Week 3 included a few of the best matchups of the season, some that came down to the final possession and some that were surprisingly one-sided. Now that the dust has settled there is only one team that survived the week unscathed, ascending to the top of the 12^th Region as the clear #1: the Danville Admirals. Danville has now defeated Region contenders West Jessamine, Mercer County and Wayne County on their way to a 5-0 start. The Admirals are athletic, they have balance on offense and can score inside and out, and if they continue to defend as they have so far this season they will be tough to beat. The 45^th District is strong and they will have challenges there, but outside of those games the remainder of their schedule is not particularly daunting so an extended run as the #1 ranked team in the Region is possible.

 

Ranking the teams just below Danville, however, is not so clear. Each of the current contenders – Wayne, West, Lincoln and Mercer – had a bad loss in Week 3. Pulaski County moves up the rankings with a win at Wayne County and may now be considered in that group. Here is a look at the week 3 results, rankings, and Week 4 key match-ups:

 

1. Danville- In their first game away from home this season, the Admirals overcame some poor FT shooting to secure a 57-49 win at Mercer County. Mercer briefly took a 4^th quarter lead, then Dante Hayden hit one of his four 3-pointers, St. Martin and Thornton both had offensive rebounds and putbacks to regain and extend Danville’s lead. Wayne County visited Danville on Friday night in a game that came down to the final possession, a half-court shot by the Cardinals to send the game into OT just missed and the Admirals prevailed by a score of 60-57. Danville plays at Western Hills on Tuesday this week and in the McCreary Central Arby’s/KFC Classic on Thursday and Friday.

 

2. Wayne County– The Cardinals hang on to the #2 spot despite an 0-2 week. After a surprising 83-79 (in OT) home loss to Pulaski County, Wayne County played at #1 Danville in an evenly matched game that could have gone either way but resulted in a 60-57 loss. With a more difficult schedule ahead than most of the other 12^th Region teams, the Cardinals should be battle-tested and possibly considered the team to beat by season end. Wayne plays on the road at Mercer County on Monday this week, another challenging road test for the Cardinals as they begin the season with five of six games away from home.

 

3. Lincoln County– Despite a 63-52 road loss to a Louisville Eastern team that had not been all that impressive so far this season, the Patriots move up in the rankings due to a notable home victory over West Jessamine in a game that they controlled from start to finish. In the 62-49 win over the Colts, Blake Smith and Elijah Frye led the way with 21 and 18 points respectively, but it was a stifling half-court zone defense that created turnovers and forced shots, resulting in easy buckets on the other end, that helped the Patriots cruise to the easy win. The Patriots host East Jessamine on Tuesday and travel to Mercer County on Thursday to play in the Clash of the Titans event.

 

4. West Jessamine– Truly a Jekyll and Hyde week for the Colts, they first travel to Lincoln County and are barely competitive in a 62-49 loss, then return home and race to a 38-17 halftime lead over District rival Mercer County on their way to a comfortable 78-66 victory. Despite dealing with some serious foul trouble against the Titans, West was able to fight off the comeback attempt, and the balanced scoring attack that was missing vs. Lincoln made them very difficult to defend in the Mercer game. The Colts are a solid defensive team this year, and if they can improve shot selection vs. the better defenses and get some consistent balance in their scoring, they are capable of winning the Region. Like Wayne, West has a very challenging schedule ahead that should toughen them up for the tournament, starting with a game against Pleasure Ridge Park this Thursday in the People’s Exchange Bank Holiday Invitational at Henry Clay.

 

5. Mercer County– Despite the return of Kaelin Drakeford to the lineup this past week, the Titans dropped two games – at home to Danville and on the road to West Jessamine. Senior Carter Baughman is averaging nearly 30 points a game, but the Titans have stumbled to a 2-4 start and the competition doesn’t get easier this week as games against Wayne County and Lincoln County loom, the latter as part of the Clash of the Titans tournament hosted by Mercer.

 

6. Pulaski County– It was an impressive start to the week for the Maroons as they traveled to then #1 Wayne County and left with an 83-79 overtime win. Pulaski placed four players in double figures against the Cardinals, led by Jacob Combs and Colton Fraley with 23 and 20, while Junior Grant Oaks contributed a double-double with 18 to go along with his 15 rebounds. Friday night at home against Madison Central it was a different story, as the Indians dominated Pulaski, 78-57. The Maroons host Clay County and Madison Southern in their home tournament, the M&W Shootout, this coming week.

 

7. Garrard County– The Golden Lions seem to be finding their stride after some tough early losses with two solid road wins this week, 62-52 at McCreary Central and 77-71 at East Jessamine. The win over East was a milestone for Garrard County, breaking their forever winless streak against the Jaguars. Garrard County is a formidable opponent for any 12^th Region team and will make noise in the 45^th, as they continue to show improvement each year and have demonstrated steady progress so far this season. Their extended road trip continues this week as they travel to Southwestern and Augusta.

 

8. Boyle County– The Rebels dropped two games this week, a 51-39 home loss to Lexington Christian and a tough road battle vs. Clay County 74-61 in the Bobby Keith Classic. Boyle has two more challenging opponents up next, at Frankfort on Tuesday and home against 9-1 Taylor County on Saturday. The Rebels continue to develop their talented but young roster of players as they await the return of Smith and Hotchkiss from injury.

 

9. Somerset– The Briar Jumpers had three solid wins this past week, 75-64 vs. Casey County, 58-41 at McCreary Central and 78-52 over Barbourville at home. Similar to Boyle, Somerset has a talented young roster that is going to continue to develop as the season progresses. Somerset travels to Mercer County for the Clash of the Titans tournament this week where they will face Shelby County and Lafayette.

 

10. Rockcastle County– The Rockets went 2-0 this week moved up a few spots as a result of a 51-49 overtime win over Anderson County and a 65-57 road victory at Casey County. Rockcastle travels to Mercer County this week to play in the Clash of the Titans event, they will play the host team and Lincoln County.

 

11. Casey County – A tough week for the Rebels, going 0-2 with a 75-64 loss at Somerset and dropping a 75-67 home game against Rockcastle County. Casey County has only one game this week, at McCreary Central on Thursday night.

 

12. Southwestern- The Warriors traveled to Pikeville to play in their invitational tournament this week, and showed well for the Region as they defeated a 9^th Region participant in Covington Holmes, 59-43, and battled a tough 7^th Region opponent in Louisville Central in a tight game before falling 60-53. Southwestern hosts Garrard County and Madison Southern this week.

 

13. East Jessamine– The Jags dropped two more games this week and have now dropped 4 of 5 games after an impressive win over Southwestern two weeks ago. East played well in a home 77-71 loss to Garrard County, then traveled to Whitley County and laid an egg in a 91-65 beat down to a mid-level 13^th Region team. The Jaguars travel to Lincoln County on Tuesday this week, then on to Rowan County for the Kentucky Bank Challenge.

 

14. McCreary Central – Home losses to Garrard County and Somerset drop the Raiders to 1-5 on the season, but they have a chance to get back on the winning side in a game at Barbourville this Tuesday. McCreary then hosts their own tournament, the Arby’s/KFC Holiday Classic, playing four games in four days vs. both 12^th Region and Tennessee competition.

 

15. Burgin– The Bulldogs swept three games at Danville Christian Academy (DCA) in the Warrior Christman Classic this past week, over DCA, Evangel Christian and Covington Latin to improve their record to 7--1. Burgin plays at Frederick Fraize and hosts Community Christian from Paducah this coming week.

 

16. Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) – There were no games for the Colonels this past week as they prepare for the 21^st Annual KSD Basketball Kickoff Classic this coming week.

 

12^th Region Games of the Week:

Monday, December 17

Wayne County @ Mercer County, 7:30 p.m.

 

Tuesday, December 18

Boyle County @ Frankfort, 7:30 p.m.

 

Thursday, December 20

West Jessamine vs. Pleasure Ridge Park, 7:30 p.m. at Henry Clay

Lincoln County @ Mercer County, 7:30 p.m. (Clash of the Titans)

 

Friday, December 21 Tournament Action with 12^th Region Teams:

Clash of the Titans @ Mercer County (Lincoln County, Mercer County, Somerset, Rockcastle County)

People’s Exchange Bank Holiday Classic @ Henry Clay (West Jessamine)

M&W Shootout @ Pulaski County (Pulaski County)

Arby’s/KFC Holiday Classic @ McCreary Central (Danville, McCreary Central, Wayne County, Casey County)

4 of the top 8 reside in the 45th district! Can’t wait to watch these matchups begin after Christmas Break!

ttt