Final. Championship Game of the Lake Cumberland Holiday Classic.

Great win for SW! :thumb:

Big win for SW and for the 12th region

Steven Fitzgerald with offensive player of the game award and Dillon Gaskin won the game mvp award. Gover, Butt, Issacs and Cromer all played well.

Hoptown came in to the season very overrated, IMO. They have some athletes and Matlock is really good but their guards are small and any team that can handle their pressure is going to get a lot of easy buckets in transition. They also don't play very disciplined offensively. A lot of bad shots.

 

Southwestern, on the other hand, is very tough to defend because of how many kids they have that can score and how well they share they ball.

Walter, You are exactly right. I dont know if I would say overrated cause there aint a lot of teams that can handle their pressure. If you can handle the pressure and when you beat the press go finish you can beat them. SW late in the 2nd q for about a 6 min stretch forgot to go finish and backed it out after beating the press and it hurt them.

Hoptown came in to the season very overrated, IMO. They have some athletes and Matlock is really good but their guards are small and any team that can handle their pressure is going to get a lot of easy buckets in transition. They also don't play very disciplined offensively. A lot of bad shots.

 

Having seen Hoptown play a few times so far this season, they struggle on offense when Matlock gets double-teamed. Double-teaming Matlock almost always leads to their young guards making poor decision. For them to be successful on offense, they need to figure out a way to get points without always having to go through Matlock.

Having seen Hoptown play a few times so far this season, they struggle on offense when Matlock gets double-teamed. Double-teaming Matlock almost always leads to their young guards making poor decision. For them to be successful on offense, they need to figure out a way to get points without always having to go through Matlock.

 

One of the reasons they were so good last year was because they had other options around Matlock with Poindexter, Edwards, Henry, and Cajer.

 

As good as he is, he isn't going to single handedly beat a team. Just doesn't have that dominant personality. While he can shoot, most of his points are going to come within 10 feet of the rim, which is very easy to defend if you make them score in the halfcourt offense.

As was stated, what makes SW so good is how many scoring options they have at their disposal. Looking at the results season to date, they are my number 1 in the region.

 

Any news on the big kid's eligibility?

As you guys have previously stated, Matlock is a very nice player, but Hopkinsville didn't have a consistent scoring option outside of him unless it came off an offensive rebound or run out. Their guards struggled to protect the ball down the stretch.

SW looked to be in a tough spot late in the game but was able to find a way to send into OT and get the win. SW hasn't always played their best but regardless of opponent they have found a way to win.

Okay, I'm super confused. The KHSAA scoreboard is saying that Southwestern played Hopkins County Central last night. That doesn't seem correct as Hopkins County Central wasn't even in the tournament and it doesn't make sense for them to show up for one game.

 

 

Just for clarity and for informational purposes can anyone verify that it was Southwestern/Hopkinsville that played last night in the Championship game of the Lake Cumberland Classic?

Yes it was Hopkinsville and not Hopkins County Central.

Hopkins County Central lost to Ballard Memorial 72-69 last night in a tournament at Edmonson County.

I agree, Hoptown's Freshman Johnson and Cager while very good for freshman, make way to many mistakes for them. Matlock had 31 points and 18 rebounds this game and that was not enough. He can't do it by himself even though he is trying. Hoptown is also smaller this year than they have been in a long time. They are also not a very good shooting team, lots of pressure and lots of fastbreak points. I think last year was their best chance for a state title and they ran into Trinity who was the worst matchup for them. They slowed the pace and made it a half court game. I still think they are a top 20 team, but not top 10.

 

If the freshman guards mature enough by the region tournament, they might be able to pull the upset on Henderson, otherwise, there will be a new 2nd region champion this year.

Keep on eye out for Chritian County in the region. They have won something like 7/8 in a roll with upsets over Louisville Doss and beat Bowling Green last night. Their quietly improving one step at a time with no seniors on their squad.