8th Region Week 11 Review: Oldham County Firms Up Its Claim

By Colonelmike

 

Week 11 is in the books – only one week remains in the 2019 – 2020 regular season. The 8th Region rankings are settling down; the number one ranked Oldham County Colonels solidified their claim to the top spot this past week by upending #9 ranked Collins, the second-ranked team in the region (per this ranking) by eleven points at Collins. And – after there was no movement at all in the rankings last week – there was just minimal movement this week, with all of the movement occurring in the bottom half of the rankings.

 

Besides Oldham’s “top gun” showdown victory over Collins, the week’s big win belonged to Anderson County – ironically, it at the expense of Oldham County, just days after the Colonels defeated Collins. The big upset win ended Oldham County’s 15-game winning streak, but more importantly, it gained some respect for an Anderson County program that was struggling to earn some.

 

At the end of the day, though, Oldham remains on top of the region rankings. The Colonels have some warts, and there are several teams that appear more than capable of knocking Oldham out in the post-season, but the Colonels’ body of work so far still looks the best.

 

Two teams have eclipsed the twenty win mark so far – Oldham County and Collins. South Oldham, Spencer County, and Grant County all appear likely to cross the twenty win threshold this week. Simon Kenton needs two wins and has just two games left, with one against a dangerous Woodford County squad. But the Pioneers also have an excellent chance to get their 20th win this week.

 

The region is wrapping up a year of tremendous shooting. Four of the region’s top 5 shooting teams from the floor are hitting over 50%:

 

1 – Simon Kenton 51.3%

2 – North Oldham 51.2%

3 – Collins 50.9^%

4 – South Oldham 50.6% (an amazing figure, especially considering 48.3% of all of South’s field goal attempts come from beyond the arc.)

5 – Oldham County 48.5%

 

It’s also been a year of impressive free throw shooting. Just a few of years ago, we were bemoaning the “lost art” of free throw shooting and the mediocre shooting percentages at the line that were pervasive in the 8th Region. This year, a whopping eight teams in the region are hitting 70% or better at the line:

 

1 – Simon Kenton 75.1%

2 – Walton-Verona 74.8%

3 – Collins 74.2%

4 – Oldham County 72.9%

5 – South Oldham 72.4%

6 – Spencer County 71.8%

7 – Grant County 70.3%

8 – Williamstown 70.0%

 

Beyond the arc, nine teams – half the region - are hitting over 34%, led by South Oldham (285 of 696) and Walton-Verona (257 of 629), both hitting 40.9%. Woodford County actually is hitting threes at a higher percentage than those two teams, but the Yellowjackets haven’t shot nearly as many. Woodford sits at 43.7% beyond the arc, and the Jackets have made 145 of 332. The Jackets are the only team shooting a better percentage than South and Walton.

 

On to this week’s rankings….

 

1 – Oldham County (24-3) Last week: #1 Bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #11 Oldham had quite the up-and-down roller coaster week. But the Colonels took care of business on Tuesday, when they travelled to Shelbyville to face the #2 ranked team in the region, the Collins Titans. It was the highest-ranked team Oldham had faced all season, whereas the Titans were already veterans of several high-profile clashes with ranked teams.

 

In a wildly entertaining game, Oldham raced out to a 12-0 lead over Collins, ultimately fell behind, 27-20 late in the second period, then pulled to within 27-25 at the half on a crazy half-court three-pointer banked in by backup point guard Grant Gibson just before the halftime buzzer.

 

Oldham came out of the locker room on a mission to pound the ball inside. Tyler Slone, in particular, benefitted from this strategy, as he delivered 13 second-half points, and 15 for the ballgame. Deaton Oak led Oldham with 16 points, and the Colonels pulled away in the fourth quarter by hitting their free throws for the victory.

 

The Colonels hit the downhill side of the roller coaster as the week came to a close, travelling to Lawrenceburg to face the Anderson County Bearcats. Playing without starting guard Sam Campbell, the Colonels struggled to score against Anderson’s stingy defense, and Oldham dropped a 51-46 decision. It was the second-fewest points Oldham had scored all season.

Oldham County, despite the loss to Anderson, stays at number one this week. The Colonels have now defeated each of the teams ranked 2 through 7 in the region, and the Colonels defeated all but one of those teams by double digits. Only South Oldham, which fell to Oldham in Crestwood by five points, kept the final margin under 11 points.

 

This week:

 

2/18/2020 vs. Bullitt Central (The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN) 2/20/2020 at Great Crossing

 

2 – Collins (20-7) Last week: #2 bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #9 The Titans hold fast at #2 this week, dropping a tough 55-44 decision to Oldham County at home, before bouncing back with a hard-fought 71-66 win over a red-hot Grant County team.

 

The win over the Braves gives Collins their fourth consecutive 20+ win season.

 

Against Oldham County, the Titans struggled to find a go-to player late, especially after star guards Dayvion McKnight and Marcellus Vail both fouled out of the ballgame. McKnight still finished with 15 points, despite fouling out with over five minutes to play; Vail finished with 14 points. No other Titans scored more than four points.

 

Needing a bounceback victory, Collins got one against arguably the hottest team in the 8th Region right now, the Grant County Braves, 71-66. Collins hit 53.1% from the floor and four different Titans reached double figures, led by Vail’s 20 points. McKnight added 19, Tyson Turner 12, and Aaron Thompson 10 for Collins in the win.

 

Collins’ record is deceiving; despite the fact the Titans are only 4-4 in their last 8 games, their schedule has been absolutely brutal. The four losses were all to good teams in reasonably close ballgames: Simon Kenton (by 4), #2 Male (by 4), DeSales (by 12), and #11 Oldham County (by 11). During that stretch, Collins defeated top 10 McCracken County, adding McCracken to a list of defeated ranked opponents this year that includes Bourbon County, Madisonville-North Hopkins and South Oldham, plus two teams that were previously ranked – Beechwood and North Laurel.

 

Collins’ rivals would do well to recall the 2016-17 season, when Collins finished the regular season by losing their last four games, then stumbled to a runner-up finish in the 30th district tournament. The Titans then ripped off three straight victories to win the 8th Region tournament and advance to the Sweet 16.

 

This week:

 

2/18 – vs. North Oldham 2/21/2020 – at Christian Academy of Louisville

 

3 – South Oldham (19-8) Last week: #3 Bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #17 The high-scoring Dragons came down to earth a little bit last week, scoring only 59 points in a 67-59 loss to DeSales, the Dragons’ only game of the week.

 

Luke Morrison had 19 points and Ben Michel 12 in the loss as DeSales’ big center served as a big deterrent to South’s dribble-drive attack, leaving South to take 33 of 53 shots (62.3%) from beyond the arc.

 

The Dragons did a credible job shooting the three – as they usually do – hitting 11 of 33 shots. But South’s #2 scorer – Seth Johnson – was largely shut down, finishing with just 4 points, over 14 points below his average.

 

And – although South is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the state – the Dragons weren’t able to bring that advantage to bear, as South took just four free throws the entire game (making two).

 

The 59 points matches the lowest point total scored by South in a game this season, tying their points scored against Spencer County and Oldham County.

 

Notes:

 

The region’s top three point shooting team is on pace for well over 300 made threes on the season, having made 285 of 696 (40.9%) so far this season, 28 more made threes than Walton-Verona and 81 more made threes than Simon Kenton, the only other teams in the region to have made 200 or more threes to date.

 

Five South Oldham players – including four starters – who have taken a significant number of three pointers are hitting between 42.6% and 47%.

 

Senior Luke Morrison is tied for first in the 8th Region in free throw percentage at 84% (tied with Oldham County’s Sam Campbell and North Oldham’s Dallas Roberts). He is third in region 8 with 75 made three pointers.

 

With all the attention being paid to Oldham County and Collins, fans would be unwise to count South Oldham out in the upcoming tournaments. In the last 7 seasons, South Oldham has made it to the 8th Region championship game four times, winning three titles, more than any other school during that span. That’s an amazing record over that long of a time period.

 

This week: South will be favored to join Oldham County and Collins as teams with 20+ wins this week.

 

2/18/2020 at Walton-Verona 2/20/2020 at Henry County

 

4 – Simon Kenton (18-9) Last week: #4 The Pioneers are hitting their stride at the right time. The team appears healthy and the offense is clicking. The Pioneers have won 10 of their last 13 games, and have scored 60 points or more in 12 of those contests.

 

During that stretch, SK has a win over #9 Collins, and their only losses have been to #1 Covington Catholic, #11 Oldham County, and a four-point squeaker to district 32 rival Grant County, an 18-win team.

 

Last week, the Pioneers extended their current winning streak to three by going 2-0. A 64-43 win over Campbell County to start the week was impressive; Campbell’s record is hardly remarkable, but the Camels had started to make some serious noise of late, including an upset win over #15 Bourbon County. The 21 point margin tied Campbell’s worst defeat of the season. Kelly Niece had 22 on a sharp-shooting performance; the junior was 7 of 11 from the field, 2 of 4 beyond the arc, and 2 of 2 at the line.

 

SK wrapped up the week with an 87-56 drubbing of Scott High in which the Pioneers hit 54.8% from the floor. The team was a collective 13 of 27 beyond the arc for 48.1%, and

 

Jeremy Davis led the scoring parade with 25 points, including 7 of 10 from three point land.

 

The top scorers for SK seem to be at their peak right now. Niece appears to be fully healthy; his numbers have steadily climbed and he’s now averaging 18.3 ppg to lead SK. Niece has taken more shots than anyone on the team, and he shoots a lot of jumpers, yet his overall field goal percentage is a lofty 59.4%.

 

Davis is the top three point shooter in the region, hitting 49.0% from beyond the arc. Davis has hit also hit more threes than anyone else in Region 8, making 101 of 206 threes. His total number of makes ranked first in KY; the 49.0% figure ranks second in the state.

 

This week: SK goes for 20 wins, trying to become the first 20+ win team at SK since the 2011-12 team went 23-8.

 

2/18/2020 vs. Woodford County 2/20/2020 vs. Holmes

 

In the Hunt… The differences between the four teams in Tier Two are razor-thin. All four have question marks that must be answered – but if those questions are resolved, these teams can make big runs, perhaps all the way to Rupp Arena. I’ve seen the four teams in this group a lot this year – in particular, I’ve seen Spencer five times and North Oldham eight times. And yet the questions remain as to the order of these four. Woodford is a different team with Penn back. And Grant is hot – really hot. A good argument could probably be made to reverse the order. Or just scramble it.

 

5 – North Oldham (15-11) Last week: #5 Few teams ever manage to re-invent themselves twice in a year, and can make it work. North seems to have achieved that.

As previously noted, David Levitch had quite the task after losing Mr. Basketball candidate Justin Powell right after Christmas. You just don’t look to the bench and find that kind of production. The first try involved slowing things down. That really never worked. So Levitch tried to speed things up, and the result seems be positive. North has won 5 of their last 7, with their only losses during that span to a powerful Waggener team and #3 ranked Ballard.

 

A large part of the resurgence has to do with the fact that Levitch found a budding star hiding on his bench. Sophomore reserve guard “Rico” Carr-Cole had been a role player until Powell went down. In the 8 games started by Powell, Carr-Cole played in 7. The only time he scored in double figures in those eight games came against Frederick Douglass – the game in which Powell was injured. Rico scored 12 that night.

 

Fast forward to today. Carr-Cole broke into the starting lineup a couple of weeks ago, and his scoring has surged. In the Mustangs’ most recent game, the sophomore erupted for a season-high 31 points on 10 of 16 shooting (6 of 10 beyond the arc) and 5 of 6 at the line. His scoring average has risen and he now is the third-leading scorer on the team at 11.3 ppg.

In the last 11 games, Carr-Cole has averaged 16.1 ppg and has scored in double figures nine times. He’s been the Mustangs’ leading scorer in three of the last six games. Even more impressive, his big games seem to come against some of the Mustangs’ better opponents: 25 points against #15 South Oldham, 21 points against Waggener.

 

Keyed by the team’s rejuvenated offense, North ripped off two wins last week, beating Central, 55-53, behind 25 points from Dallas Roberts, and then besting Meade County, 88-76 behind Carr-Cole’s 31 points. Dallas Roberts added 24 points in the win, and Tyler Higdon contributed 16.

 

North is now #2 in the region in shooting percentage at 51.2%, and #4 in scoring average at 69.0 ppg. Quite a renewal after losing the 22 ppg provided by Justin Powell.

 

This week: The Mustangs have probably the most challenging final week of any team in the region. They start off on the road against top 10 Collins, then travel to play 18-win Montgomery County. They wrap up with Sixth Region power DeSales, who has already knocked off 8th Region contenders Collins and South Oldham.

 

2/18/2020 at #9 Collins 2/20/20 at Montgomery County (18-11) 2/21/2020 vs. DeSales

 

6 – Spencer County (19-7) Last week: #6 The Bears have reached the lighter part of their schedule, but they are showing no signs of letting off the gas, as Spencer won three straight last week to extend their region-best winning streak to 8 games.

 

The first game of the week was the strangest. Spencer gave star guard Sam Conley some time to rest before the post-season, yet still figured to win handily against the Shelby County Rockets. The Rockets, however, had other ideas, and the game went to a dramatic three overtimes before the Bears were able to put away the underdogs, 78-71. The Bears struggled to hit the basket, hitting just 35.3%. Gage Mabry led the way with 28 and Jake Whitlock had 17 to lead Spencer.

 

It was the Bears second straight overtime game, coming four days after a double-overtime win over Anderson County.

 

The Bears righted the ship pretty quickly, winning their last two games of the week easily, 65-49, over Bullitt Central (Lucas Hornback with 28 points / 10 rebounds) and 73-48 over Henry County.

 

This week: The Bears will be heavy favorites to win out, pushing them over the 20 win plateau for the fourth straight season, and propelling them into the playoffs on a 10 game winning streak.

 

2/18/2020 vs. Bethlehem 2/21/2020 vs. Thomas Nelson

 

7 – Grant County (18-9) Last week: #7 Last week was oh-so-close to being a perfect week for the Braves.

 

Grant County won 2 of 3 games last week, as they continued to be one of the hottest teams in the region, with 9 victories in their last 11 games.

 

But it was the one that got away at the end of the week that was the “big fish” that “got away.”

 

Grant began the week with a 68-56 win over District 31 favorite Gallatin County. Four Braves reached double figures, with Ben Vickers scoring 20, freshman Dylan Hammonds scoring 15, Jack Epperson adding 14, and Luke Dawalt contriubing a double-double with 12 points / 10 rebounds.

 

The Braves followed that with a 76-64 win over Boone County behind Hammonds 21 and Vickers’ 20. Another freshman – Mason Guffey – added 12.

 

It all set the stage for a big showdown with #9 Collins to close out the week. In a game that came down to the proverbial wire, the Titans edged the Braves, 71-66, despite another balanced night of scoring from Grant. Epperson led the team with 17 against Collins; Blake Robinson had 13, Vickers 12, and Hammonds 10. Dawalt added 8 points and 8 rebounds.

 

Despite the loss to Collins, the week was a good one for Grant. The Braves averaged 32 rebounds in the three games, never shot below 46% from the floor, and six different players scored in double figures in at least one of the three games. Over the last six games, five different Braves have been the leading scorer at least once.

 

The Braves are now the #2 team in Region 8 in scoring, averaging 70.6 points per game.

This Week: Grant County will be heavily favored in their final two games of the season, which would be the first time the Braves have won 20+ games since the 2012-13 squad went 24-6.

 

2/17/2020 vs. Owen County 2/20/2020 at Bracken County

 

8 – Woodford County (15-11) Last week: #8 Maybe I spoke too soon.

 

When Hunter Penn went down with an injury on 1/20/2020 against Walton-Verona, the Yellowjackets were everybody’s darling and the hottest thing in the region. Woodford had won 11 of 12 games, and was starting to show the potential that many thought they had in the pre-season. But after Penn went down, the wheels came off. The region’s best shooting team suddenly was hitting barely a third of their shots. Scoring went down with the shooting percentages. And Woodford County dropped four of their next six games, including blowout defeats at the hands of South Oldham, Collins, and Trinity.

 

Now Penn is back – but last week was still a rough week for the Yellowjackets as they dropped two of three games against a very, very tough schedule.

 

Woodford started off the week with a 76-72 victory over a solid West Jessamine team. The Jackets seemed to have reclaimed their shooting eye, especially from the outside, where they hit 9 of 18 threes. Free throws almost cost them, though, as Woodford made just 17 of 31 free throws (54.8%) in what turned out to be a very close game. Ashton Myles -Devore led the way with 25 points, and Penn had a double-double – his second straight in his first two games back in the lineup - with 13 points and 10 boards.

 

The Yellowjackets then faced two of the toughest teams on their schedule, falling to #14-ranked Henry Clay, 76-51, and to 7th Region powerhouse St. X, 77-37. The loss to X was a head-turner; there was no shame in losing to the Tigers, they had played and defeated countless top-notch teams in Kentucky already. However, the 37 points scored was somewhat shocking; only Brown (36 points) had scored fewer points against St. X.

 

I still think Woodford is an outside threat to win the region, if they can get out of the 30th District. However, for the Jackets to do so, I think Woodford will have to re-discover their offense, which has eclipsed 60 points only 3 times in the last 10 games.

 

The Jackets have another tough assignment to wrap up the season as they face Simon Kenton on Tuesday.

 

This week: 2/18/2020 at Simon Kenton

 

The Third Tier – At least two of the below should make it to the Region 8 Tournament:

Let’s see….Gallatin beat Anderson County…Anderson beat Walton-Verona…Walton-Verona beat Henry County….Henry County beat…Gallatin County(!)…and around and around and around we go.

 

9 – Anderson County (17-8) Last week: #10 Call it a hunch. I know a thousand people will call me out for moving the Bearcats up a notch this week, moving them ahead of Gallatin County. The criticism is fair; I’ve always been a believer in using head-to-head as my first, and most important, arbitrator in terms of ranking teams.

 

And Gallatin did defeat Anderson County – in Lawrenceburg – by eight points in mid-January.

 

But I’m a bit more impressed by what Anderson’s done since.

 

Last week, the Bearcats finally righted the ship, ending a six game losing streak against some seriously good competition, and beginning a late season winning streak with three consecutive victories.

 

The first two wins last week were expected – a 58-43 win over Carroll County and a 60-40 victory over Owen County – but the Bearcats looked solid in both victories. Hunter Rutherford had 19 in the win over Carroll, and Sam Harrod had 21 against Owen. The 60 points in the Owen win was just the 7th time this season Anderson has scored 60 points or more.

 

The Cats saved the best for last, however, as they knocked off the region’s top-ranked team.

 

Catching Oldham County immediately after the 11th – ranked Colonels had upset #9 Collins, the Bearcats raced out to a 15 point lead over Oldham County and held on for a 51-46 victory.

 

The win matched the region’s top two scoring defenses in a game where points were at a premium.

 

(Ironically, Oldham’s only two losses this year to Kentucky teams have come to 30th District teams – Anderson County and Woodford County - emphasizing the point that this region tournament will be WIDE OPEN.)

 

Head coach Bryan Hyatt said that the Oldham win may help his team believe.

“We have been right there (in) basically every game except the North Oldham game,” he said after the upset win. “Not only right there, most of the time in the lead.”

 

“I have a unique bunch of kids; regardless if we win or lose they show up the next day ready to work. I would say finally getting over the hump in a marquee game is important for the mental approach for the guys. My guys never really have doubted we could beat anyone but hopefully the Oldham win reassures what they believe.”

 

“This should tell people that AC is a solid club, that has lost some tough games in the end,” he continued. “My team is smart, tough, and together. Through the ups and down my guys always stay together and continue to fight.”

 

Knowing the Bearcats face a tough road in the district tournament – needing two wins to reach the region - Hyatt took a moment to look ahead:

 

“The district tournament is gonna be a war,” he said. “Shelby County can give us problems. We will have to play really well to even get to Tuesday night. We will approach district week like we do every day here. We will play every play tough, smart, and together. At the end of the night hopefully that’s good enough.”

 

Anderson still leads the state and the region as the top scoring defense, allowing just 44.3 ppg.

 

This week:

 

2/17/2020 at Lexington Christian 2/21/2020 at Franklin County

 

10 – Gallatin County (15-13) Last week: #9 On the scoreboard, Gallatin County had a successful week last week, winning three of four games. The Wildcats are trending upward, winning four of their last five, since emerging from a five game losing streak.

 

The Wildcats started the week off on a down note, falling to Grant County, 68-56. Jarin Rassman – who has been a scoring demon all year – led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Hayden Dickerson, who recently came back from an injury, had 15 points, including 4 of 8 threes.

 

Rassman had a double-double in all three Gallatin games last week. We have not seen a point guard in the region who can run point / score / rebound like Rassman in many, many years.

 

The Wildcats bounced back with a come-from-behind win over upstart Trimble County. The Raiders led nearly the entire game, but Gallatin hung around and rallied for the 79-76 victory behind 31 points / 13 rebounds from Rassman. The Wildcats, who have been an average to below average free throw shooting team all season, won this one at the line. On a night when they hit only 40.6% from the field, the Wildcats were a terrific 18 of 23 at the line to seal the deal.

 

Gallatin then wrapped up the week with wins over Owen County (62-41) and Ludlow (72-57). Rassman had 21 points / 12 rebounds in the Owen win. Stats were not available for the Ludlow contest.

 

Hayden Dickerson is clearly back to form after his injury; Dickerson hit 10 of 21 from beyond the arc in the Grant / Trimble / Owen games.

 

This week:

 

2/21/2020 at Shelby County

 

11 – Walton-Verona (12-16) Last week: #11 It was a tough week for the Bearcats, who dropped both games and now are sitting in the middle of a four game losing streak.

 

Despite a terrific game from sophomore Brant Smithers (27 points, 5 of 12 threes), the Bearcats fell to Lloyd Memorial, who has had a strong year against Region 8 NCKC teams, going 6-1. The Cats hit 13 of 27 threes, but only 8 of 22 inside the arc in the loss.

 

It was Jack Watson’s turn in the next game to step up; Watson, averaging 10.1 ppg on the season, erupted for 29 points against Ryle, but the Bearcats – who had just 15 total rebounds on the night – fell by 14.

 

On the road at Madison Central to close out the week, Walton-Verona hit 51.3% from the floor, but managed to get off only 39 total shots as they fell to the Indians, 70-58. Smithers had 23 points, but he was the only Bearcat to reach double figures in the loss.

 

On the bright side, Smithers continues to put together quite a stat line for the season. The sophomore is averaging a team-high 19.2 ppg, is shooting 50.7% from the floor overall, 47.9% from beyond the arc, and 92.4% from the free throw line (73 of 79). He’s number two in region 8 in made threes (80) and kicks in 4.4 rebounds per game.

 

Offensively, Walton is a solid unit, with four players averaging in double figures. The Bearcats have made 257 threes at just under 41%, second only to South Oldham’s 285 made threes.

 

On the other hand, the Bearcats are struggling against bigger, more physical teams. They are averaging just 22.7 rebounds per game; in three of the last four contests, the Bearcats have had 17 boards or less.

 

Still, first year coach Mike Hester is thrilled with how quickly his team has settled into his system.

 

“Our kids have bought into our system,” he said, when asked how he thought this re-building project was moving along. “We struggled early with guys fully committing themselves and now we fill like they’re married to our style of play. Our biggest surprise is our ability to shoot the ball on a consistent basis each and every night, especially for guys who had never played varsity basketball.

 

“For the post-season, we always tell our guys to just give us a chance and that will be our mindset going forward. We have that chance next Tuesday, so hopefully we play our best basketball Feb 25th - 28th.”

 

This week:

 

2/18/2020 vs. #17 South Oldham 2/20/20 at Carroll County

 

12 – Henry County (15-12) Last week: #12 Henry County has won 11 of their last 14 games to push their record 3 games above .500 for the first time this season.

 

The Cats edged Shelby County to start last week, 53-52, behind Ethan Lankford’s 23 points and Trevor Hardin’s double-double (16 points / 12 rebounds).

 

Spencer County bounced Henry hard to end the week, though, as the Wildcats fell, 73-48. Hardin had 20 points and 9 rebounds, but the Wildcats hit just 39.6% from the floor, and only 2 of 14 three pointers. The 48 points scored was the fewest Henry had scored since scoring 45 against Collegiate in December.

 

Hardin (18.7 ppg / 8.7 rebounds) has flourished in the paint this year, but may need a little more outside help to be even more effective. Lankford (18.9 ppg) is the region’s #3 shooter from beyond the arc, in terms of made threes (70), but nobody else has made more than 14 for the Wildcats.

 

Henry County heads into the 31st district tournament as a legitimate threat to Gallatin County’s reign; Henry is the only 31st district team to defeat Gallatin this year, and could potentially meet the Warsaw Wildcats in the district finals.

 

This week:

 

2/17/2020 vs. Walden 2/18/2020 at Trimble County

 

13 – Carroll County (10-17) Last week: #13 The Panthers finally look to be 100% healthy; it couldn’t come at a better time – Carroll has dropped 7 of their last 8 games heading into the final week of the regular season.

 

Head coach Jonathan Moore is just happy to finally be at full strength:

 

“Heading into the district tournament we look to be fully healthy for the first time in about a month between concussions, flu, and minor bumps and bruises along the way,” he said. “As far as results not being what we want lately we’ve really been struggling from the FT line in big spots.”

 

“Also, our schedule has been rough lately between playing good teams both in and out of region....Grant County, South Oldham, Anderson County, East Jessamine, Trinity, and Louisville Collegiate. We’ve also spent the majority of the last month on the road. We’ve played 10 of our last 12 games on the road. Hopefully the tough competition and the road environments have helped to prepare us for our game in the district tournament. We haven’t made the region since 2006 and haven’t won the district since 2000. Our focus is breaking those trends!”

 

The Panthers had a rough week this past week, dropping a 15 point decision to Anderson County and a 13 point game to Collegiate. In both games, the Panthers got solid scoring from the “Big 2” – Wyatt Supplee and Keishaun Mumphrey – but not a lot of support. Mumphrey had (yet another) double-double against Anderson, with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Supplee had 15 points – but nobody else had more than 4.

 

Against Collegiate, Supplee scored a team-high 29 points and Mumphrey had 9 – but again, nobody else had more than four points.

 

Free throws – or rather, missed free throws – were big in the two losses as Carroll went just 12 of 30 at the line last week for 40%.

 

Supplee continues to be the top scorer in the 8th Region, averaging 24.4 ppg. Mumphrey is the region’s top rebounder, averaing 10.2 rebounds per contest.

 

This week:

 

2/20/2020 vs. Walton-Verona

 

The Longshots…

14 – Shelby County (5-21) Last week: #16 Shelby County moves up two this week, despite losing 2 of 3 games last week. Maybe the Rockets dug down deep and found the spark of the Shelby County Rocket basketball tradition. Maybe it was memories of Charlie Hurt, Mike Casey, Norris Beckley, A. J. Slaughter, etc. Whatever it was, the Rockets put up three spirited performances last week.

 

First up was a district battle with Spencer County, and the Rockets took the Bears to three overtimes before falling, 78-71. Shelby hit 50.9% from the floor against one of the region’s better defenses. Austin Griffin led the way with 13 points. Isaac Clark (7 of 12 shooting) had 15, JaShon Marshall (6 of 7) 15 points, and Kaden Dugle (5 of 7) 10 points and 9 rebounds.

 

Only a 9 of 18 night at the line perhaps stood in the way of a Rocket upset win.

 

Shelby then bounced back to knock off Western Hills, 67-65, ending a ten-game losing streak. Trenton Burchfield had 16, Clark 14, Griffin 13, and Marshall 11 as again Shelby had four players in double digits. This time, the Rockets hit 20 of 24 clutch free throws to earn the win.

 

The Rockets just missed making it two in a row as they fell to Henry County, 53-52, to close out the week.

 

This week:

 

2/20/2020 vs. Frankfort 2/21/2020 vs. Gallatin County

 

15 - Williamstown (11-15) Last Week: #15 Last year, Williamstown went 9-22; this year, the Demons have already eclipsed that win total by two games, and they will likely expand on it.

 

Williamstown beat Bellevue last week to earn win number eleven, 55-38. Bryant Henson had 16 points in the victory and Cole Kightlinger 10. The Demons didn’t shoot all that well (39.1%), but they were brilliant at the line, where they made 12 of 14 shots.

 

A solid Lloyd Memorial team defeated the Demons, 84-62, to close out the week.

 

This week: Williamstown has a whopping four games to play in their final week of the regular season. They should be considered favorites in three of those games and the fourth is a toss-up. The Demons could realistically finish the regular season with a 15-15 record.

 

2/17/2020 vs. Powell County 2/18/2020 at Owen County 2//20/20 vs. Frankfort Christian 2/21/2020 at Eminence

 

16 – Trimble County (6-19) Last Week: #17 First off, congratulation to senior guard Reece Webster! Webster didn’t just cross a 1,000 or 1,500 point threshold last week in a narrow loss to Gallatin County. He became the all-time leading scorer at Trimble County HS. This is a remarkable achievement. Trimble hasn’t been a powerhouse program in a while, but people forget that this is a very old school. They’ve fielded a lot of basketball teams – including a lot of great ones that today’s kids don’t remember. I remember the great Trimble County Raiders teams from the 1970s – they had some tremendous players.

 

And there were a lot of good teams in Bedford way before I can remember.

 

And Webster just passed them all up on the scoring list. Congratulations, young man – and best of luck to you after high school!

 

Trimble almost was able to celebrate Reece Webster’s accomplishment with an upset victory last week. The Raiders led by double digits for much of the game at Gallatin County, but the Wildcats rallied late for a 79-76 win. The Raiders shot 52.5% in the game, but only 11 of 19 at the line (57.9%), which may have ultimately cost them.

 

Ryan Long had 16 points and Webster 14 to lead the Raiders, along with Dylan Jennings’ 14 and Beau Turner’s 11.

 

Trimble ended the week on an uptick, however, knocking off the Owen County Rebels, 60-57, behind 22 points from Webster and 12 from Long.

 

Over the last four games, the Trimble County offense has shown new life. The team is averaging 575 ppg, but over the last four contests, the Raiders have averaged 66.8 ppg, during which time they’ve gone 2-2.

 

As a result, Trimble County moves up one spot this week.

 

This week:

 

2/17/2020 at Bellevue 2/18/2020 vs. Henry County

 

17 – Owen County (6-21) Last week: #14 With leading scorer Teagan Moore out with injuries, the Rebels are struggling late in the season. As a result, the Wounded Warriors from Owenton fall three notches to #17 this week.

 

Owen started last week right, with a 59-56 win over Dayton, but even that game was probably more of a struggle than it would have been with Moore in the lineup.

 

Owen got a season high from Jack Spurgeon, who scored 21 points in his first time as the team’s leading scorer this year. Spurgeon averages 5.5 ppg. Isaac Wash had 13, and 8th grader Brax Ward had 7 points / 7 rebounds. Owen shot 52.5% from the floor, but hit just 8 of 14 free throws and managed just 17 rebounds.

 

The Rebels then ended the week with three straight losses, 60-40 to Anderson County, 62-41 to Gallatin County, and 60-57 to Trimble County.

 

This week:

 

2/17/2020 at Grant County 2/18/2020 vs. Williamstown

 

18 – Eminence (4-24) Last week: #18 This has been a tough assignment for head coach Gary Tuell. The Warriors started the year expecting to be at or near the bottom of the region, and I think Tuell has had to work to battle that internal perception as much as anything else.

 

Still, this is a coach who has thrived on major rebuilding efforts. If anyone has the background to resurrect a once-proud Warrior program, it’s likely to be Tuell. And – though he recognizes this will take a major revival, Tuell’s proud of the progress made this year.

 

“This program did not need a facelift or a tummy tuck. It needed a total makeover,” he told me. “The results don’t show it, but we made progress this year. As Leonard Hamilton once told me, it isn't the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. We are one of the smaller schools in Kentucky and have limited numbers to work with.”

 

“But numbers are only part of the challenge. Changing the culture, developing a positive mindset and of course developing skills of guys who have never played basketball and have zero experience have all been challenges. Our guys have learned a lot and grown a lot. We do have a foundation to build on. We will continue to work to develop skills and understanding of the game as we move forward.”

 

“We have some young guys who are committed to the future and have a chance to get better.”

 

The Warriors are mired in a region-worst 9 game losing streak heading into the final week of the regular season after dropping two games last week.

 

The Warriors fell, 62-43, to Collegiate last week, before closing with a 72-55 loss to Kentucky Country Day. But – as Tuell has pointed out – the team has improved. On January 7th, Eminence lost to Williamstown, 66-40. Barely three weeks later, the Warriors again lost to the Demons – but by just 8 points.

 

Eminence will close out its season this week against that same Williamstown team. A win on Friday against the Demons would be a nice ending to a challenging regular season.

 

This week:

 

2/21/2020 vs. Williamstown

 

I’ve had a great opportunity to watch a lot of 8th Region basketball this season. I’ve seen 13 of the 18 teams in the region play. I’ve seen every team ranked in the top 9 play at least once; I’ve 7 of those "top 9" teams multiple times, including all of the top 6. The only teams I have not seen in person this year are: Eminence, Williamstown, Owen County, Carroll County, and Gallatin County, and I've seen video of Gallatin and Carroll. I hate that I’ve missed those teams, but there’s only been so much time.

 

Best of luck to everyone this week! NEXT WEEK: District Tournament Previews

Oldham County (#13) and Collins (#15) are the two 8th Region teams in this week's Bluegrasspreps Top 20. South Oldham (#17 last week), falls out.