Seventh Region Week 8 Review - Ballard and Male Are On A Collision Course

It is hard to escape the thought that Ballard and Male are the top two teams in the Seventh Region. But who is the better of the two? They played each other in the semi-finals of the LIT, with Ballard winning 71-58. That game had lots of people looking forward to the two playing each other again, which happens this coming Friday night at Male. And to make things even more exciting, if anything else is needed, it appears that Male's Howard Fleming will be back for the game. That one has the potential to be a classic.

TEAM RANKINGS

1. Ballard Bruins (18-2)

Rashad Bishop has returned for the Bruins and showed what a difference maker he can be, going 8 for 8 from the field while scoring 19 points to lead the Bruins past Waggener 89-73. The Bruins then easily dispatched the St. X Tigers 85-42, although that game may be a little deceiving since St. X was playing without two starters. Still, there is no doubt the Bruins are playing well and deserve to be ranked no. 1. Ballard plays KCD on Tuesday before again facing Male in a rematch of their LIT semi-final game which Ballard won 71-58.

2. Male Bulldogs (17-4)

The Bulldogs bounced back from their loss to Ballard in the LIT with two wins this week, beating Eastern 61-55 and Valley 78-40. The biggest news of the week for the Bulldogs perhaps was the tweet from Howard Fleming indicating he was one week away from his return to the court. That would suggest that he will be back for Male’s much anticipated rematch with Ballard Friday night. That could be a classic. Before then, the Bulldogs will take on the tough Collins Titans on Tuesday.

3. St. Xavier Tigers (13-5)

Playing without leading scorer Nick Mosley and fellow starter Kyle Bansbach against top-ranked Ballard, things did not go well and the Tigers fell to the Bruins 85-42. With Mosley and Bansbach back in the lineup on Saturday against Spencer County, St. X got out to a big lead against the Bears but had to withstand a big comeback effort from Spencer County to beat the Bears 82-75 and end the Tigers’ 3-game losing streak. This week St. X plays Eastern and Brown before playing Paul Lawrence Dunbar on Saturday in the Gary Moore Classic at Franklin County.

4. Seneca Redhawks (15-6)

Seneca confirmed that it should be ranked ahead of Eastern with a 70-59 win over the Eagles early in the week. Later in the week Seneca lost to Fern Creek, the top-ranked team from the Sixth Region, by a 53-45 margin. The Redhawks take on the Brown Bears and the Jeffersontown Chargers this week.

5. Eastern Eagles (13-8)

Eastern fell to a couple of the higher ranked teams in the region this week, losing to Male 61-55 and to Seneca 70-59. Those games are indicative of where the Eagles are right now – not quite at the top of the region, but not far behind. And the Eagles are young, so they will continue to improve over the rest of the season. The Eagles face St. X and Dixie Heights this week.

6. Trinity Shamrocks (10-10)

Trinity went 1-1 in the two games it played this week, both against teams from Lexington. The Rocks beat Bryan Station 66-51 on Wednesday but fell to Henry Clay 61-51 on Friday. Trinity plays Atherton early in the week and then travels to Madison Central for a game on Friday before returning to Louisville to play Woodford County on Saturday.

7. Waggener Wildcats (11-8)

Waggener split the two games it played this week. After losing to the top-ranked Ballard Bruins by a 89-73 margin, the Wildcats bounced back to beat the Manual Crimsons 64-47. The Wildcats host North Oldham on Tuesday before playing at Central on Friday.

8. Dupont Manual Crimsons (10-7)

The Crimsons took care of business against Brown this week, beating the Bears 76-37, but lost to the Waggener Wildcats by a 64-47 count. The Crimsons face Jeffersontown and Valley this week.

9. Louisville Collegiate Titans (12-5)

Collegiate’s participation in the All A Classic state tournament was short-lived, but not because the Titans did not play well. The Titans went back and forth with Hazard and the game was tied 39-39 when Hazard hit a last-second 3-pointer to win 42-39. Chez Moore led the Titans with 18 points. A disappointing loss, but Collegiate is having one of its best years ever and still has the goal of making it to the Seventh Region tournament. The Titans have games this week with Bardstown Bethlehem, Shawnee, and St. Francis.

10. Central Yellowjackets (7-12)

Central started the week with a 65-56 win over the Atherton Rebels. Shane Bibby and Dejuan Parks each scored 19 points in that one. On Friday, the Yellowjackets lost to Jeffersontown 64-51. The Yellowjackets take on Butler and Waggener this week.

11. Christian Academy of Louisville Centurions (8-7)

CAL grabbed a good win early in the week when it beat Spencer County by a 78-73 margin. The Centurions did not fare as well against South Oldham, falling to the Titans 95-71, but bounced back to beat Iroquois 64-59. CAL has a busy week ahead of it, with games against Holy Cross, Breckinridge County, Elizabethtown, and Bardstown.

12. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (8-7)

The Bearcats won the only game they played this week, besting Shawnee by a 73-64 margin. The Bearcats have a challenging game this week against Ballard before facing Walden and Beth Haven.

13. Atherton Rebels (7-10)

The Rebels went 1-1 this week, easily beating Portland Christian 66-34 but falling to the Central Yellowjackets 65-56. The Rebels face Trinity and Doss this week.

14. Shawnee Golden Eagles (11-7)

It was a good week for Shawnee, falling to KCD 73-64 to start the week but then beating Walden (66-63) and Eminence (51-25). The Golden Eagles have three away games on their schedule this week against Evangel Christian, Collegiate, and Western.

15. Walden Wolverines (12-6)

Walden played three close games this week, going 1-2 in those games. The win was a 89-88 victory over Beth Haven. The losses were to Shawnee (66-63) and Jackson City (81-78). The Wolverines hit the road this week with games at Kentucky Country Day and Maysville St. Patrick.

16. St. Francis Wyverns (2-12)

The Wyverns had a tough week, losing to Rock Creek Academy of Sellersburg, IN 70-30 and to Beth Haven 77-65. After an away game against Whitefield Academy on Tuesday night, St. Francis has home games against Burgin and Collegiate later in the week.

17. Portland Christian Eagles (5-12)

Portland Christian lost to Evangel Christian 77-72 in overtime and to Atherton 66-34 but got a win over Covington Latin by a 71-24 score. The Eagles have three games on their schedule this week, playing Highlands Latin, the Louisville Tigers (a home school team), and the Brown Bears.

18. Brown Bears (2-12)

Brown played once this week, losing to Manual 76-37. The Bears have an extremely busy week ahead, with games scheduled on every day from Tuesday through Saturday. A games against Portland Christian on Friday appears to be the best chance for victory.