article 5th Region Week 7 Review

[SportsLife]

1. John Hardin (20-0): Continuing to remain on top, John Hardin rolled to the 2A title in Owensboro on Sunday. The Bulldogs are 20-0 after beating Bourbon County 73-53 in the 2A title game. The 2A MVP, Alex Matthews continues to lead the Bulldogs. Matthews is averaging 23 points per game for current 4th Region frontrunner John Hardin. Next, John Hardin will visit fellow unbeaten Elizabethtown for a 17th District showdown on Tuesday.

 

2. Elizabethtown (15-0): Remaining perfect, Elizabethtown notched wins over Hart County, North Hardin and Meade County. The Panthers outlasted North Hardin 77-71 in overtime. Jaquais Franklin is averaging a team-high 18.9 points per game for undefeated Elizabethtown.

 

3. Marion County (10-5): The Knights lost to Doss after falling to familiar foe John Hardin five days earlier. Doss defeated Marion County 66-52. Pacing the Knights, Jamison Epps is averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds per game.

 

4. Bardstown (11-6): The Tigers are on a five-game winning streak after adding victories over Bethlehem and Thomas Nelson. Hitting triple digits, Bardstown beat Thomas Nelson 100-72. JJ Traynor is averaging a double-double of 18.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game for the Tigers.

 

5. LaRue County (10-5): The Hawks dominated Hart County 68-38 in a lone game since absorbing an 11-point loss to John Hardin on January 10. One of the state's top scorers, Mark Goode is averaging a team-high 24.5 points per game for the LaRue County boys' basketball team.

 

6. Taylor County (7-10): The Cardinals haven't played since falling to Marion County in the 2A Tournament on January 10. The trio of Nick Knifley, Kybrin Smith and Conner Wise is leading the Taylor County boys' basketball team.

 

7. North Hardin (7-11): Following a loss to Elizabethtown, North Hardin bounced back to beat Breckinridge County, an opponent from the neighboring 3rd Region, 68-54. Naasir Johnson is averaging 16 points per game for the Trojans.

 

8. Central Hardin (6-10): After suffering a 14-point loss to frontrunner John Hardin, Central Hardin rolled past Washington County 63-31. Gavin George and Deonco Wilkerson are combining to pace the Bruins.

 

9. Campbellsville (8-9): The Eagles are on a four-game winning streak after notching wins over Caverna, Bethlehem and Green County. Among the most underrated players in the state, Malachi Corley is averaging 15.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the Campbellsville boys' basketball team.

 

10. Nelson County (9-11): The Cardinals split a pair of games, edging Washington County in overtime before falling to Bullitt Central. Bryce Riley is pacing Nelson County, averaging nearly 20 points per game for the Cardinals.

 

11. Adair County (6-10): Slipping back into the loss column, Adair County dropped games to Hancock County and Metcalfe County. Lucas Pooler is leading a balanced Adair County offensive attack, averaging 13.2 points per game for the Indians.

 

12. Thomas Nelson (6-12): The Generals pulled away to beat Meade County before suffering a loss to Bardstown. Andrew Mason is leading Thomas Nelson, averaging over 20 points per game for the Generals.

 

13. Bethlehem (7-9): After dropping back-to-back games to Bardstown and Campbellsville, Bethlehem beat Washington County 46-42. Kruse Harned is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game for the Eagles.

 

14. Hart County (6-9): Stumbling, Hart County dropped games to Elizabethtown, Edmonson County and LaRue County. Through 15 games, Jordan Burden is leading the Raiders with a 17.9 points per game scoring average.

 

15. Caverna (3-11): Remaining in the loss column, Caverna dropped its lone game to Campbellsville. The Colonels have won only one game since mid-December but boast wins over Fort Knox and Green County.

 

16. Green County (3-13): The Dragons split a pair of games in the 5th Region All 'A' Classic, defeating Fort Knox before falling to Campbellsville. Gunner Bush is averaging a team-high 16.6 points per game for improving Green County.

 

17. Fort Knox (3-8): The Eagles couldn't carry any momentum from a win against Burgin over into the 5th Region All 'A' Classic. Fort Knox dropped the game to Green County in the region small-school tournament and has lost three of four matchups since posting back-to-back wins.

 

18. Washington County (1-17): The Commanders continued to slide, dropping games to Somerset, Nelson County, Central Hardin and Bethlehem. Washington County entered the week on a 17-game losing skid.

[theguru]

Bump.

[theguru]

Bump.

[ColonelMike]

Interesting. Only five teams in the Fifth with winning records....

[ColonelMike]

Interesting. Only five teams in the Fifth with winning records....

 

I should clarify my statement further....we don't normally see this in the fifth. Usually there are more teams with records over .500. Kind of surprised when I noticed this....

[Hardin County Preps]

Central Hardin needs to go after a quality men's basketball coach. This high school has been in existence since 1991 and has never won a region championship. Many of the current players dislike playing for the current head coach and some prospective players refuse to come with him as the head coach. Enough is enough, 18 years with no state tournament sweet sixteen game. What will it take to turn this program around? North Hardin, John Hardin, Elizabethtown have all won a region championship!

[FlyPattern]

Central Hardin needs to go after a quality men's basketball coach. This high school has been in existence since 1991 and has never won a region championship. Many of the current players dislike playing for the current head coach and some prospective players refuse to come with him as the head coach. Enough is enough, 18 years with no state tournament sweet sixteen game. What will it take to turn this program around? North Hardin, John Hardin, Elizabethtown have all won a region championship!

 

1991 would be 28 years not 18 years. How many regional final appearances do they have?

 

Coach Nickell was hand selected and assistant for J.C. so as long as he is involved in the school system they aren't going to get rid of Matt in my honest opinion.

[bamaboy89]

I had no idea the kids at Central didn’t want to play for their Coach. Wow. I thought they liked him.

[ColonelMike]

Don't know a whole lot about the inner workings of Central Hardin basketball, but I've seen the Bruins the last two seasons, and was fairly impressed with them. 19 wins both seasons..... tough district to win the last few seasons with John Hardin on a stretch of great talent / great seasons. And that's meant that CH had to go into the region as a runner-up to face a district champ...the last two years, they lost in the first round to pretty good squads from Taylor County and Adair County...

 

Just an observation from afar...

[Hardin County Preps]

Sorry, my Kentucky math was wrong on number of years.

[Hardin County Preps]

For being one of the largest schools in Kentucky, you would think the program could have attracted enough talent to make a run at least once in 28 years? Any new talent moving into the area is going to John Hardin or Elizabethtown, no mention of Central Hardin basketball.

[Hardin County Preps]

Look no further than the football program before and after Mark Perry and Tim Mattingly to see what a difference a quality coach can do for a program.