Overview: Shelby Valley and Paintsville passed two huge tests with double-digit wins, Magoffin County saw a school record in points, Kevin Spurlock resigned from Floyd Central after stating he would not and Lawrence County will represent the region in the 2A sectionals. The 15th Region is getting exciting as regional and district play is in full effect. Rankings and summaries after week six are as follows:

 

Rankings (overall record):

1. (-) Shelby Valley (12-1) – The Wildcats continued their dominance of regional competition going 2-0 in week six to include a double digit win over 59th district rival Pikeville. Shelby Valley was able to knock off Betsy Layne on the road 76-39 and then defeat Pikeville 53-43 in front of a packed house. In the Pikeville game, standout Cody Potter led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds. The win improved Shelby Valley to 8-0 in the 15th and makes them one of two remaining unbeaten teams in regional play (Paintsville: 3-0). Week seven will see Shelby Valley travel to a hot Magoffin County team, then host East Ridge in district play and finish out with South Charleston, WV at South Williamson in the Hatfield-McCoy shoot-out.

 

2. (Up 1) Paintsville (10-2) – The Tigers pushed their win streak to ten games with an impressive 73-54 on the road at cross town rival Johnson Central. Junior multi-sport star Seth Williams led all scorers in the game with 27 points while Nick Keeton added 14 points and 11 rebounds despite limited minutes due to foul trouble. Paintsville along with Shelby Valley is one two remaining unbeaten teams in regional play after the win and hold a commanding 3-0 record in 57th district action. The Tigers will host Sheldon Clark and the travel to Central Hardin in week seven. This team seems to be improving game-by-game and will be a force come tournament time.

 

3. (Down 1) Johnson Central (10-2) – The Golden Eagles saw their nine game win streak snapped at the hands of their cross town rival in week six as Paintsville came away with a 54-73 win. After winning two holiday tournaments, Johnson Central lost their second straight home game by the same 19-point margin (Shelby Valley – Week Two). For reason JC doesn’t seem to shoot the ball well at home, going 1/20 from deep against Paintsville and 5/10 from the foul line. The lack luster effort at home to a rival may be exactly what was needed to refocus this team as in the Paintsville game, Johnson Central was outplayed, out coached and out hustled en route to losing every statistical facet of the game. Week seven will see the Golden Eagles travel to Sheldon Clark and then host 16th Region power Boyd County as they look to get back on track.

 

4. (-) Pikeville (7-5) – The Panthers went 1-1 in week six with a 79-54 blowout of 59th district foe East Ridge and a 43-53 loss on the road to Shelby Valley. Pikeville has played a tough schedule and is still the defending champions, but will have to beat the teams above them to move up the rankings. The Panthers have dropped three of their last four despite stellar play from senior guard Connor Roberts and will complete their current 10 game road trip in week seven as they travel to Belfry then play Tug Valley, WV at the Williamson Field House in South Williamson, WV. The record may not be great, but this is still a scary good team that will only get better.

 

5. (-) Lawrence County (11-4) – The Bulldogs went 3-0 in week six to include winning the 15th Region 2A championship over Magoffin County (face Morgan County out of 16th Region in sectionals). Lawrence knocked off Pike Central and Magoffin County on their way to the 2A regional title. Lawrence County also knocked off Betsy Layne prior to competing in the 2A. This is a talented team who has scorers at every position. In week seven, the Bulldogs will host Sheldon Clark and then face Morgan County in the 2A sectionals as they look to build on their current five game win streak.

 

6. (Up 1) Magoffin County (8-6) – The Hornets saw a school record tied as Brady Whitaker matched Trenton Russell’s school record of 47 points in a game versus Belfry. If fact, Whitaker scored more points than the entire Belfry team as the Hornets won 71-44. The win advanced Magoffin County to the 2A regional championship game versus Lawrence County that they would drop 62-71. This team is on the rise, but has a tough test in week seven with Shelby Valley and Belfry returning back to Hornet arena.

 

7. (Down 1) Sheldon Clark (5-6) – The Cardinals snuck in two games in week six that were not originally on the schedule, going 1-1 for the week with a win over Silver Grove 95-53 and a loss to Cordia at home 52-74 (Cordia’s second win of the season). Trey James continues to lead the team with double-double’s every night as he makes his way around the state for several high profile college visits. Sheldon Clark has a tough week seven with Paintsville, Lawrence County, Johnson Central and Wyoming East, WV.

 

8. (-) Phelps (5-5) – The Hornets got back to .500 in week six, going 2-1 with an overtime loss. Phelps beat Prestonsburg 49-48 at Prestonsburg, lost to Grundy, VA in overtime 67-69 on the road and defeated Betsy Layne 55-47 at home. Trey Francis is still averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game and might be the most underrated player in the region. Phelps has Letcher Central, Mingo Central, WV and Man, WV in week seven as they are looking to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2012.

 

9. (-) Prestonsburg (7-7) – The Blackcats went 1-1 in week six with a one-point loss to Phelps and a narrow three-point win on the road at June Buchanan. The June Buchanan score is somewhat surprising as they are very down this season. Jenkins at home is the only game scheduled for week seven as Prestonsburg remains on the one seed line in 58th district play.

 

10. (-) Pike Central (10-6) – The Hawks have ten wins, but play one of the weakest schedules in the state and are thus ranked where they are. This week Pike Central defeated Jenkins and Wolfe County before losing to Lawrence County in the 2A. The schedule does eventually get tougher, but not in week seven as the only game is versus Betsy Layne on the road.

 

11. (Up 1) Belfry (3-9) – The Pirates opened the week six by blowing out Floyd Central in the first round of the 2A Classic at Magoffin County 69-39 but could not build on that momentum and lost to Magoffin County in the second round 44-71 in a game where Magoffin County star Brady Whitaker outscored the entire Pirate team 47-44. Belfry has plenty of athletes that pass the eye test, but the cumulative product seems to be missing something. A tough week seven awaits with Pikeville, Magoffin, Jenkins and Mingo Central await.

 

12. (Down 1) Betsy Layne (7-7) – The Bobcats went 0-3 in week six with losses to Lawrence County, Shelby Valley and Phelps. The only game that was competitive was the Phelps game. Jordan Frazier continues to lead the team in both points and rebounds per game as this scrappy team looks to claw out wins against a very weak schedule. Week seven will see Piarist, Jackson City and Pike Central all come to Betsy Layne. In fact, they will play Piarist and Jackson City on the same day.

 

13. (-) East Ridge (5-8) – The Warriors lost to Pikeville 54-79 and beat Jenkins 80-51 in week six. Both games were in 59th district seeded play and keep East Ridge in the three spot for now. Shelby Valley and Scott, WV are on the docket for week seven.

 

14. (-) Floyd Central (2-14) – Floyd Central lost their inaugural game in the 2A classic as Belfry dominated them 39-69 at Magoffin County. A few days after the game, head coach Kevin Spurlock resigned from coaching and Shawn Hagar was named interim for the rest of the season. Coach Hagar is now the Head Coach for Football, Basketball and Baseball for the Jaguars. This week there will be open tryouts for the remainder of the season so there is potential that some of the players that originally quit could return for the remainder of the season. In the meantime, Floyd Central has lost ten in a row with North Laurel in week seven.

 

15. (-) Jenkins (1-11) – The Cavaliers were blown out by Pike Central and East Ridge in week seven. Prestonsburg, Belfry and Lee County wait in week six. There is a chance they could be competitive with Lee County but don’t get your hopes up with this young team.

 

16. (-) Piarist (0-10) – Two more losses for the Knights as they returned to play after a long layoff. Don’t expect any wins this season although some games may be close.

 

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