The final week of the regular season has concluded and it is now time for teams to either win or go home. Let's review last week's action as we also look at the final top 10 and preview each district tournament.

 

1. Covington Catholic (24-6)

 

There isn't a hotter team in the region right now as the Colonels end the regular season with wins over Simon Kenton (72-44), Madison Central (65-63), and Highlands (90-30) to extend their win streak to 13 games. Andy Flood, CJ Fredrick, AJ Mayer, and Cole Vonhandorf all reached double figures in the first two wins with Vonhandorf leading the Colonels with 19 in the blowout win over Highlands.

 

Up Next: 2/23 v Holmes at Beechwood

 

2. Newport Central Catholic (23-4)

 

The Breds enter postseason play looking to extend their current 5 game win streak after defeating Bellevue (83-41) and Conner (59-54) to conclude the regular season. Five Newcath players reached double figures in the win over Bellevue, led by Brennan Hall's 22 points and a Ben Weyer double double (15 points, 12 rebounds).Weyer also led the Breds in their win over Conner with 20 points, followed by Eric Anderson's 15 points.

 

Up Next: 2/24 v Highlands/Dayton Winner at Bellevue

 

3. Cooper (23-3)

 

Despite playing the final 8 regular season games without leading scorer and rebounder Sean McNeil, the Jags managed to go 7-1 and closed out the regular season with a win over Dixie (65-54) and Scott (54-52). Sophomore Chris McNeil led Cooper in both wins with 20 and 16 points.

 

Up Next: 2/24 v Boone County/Heritage Academy Winner at Conner

 

4. Holy Cross (21-7)

 

The Indians somewhat struggled to the finish despite winning their final two regular season games over Newport (71-65) and St Henry (64-58). Tyler Bezold is back and healthy, which is a good sign as he led The Cross with 24 points, 9 rebounds in a 16 point come from behind win over Newport and 15 points, 10 rebounds in the St Henry win. Leighton Schrand also finished with double figures in both wins.

 

Up Next: 2/25 at Beechwood

 

5. Holmes (13-11)

 

It wasn't the season the Bulldogs expected at the start of the season but they did close out the regular season winning 4 of 5, including wins over Conner (62-56) and Simon Kenton (52-42) this past week to build some momentum heading in to a tough first round district match up with #1 Covcath. Andrew Arnold led 4 double figure scorers with 18 points, 9 rebounds in the win over Conner and followed that up with 12 points in the Simon Kenton win. Markel McClendon led Holmes over Simon Kenton with 20 points, with junior Jaiden Greene pulling down 10 rebounds.

 

Up Next: 2/24 v Covington Catholic at Beechwood

 

6. Conner (15-10)

 

It was a tough week for the Cougars as they dropped their final two games of the year, both on the road, to Holmes (62-56) and Newcath (59-55). Spencer Hemmerich had a game high 20 points in the Holmes loss with Michael Scott leading Conner with 13 points in the Newcath loss.

 

Up Next: 2/24 v Ryle

 

7. Dixie Heights (17-10)

 

The Red Colonels entered the final game of the regular season having lost three straight after a 65-54 loss to Cooper but managed to get a win on the road at Boone County (52-41) to enter district play on a positive note. Reed Bradfield finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds in the Cooper loss.

 

8. St Henry (13-15)

 

St Henry started the season 3-11 but managed to go 10-4 over the final 14 games. In the final week before district, the Crusaders defeated Ryle 59-56 behind 27 points from Adam Goetz but couldn't pull the upset in the final game as they fell to Holy Cross 64-58, despite getting 24 points from Goetz on senior night.

 

Up Next: 2/24 v Lloyd at Dixie Heights

 

9. Beechwood (15-13)

 

Erik Goetz team has been inconsistent all season and it was evident once again this past week as they lost to Grant County (44-41) but closed out the season with a blowout win over Highlands (68-48). JT Toebbe led Beechwood with 13 points in the loss to Grant County and 17 points, 9 rebounds in the Highlands win. Ben Toebbe (15 pts), Joe Robbins (14 pts), and 8th grader Caleb Jefferson (10 pts, 6 ast) also finished in double figures.

 

Up Next: 2/25 v Holy Cross

 

10. Newport (16-13)

 

The Wildcats went 1-7 over their final 8 games, including losses to Holy Cross (71-65) and Augusta (61-58) last week, but did manage to win on senior night as they defeated Villa Madonna (68-48) with Anthony Harmon and Kedan Davis both scoring 17 points. That same duo had 14 each to lead Newport in the loss to Augusta with Davis pulling down 10 rebounds. In the Holy Cross loss, Davis finished with 16, while Harmon finished with 12 points. Ethan Snapp led Newport with 20 points against Holy Cross.

 

Up Next: 2/24 at Bellevue

 

The Rest

 

11. Ryle (10-16)

12. Lloyd (12-16)

13. Highlands (6-16)

14. Ludlow (12-16)

15. Bellevue (16-14)

16. Boone County (4-23)

17. Villa Madonna (12-16)

18. Dayton (13-14)

19. Heritage Academy (0-24)

 

District Tournaments- What You Need To Know and Predictions

 

33rd District at Conner

 

The Match Ups:

 

2/22

6:30 #4 Boone County v #5 Heritage Adacemy

 

2/24 Semi Finals

6:00 Boone County/Heritage Winner v #1 Cooper

7:30 #2 Conner v #3 Ryle

 

2/26 Championship

6:30 Boone/Heritage/Cooper v Conner/Ryle

 

Prediction

Cooper comes in to the 33rd district tournament having gone 6-0 against the field, including two 20 plus point victories over their likely semi final opponent, Boone County.

 

On the other side of the bracket, Conner went 3-3 with the one loss (not to Cooper) coming on the road at Ryle (79-73). Considering the Cougars defeated Ryle by 17 at Conner, I think the Cougars move on to face Cooper in the finals.

 

As long as both teams are healthy, this might be the best district final championship game in Northern Kentucky. Cooper beat Conner by 5 WITH Sean McNeil and also beat Conner by 5 WITHOUT Sean McNeil...but in overtime. It's tough to beat a team three times, especially twice on their home floor but Cooper should be healthy by then and head in to the region finals as a one seed.

 

Cooper over Conner in the finals.

 

34th District at Dixie Heights

 

The Match Ups:

 

2/22

7:45 #4 Ludlow v #5 Villa Madonna

 

2/24 Semi Finals

6:00 Ludlow/Villa Madonna winner v #1 Dixie Heights

7:45 #2 St Henry v #3 Lloyd

 

2/26 Championship

8:00 Ludlow/Villa Madonna/Dixie Heights v St Henry/Lloyd

 

Prediction:

 

Dixie swept the district, going 4-0, but beat the potential finals opponents (St Henry and Lloyd) by 4 and 9 points.

 

St Henry beat Lloyd by just 3 points in the regular season match up, but that win did come on the road. Needless to say, this might be the best "pick'em" in the area this week. St Henry is playing much better right now and should advance to set up yet another St Henry-Dixie Heights finale.

 

I like the Colonels to win their 100th straight district championship. Exaggeration, obviously, but it has been a while since Ken Chevalier didn't lead his team to a district championship and #1 seed in the region tournament.

 

Dixie Heights over St Henry in the finals.

 

35th District at Beechwood

 

The Matchups

 

2/23 Semi Finals

7:30 #4 Holmes v #1 Covcath

 

2/25 Semi Finals

7:30 #2 Holy Cross v #3 Beechwood

 

2/27 Championship

7:30 Holmes/Covcath winner v Holy Cross/Beechwood winner

 

Prediction

 

What has been the "Holmes-Covcath Classic" pretty much going back to 2004 now has a different feel as it took a vote to decide who got the 1 seed. Covcath, Beechwood, and Holy Cross all three went 2-1 in the district with Beechwood's win over Holy Cross being what created all the havoc.

 

Covcath is the favorite but they get one of the toughest match ups in the first round of a district tournament as you'll see for a 1 seed in the state. The Bulldogs played the Colonels tough in the first game and trailed by just 1 with under 3 minutes left, but this is a different Covcath team and unfortunately for the Bulldog faithful it looks like the Dogs will miss the region tournament for the first time since the 2003-2004 season.

 

The Holy Cross-Beechwood match up is a little tougher to predict. Holy Cross is the favorite despite losing to the Tigers just two weeks ago but considering Beechwood beat both Holy Cross and Holmes on their home floor, while giving Newcath all they wanted in an 8 point loss, anything seems possible for the home team.

 

At the end of the day, Holy Cross and Covcath are the two best teams in this district and they should meet for a second time with revenge on the Colonels minds. Holy Cross beat Covcath on January 12th on the Indians home floor, 73-68, but unfortunately for Ryan Schrand's team this game will come on a neutral floor. Don't expect the Colonels to blow a double digit lead again in this one.

 

Covcath over Holy Cross in the finals.

 

36th District at Bellevue

 

The Matchups:

 

2/22

7:30 Dayton v Highlands

 

2/24 Semi Finals

6:00 Dayton/Highlands winner v Newport Central Catholic

7:30 Newport v Bellevue

 

2/26 Finals

7:00 Dayton/Highlands/Newcath v Newport/Bellevue

 

Prediction

 

Unlike the other three district predictions, no need for a long summary to get down to the prediction of who wins this one. Newcath enters as a major favorite and should win both of their games by 15 plus to advance to the region tournament as a one seed.

 

Newcath over Newport in the finals.

 

Way Too Early Prediction of 9th Region Draw

 

Covcath

St Henry

 

Cooper

Newport

 

Newcath

Conner

 

Dixie Heights

Holy Cross

Agree? Disagree?

 

Thoughts?

Well done.

Great article! I agree with all of your predictions with the exception of Conner, I think the Raiders will defeat the Cougars in the 33rd.

Great article! I agree with all of your predictions with the exception of Conner, I think the Raiders will defeat the Cougars in the 33rd.

 

Conner was pretty banged up when Ryle beat them a month ago. I want to say Hemmerich was just back from injury and Garnett suffered a broken nose in the game?

 

I seem to remember someone also telling me Ryle shot 25 more FT's than Conner in that game and they converted at a high level.

Excellent synopsis.

Looks like you have all the favorites winning every game of the districts. Gotta think there will be an upset (or 2) in there somewhere.

Thanks for all your work.

CovCath is the obvious favorite in the 35th, on a shorter court Holmes and HC could make those games really uncomfortable for the Colonels.

 

Great article Walter!

Excellent synopsis.

Looks like you have all the favorites winning every game of the districts. Gotta think there will be an upset (or 2) in there somewhere.

Thanks for all your work.

 

The St Henry v Lloyd and Beechwood v Holy Cross were the two toughest games for me to pick. Both should be great semi final games that either outcome wouldn't surprise me.

 

Ryle is capable of beating Conner, but just can't see the Cougars losing on their home floor and missing the region tournament.

 

I thought about picking Holmes over Covcath as the Bulldogs are due for a game where they finally put it all together (much like Newport in the region tourney last year) but then I remembered I picked the Bulldogs over Colonels in an upset last year in the district finals and the Colonels used my content as bulletin board material and went out and beat the Dogs on their home floor by 30. Not picking against the Colonels in the district this year.