Inside the 9th Region (12/28)

[Walter]

This week's edition of "Inside the 9th Region" will be a little shorter with the holidays but we jump right in to the rankings with more movement as things start to shake out in the wide open 9th region.

 

1. Covington Catholic (7-3)

Since starting the season 1-2, the Colonels have went 6-1 with their only loss coming to UC commit, Jarron Cumberland, and Wilmington (OH) on two last second free throws. The Colonels kicked off the Suncoast Holiday Tournament in Florida today with a 56-34 win. Cole Vonhandorf (17 ppg) and Andy Flood (10 ppg) are leading the Colonels with sophomore AJ Mayer not far behind at 9.8 ppg.

 

Up Next: 12/28-12/30 Suncoast Holiday Classic (Sarasota, Florida); Jan 2 v Taylor Co at Muhlenberg Co

 

2. Holy Cross (9-1)

The Indians enter this week as arguably the hottest team in the region with 7 straight wins as they look to win the Traditional Bank Classic at Lexcath. Tyler Bezold is coming off a 37 point performance against Buckhorn and is currently second on the team in scoring average at 14.7, Leighton Schrand is leading the Indians at 15 ppg, followed by Erich Jakubowski at 12 ppg.

 

Up Next: 12/28 at Lexington Catholic ; TBA at Traditional Bank Holiday Classic

 

3. Cooper (7-1)

After a tough road loss to Holy Cross, the Jags have won 5 straight, including winning the Bulldog Classic with a 25 point win over North College Hill, OH and come from behind 2 point win over Holmes. Sean McNeil and Adam Kunkel are proving to be one of the best duos in the area at 17 and 16.5 ppg.

 

Up Next: 12/29 v Manual at Eastern; 12/30-31 at Eastern (City of Middletown Holiday Classic)

 

4. Newport Central Catholic (7-2)

The Breds have struggled some recently with 2 losses in their past three games to Holy Cross and 15th region favorite, Lawrence County, but did rebound at the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic with a win over Kentucky Country Day as senior Ben Weyer scored his 1,000th career point. Weyer has been the most dominant player in the region at 22 ppg, 11 rpg but he has also got help from sophomore Brennan Hall and junior Luke Moeves who are consistently putting up double figure games.

 

Up Next: 1/7 v Cooper; 1/9 v Campbell Co at Newport

 

5. Newport (8-2)

Newport got off to a rocky start with two losses, but have since won 8 straight, including a win over Holmes and an opening round win over Harrison County in the Ashland Invitational Tournament. Ethan Snapp got a lot of the publicity at the beginning of the season but it has been the emergence of senior Kedan Davis (16 ppg, 7 rpg) that has taken the Wildcats to another level. With Rico Hollis set to get cleared January 11th, this team is only going to get better.

 

Up Next: 12/29 v Elliott Co at Ashland; 12/30 v TBA at Ashland

 

6. Conner (6-1)

The Cougars might be the most underrated team in the region. Michael Scott is averaging 18 ppg with Spencer Hemmerich right behing at 17.7 ppg, but it has been the defense of the Cougars that has been key to the current three game winning streak, holding their opponents to 51 ppg.

 

Up Next: 12/28-12/30 at Lloyd Memorial Invitational

 

7. Holmes (5-4)

It has been a rocky two weeks for the Bulldogs as they have went 2-2 but missed a great opportunity to pick up a big win over #3 Cooper, falling by 2 on last second free throws. Markel McClendon continues to be really good (23 ppg), but the Bulldogs will have to get consistency from the others around him if they are going to knock off the teams currently ahead of them.

 

Up Next: 12/29 v Lloyd; 12/30 TBA at Lloyd Memorial Invitational

 

8. Dixie Heights (7-2)

The Colonels have been one of the biggest surprises of December at 7-2. While the schedule hasn't been as tough as some of the teams ahead of them, Ken Chevalier's young squad is improving and just might be the favorite in the 34th district after all. Hunter Meyer and Reed Bradfield lead the Colonels at 11 and 9 ppg, respectively.

 

Up Next: 12/28 v Rowan Co at Lloyd; 12/29-12/30 at Lloyd Memorial Invitational

 

9. Ryle (5-6)

The Raiders are coming off a 2-2 showing at the Berea Invitational Tournament but have 7 different players averaging 5 or more ppg. Logan Turner continues to lead the Raiders at 10 ppg.

 

Up Next: 12/29 at Pendleton Co; 12/2 at Beechwood

 

10. St Henry (1-8)

Hard to believe the 10th best team in the region has just one win but Coach Faust young squad has played a very difficult schedule to date, coming off back to back losses to Mason County and Lawrence County.

 

Up Next: 12/29 v Highlands; 1/2 V Cooper

 

The Rest:

 

11. Lloyd (2-7)

12. Highlands (2-2)

13. Beechwood (5-4)

14. Ludlow (4-6)

15. Dayton (6-4)

16. Villa Madonna (6-6)

17. Cov Latin (1-5)

18. Heritage Academy (0-8)

[Walter]

Thoughts?

 

Agree? Disagree?

[Angel squad 13]

You left Bellevue out of "the rest", just an observation not a complaint.

 

Thanks for keeping us updated, I think you do a great job. Happy New Year!

[MentschTrachtGottLacht]

Interesting to see how Conner is able to play without Hemmerich for several weeks. They have been a really bright spot this year, but this will test them mightily.

[Walter]

Interesting to see how Conner is able to play without Hemmerich for several weeks. They have been a really bright spot this year, but this will test them mightily.

 

I was thinking the same thing. They could end up meeting Holmes in the LMIT finals which would give us a good idea where they are without him.