article 8th Region Tournament Preview

[ColonelMike]

8th Region Tournament Preview

 

Week 1 of the “second season” is in the books – and nine of the seventeen 8th region teams are done for the season. Eight survivors remain, and they face a three-game gauntlet in order to reach the Sweet 16.

 

For the most part, the results were what most expected, although Grant County gave an Spoints. In the 29th, North Oldham gave Oldham County a real scare in the semis, before fading late and losing, 59-53.

 

Before taking a look at the 8th Region tournament, let’s look at how the districts played out.

 

29th District

South Oldham 60, Oldham County 55 - Oldham County had reigned supreme in the 29th for eight straight years, the second-longest such streak in KY (Madisonville North-Hopkins had won 9 straight seasons; they pushed that streak to 10 with a win over Caldwell County last week).

 

But Oldham County brought a much different team to the district this season. For the first time in years, Oldham had an offense that at times struggled to score points. Part of it definitely had to do with the fact that Oldham doesn’t have a “true” point guard, but a bigger reason was probably that this team simply doesn’t shoot as well. The comparison to last year made it even more dramatic; last year’s Sweet 16 Final Four team was the #6 team in field goal percentage in the state; this year’s squad shoots just 43% from the field.

The Colonels, though, had showed a scrappiness about them that had helped them get some big wins this year. Above average offensive boardwork, an opportunistic 2-2-1 full court press, and a “never-say-die” attitude had not only kept Oldham in most games, it had propelled them to wins over teams like Gallatin County, South Oldham, Simon Kenton, Central Hardin, and Highlands. Coach Coy Zerhusen, however, was concerned about the inconsistency on offense.

 

Their opponent, South Oldham, has been a frequent flyer to the Sweet 16 in the last six years, but amazingly, had not won the district in any of those seasons. South had the opposite problem of Oldham; the Dragons led the entire state in scoring at almost 82 ppg, but the Dragons’ defense had been extremely porous all season.

 

Often comparisons between two teams focus on strength vs. strength; many thought this game was more about weakness vs. weakness. Could Oldham’s erratic offense exploit South’s defensive deficiencies? Or could the Dragons get some stops?

 

In the end, South played perhaps their best defensive game of the year. Opening with a matchup zone, the Dragons confused the Colonels early, allowing South to bolt out to a 21-9 lead after one period. Oldham outscored the Dragons by 10 over quarters 2 and 3, and the game headed to the fourth with South up, 44-42. The Dragons then unleashed a 1-3-1 zone that turned over the Colonels several times and ultimately blunted the Colonels’ rally as South held on for a 60-55 win.

 

Luke Morrison – the 8th Region Player of the Year – was the MVP of the 29th tourney, scoring 30 points against Trimble County and 22 points against Oldham. He hit 6 of 11 threes in the two games and he did not miss a free throw, going 12-12.

 

Of course, South as a team was devastating at the line, hitting 27 of 33 over the two games.

30th District Final:

Collins 69, Spencer County 56 – Spencer County started the tourney by avenging last year’s District semi-final heartbreaker to Anderson County, as the Bears shot over 56% from the field. The sharpshooting effort helped over the fact that Spencer shot just 5 free throws, making two. Sam Conley led the way, scoring 17 points.

 

Meanwhile, the Collins Titans were putting away county rival Shelby County for the third time of the season. It was a bit closer this time, though, as Collins had won the first two games by 15 and 26 points. Shelby, a team that has struggled to score all year, put forth a strong defensive effort and kept the scoring down, but ultimately lost by 11, 54-43.

 

The final was a rematch of a mid-season game won by Collins by 26. The Bears had shot just 26% in that game, just 5 of 30 (16.7%) from beyond the arc, and 50% from the line. Meanwhile, Collins hit over 52% of their shots on their way to the rout.

 

This time, Coach Burns of Spencer had his squad ready and convinced that they could win despite the previous outcome. In the end, the favored Titans won the game, but by a much more competitive 13 points, 69-56.

 

No stats were available for the game.

 

For the Titans, a school that is in just its 9th year of existence, a trip to New Castle is routine. The Titans have been to New Castle for the 8th Region tournament all eight previous seasons, and they’ve won the region twice in those eight years – and they are one of the favorites this year.

 

Spencer, on the other hand, is eager to get back to the Region. Spencer County last made the Region in the 2010-11 season, when the Bears went 25-7, won the 30th district (over Collins in the finals), and then advanced all the way to the 8th Region title game, where they lost to Oldham County by 10.

 

 

31st District

 

Gallatin County 76, Henry County 55 To no surprise, the finals of the 31st included Gallatin County. The Wildcats – who have not lost to a district opponent all season – played one of the lowest rated teams in the semi-finals, the Owen County Rebels, who simply didn’t have the firepower to keep up with one of the region’s most efficient offenses.

 

It was a typical Gallatin victory: 52+% shooting overall, 9 of 19 threes (47.4%), and 14 of 20 at the line (70%). Four Wildcats hit for double figures against Owen – Jarin Rassman (22 points), Troy Coomer (19), Wyatt Bowman (15), and Devin McAlister (14). Owen actually shot the ball well, but couldn’t keep up with the Cats in an 81-55 Gallatin County win.

 

Meanwhile, Henry County outlasted the Carroll County Panthers in the other semi-final; a game many thought could go either way. Carroll got 28 points from Wyatt Supplee and 17 from Keishaun Mumphrey, but shot just 40% from the floor. Facing the best-shooting team in the region, Henry County, this was a recipe for a loss, and Henry came out on top – on the Panthers’ floor – 85-73.

 

Henry has made some slight offensive changes, and they seemed to have paid off. The Wildcats have scored 61+ points in 12 of the past 15 games. In four of those twelve games, Henry scored over 80 points. Amazingly, in a late-season loss to South Oldham, 104-96, Henry was able to score 94 of their 96 points with three players.

 

Ethan Lankford has led the team in scoring in the last six regular season games – scoring 20 points or more in five of the games – and in the last three games, he’s eclipsed the 40 point mark in back-to-back games. Trevor Hardin may be one of the most electric sophomores in a region where the sophomore class is looking more special every day. He’s scored a total of 45 points (20 and 25) in the last two games, and tallied 37 against South Oldham in the regular season finale.

 

In the end, the offensive onslaught was just too much for Carroll.

 

That set up the Henry County vs. Gallatin finale.

 

Trevor Hardin had a double-double (20 points and 13 rebounds), and Henry County continued its hot shooting (55% from the field). The Wildcats tried to contain Gallatin’s all-region Troy Coomer, and successfully held him to 5 points, but the Gallatin County Wildcats showed their depth, as other scorers simply stepped it up. Wyatt Bowman (27 points), Devin McAlister (20), and Jarin Rassman (13) led the Gallatin County Wildcats to the victory as those three alone scored enough to secure the victory.

 

And Gallatin matched Henry’s sharpshooting ways, hitting over 50% from the field in the 76-55 Gallatin win.

 

Gallatin won their third straight 31st district title, and has won 20+ games three straight seasons. Not only that, the Wildcats have won a region-best 14 consecutive games, and equaled last year’s 26 wins with the victory over Henry.

 

 

32nd District

Walton-Verona 62, Simon Kenton 52 - #2 seed Walton-Verona had a tough battle against hot-shooting Grant County. But while most thought Grant’s chances to win the game hinged on their ability to outscore Walton, instead, the Braves. In the previous meeting, Walton won, 68-51, as Grant tried to flex their offensive muscles. This time, Grant was uncharacteristically poor from the field, hitting just 38.9% from the field and 26.7% (4 of 15) from beyond the arc. Worse, they never got a chance to bring their strong free-throw shooting skills to bear, as they went to the line only three times (making all three).

Senior Aaron Hurley hit 11 of 19 shots from the floor to score 25 points to lead Grant in his final game.

 

Unfortunately, the rest of the team was just 10 of 35.

 

Walton’s stats have not been posted.

 

With Simon Kenton, the #1 seed, coasting to a victory over Williamstown, 87-55, it set up the highly-anticipated matchup between SK and W-V in the finals.

 

Stats haven’t been posted, but I understand from people there that SK simply didn’t shoot well.

 

Bottom-line is that Walton-Verona is now on a roll with four straight wins and 6 of their last 7.

 

Simon, on the other hand, has now lost 6 of 8.

 

For the Bearcats, this was their third consecutive district title. The Bearcats won 26 games last year under the direction of coach Grant Brannen, and nobody would be surprised if the team (currently 24-6) won the region and posted their winningest team under Brannen.

 

8th Region Preview

1 – Walton-Verona (24-6) – champions of the 32nd district. Since 2006 – when the region was re-districted – all of the champions have come from either the 29th district (Oldham County, South Oldham) or the 30th district (Shelby County, Anderson County, Collins).

 

That streak may be about to end. Not only that, we may be looking at the first “A” school as a region champion. As some other threads have pointed out, very few “A” schools have even made the finals in the last few decades – but none came away with the win.

 

Walton’s strength is its defense. The stingiest in the region, the Cats’ “D” is allowing just 46.9 ppg. The Bearcats can be extremely physical, and if the officials are loose with the calls, it definitely benefits Walton-Verona. The hi-low inside combination of Dieonte Miles and Kameron Pardee is the best in the region; their interior passing is superb, and the two rarely miss. Miles is a more traditional back-to-the-basket inside player, but he also is superb at the high post, distributing the ball. Pardee, who plays more like a power forward, has an exceptional ability to move without the ball, and finishes around the rim well.

 

On the outside, Walton is a bit more “iffy”. Garrett Jones is probably the primary threat, averaging 9.9 ppg. He penetrates well – this isn’t really a great outside shooting team, at 29.9% beyond the arc – and if fouled, is the best free throw shooter on the team at 69.8%.

 

If this team has an Achilles’ Heel that could derail the Bearcat Express, it’s their free throw shooting. Overall, the team is shooting less than 60% (59.8%), the worst of the 8 teams in the tournament.

 

Walton finished 16-1 against 8th Region tams, including 6-1 against tournament foes.

 

2 – Collins (23-8) – Chris Gaither’s teams are always one of the best defensive teams in the region, and Gaither always seems to find a way to motivate his squad, even when they limp into the post-season. This year, the Titans are hardly “limping” as they come in riding a six game winning streak, which includes victories over two other tournament teams, Oldham County and Spencer County. Overall, Collins was also very successful during the regular season against region rivals, going 10-1, and 4-1 against teams that are in the region tournament.

 

The Titans have, without a doubt, the best starting guard duo in the region in two juniors, Marcellus Vail (18.4 ppg) and Dayvion McKnight, who averaged a double-double (17.3 ppg / 10.3 rebounds/game). These two all-region players can take over a game by themselves, and are extremely good at getting to the rim. In fact, McKnight is a guard who possesses all the athleticism of an elite guard, and the strength and ability to rebound of a power forward There are few guards, if any, in Region 8 that can match up with McKnight when he wants to post up, and his quickness makes it very hard to stay in front of him on defense.

 

Early on, Collins’ outside shooting was questioned, but Colby Eades and Darrion Crittenden

have both proven more than adequate in that regard, with both hitting nearly 40% from beyond the arc. The result often is that the defense gets drawn out to cover those two, allowing driving lanes for Vail and McKnight.

 

Less well-known is guard Tyson Turner, who only averages 6.3 ppg, but whose explosive first step allows him to penetrate almost any defense. He’s the player on the team most likely to double his average on any given night.

 

If Collins has a weakness, it’s the question of whether anyone can be “the” scorer on a night that Vail or McKnight get into foul trouble. The most productive players after those two average between 5-7 points per game. The Titans haven’t had to depend upon their bench to win a game, and it’s unknown if they can, unlike a team like Gallatin County, which has so many shooters.

 

3 – Gallatin County (26-5) - Jon Jones always has competitive teams. Some are good; some are great. This may be one of the latter, as a multi-talented team enters the tournament on a region best 14-game winning streak. A good shooting squad, Gallatin hits over 48% of their shots, including 38% beyond the arc and 69% at the line. Two seniors (Troy Coomer and Wyatt Bowman) and a junior (Jarin Rassman) lead the way. Coomer leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 17.6 ppg / 6 rebounds per game He hits 50% from the field overall. He has the ability to go down low and use his strength to be a power forward, but he also is the best perimeter shooter on the team, hitting 90 of 206 threes for 43.7%. His most amazing statistic, however, may be his free throw shooting, where he has hit 90 of 110 for 90%, ranking him #1 in the state of Kentucky.

 

Rassman averages 13.9 ppg / 5.7 boards, and Wyatt Bowman 14.3 ppg / 4.2 rebounds.

 

Gallatin is so hard to defend because there are so many players who can shoot. As a team,

 

Gallatin County has shot over 50% in seven of their last 12 games, including a 70% night against Simon Kenton. During that stretch, the worst they shot in a game was 46%.

Jon Jones has a deep bench and a lot of interchangeable parts. The question marks for the Wildcats mainly circulate around their ability to use their speed, passing, and shooting skills against the tournament teams with a strong inside game. And – while the player who has shot by far the most free throws (166) is Jarin Rassman – the junior has struggled to hit his free throws, hitting just 59.6% at the line. Jones would sure like to see him exceed his average if he continues to get fouled.

 

Gallatin is 19-4 against 8th Region teams, but the four losses came to three tournament teams – two losses to Walton-Verona, and one each to Oldham County and Collins. To win the title, they’d have to avenge at least the Oldham or the Collins loss, and would be expected to play Walton in the finals.

 

Final thought: Every coach wants to be hitting their “stride” as they enter the tourney. Nobody is hotter than Gallatin County, who has won fourteen games in a row.

 

4 – South Oldham (21-9) - South seems to be a team on the rebound. After losing four straight, the Dragons have won their last three. In fact, though South has won only 7 of their last 11, the losses included a 2 point loss to highly regarded Central Hardin on the road, a 9 point loss to Walton-Verona, and a four point loss to Gallatin County. The seven wins included a payback-time win over Oldham County in the district finals by 5.

 

The bottom-line here is that you may beat South Oldham, but it takes a superior effort to do so. Why? Because it’s so hard to shoot as well, and score as many points, as they do. Number one in the state at 82 ppg, every one of South’s nine losses came when the team scored at least 61 points. Not every team can go into a matchup with South and expect to put up the numbers necessary.

 

Oddly enough, head coach Steve Simpson didn’t know if this team would be as proficient on offense as last year’s, but they have exceeded all expectations and may be the best Dragon team he’s ever had on the offensive end of the court, which says a lot since Steve’s been in Crestwood 19 seasons.

 

As always, the Dragons are on pace to rank among the top all-time three point shooting teams in the state. They’ve taken 889, hitting 380 for 42.7% beyond the arc as a team. Incredible. Overall, the team is hitting 51.4% of their shots – an amazing number when you realize that over half of their shot attempts are three point shots(!)

 

With defenses closing out to try to run the Dragons off the three point line, the Dragons – who basically start 4 guards and a center – simply put the ball on the floor and drive to the rim. As a result, they get fouled a lot, and this is the best free-throw shooting team overall in the 8th, with the team hitting a whopping 78.0% from the stripe. The two players shooting the most free throws – Seth Johnson and Luke Morrison – hit 84.0% and 82.2% at the line, respectively. Five of the eight players who get the most playing time all hit over 70%. You don’t want to get into a free throw shooting battle with South.

 

South is the home of the 8th Region Player of the Year this season, and I’ve felt all season that Luke Morrison was the most deserving player I saw. (and I did see Dieonte Miles, Dayvion McKnight, Marcellus Vail, Kelly Niece, Matthew Teague, Jarin Rassman, Troy Coomer, Reese Webster, and others.) Morrison’s statistics border on the incredible: He averaged 25.6 ppg, tops in the region and #6 in the state, made 58.7% of all of his shots, and 55% of his three pointers (110 of 200). At the line, he made 82.2% of his shots, and he also averaged 5.4 rebounds to boot. He showed a wide array of shots – inside, outside, putbacks, fallaways, one handers, you name it.

 

Against Oldham County earlier in the season, he tallied 43 points and hit 7 three pointers.

If South has a weakness, it’s the defense, which has not measured up to the defenses Steve Simpson has had the last 5 or 6 seasons. South is giving up 68.6 ppg, though South still has one of the region’s largest victory margins due to the numbers that they were putting up.

 

5 – Spencer County (20-11) – The Bears are headed back to the dance, and Taylorsville is a happy place. It’s been a while. This year’s version of the Bears is short on depth, but has a tremendous starting five that can hold their own with most teams. Prior to losing to Collins in the 30th district finals, Spencer County was riding an 8 game winning streak.

 

Spencer is 8-4 against 8th region opponents, but they are just 1-4 against teams in the tournament, with two losses to Collins, and one each to Oldham County and Walton-Verona. Their lone win came against South Oldham on 1/19/19 when they won 83-79.

This isn’t a particularly good shooting team, hitting about 41% of their shots. They are average beyond the arc, hitting about 33.8% as a team, and are connecting on 69.3% of their free throws.

 

Sophomore Sam Conely leads the team at 17.5 ppg, Conley hits 46.7% of his shots, but isn’t a major three point threat, and, though he’s been sent to the line more than anyone else, he’s a below average free throw shooter at 64.3%. This young man is going to be one of the elites in the region in the next year or so, but how far can he take them this year?

The Bears’ starting five is pretty consistent though. Jacob Seawright is averaging 14.4 ppg, and and Lucas Hornback and Jackson Cole are averaging 8.6 and 8.5 ppg, respectively.

 

These three are also who Spencer wants at the line taking the “freebies”; all three average over 70% at the stripe, with Cole shooting in the 80s.

 

This is one team that is simply going to be a very tough “out”. Of Spencer’s 11 losses, 8 have come by 9 points or less. You better play ball 32 minutes if you want to come out victorious against the Bears.

 

This is a team that has been toughened up by a pretty solid schedule that included Collins (2x), South Oldham, Oldham County, Madison Central (previously ranked), #14 Ballard, and Pleasure Ridge Park. They only won one of those games (South Oldham), but they were pretty much in all of them to the end.

 

6 – Oldham County (18-13) – The defending 8th Region champs enter the tournament as a district runner-up for the first time in 9 years after wining the 29th district 8 years in a row. Oldham kind of stumbled into the post-season, losing 5 of their last 7 games, but it’s hard to tell what we learned from that. The Colonels, facing tough competition, didn’t lose those games by much, falling to Highlands by 2, Collins by 3, defending state champs Covington Catholic by 11 on the road, and to Bardstown by 3 points.

 

This year’s version of the Oldham County Colonels is inconsistent on offense, and that’s hurt them against one of the toughest schedules I’ve seen in some time. But their defense remains potent, and they get a lot of their baskets either on turnovers or on offensive putbacks.

 

All-Region selection Matthew Teague leads the way for OC at 12.4 ppg. Christian Harper follows with 11.1 ppg / 6.1 rebounds. Harper hits 58.4% from the field, mainly because he’s such a strong offensive rebounder and excellent at putbacks.

 

Outside specialist (35% beyond the arc) Cole Mesker is just missing averaging in double digits (9.8 ppg) and Deaton Oak is rapidly becoming a major contributor on offense. He only is averaging 6.8 ppg as he was playing as much early in the year, but he’s now Oldham’s top outside shooter, hitting 41 of 114 threes for 36.0%. Oak, the son of former OCHS player and Trimble County coach Doug Oak, is another of the talented sophomore class that populates the region this year.

 

Overall, Oldham County has become a pretty good free throw shooting team. 9 of the top 12 players that have played most are hitting 68.6% from the line or better.

 

Oldham checks in at number five, however, because of the inconsistency of the offense. This team displays a resilience that is sometimes extraordinary, but iIn a region that is as balanced as this one is, if the Colonels start a game down 21-9 as they did against South in the 29th district finals, it may be difficult for them to climb back into the game.

 

7 – Simon Kenton (18-10) – the runner-ups of the 32nd district are in a bit of a freefall right now, having lost 6 of their last 8 games.

 

The reality is that all of these games were against top-tier competition, and SK was close in some of them, but how will it affect the team’s confidence?

 

The Pioneers lost to Gallatin County by 3, Oldham County by 1 in overtime, On the other, SK lost to Campbell County by 14, Scott High by 18, Covington Catholic by 21, and Walton-Verona by 10.

 

As SK prepares to face Gallatin, a perennially successful team in the first round of the region, can SK bounce back, or have they been beaten down by the late losses?

This is a relatively young team; the key players are underclassmen. Jeremy Renner and Jon Hensley are both juniors. Kelly Niece (23.4 ppg, 51.8% FG) is just a sophomore and leads the team in scoring. Logan Schwartz is a junior. That includes the top three scorers on the team. Hensley is #6 in scoring on the team, but has had some big games and has led the team in scoring though he averages just 4.3 ppg.

 

In short, SK has a lot to be excited about next year, but they should write this year off. The Pioneers have plenty of firepower to win the 8th region tournament. This is an excellent shooting team, hitting 48.8% of their overall field goals, 40.7% from beyond the arc, and 73.4% at the line. Good shooting often has the habit of covering up a multitude of other basketball sins.

 

The first round draw for SK may not be the best; they’ve had some troubles with Gallatin County in the past, including the first round last year when Gallatin bounced them from the tournament.

 

Simon Kenton’s success – or lack thereof – may hinge on head coach Trent Steiner’s ability to convince his team that the recent reversals have been aberrations, and not the norm.

 

8 – Henry County (12-18) – OK, don’t be too quick to dismiss the Henry County Wildcats, despite the losing record. Henry has some things going for it:

 

1 – Their rejuvenated offense. In 10 of the last 12 games, Henry has scored over 60 points, averaging 73.3 ppg during that time period.

 

2 – Shooting. Henry County leads the 8th region at 54.1% from the field.

 

3 – Coaching. Enoch Welch has proven he knows how to get the most out of his team. Of course, he’s gone through the 10th region and 11th region battles; he’s a veteran and shows it.

 

4 – home court – Everyone in Henry County is going to turn out simply because Henry doesn’t make the tournament as often as some other teams (example: Collins, who’s never missed the regional). That big gym is going to be LOUD. Plus, the Henry players are used to shooting at the baskets in that somewhat odd setting, particularly the end of the court by the bottom of the “horseshoe” where there’s so much depth behind the goal.

 

Another 8th region super sophomore leads Henry County. Trevor Hardin leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 19.1 ppg and 8.9 rebounds/game. He hits 59.3% of his shots.

Ethan Lankford averages 15.9 ppg, but he had back to back 40 point games in his last two contests.

 

Lankford (40 points) and Hardin (37 points) led the way in the season finale, a 104-96 loss to South Oldham. Of the remaining 19 points, Dandre Wright had 17.

Wright, a transfer from Eminence, is averaging right at 14.0 ppg for Henry County.

Lankford and Wright both shoot over 48% from the field.

 

Henry doesn’t shoot many threes; they concentrate on higher percentage shots. But strangely enough – despite their overall 54.1% from the field – the Cats struggle mightily at the line, where they are managing just 57.7%. Of the players who play a lot, Zack Woods (71.2%) and Lankford (69.8%) are the best; Wright and Hardin both sit at 50% or less.

 

Weird.

 

Henry County is 0-5 against tournament teams.

 

Did anyone notice the top bracket is identical to last year’s bottom bracket?? Also – all first round games are rematches of regular season games.

 

Monday, 2/25/19 6:30 pm Collins vs. Oldham County

Collins won the regular season battle with Oldham by 3 at Oldham. It was Collins first win ever at Oldham County. Oldham can’t afford to let Collins race out to a huge lead as they did last time. Give credit to Oldham; they somehow clawed back to within one basket, but Chris Gaither’s defense held off the rally, and Collins prevailed.

The problem for Oldham looks to be at guard, where it will be extremely difficult for the Colonels to keep Vail, McKnight, and Turner from penetrating. Foul trouble is a dangerous problem.

If Oldham can stay out of foul trouble and if they can find ways to penetrate the Collins defense, I think Oldham wins. But they will be the underdogs. Favorite: Collins

 

Monday, 2/25/19 8 pm Simon Kenton vs. Gallatin County

I think Simon is more than talented enough to win this game, but I think the confidence levels for these two teams are going opposite directions. Simon has been in a losing funk of late; Gallatin has won 14 straight, including a win over SK. Both teams have tons of weapons, but I like Gallatin ‘s defense better and I think they are brimming with self-confidence.

Favorite: Gallatin County

 

Tuesday, 2/26/19 6:30 pm Walton-Verona vs. Henry County

I would like to say that Henry has a strong shot at the upset…the home team deserves a win on their home court, but regional victories have been few and far between for the Wildcats. Unfortunately, the Bearcats are simply too big, too talented, and pass exceptionally well in their high-low offense. And theis year’s W-V squad seems to have more speed than before. Look for this Henry County squad to keep it close for a half, but eventually, Walton just has too much going their way. Favorite: Walton

 

Tuesday, 2/26/19 8 pm South Oldham vs. Spencer County

Spencer won the regular season meeting by a few points. Both teams are improved; by how much will decide this game. Of all the first round games, I think this one may be a toss-up. Flip a coin ten times and see what you get. But if South starts hitting the threes, I’m not sure Spencer can keep up. I think both teams will score A LOT of points, as I think Spencer’s lineup will find a way to score against South’s somewhat porous defense. But South has so many weapons, and can keep sending subs off the bench to keep fresh legs on the court. I simply look for South to wear Spencer down physically. Favorite: South Oldham

Edited February 25, 2019 by ColonelMike

[Jdhogg]

As always, Great write up ColonelMike.

[ColonelMike]

Oh my gosh.

 

I was just re-reading my own write-up and realized why one should never write these things at 3 in the morning.

 

In the SK write-up, and I said - "...but they should write this year off." That wasn't what that was supposed to say. It was supposed to read "...but they shouldn't write this year off."

 

Hopefully, anyone reading the post will realize what was meant, based on the write-up immediately following that.

 

My apologies to the Pioneers and their fans. SK definitely has a shot at this tournament.

 

CM

[hoops_fan]

Oh my gosh.

 

I was just re-reading my own write-up and realized why one should never write these things at 3 in the morning.

 

In the SK write-up, and I said - "...but they should write this year off." That wasn't what that was supposed to say. It was supposed to read "...but they shouldn't write this year off."

 

Hopefully, anyone reading the post will realize what was meant, based on the write-up immediately following that.

 

My apologies to the Pioneers and their fans. SK definitely has a shot at this tournament.

 

CM

 

I did want to ask if you are an Avengers fan, because Jeremy Davis plays for SK, not Jeremy Renner

[Jdhogg]

Will Pegasus Network carry all of the 8th Region games?