With three weeks complete we are starting to see who teams are. There are still a few that are quite baffling and we will need time to see how good they can ne, looking at you West Carter. One thing that is certain is come March, the battle in the 62nd District (East Carter, Elliott County, Morgan County, West Carter) and the battle in the 63rd District (Greenup County, Lewis County, Raceland, and Russell) is wide open and will be a battle the rest of the season.

 

 

1) Ashland (Season: 9-0 This week: 3-0)

Another week of Ashland looking quite impressive. Ashland went 3-0 this week with victories over BGP Top 20 #9 George Rogers Clark at GRC. Ashland then went through the WV gauntlet of Capital and George Washington, both large division powers in WV. Porter led the way with scoring this week, averaging 19 points a game. This week, Ashland will be hosting the AIT Dec 27-29. This is always a great tournament with great competition. Ashland will look to keep the hardware at home this year.

 

2) Boyd County (Season: 5-4 This week: 1-4)

Boyd started the week off with a victory against 16th region foe West Carter. They then traveled to Las Vegas for the Tarkanian Classic. Boyd County played in the “Eastbay” division of the 200 team tournament. Boyd went 0-4 losing to a team from Arizona, Ft Lauderdale, and 2 Nevada teams. During the tournament, Boyd seemed to have troubles getting the shots to fall. In their 4 games, their FG percentage was: 43.3, 36.6, 38.3, and 34.4. With knowing very little about these teams, hard to evaluate these losses. This week, Boyd will be in the AIT, opening with Scott County.

 

3) Rowan County (Season: 7-3 This week: 4-0)

Rowan County had what we call a good week this week, going 4-0. Rowan earned victories over Menifee, Bath, Butler, and St Henry this week. Mason Moore continued his exciting play, averaging 24 points a game this week. Alderman has also been picking things up for Rowan going double-double multiple times this week. Rowan will look to continue their success in the sunshine state this week, heading to the Hilton Sandestin Beach tournament

 

4) Raceland (Season: 7-1 This week: 3-1)

Raceland started the week taking their first loss of the season in an overtime thriller to Russell. The Rams bounced back from that to win their Derby Classic. The Rams were hardly tested by East Ridge and Leslie County but then got a nice win over talented Lawrence County. The three headed monster of Floyd, Pence, and Cumpton continues to lead the way. Following Christmas, Raceland will head to the Buckhorn Lake Classic.

 

5) Greenup County (Season: 6-2 This week: 3-1)

Greenup County continues their best start in several years this week with a win versus South Point and then a good showing in Alabama at the Cherokee County Invitational. Greenup went 2-1 against 3 Alabama teams. Dryden continues to impress going for 21.75 points per game and 15.25 rebounds per game this week. Following their trip to Alabama, Greenup will be home for the Holidays, hosting the Stultz Pharmacy Holiday Classic.

 

6) West Carter (Season: 3-4 This week: 1-2)

The most confusing thing in the 16th right now is trying to figure out what West Carter is. In their good times, the Comets have looked very good with wins against Russell and Frederick Douglas. But they have had bads as well with an 18-point loss to Morgan County. We will look to figure them out in the coming week. The win against Douglas was certainly a good win for the Comets. Prior to the game, Douglas was #2 in the first RPI ratings of the season put out by the KHSAA. West Carter was impressed enough to give Douglas their first loss of the year. The Comets were led in scoring this week with Tyson Webb, averaging 20 points a game this week.

 

7) East Carter (Season: 4-4 This week: 2-1)

The Raiders went 2-1 on the week this week. They earned victories over Fairview and Lewis County and a loss to Ryle. Thus far, East Carter has been about who everyone thought they would be, winning the ones they should and losing the others. We will get a good look at what the Raiders have when they start digging into district games right after the first of the year.

 

8) Lewis County (Season: 3-6 This week: 0-3)

The Lions continued a losing streak this week as they have currently lost 5 games in a row. Lions have losses this week to East Carter, Montgomery, and Holy Cross. O’Keefe continues to shine for the Lions but he would gladly trade that shine in for some wins. It doesn’t get any easier this week as the Lions will go to Ashland for the AIT, opening with Warren Central

 

9) Russell (Season: 1-5 This week: 1-2)

Russell started the week out, by getting their first win of the season, in an overtime win at Raceland. This game continued their streak of 3 overtimes games in a row. The Devils then went to Rowan County and suffered losses to Fredrick Douglas and Covington Holy Cross. Brady Bell has had streaks that he looked to be the stud that was anticipated, but also a game or two that he seems to go invisible. Russell is better than their 1-5 record indicates, but how much better? That is the big question right now. After Christmas, the Devils will head to Pigeon Forge for a Holiday Tournament.

 

10) Fleming County (Season: 4-3 This week: 1-1)

Fleming County went finished week 3 out with a win and a loss. The Panthers beat Rose Hill behind the scoring of McKee (21), Argo (20), and Lutz (19). They followed this up with a very lopsided loss to rival Mason County. The 28-point loss will certainly sting for a bit.

 

11) Morgan County (Season: 2-7 This week: 0-4)

Morgan County had a big win in week 2 however, they could not carry any of the momentum forward, losing 4 games this week. The Cougars lost to Elliott, Betsy Layne, Prestonsburg, and Shelby Valley this week. They will certainly look to forget this week and move on

 

12) Fairview (Season: 3-5 This week: 1-2)

The Eagles started the week well with a victory against Hannan, WV. Twelve players scored and eleven players grabbed at least one rebound for the Eagles in this game. Following the win, Fairview lost to East Carter and Green, OH. In the Green game, Roy recorded a double double with 20 and 10.

 

13) Elliott County (Season: 3-5 This week: 2-2)

Elliott County had a good district win to start week 3 as they sent Morgan County home with a loss. Elliott then traveled to Raceland for the Derby Classic going 1 and 2 there. Elliott beat Rose Hill and suffered losses to Lawrence and Knox County.

 

14) Bath County (Season: 3-7 This week: 1-3)

Week 3 was a busy week for Bath County. They started with a road loss to Rowan County. They then got comfy in the bus as they played in the Smokey Mountain Classic the next day in Gatlinburg. Bath went 1 and 2 in the classic beating Gordon Central out of Georgia and losing to Claiborne and Cannon County out of Tennessee.

 

15) Menifee County (Season: 3-7 This week: 2-3)

Menifee traveled to Berea for the All A Holiday Classic. They were able to get 2 wins there, beating Monroe County and Red Bird. The Wildcats lost to Estill County and Jackson County in the Classic. Also this week, Menifee lost to Rowan County

 

16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-7 This week: 0-4)

A rough week for the Royals. Rose Hill lost at home to Fleming County and then went 0-3 at the Derby Classic in Raceland. In the Classic, Rose Hill lost to Leslie County, East Ridge, and Elliott County.

Russell's second loss at Rowan County was to Newport. Lewis County lost to Covington Holy Cross.

Bump.