article Bluegrasspreps.com 2018 - Inside the 8th Region 1-28-18

[ColonelMike]

As we head into month #3 of the 2017-18 season, the 8th region continues to have no clear-cut favorite. The Big Three remain the Big Three - but all three are showing reasons why they should be number one - and reasons why they shouldn't be.

 

Meanwhile, at least four schools are showing the ability to make a run for the 2018 title. If that's not cause enough for excitement, how about this: 7 of the top 8 teams appear headed for the Region 8 Tournament in New Castle, assuming no upsets in the district tournaments.

I’ve been covering the 8th region since 1979….and I was watching it closely before that. And honestly, I can think of few – if any – seasons where this many teams are heading into the tournaments with a reasonable belief that they could advance to Rupp.

 

Maybe it’s coincidence, but it seems that the schedules of the 8th Region teams have been toughened across the board. Some schools have historically played difficult schedules, often against Region 6, 7, 9, and 11 teams….but it appears that more teams have adopted this approach this year. And it seems to be paying off.

 

Before we proceed to the rankings, KUDOS to Walton-Verona for representing the 8th so well in the state All-A Classic. The Bearcats defeated Louisville Holy Cross by 26, Clinton County by 24, and #17-ranked Mayfield, 56-38, to get to the championship game. Unfortunately, Walton's run ended there, as they fell in the title game to Lexington Christian, 47-41. Still, a tremendous run by the Cats and they did a great job carrying the flag of the 8th!

 

1. Collins (17-4) Last week #2 The Collins Titans move up one spot again this week, and become our third number one-ranked team this season. Simply put, the Titans are the hottest team in the region, having won 8 straight games (longest streak in the region). Since losing to #1 ranked Trinity, the Titans have been unbeatable, including double-digit wins over region 8 contenders South Oldham, Anderson County, Simon Kenton, and Spencer County. They also pounded a decent Woodford County team by 20, and outlasted a strong Valley team by six in OT. After beating Woodford, 61-41, last week, the Titans beat Anderson County, 63-51, and pounded cross-town district rival Shelby County, 71-40, to cap a successful week. Jacob Feltner shone against the Yellowjackets, scoring 23 points (including 7 made threes) and sophomore point guard Dayvion McKnight was a beast against Anderson, scoring 16 points and grabbing 22 rebounds.

 

Collins continues to be prolific on the offensive end of the court; the Titans have scored 61 points or more in every game during the current winning streak.

 

This week: 1/30 Male 2/2 - @ St. X 2/3 @ Bullitt East

 

 

2 Walton-Verona (17-5) Last week: #3 The Bearcats had a tremendous week, and performed extraordinarily well against top caliber competition. Representing the 8th Region in the KY All-A Classic, the Cats whipped Louisville Holy Cross, 58-32, dropped Clinton County, 57-33, then routed #17-ranked Mayfield, 56-38, in the semi-finals. Walton's run ended in a 47-41 loss to Lexington Christian in the championship game. The loss ended an 8 game winning streak for Walton, which hadn't lost previously in calendar year 2018....

 

Especially impressive in the All-A was the defense, which held three teams under 40 points, and only surrendered 47 to Lexington Christian, which was a nice improvement after giving up over 60 points to Simon Kenton, Gallatin County, and Campbell County.

 

Since the New Year, W-V also has wins over region 8 contenders Gallatin County and Simon Kenton, and a victory over previously-ranked Campbell County. The Bearcats’ solid and consistent play moves them up a spot this week in the rankings.

 

This week: 1/30 - @ Williamstown 2/2 - @ Grant County 2/3 - Trimble County

 

 

3 Oldham County (19-4) Last week: #1 The Colonels may well be the best team in the region this year, but they fall from the top spot this week. Still, they remain in the top 3 - and as I've stated all year, the top 3 are darn near interchangeable in this ranking.

 

Oldham entered the week ranked #18 in the state, but they'll probably fall out of the top 20 after their week-ending loss to John Hardin.

 

The Colonels started the week with an impressive second-half dismantling of North Oldham, 65-39. After the Mustangs forged a 24-24 tie at the half, Oldham blew the game wide open with a stifling defense and pinpoint perimeter shooting in the second half that busted the North Oldham 2-3 zone. Oldham followed with a 76-32 rout of Shelby County, holding the Rockets to their lowest point total of the year. But Saturday's trip to John Hardin HS for a rematch with the Bulldogs of John Hardin was disastrous as Oldham fell by 26.

 

Ironically, Oldham's worst loss of the year came at the hands of the team Oldham defeated by 28 in December - John Hardin's worst loss. The loss was hardly anything to be ashamed of - the top ranked team in the 5th region should be ranked (and probably will be this week) and features an extremely talented lineup that includes KY Mr. Basketball candidate Mickey Pearson, a 6'8" senior guard.

 

Still, Oldham has now gone 7-4 over their past 11 games. Hardly anything to be alarmed at - the three KY losses of the four were to county rival South Oldham, #7 ranked Lafayette, and John Hardin - but coach Coy Zerhusen would certainly prefer to see his squad beginning to get more positive momentum heading into February.

 

Oldham continues to shoot well, even against the better teams - the Colonels hit 54% from the floor in the loss to #7 Lafayette - but Oldham has surprisingly given up some good shooting nights of late, with Lafayette hitting 64% of their shots against the Colonels, Woodford County hitting 53%, and Spencer County 54%.

 

Oldham's schedule is pretty challenging the rest of the way; the Colonels will have plenty of opportunities to fine-tune their game before the tournaments. After this week, Oldham will face Collins, Bardstown, and Boyle County...

 

Oldham can still win the #1 seed in the 29th district if North Oldham defeats South Oldham on Tuesday.

 

This week: 1/30 Waggener 2/2 Simon Kenton (The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN)

 

 

4 Gallatin County (19-4) Last week: #5 Jon Jones' squad continues to win. The Wildcats have won four in a row and 9 of their last 10. The only loss during that stretch came in the finals of the 8th region All-A tournament, when they fell by just four points to Walton-Verona. That was a far cry from the 20 point defeat that Walton hung on the Cats in December.

 

Last week, Gallatin got dominating victories over Henry County by 27, Trimble County by 12, and Lloyd Memorial by 28. Justin Rassman continues to have the hot hand for the Wildcats, scoring 26 against Henry and 30 against Trimble. (stats for the Lloyd game have not yet been posted). Averaging 15.7 ppg on the season (second-best on the team), Rassman - as of the Trimble game - had scored in double figures in 9 consecutive games, including a 29 point effort against Danville, a 26 point game against Owen County, and a 23 point effort against Walton-Verona.

 

Gallatin has earned the #1 seed in the 31st district tournament.

 

Big week for Gallatin County this week, with games against SK, Anderson, and South.

 

This week: 1/29 – vs. Simon Kenton 1/31 - @ Anderson County 2/3 – vs. South Oldham

 

 

5 South Oldham (14-6) Last week: #6 Three big wins for the Dragons last week, as Steve Simpson starts to get the 2017-18 team rolling. South whipped Carroll County to start the week, 91-69, shooting 56% and getting 24 points from sophomore forward Luke Morrison. They followed that up with a 59-53 win over 6th region foe, Iroquois, with Morrison again coming up big with 20 points.

 

But the most impressive game of the week for South was undoubtedly Friday's 66-65 win at Simon Kenton - a game in which South's top two scorers - Devin Young (20.8 ppg) and Luke Morrison (15.4 ppg) - were both out due to the flu, along with starting guard Jason King. So with half the Dragons' scoring out, and 60% of the starting lineup, what did South do? They shot 53% on the road against one of the better teams in the 8th region - including 11 of 23 beyond the arc (47.8%) - and placed four players in double figures. Three of those players (Ben Johnson 21 points, Jake Vincent 13 points, and Seth Johnson 10 points) were normally reserves. Sam Beard had 14 points.

 

South has now won four in a row and 8 of their last 10, with the only two losses during that stretch to Butler and Collins. Included in the 8 wins were victories over Oldham County, McCracken County, and Simon Kenton.

 

South can capture the #1 seed in the 29th district this Tuesday as they travel to play North Oldham. A win cinches the #1 seed; a loss creates a 3-way tie for first with North Oldham and Oldham County and Oldham would win the top seed in that scenario. If North beats South, the two would have a rematch in the first round of the 29th district tournament on North’s court.

 

The Dragons have two big weeks ahead, after this week, they will have contests against Central Hardin and Walton-Verona.

 

This week: 1/30 @ North Oldham (The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN) 2/2 Manual 2/3 @ Christian Academy of Louisville

 

 

6 Simon Kenton (13-6) Last week: #4 The Pioneers went 1-1 last week, edging Boone County, 75-69, then losing at home to a short-handed South Oldham team, 66-65. SK has played an absolutely brutal schedule of late, and has struggled a bit, losing 5 of their last 9 games. All of the losses were to good teams: South Laurel, North Laurel, Walton-Verona, Collins, and South Oldham. But, despite an impressive 2 point upset win over Cooper, SK hasn't been able to come out on top in the contests against the better squads and the loss to South at home with the Dragons absent three starters is concerning. They'll get two good opportunities to change their fortunes this week.

 

Freshman Kelly Niece continues to lead the Pioneers; he has scored in double figures in 8 straight games, and has eclipsed 20 points in four of those games. Against Boone, Niece tallied 24 points; he had 21 against South.

 

Zach Kelch had a solid weak for SK; the Pioneers' big man just missed a double-double against Boone with 19 points / 8 rebounds; he had 12 points / 9 boards against South.

 

This week: 1/29 @ Gallatin County 2/2 @ Oldham County (The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN)

 

 

7 Spencer County (13-7) Last week: #7 – The Bears have won four in a row – tied for the second-longest winning streak in the 8th region with South Oldham and Gallatin County. Last week’s 76-64 victory over Anderson County may have signaled a changing of the guard of sorts in the 30th district as the Bears join Collins now as the favorites to advance out of the district to the 8th region tournament.

 

The Bears hit 54% from the field in the game, 40% from beyond the arc, and 70% at the line in the victory, and placed four players in double figures, led by Jake Whitlock’s 15 points and Jacob Coke’s 14 points / 10 rebounds.

 

The win was Spencer’s first victory over an 8th Region team this year against 4 losses.

 

Spencer capped the week by cruising to a 69-48 win over Thomas Nelson.

 

The Bears have a relatively user-friendly schedule the rest of the regular season and have the opportunity to get on a strong run heading into the post-season. Probably the biggest challenge comes Monday this week at Pleasure Ridge Park (13-7). A win over PRP could lead to a 20-7 record heading into the 30th district tournament and an 11 game winning streak as the Bears should be favored in their remaining games.

 

This week: 1/29 - @ PRP 1/30 - @ Carroll County 2/2 – vs Henry County

 

8 North Oldham (12-9) Last week: #8 North Oldham bounced back from a horrible second half against Oldham County on Monday that cost them the game and any realistic chance at earning the #1 seed in the 29th district. But after falling, 65-39 to the Colonels, the Mustangs rebounded to edge North Bullitt, 44-42, and then whipped Moore, 60-44 to wrap up the week.

 

The Mustangs have now won 7 of their last 10 games.

 

The difference continues to be the development of the offense, which in December was largely “how Justin Rose goes, so goes the Mustangs.” In the first 11 games of the season, North scored 60 points or more just once. In the last 10 games, with players like Dylan Yates evolving into offensive threats, the Mustangs have reached 60 or more points five times.

 

North hosts district rival South Oldham this week, but is pretty well destined for the 2 or 3 seed in the 29th district tournament, to be held at North. A North win means the Mustangs would face South Oldham in round 1; a South win would mean North would face Oldham County in the first round.

 

This week: 1/30 – South Oldham (The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN) 2/2 – Carroll County

2/3/ - Atherton (The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN)

 

9 Anderson County (7-10) Last week: #9 – Tough week last week for Anderson County, as the team that many picked to win the region before the season started dropped two district seeding games to Spencer County (76-64) and Collins (63-51), leaving the Bearcats sitting as the #3 seed in the 30th district tournament, and meaning a tough first round matchup just to get out of the district.

 

Anderson has lost 10 games, but has not lost to a bad team this year. That said, the Cats have struggled to get quality wins, with a 2-point victory over South Oldham and a 3 point win over a decent Fifth Region Central Hardin team standing as the best victories to date for Anderson.

 

The big news in Lawrenceburg continues to be Cobe Penny’s quest to become the all-time leading scorer in ACHS history. Penny eclipsed the 2,000 career point mark in the win over Central Hardin, and added 26 points in the loss to Spencer County and 19 in the loss to Collins.

 

That leaves Cobe at 2,060 career points, just shy of Jimmy Dan Conner’s 2,100 career points and his brother C.J. Penny’s 2,101 points. Barring something unexpected, like a season-ending injury, Cobe should become the school’s all-time scoring leader this coming week.

 

This week: 1/31 vs. Gallatin County 2/2 vs St. Patrick 2/3 @ #6 Lafayette

 

10 Grant County (7-14) Last week: #10 The Braves split two games last week, beating Owen County, 63-53, before losing to Dixie Heights in overtime, 61-58. Four Braves reached double figures against Owen, led by Jonas Algers’ 21 points. Ben Vickers added 14, and two Braves had double-doubles: Luke Dawalt scored 11 points and had 12 rebounds, while Nate Fox tallied 12 points and 16 boards.

 

Algers reached the 20 point plateau again (20 points exactly) in the loss to Dixie.

 

Shooting, however, has suddenly become a concern in Dry Ridge.

 

After starting the year as one of the better shooting teams in the region, Grant has suddenly struggled of late. In the last five games – four of them losses – the Braves have failed to hit over 40% of their shots, including just 26.5% against Dixie Heights and 21% against Simon Kenton.

 

Grant’s at home this week for two games; their final seven games will be a challenge, as they include matchups with Walton-Verona, Boone County, Pendleton County, Scott High, and Gallatin County. A 4-3 finish to the season would be a solid close-out to the regular season and would help give them some momentum heading into a tough 32nd district tournament in which they will have to defeat either Simon Kenton or Walton-Verona in order to advance to the region.

 

This week: 1/29 – Henry County 2/2 – Walton-Verona

 

11 Henry County (11-11) Last week: #11 The Wildcats split two last week, losing to Gallatin County, 73-46, before beating winless Williamstown, 53-38. The Cats’ 11 victories eclipses last year’s win total (10) and Henry will likely be favored to come out of the 31st district as the runner-up to Gallatin County, putting them on their home court in the 8th region tournament after missing last season.

 

With a 4-3 district mark, the Wildcats are guaranteed a spot in the District 31 tournament in the bracket opposite heavy district favorite Gallatin County, who has already defeated Henry twice this season.

 

Key for the Cats will be trying to get a little momentum over the final 8 games of the regular season. Since 12/12 – 12/18/17, when Henry won three straight games – their longest winning streak of the season – the Wildcats have not been able to win two in a row. They’ll have the chance to remedy that situation on Monday on the road at Grant County.

 

This week: 1/29 - @ Grant County 2/2 - @ Spencer County 2/3 – Washington County

 

12 Carroll County (8-15) Last week: #16 OK, OK, the yo-yo ranking of the Panthers continues. One week after dropping Carroll all the way to #16 in the rankings, the Panthers have come out of their shell, winning two quick games and convincing me that this team has more in it than they showed during an anemic four game losing streak.

 

David Duncan had 19 points and Wyatt Supplee 16 as the Panthers rebounded from a 91-69 loss to South Oldham on 1/23/18 to stun Ryle, 64-62. The Panthers hit a blistering 58.8% from the floor and would have won by much more if they had done better at the line, where they hit only 18 of 34 shots.

 

To prove that win wasn’t a fluke, the Panthers wrapped up the week with a stunning 78-50 rout of Eminence – a team that had beaten Carroll by 6 points in Eminence just one week earlier.

 

Despite an 8-15 record, the Panthers have proven to be very competitive with the bottom third of the region, holding victories over Henry County, Eminence, Owen County, and Trimble County.

 

Carroll will run a gauntlet of good teams to close out the season. Among their six remaining regular season games, the Panthers will face Spencer County, North Oldham, Anderson County, and Walton-Verona. A solid showing against those 8th Region opponents would bode well for a Panther squad that could still finish high enough in the 31st district standings to draw away from Gallatin County in the first round of the district tournament.

That would pit the Panthers against the Henry County Wildcats in the district first round, a team that Carroll has split two games against. And a win over Henry – given that scenario – would propel Carroll to the 8th Region tournament for the first time since the 2005-2006 season, when Carroll made it to the Region tournament (losing to North Oldham in the first round) and finished 15-15 on the season.

 

This week: 1/30 – vs. Spencer County 2/2 - @ North Oldham

 

13 Trimble County (8-13) Last week: #13 Trimble County holds at #13 this week after going 1-2 last week, losing to Brown, 63-61 and Gallatin County, 70-58, before defeating Villa Madonna, 62-56.

 

The Brown loss was a bit of a surprise, but Trimble bounced back to play Gallatin County tough, and then got the victory over Villa Madonna to get some measure of momentum heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

 

Momentum is something Trimble needs; the Raiders have lost 8 of their last 11 ballgames, but look forward to a more user-friendly schedule over the next eight games, during which they will be either favored or expected to be very competitive in six games. A strong finish would be a confidence-builder going into the 29th district tournament, where the Raiders will face either Oldham County or South Oldham in the first round.

 

This week: 1/30 @ Evangel 2/1 @ Williamstown 2/3 @ Walton-Verona

 

14 Eminence (12-10) Last week: #12 The Warriors fall two spots this week. Despite winning 11 of their last 15 games, Eminence hasn’t had significant success against 8th Region teams, going just 5-7. Those five wins have all come against Williamstown (two 8 point victories), Owen County (6 point and 8 point wins), and Carroll County (by 6). On the other hand, the Warriors have lost three times to Gallatin County, and once each to Trimble County, Henry County, Walton-Verona, and Carroll County. Each loss was by double digits, and Carroll’s 28 point win over Eminence was dramatic, coming just 7 days after Eminence edged Carroll by 6 in Eminence.

 

The Warriors defeated Owen County, 70-62, last week before losing to Carroll County in a surprisingly lopsided game, 78-50.

 

The Warriors go into their final 8 games of the year with a legitimate chance to win out, which would give Eminence a 20 win season for the first time this century. The most wins Eminence has posted since the 1998-9 season came in 2012-2013, when the Warriors won 17 games.

 

This week: 1/31 – St. Francis 2/1 - @ Brown 2/3 - @ Lloyd Memorial

 

15 Owen County (4-15) Last week: #15 So where did this offense come from? In the first 17 games, the Rebels scored 60 or more points just twice. Now, Owen has suddenly scored 62 and a season-high 76 points in their last two contests.

 

After starting last week with a closer-than-expected 10 point loss to Grant County, the Rebels dropped an 8 point decision to Eminence, 70-62, then finished the week by defeating Frankfort Christian, 76-66. (that win was notable because FCA previously defeated Eminence by double figures earlier this year).

 

Owen has now developed a modest amount of momentum. After struggling to win 2 of their first 14 games, the Rebels have now won 2 of their last 5, including victories over Carroll County and FCA. Unfortunately for Owen, they will have to win two district games to get out of the district and advance to the region tournament, and one of those wins will have to be over Gallatin County, a tall task, indeed.

 

This week: 1/30 – Ryle 2/1 - @ Louisville Holy Cross 2/3 – Augusta

 

16 Shelby County (2-18) Last week: #14 The Rockets’ season continues to spiral. Despite a roster with some talent, the Rockets struggle with youthful inexperience. In a year or two – especially after some talented middle school kids make their way up to the high school ranks – the future looks bright. In the meantime, the Rockets are mired in a fourteen game losing streak.

 

Shelby dropped four games last week, falling to Western Hills, 46-40, to Franklin County, 74-69 in OT, to Oldham County, 76-32, and to Collins, 71-40. The 32 points scored against Oldham County tied the fewest points scored by Shelby in a game this season. In that game, Shelby managed just 21 points in the first three periods before tallying 11 in the fourth against the Oldham reserves.

 

The Rockets will need to dig deep over their final 7 regular season games to avoid the fewest wins over a two-year period this century. With games against Frankfort, Central Hardin, Ryle, Spencer County, Henry County, DeSales, and Gallatin County left, the Rockets will likely find themselves as underdogs in each game.

 

This week: 1/30 vs. Frankfort 2/2 vs Central Hardin 2/3 @ Ryle

 

17 Williamstown (0-18) Last week: #17 The Demons had a busy week, playing four games last week, and being competitive in each. After losing, 69-55, to Nicholas County, the Demons fell, 62-50, to Calvary Christian, 53-38 to Henry County, and 76-65 to Brown.

 

Wiliamstown still has eleven games to play in the regular season, with six of them at home, as the Demons try to end a 20-game losing streak stretching back to late last season.

 

Unfortunately, Williamstown has not posted stats online in a long, long time, so I cannot report much on individual and team statistics.

 

This week: 1/30 vs Walton-Verona 1/31 @ St. Henry 2/1 vs. Trimble County 2/3 @ West Carter

 

Big Games This Week

 

January 29th

Gallatin County vs Simon Kenton – Both teams need this one in some way. SK has struggled against 8th Region competition this year, and Gallatin has had few opportunities against the 8th Region’s contenders.

 

Spencer County at Pleasure Ridge Park – last chance for the Bears to earn a signature out of region victory during the season.

 

January 30th –

 

Oldham County vs. Waggener – Waggener is unranked, but one of the better Louisville-area teams. This will be a solid test for the Colonels.

 

South Oldham at North Oldham - #1 seed is on the line in this game at North Oldham HS. Remember that other North vs. South “rivalry”? Yeah, this game is kind of like that.

 

Carroll County vs Spencer County – Carroll trying to build on recent streak.

 

January 31st –

 

Gallatin County vs. Anderson County – Anderson is “on the mat”; will the Bearcats answer the bell?

 

February 2nd –

Oldham County vs. Simon Kenton – always one of the better 8th region matchups.

 

Collins at St. Xavier – Tigers are better than their record.

 

Henry County at Spencer County – Henry trying to put together a winning streak here in the final days of the regular season. This would be Henry’s biggest region win of the year to date.

 

Grant County vs Walton-Verona – Braves need to show, at home, that they can be competitive against one of the 32nd District’s top two teams.

 

Carroll County at North Oldham – Both teams need to win this game to maintain momentum heading into the post-season.

 

February 3rd –

 

South Oldham at Gallatin County – The Wildcats have had one of the more forgiving schedules among the region contenders. This is a big chance for validation at home against the team that has won 3 of the last 5 region titles.

 

Anderson County at #6 Lafayette – The Bearcats need to create some “moxie” heading into the post-season, and an upset of the 11th-region Generals would go a long way towards achieving that.

[Runcible Owl]

Excellent, as always CM. I enjoy your calls on Pegasus too. :up:

 

Hope you're back to feeling 100%. :angrybird7: