 point win. Betsy Layne followed this up with by traveling to the Derby Classic and defeating East Carter 69-61 before falling to an undefeated Boyd County team 57-59 (Boyd County would win the Derby Classic). The Bobcats bounced back and took 3rd place in the Derby Classic by defeating Russell 75-65. Betsy Layne will next travel to Lexington Catholic to compete in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic (formally the 5/3 Classic) where they will play the host school. On the week the Bobcats got big performances from Peyton Case (23.1 ppg) and Charles “Lako” Daniels (15.3 ppg, 12.9 rpg) but the emergence of Dustin Rogers (13.3 ppg) has made Betsy Layne a formidable contender in the 15th.

5. Shelby Valley (5-3) – The Wildcats went 1-3 this week first losing to Johnson Central on the Road by a final of 54-60 in the WYMT game of the Week (televised live) then traveling to the Gatlinburg-Pittman Invitational where they would fall to Knoxville Halls, TN 47-58, defeat Signal Mountain, TN 70-47, and finally fall to East Hamilton, TN 60-72. Shelby Valley is without Senior 6’5’’ Andrew Newsome (foot injury suffered during football) and may soon get a 6’8’’ transfer from Corbin eligible. Once healthy/eligible Shelby Valley will be a tough out, but good competition seemed to get the better of them in week 3 as lack of rebounding along with a high number of turnovers hurt the Wildcats. During the week Senior Guard Dalton Richardson and Junior Forward Hunter Swindall were standouts as they both had several big games for Coach Jim Hicks. Shelby Valley will next compete in the Pikeville Invitational Tournament beginning 27 December where they will meet Paintsville.

Upsets in the Region:

June Buchanan defeating Paintsville 50-47 in the Gatlinburg-Pittman Invitational

Pike Central defeating Prestonsburg @ Prestonsburg 65-49 in the High Tech Signs Championship

Games to watch in Week 3:

Paintsville @ Sheldon Clark Tuesday 23 December

Betsy Layne @ Lexington Catholic Friday 26 December Traditional Bank Holiday Classic

Paintsville vs. Shelby Valley @ Pikeville in the Pikeville Invitational Saturday 27 December

Agree or Disagree?