Regional Tournament First Round Review

 

Pulaksi County vs. Lincoln County – The Maroons came into the regional ready to make a powerful statement and they did just that by knocking off the reigning champions 62 to 49. The Pulaski defense smothered the Patriots, limiting Jaxon Smith to only 7. Colton Fraley has proven himself to be one of the region’s best on both sides of the ball.

 

West Jessamine vs. Southwestern – The Colts were firing on all cylinders as they put up 84 points to the Warriors’ 56. DeAjuan Stepp led the way with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Daniel Waters continues to impress late in the year as he put up 15 points, complemented by 10 rebounds. If the Colts continue their run, it will be in no small part to the contributions of this young man who has come on as of late. Cole Dysinger put up 16 for Southwestern in the losing effort.

 

Somerset vs. East Jessamine – The Jaguars’ defense could not contain the Briar Jumpers as Somerset advances on a score of 77 to 66. Kade Grundy gave a monster performance, producing 34 points. Michael Powell (16 points) and DeQuante Jackson (15 points) led the way for the Jaguars.

 

Danville vs. Wayne County – The Admirals defeated the Cardinals 70 to 60 in a game that saw the second district loser beat a district champion. Thomas Spencer had 27 points for Wayne County, but it was not enough for the multiple threat Admiral offense to be bested.

 

Weekly Preview

 

March 9th at 6:30 PM –Pulaski County vs. West Jessamine: DeAjuan Stepp for the Colts and Colton Fraley for the Maroons lead two teams that also feature a deep roster of contributing players. The Maroons defeated the Colts in Somerset way back on December 7th by a score of 71 to 67 in a game which saw Pulaski’s Zach Travis go off for 23 and Colton Fraley limited to only 6. In the same game, Clayton Winter made a statement with 21 points and 9 boards and DeAjuan Stepp put up a modest (for his numbers) 16 points.

March 9th at 8:00 PM – Somerset vs. Danville: This will be round three for the two teams that make up the cream of the crop amongst the All A teams in the region. Somerset has won both matchups, the first being the 72 to 70 overtime win in the All A finals and the second being a beat down by the Briar Jumpers at a score of 82 to 59 in the Briar Patch. If Danville can limit the damage Kade Grundy can do, they will have a chance. If he gets 20 or more, it will be very tough for the Admirals to advance.

 

The winners will play March 10th at Pulaski County at 7:00 PM. Somerset leads the series over Pulaski with 2 wins and a loss. West Jessamine beat Danville by 18 early in December and did not play Somerset in the regular season. Pulaski defeated Danville 92 to 80 on February 16th. Pulaski County remains the favorite and Danville the biggest long shot, but it really is anyone’s tournament to win.

I'll take Pulaski Co. 68-59 vs. West Jessamine. Pulaski overall depth is the key. West only goes 6-7 deep, so if they suffer any foul trouble that'll be troubling for them. In the second game, I'll go with Somerset 75-68. The game will be much closer than the last meeting, and it's very hard to beat a team 3X. I think Coach Dunbar will have a good game-plan, and Kade Grundy is the X-factor. These two teams have seemed to be on a crash course to meet for a 4th time, and an All-County Regional Final would be quite the spectacle.

So I agree that Pulaski is deeper than West, however West has gotten deeper in terms of production as the season has gone along. You can see that in their later season results and stats as they have become consistently good, a quality they lacked early in the year.

 

And with Somerset and Danville, it is incredibly difficult to beat a team 3 times in a year.

 

I will take West Jessamine and Danville with West Jessamine to win it all, DeAjuan Stepp MVP.

So I agree that Pulaski is deeper than West, however West has gotten deeper in terms of production as the season has gone along. You can see that in their later season results and stats as they have become consistently good, a quality they lacked early in the year.

 

And with Somerset and Danville, it is incredibly difficult to beat a team 3 times in a year.

 

I will take West Jessamine and Danville with West Jessamine to win it all, DeAjuan Stepp MVP.

 

West is definitely good enough to win. My thinking is that if one of their role players (Not Stepp or Winter) get in foul trouble it's hard for them to find production. I seen PC play 9 guys the other night vs. Lincoln without much drop off. In the second game, Somerset is just a better overall team to me (doesn't mean Danville can't win). Based of our two predictions, it shows you how wide open this region really was all year.

2 for 2 on my semifinal picks. The regional tournament is definitely living up to the hype. Both West and Danville playing their best right now. Tomorrow should be really fun.