42nd District Tournament Preview (11th Region)

Matchups come to us from Henry Clay High School's Al Prewitt Gymnasium.

#1 Bryan Station plays #4 Sayre

#2 Henry Clay plays #3 Scott County

The winner of each moves on to the finals and secures a slot in the regional tournament. The losers go home. Here's a quick glance at each contest.

#1 Bryan Station vs. #4 Sayre:

The Defenders won their only matchup this season 68-41, at Sayre on January 27th. Station likely called the dogs off early in that one, as they had 9 players who scored at least once, had only 3 players who barely eclipsed the 20 minute mark, and played 13 kids total.

Sayre is a young team despite having a senior like Pergande as their centerpiece. They'll look to send him out with a huge upset that catapults them into the regional tournament and builds momentum for their future.

If there are tons of fouls called, especially in terms of hand checks, reaching, and bodying, then that would definitely favor Sayre more so than a physical game where more is let go. Even with lots of whistles on the perimeter, the Spartans would have to have Pergande and Duby get theirs and more, and unless that more is around 40, then someone else will need to step up with a hot hand as well. Aside from that, they'll have to find a way to take much better care of the basketball and hope that Station doesn't have a great shooting night.

#2 Henry Clay vs. #3 Scott County:

This will be the game that everyone is talking about in the 42nd. It's always tough to beat a team three straight times. It's even tougher when that team is coached by Billy Hicks. A rematch of both last year's 42nd District and 11th Region final, this one is going to be a war.

In their last meeting, Hines Jones fouled out with 5:00 left and the Cardinals went into a 2-3 zone that slowed the Devils. Look for Coach Brown to have prepared his team for that same look this time, as it's likely that they'll see it, as well as a few other wrinkles. I also liked the 1-3-1 look that Henry Clay showed defensively late in the game, and think it's fair to say that we could expect to see it employed again.

I expect Henry Clay to avenge last year's defeat and come away with the W behind a strong effort from Isaiah Tisdale. In the last game, Dakhari Campbell had 15 points on a number of triples, so expect Scott County to shade him heavily, especially if he makes one or two early. The Cardinals would probably prefer to make Tisdale and someone besides Campbell beat them the second time around. If Scott County is to prevail, it will likely be because the combination of Isaiah Johnson's size and speed, as well as the matchup problems it presents when he works inside-out and tries to expose mismatches, is the difference.