With just two weeks left in the regular season, most teams are trying to simply stay healthy and head in to the post season with momentum. Let's take a look back at this past week's action as well as the top 10.

 

1. Covington Catholic (21-4)

 

Why: The Colonels won both of their games this past week to extend their win streak to 10 games and remain unbeaten in the 9th region and Northern Kentucky.

 

Covcath 83 Scott 46

The Colonels completely dominated the Eagles behind 21 points from Cole Vonhandorf. Bo Schuh had another solid outing with 19 points, 8 rebounds, while Cooper Theobald had 15 points and Andy Flood continued his emergence as a legit fourth option with 9 points, 6 rebounds.

 

Covcath 59 Beechwood 39

Cole Vonhanford led Covcath with 17 points followed by Bo Schuh with 13 points, 11 rebounds and Cooper Theobald with 12 points. Andy Flood contributed 8 points in the win.

 

Overall:

Covcath is trying to finish undefeated during the regular season in the 9th region for the second consecutive year. While the remaining scheduled should help prepare them for the post season, they should be the favorites in all of their remaining games.

 

Up Next: 2/10 v Cooper; 2/12 at Newport; 2/13 v Dixie Heights at Bank of Kentucky Center

 

2. Newport Central Catholic (23-3)

 

Why: The Breds won all three of their games this past week by an average margin of victory of 31 points.

 

Newcath 67 St Henry 35

Drew McDonald led four double figure scores with 18 points and a career high 19 rebounds. Zack Pangallo finished with 16 points, while Ben Weyer had 11 points, 10 rebounds, followed by Grant Moeves with 10 points.

 

Newcath 68 Bishop Brossart 40

Ben Weyer led Newcath with 21 points, 6 rebounds. Zack Pangallo and Grant Moeves also reached double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. While McDonald only had 6 points, he did finish with a team high 13 rebounds.

 

Newcath 64 Beechwood 29

Ben Weyer paced the Thoroughbreds with 16 points and Zach Pangallo added 11 followed by Grant Moeves with 9 points.

 

Overall:

Newcath has now won 12 straight since the loss to Covcath and continue to dominate everyone that steps on the floor with them. One of the biggest reasons has been the way Drew McDonald has controlled the boards every game. McDonald recently passed Dave Cowens on the Newcath all time rebounds list and is now just 20 rebounds away from Rick Batsche's 44 year old record of 939. The schedule should allow McDonald to tie or break that record this week.

 

Up Next: 2/11 at Bellevue; 2/13 v Holmes at Bank of Kentucky Center

 

3. Holmes (20-5)

 

Why: The Bulldogs won both of their games this week and have now won 5 straight since back to back losses to Mason County and Covcath.

 

Holmes 70 Dixie Heights 63

It was a balanced win for the Bulldogs, who were playing without fourth leading scorer Marcus Mullins, as James Bolden scored 21 points, Rod Avery scored 18 points to go along with 9 rebounds, and Markel McClendon chipped in 18 points. McClendon also surpassed the 1,000 career points mark in this game with West Virginia's Bob Huggins in attendance to watch his future point guard, Bolden.

 

Holmes 68 Highlands 57

James Bolden once again led the Dogs with a 30 point, 7 rebound, 6 assist performance. Markel McClendon followed up with 16 points, while Avery had 15 points, 10 rebounds.

 

Overall:

Despite the close game with Highlands, it was still a solid week for the Bulldogs as they picked up two wins without Marcus Mullins playing a minute of either game. After struggling to find his shot in Holmes' back to back losses to Covcath and Mason County, James Bolden has averaged 25 points per game since to go with 6 assists per game. When he is playing at that level, Holmes becomes extremely tough to beat, especially given how well McClendon and Avery have played lately to compliment his efforts. This week should let us know if Holmes improved play is simply due to competition level or if they are hitting their stride heading in to the post season.

 

Up Next: 2/10 at Boone County; 2/13 v Newport Catholic at Bank of Kentucky Center

 

4. Dixie Heights (17-6)

 

Why: The Red Colonels lost their only game this past week but remain at #4 with the loss coming to a team ranked ahead of them.

 

Holmes 70 Dixie Heights 63

Dixie had 6 players score 6 or more points, led by Mitch Bolin with 14 points, 7 rebounds and Liam Rabe with 13 points. Austin Schreck finished with 9 points in the loss.

 

Overall:

While losing to Holmes was a disappointment, the Colonels have been without Nick Niehaus so should get a boost when he returns. Dixie is still a dangerous team come tournament time and in no way should be overlooked. They have a chance to make a statement this coming week and will play arguably the toughest remaining schedule as far as region play goes.

 

Up Next; 2/10 at Bullitt East; 2/13 v Covington Catholic; 2/14 at Scott

 

5. Cooper (15-6)

 

Why: Despite playing without leading scorer Zack McNeil, the Jags went 3-0 this past week and have now won 6 straight.

 

Cooper 49 Newport 42

Jon Liechty led Cooper with 11 points, 5 rebounds followed by senior Patrick Dragan with 10 points.

 

Cooper 46 St Henry 39

Freshman Adam Kunkel tallied 14 points for Cooper in the win with senior Patrick Dragan hitting double figures again with 11 points.

 

Cooper 55 Franklin County 41

Colin Hathorn led three double figure scorers with 17 points, 8 rebounds. Jon Liechty scored 12 points, followed by Patrick Dragan with 10 points.

 

Overall:

During Cooper's 6 game winning streak, the Jaguars have had to deal with health issues in virtually every game. One of the main reasons for their continued success has been the play of senior Patrick Dragan who has filled the void left by McNeil by consistently hitting double figures scoring and providing energy at both ends. McNeil, who hyperextended his knee against Ryle, should be back to practice this week and ready to go for a post season run. The remaining schedule for Cooper should help prepare them for the district tournament as they try to get back to the region tournament, after missing last season.

 

Up Next: 2/10 at Covcath, 2/13 zt Campbell County

 

6. Boone County (16-9)

 

Why: The Rebels went 1-1 this past week.

 

Boone Co 82 Ryle 47

Junior Stockwell led the Rebels with 24 points, 10 rebounds, followed by Brenden Stanley with 18 points, and Brett Mayberry with 10 points.

 

Seneca 64 Boone Co 58

While Brenden Stanley led the Rebels in scoring with 21 points, Junior Stockwell continued to show why he is one of the best big men in Northern Kentucky with 16 points, 10 rebounds. Haven Borkowski scored 11 points, but only two other Rebels got in the scorebook.

 

Overall:

Boone can be a very dangerous team with Junior Stockwell on the floor. The big man has continued to improve throughout the season and is currently averaging 17 points, 7 rebounds per game. The problem is they aren't a good enough shooting team to compete with the elite teams if he gets in foul trouble. The Rebels have locked up a share of the regular season district championship but can move up in the rankings with the remaining schedule.

 

Up Next: 2/10 v Holmes; 2/13 v Paris

 

7. Conner (11-11)

 

Why: The Cougars went 1-1 this past week.

 

Conner 71 Lloyd 56

Jacob Barnes continued his hot streak with 24 points in the win over Lloyd. Michael Scott had 16 points, 7 rebounds with Spencer Hemmerich also getting in double figures with 14 points, 5 rebounds.

 

Scott 82 Conner 74

Another solid outing for Barnes with 22 points, followed by Scott with 21 points, 8 rebounds. Spencer Hemmerich was in double figures again with 10 points, while Alec Garnett had a nice showing with 8 points, 7 rebounds.

 

Overall:

Conner's trio of guards in Scott, Hemmerich, and Barnes can flat out fill it up. They will be a tough out in the district tournament and I can almost guarantee neither Boone or Cooper want to end up on the wrong side of the coin flip, having to beat Conner to get out of the district. With 4 out of the 5 final games for Conner being on the road, they will try to close out the season on a strong note.

 

Up Next: 2/10 at Grant County; 2/12 at Holy Cross; 2/14 at Highlands

 

 

8.. St Henry (15-11)

 

Why: The Cru went 1-2 this past week.

 

Newcath 67 St Henry 35

Adam Goetz led St Henry with 9 points.

 

St Henry 56 Newport 44

Adam Goetz had a team high 16 points, followed by Paul Wallenhorst with 11 points.

 

Cooper 46 St Henry 39

Adam Goetz, once again, led the Crusaders with 14 points with Connor Kunstek tallyign 8 points in the loss.

 

Overall:

St Henry has pretty much played everyone tough this year outside of Covcath and Newcath. They have the #2 seed locked up in the 34th district and are just trying to get healthy and ready for the district and region tournament. The play of Goetz lately is good to see as he has struggled with consistency at times this season.

 

Up Next: 2/10 at Beechwood; 2/13 v Walton Verona

 

 

9. Newport (12-14)

 

Why: The Wildcats went 1-2 this past week.

 

Cooper 49 Newport 42

Ethan Snapp led Newport with 12 points, followed by freshman Rico Hollis with 9 points. Kam Covington had a team high 6 rebounds.

 

St Henry 56 Newport 44

Kedan Davis had a career high 21 points to go along with 8 rebounds for Newport in the loss, while tallied 14 points. No other Wildcat scored more than 4 points.

 

Newport 80 Riverview East Academy, OH 72

Paul Price had a career high 30 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Ethan Snapp and Kam Covington both chipped in 20 points, each, to go with 10 rebounds for Covington.

 

Overall:

Newport has almost guaranteed themselves a spot in the region tournament with Highlands losing to Bellevue and the Wildcats now having to beat Bellevue to get in the district championship against Newcath. Newport will get a chance to show whether they're capable of an upset, with the right draw, this coming week.

 

Up Next: 2/12 v Covcath;

 

10. Holy Cross (11-10)

 

Why: Holy Cross won their only game this week.

 

Holy Cross 61 Highlands 41

Erich Jakobowski led the Indians with 14 points. Jared Seibert had 13 points to go with 8 rebounds.

 

Overall:

In any other district, Holy Cross likely competes for an opportunity to get in to the district tournament. While they don't have much size, they have a scrappy bunch that shoots the ball well and plays tough at both ends. With three of their final 4 games being at home, Holy Cross should close out the regular season strong.

 

Up Next: 2/12 v Conner; 2/14 v Beechwood

 

 

Player of the Week

 

While the big 3 for Covcath, Holmes, and Newcath all had great weeks this past week along with Jacob Barnes and Michael Scott, among others, I felt a different player should get noticed this week as the player of the week goes to Cooper senior Patrick Dragan.

 

Dragan came in to the week with just 35 points throughout the season in a reserve role. With Sean McNeil and Blake Dickerson both sidelined with injuries, the senior scored 31 points to help lead Cooper to a 3-0 week.

I'm obviously not a fan of theirs and I don't think they are top 10 in the region, but I would at least like to see Bellevue mentioned in this thread. They are on a 5 game winning streak, above .500 on the season now and have had a couple really great performance from players. Just a line or two would do justice.

 

And believe me, it hurts deeply to say that....

As always, great stuff Walter.

I'm obviously not a fan of theirs and I don't think they are top 10 in the region, but I would at least like to see Bellevue mentioned in this thread. They are on a 5 game winning streak, above .500 on the season now and have had a couple really great performance from players. Just a line or two would do justice.

 

And believe me, it hurts deeply to say that....

 

Good point. I'll be sure to keep an eye on them for next week's article.

 

I believe Woodyard just hit 1,000 pts too, right?

Good point. I'll be sure to keep an eye on them for next week's article.

 

I believe Woodyard just hit 1,000 pts too, right?

 

Yes I believe he did.

 

And sorry to instantly criticize, I should've led with "great work Walter!" Great read and a lot of good insight.