Mason County reaches 20 wins mark

 

Mason County was triumphant in both of its outings last week, giving the program at least 20 wins for the second straight year. The Royals jumped out to a 13-0 lead against Paris on Tuesday night and kept the visiting Greyhounds at an arm's distance the rest of the way, winning 67-50. Playing without starting point guard Antwavon Williams, Mason had to do its damage down low and did, dominating the battle of the boards to the tune of 48-21. Dorian Henry led the way with 21 points & 13 rebounds, while senior forward Jake O'Mara was also impressive with 15 points & 13 rebounds. On Friday night, Henry had his way with the visitors from Rowan County, scoring a team-high 25 points while grabbing 9 rebounds in a 60-42 victory. Senior guard Ryan Johnson chipped in with 10 points for the victors.

 

Eagles win road thriller

 

Scott traveled to Montgomery County for its only game last week and left with a heart-stopping 68-67 comeback win on Tuesday. After leading by 4 after 1 quarter, the Eagles went cold in the second, which allowed the Indians to claim the lead and extend it to as many as 11 points. Scott was able to cut the deficit nearly in half and trailed by 6 points at intermission. The hosts essentially maintained a two possession lead until the final minute or so when they clung to a 1 point advantage. After Montgomery turned it over on an inbounds play, Eagles guard Blake Schneider scored on a driving layup to give Scott a 68-67 lead. Montgomery got a pair of good looks from 3-point land in the final five seconds, but neither shot dropped. Schneider's final bucket gave him 18 points for the game, but Scott was led in scoring by Jake Ohmer who scored a game-high 29 points. The sophomore guard shot 4-8 from beyond the arc and 9-10 from the charity stripe. The Eagles have now won 3 straight.

 

Montgomery, Clark both 2-1, including huge rivalry showdown

 

40th District rivals Montgomery County and George Rogers Clark both finished 2-1 last week. Montgomery's lone blemish is described above, in the Tuesday night 68-67 home loss to Scott. On Saturday, the Indians had no trouble in a 69-41 win over visiting St. Patrick.

 

GRC's week began with a 65-51 road win over Bourbon County, in which Braxton Greene (21) and Damion King (20) combined to score 41 points. The Cardinals were also victorious on Saturday in their only home contest of the week, turning back 15th Region foe Sheldon Clark 58-47.

 

Friday night, however, Montgomery and GRC clashed in Mt. Sterling and added an epic chapter to this long-standing rivalry. The Indians held just a 2 point lead at halftime, but extended the margin in the 2nd half and found themselves up 9 points with 5:35 to play. The tenacious Cards would not go away, however, and clawed back until they finally took a 52-50 lead after Jyles Anderson drained a 3 with 1:20 remaining. The lead was short-lived because Montgomery answered with a 3 of its own, courtesy senior Sam Hodgsen. MoCo stayed just ahead until King canned a 3-pointer to tie the game at 57 with 8.3 seconds showing. GRC was able to steal the inbounds pass, but Anderson's shot stuck to the rim, and the alternate possession gave it back to Montgomery with only 1.1 seconds left. Having to go the length of the floor, Hodgsen fired a baseball pass all the way down the floor that was deflected into the arms of senior guard Joe Chism, who banked in a shot as the final horn sounded, giving Montgomery a 59-57 win--the team's second victory over GRC for the season.

 

Hodgsen led MoCo with 18 points and Chism's game-winner gave him a total of 17 points. Junior big man Shelby Combs, who has quietly put together a solid season (10.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg), finished with 11.

 

GRC was paced by King's 15 points. Greene and Anderson scored 13 and 11, respectively. Both teams shot very well from beyond the arc, with Montgomery draining 10-19 3's and Clark hitting 8-16.

 

Camels, Mustangs, Polar Bears each 1-0

 

Campbell County has now won 5 of its last 6 games after upending Pendleton County 67-54 in Falmouth on Tuesday. Four Camels earned double figures, led by Jordan Day's 17 points and Dre Jackson's 16 points. Trent McGovney and Cole Hegyi both added 10 in the victory.

 

Just down the road, Mike Code's Bishop Brossart club had a smooth-sailing win in its only game last week, a 78-35 overpowering of Calvary Christian on Monday. Ten Mustangs scored in the contest, led by Jackson Crawford's 18 points & 11 rebounds. Jacob Zai and Spencer Hackworth both contributed 11 points.

 

Jeremy Miles' young Bracken County squad snapped a 6-game losing streak in Brooksville on Monday, defeating 12th Region opponent East Jessamine by a score of 74-64. The Polar Bears were led by the 10th Region's top scorer, Austin Crawford, who finished with 26 points. Sophomore wing Jacob Hamilton added 18 points & 9 rebounds, while junior forward Dylan Biddle had 10 points & 9 boards.

 

Thorobreds almost win 3

 

It was almost a perfect week for Larry Kendall's Harrison County team. The Breds got a pair of weekend road wins, including a rivlary victory at Pendleton County on Friday night, by a score of 77-62. Junior forward Zack Pulliam had one of his best games of the season, finishing with a game-high 25 points. Trenton Thompson continued his steady play with 17 points & 14 rebounds. D.J. Jenkins also had 17 for Harrison in the win. The Breds traveled to Flemingsburg on Saturday and came away with a hard-fought 66-60 win over Fleming County. Harrison's version of the "Big 3" came through again, with Thompson scoring 19 points, Jenkins 17, and Pulliam 10. The two wins could have been #'s 2 & 3 for the week were it not for a 57-56 Tuesday night road loss to Henry Clay--a game in which Harrison led 49-40 after 3 quarters. Still, the Thorobreds have won 3 of 4 and will play their fourth straight road game tomorrow night at Campbell County.

 

Paris splits its 2 games

 

Paris had its 3-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday night's 67-50 road loss at Mason County. The Hounds were led by Koebe Garrard's 19 points. On Saturday, Terence Brooks' squad got back to its winning ways, defeating Sayre 64-54 in Berea's Bluegrass Conference Challenge. The Hounds led by 3 after 3 quarters and then outscored the Spartans 24-17 in the final frame. Jekobi Wells scored 19 points to lead the team, with Garrard adding 17.

 

Big week for the Big Trains

 

The only 10th Region team to go 3-0 last week was Silver Grove, who started with a Monday night 68-53 home win over Latin. Randy Kuntz scored a team-high 20 to lead the Trains, while Billy Miller added a double-double of 13 points & 14 rebounds. Twenty-four hours later the Trains earned a tough 64-54 road win at Villa Madonna, led by Anthony Turicos' 17 points. Kuntz added 14 and Miller had his second double-double of 13 points & 10 boards. Howard Brownstein's club finished the week with an exciting 71-69 home win over Robertson County on Friday night. Kuntz scored 20 to lead the way, with Turicos scoring 17 again and Christian Pollitt adding 13. And Billy Miller chalked up his third double-double of the week with 10 points & 12 rebounds. With the 3 wins, the Big Trains are just 1 game under .500 for the year at 10-11.

 

Augusta falls in Class "A" State

 

Augusta participated in the Class "A" State Tournament for the first time in school history, but fell to Owen County 64-50. The Panthers shot just 38% from the floor and after trailing by just 2 points at halftime, could not keep up with the Rebels. Connor Maddox paced the team with 15 points, while Owens Crawford and Camryn Snapp both had 10. Snapp suffered what appeared to be an ugly knee injury in the game. The last word I received was that the junior forward had an MRI done, the results of which will be known this week.

 

Rouding out the rest of the Region

* St. Patrick won a pair of games before its 69-41 loss at Montgomery County on Saturday. The Saints won at Raceland on Tuesday 62-51, led by 21 points & 12 rebounds from Andrew Sticklen. Thursday night St. Pat entertained Ludlow and won 62-56, led by junior forward Christian Gallenstein's 16 points & 10 rebounds. Chase Burton also had 16 for the Saints.

 

* It was a tough weekend for Robertson County, whose 5 game losing streak got extended by 2 games. The Black Devils got 23 points from freshman Mason Burden, 19 from Dawson Cooper, and 17 from Bradley Highfield, but still fell 71-69 at Silver Grove on Friday. Highfield scored 15, Burden 14, and Cooper 13 in Saturday's 64-52 road loss to Berea.

 

* Nicholas County played away from Carlisle in both of its games last week and lost both. Tyler Newton scored 23 points, while Elijah Barnett (11 points & 10 boards) and Ben Duncan (10 points & 10 boards) had double-doubles, but the Jackets still lost at Frankfort 79-63 on Tuesday. Saturday saw Nicholas County lose to Model in Berea's Bluegrass Conference Challenge by a score of 59-46. Newton again led the way with 17 points.

 

* Calvary Christian suffered a pair of losses--78-35 at Bishop Brossart on Monday and 66-45 at home to Evangel Christian on Saturday. But the Cougars managed a W between the two L's in Friday night's 64-52 home win over Heritage Academy. Sophomore Aikeem Riley had a strong outing of 17 points & 12 rebounds. Senior forward Quinn Varnardo also had a double-double, finishing with 13 points & 14 rebounds. Justin Wade added 12 points in the victory.

 

* After winning 3 of 4 to start 2015, Pendleton County has now dropped 6 straight, with 2 of those losses coming last week. The Wildcats shot just 31.5% from the field in Tuesday night's home loss to Campbell County, 67-54. Wade Browning was the only Pendleton player in double figures with 14 points. A strong home crowd in Friday night's home battle with Harrison County wasn't enough, as the Cats fell to their rivals by a score of 77-62. In the losing effort, Hunter Lea scored 15 and Michael Antrobus 14, with Browning contributing 12 points.

 

* Bourbon County lost all 3 of its games last week, starting with Tuesday night's 65-51 home loss to George Rogers Clark. Landon Sexton and Ameryon Blackburn both scored 10 for the Colonels in the loss. The Colonels then suffered their most lopsided loss of the season in Friday night's 84-32 whipping by visiting Scott County. Saturday's contest with Henry County was closer, the Bourbon still came up short, falling on the road 73-66. Nick Sosby's team has lost 5 of its last 6 games.

 

10th Region Top 10:

 

1. Mason County (20-2)

2. Scott (12-9)

3. Montgomery County (11-8)

4. George Rogers Clark (17-6)

5. Campbell County (16-6)

6. Augusta (16-7)

7. Harrison County (11-11)

8. Paris (14-5)

9. Bishop Brossart (10-8)

10. Bourbon County (7-15)

Pretty sure I heard Silver Grove's Anthony Turicos scored his 1,000 point of his HS career this week! Can anyone confirm this?

Bold - Record against other Top Ten teams in the 10th region

 

1. Mason County (20-2) - (6-0)

2. Scott (12-9) - (3-4)

3. Montgomery County (11-8) - (5-4)

4. George Rogers Clark (17-6) - (4-3)

5. Campbell County (16-6) - (3-3)

6. Augusta (16-7) - (4-2)

7. Harrison County (11-11) - (4-4)

8. Paris (14-5) - (3-3)

9. Bishop Brossart (10-8) - (0-3)

10. Bourbon County (7-15) - (1-7)

BluegrassPreps.com Boys Rankings (2-2-15)

 

1. Ballard

2. Knott County Central

3. Taylor County

4. Henderson County

5. Trinity

6. Covington Catholic

7. Doss

8. Newport Central Catholic

9. Lexington Catholic

10. Central

11. Owensboro

12. Bryan Station

13. Manual

14. Hopkinsville

15. Lincoln County

16. Mason County

17. Boyle County

18. Lexington Christian

19. Perry County Central

20. Pleasure Ridge Park

 

10th Region's Top Ten record vs. BGP's Top 20 - Bold

 

1. Mason County (20-2) - (0-2)

2. Scott (12-9) - (0-1)

3. Montgomery County (11-8) - (0-1)

4. George Rogers Clark (17-6) - (0-0)

5. Campbell County (16-6) - (0-3)

6. Augusta (16-7) - (0-1)

7. Harrison County (11-11) - (0-1)

8. Paris (14-5) - (1-1) defeated Lexington Christian

9. Bishop Brossart (10-8) (0-0)

10. Bourbon County (7-15) (0-2)

^ 10th region teams not playing too many of the elite teams this year. And several of those bolded above are versus Mason County.

 

I often take that as an indication that the schools' powers-that-be are just a bit concerned that their teams aren't all that strong; not wanting to schedule a murderer's row.

And several of those bolded above are versus Mason County.

 

6 of the 12 losses are to Mason County.

 

Bourbon County

Scott

Augusta

Montgomery County

Campbell County

Paris

6 of the 12 losses are to Mason County.

 

Bourbon County

Scott

Augusta

Montgomery County

Campbell County

Paris

 

I didn't go back and check but I assumed this was the case.

I didn't go back and check but I assumed this was the case.

 

Mason County's 2 losses were to Lincoln County and Lexington Catholic.

 

Campbell County lost to Covington Catholic and Lexington Christian.

 

Harrison County lost to Lincoln County.

 

Bourbon County lost to Lincoln County.

GRC has upcoming games with Mason County (2/6) and Lexington Christian (2/14).

Mason County could be very easily 22-0 both losses were by combined 6 points. 2 to Lincoln Co and 4 to Lexington Catholic.

^ 10th region teams not playing too many of the elite teams this year. And several of those bolded above are versus Mason County.

 

I often take that as an indication that the schools' powers-that-be are just a bit concerned that their teams aren't all that strong; not wanting to schedule a murderer's row.

 

Scott is at #6 CovCath tomorrow night. Let's see if they can give the 10th some more respect.

I believe I read that the 39th District holds its District Tournament draw tomorrow.

 

Snapp's unfortunate injury will certainly change the landscape of the 39th.

^ 39th draw is tomorrow at Noon.

Does the 38th District hold its draw today too? LCD?

Does the 38th District hold its draw today too? LCD?

 

I thought I saw Keaton tweet or IG that it is Friday.