8^th Region Week 2 Review

By:  Colonelmike

 

After just two weeks, only three teams remain unbeaten in Region 8:   Henry County (5-0), Oldham County (1-0) and North Oldham (1-0).   And after this week – with Oldham playing North on Friday – there will be, at most, two teams with unblemished records.

Individual accolades this week go to Jake Whitlock of Spencer County.  The senior eclipsed the 1,000 career point threshold during a 60-47 loss to Woodford County in the Bears’ last game.    Congrats to Jake (below), who is averaging 17.7 ppg after six games this season. 

 

(Photo courtesy of Spencer Co. Coach Jason Burns)

It was a rough week for Region 8 teams outside of region play, as Region 8 teams went just 6-8 against out of region competition.

Good news:   With the three Oldham County schools starting play last Friday, and Carroll County announcing today that they are ready to get back on the hardwood, all 18 Eighth Region teams are cleared to play basketball this week.   That’s the first time this season all Region 8 squads have been cleared for action.

Free live internet video broadcasts of 8^th Region games by Pegasus Sports are noted.

On to the rankings.

After Week Two, here’s where we stand  (all upcoming games shown are 7:30 pm starts, unless otherwise noted):

1 - Oldham County – (1-0) – Last Week: #1   Coy Zerhusen’s Colonels remain in the top spot this week, but after kicking off their season last Friday with a 59-51 win over District 29 rival South Oldham, the Colonels are playing catch-up.   Most of the rest of the region already has 5-6 games under their belt as Oldham prepares for game number two this Tuesday against Highlands.   Tyler Slone led the way against South with 19 points, but Oldham will have to tighten up some things before a big showdown with the region’s #2 team, North Oldham, this coming Friday.  

Against South, the one major impression that Oldham left was their work on the glass.  The Colonels were very aggressive on the offensive glass, and it paid off with a number of easy offensive putbacks.    On the defensive end, it paid off with a telling stat:   Oldham shot 16 more shots than South did.  

Oldham County has a brutal week this week, facing two Top 10 teams and the second-ranked team in the region, North Oldham.    With just one game under their belt, getting through this week without a loss would be quite an accomplishment.

This Week –  Tuesday 1/19 vs. #10 Highlands  7 pm         1/22 at North Oldham (www.pegasussportsky.com)        1/23 vs. #5 Elizabethtown at Central Hardin

 

2 – North Oldham (1-0) – Last week:  #2  North Oldham also opened their seasonon Friday, with a scoreboard-busting 100-81 win over Trimble County.

The number that raised some eyebrows was the “81”, which represented Trimble’s highest point total – by far – of the season.    Whether this was poor defense on the part of North, or whether this was part of the “new-look” Raiders promised by Trimble Coach Marcus Mumphrey is a little unclear.   Maybe a little of both.   Or maybe it was just because North was playing their first game of the year.

Offensively, the Mustangs had a banner day.  The 100 points scored was the second-highest point total in North Oldham history, eclipsed only by the 104 points scored on 1/13/2009 when North Oldham defeated Bullitt Central, 104-66.   Star guard Dallas Roberts led the way with 28 points, and Collins transfer Caleb Hawley contributed 17 points / 9 rebounds.   Austin “Rico” Clark added 16.   Luke Anderson and Ian Higdon made it five players in double figures as both scored 10 points.

North heads into a big week, facing perennial Indiana power Jeffersonville and #11-ranked Oldham County.

This week:  Tuesday, 1/19/21 at Jeffersonville (IN)     Friday, 1/22/21 vs. #11 Oldham County (www.pegasussportsky.com)

 

3 – Simon Kenton (4-1) – Last Week:  #5     The Pioneers is one of the region’s hottest teams right now, riding a 4-game winning streak.   The Pioneers appear to have found some complementary scorers to aid star guard Kelly Niece, and over the last three games, three other players have scored in double figures besides Niece.

In wins over Boone County (92-62) and district rival Grant County (82-70), the Pioneers saw Isaac Miller especially step up.   The junior guard had 24 against Boone (including 5 of 5 from beyond the arc) and 19 against Grant.    Meanwhile, freshman Travis Krohman (14 against Boone) and Andrew Smith (11 against Grant) both had double-digit games.

SK shot really well in both wins, hitting 59.6% against Boone and 56.2% against Grant.   Kelly Niece led the way in both games with 26 against Boone and 23 points / 11 rebounds against Grant.

The Pioneers wrapped up a very successful week with a 63-55 win over Lafayette on Sunday.

The Pioneers, who are 1-0 now in district play, take on their other two district foes this week.

This week:   1/19 at Williamstown     1/22 Walton-Verona

 

4 – Collins  (4-2)   Last week:  #4 – Collins continues to be the king of close games; four of the Titans’ games this year have now been decided by 8 or fewer points.

Collins dropped two of three this past week, beating Marion County, 52-38 behind 16 points by sophomore guard Kenyon Goodin, before losing two close ones to Anderson County, 34-33, ad Bardstown, 67-59.

Anderson forced the young Titans to shoot from the perimeter, and Collins just didn’t have the answer.

“I love where my team is right now,” said Titans’ coach Chris Gaither.  “We have a lot of kids trying to figure out their roles but they are so coachable and have a lot of room for growth.” 

“Our guards are young so it feels a lot like when Dayvion (McKnight, last year’s 8^th Region Player of the Year and Kentucky Mr. Basketball) and Marcellus (Vail) were sophomores. We are talented enough to beat anyone but until we learn to value consistency in each possession, we can be beaten by anyone.”

Collins hasn’t posted stats for the last two games, but during the first four, sophomore Kenyon Goodin led the team in scoring three times.   He’s joined in the backfield by sophomore Quinton Simmons.   Through four games, Goodin leads the team in scoring at 16 ppg while Simmons is second at 11.2 ppg.

Defensively, Collins is looking just a bit like some older Gaither-coached Titans’ teams; Collins has held 3 of 6 opponents to 45 points or less.

This week:   1/22 at Woodford County

 

5 – South Oldham (0-1)   Last wek:  #7   South is in the unusual situation of having lost their only game last week, yet they move up two spots this week.

To a very large degree, this reflects the uncertainty I felt when doing this initial ranking; there were so many unknowns in regards to the Dragons before the season.

Some of those questions were answered during the Dragons’ 59-51 loss to Oldham County on Friday.   On the one hand, it was the lowest point total by a Dragon squad in a ballgame in three seasons; you have to go back to January 30, 2018 to find the last time South scored so few points; they lost that night, 56-51, to North Oldham.

On the other hand, South cut loose junior Ben Michel and he showed that he could be one of the premier offensive weapons in the region this year, tallying 17 points against the Colonels, scoring on everything from threes (he hit two) to driving finger-rolls.   The incredibly mobile 6’7” forward will be a real defensive matchup nightmare this year.

The Dragons also showed that this year’s team, much like almost every other Steve Simpson team at South, will probably be a potent outside threat.   South hit 10 of 17 threes against Oldham (58.8%!) and hit 60.6% from the floor overall.  Whether the Dragons can match last year’s total of 349 made threes (the state’s #3 mark for most made threes in a season – third behind South’s totals from the 2016 and 2017 seasons!) is yet to be seen, but it’s clear that the Dragons have the green light to blaze away.

It looks very likely that what is holding this team back right now is mostly chemistry – something built as the team gains experience as a unit - as Simpson tries to mold a new group to replace the team that lost ten total seniors, including 4 starters, from last year’s squad.

This week:  1/18 at North Bullitt     1/20 vs. Bullitt East     1/23 at Henry County (www.pegasussportsky.com)

 

6 – Walton-Verona (5-1)   Last week:  #6 -  Walton had a solid week, going 2-1.   They got a nice win over the Woodford County Yellowjackets to kick things off, 63-61, behind Brant Smithers’ 23 points.    The win was impressive in the sense that the Bearcats won despite struggling with what is usually a strength:  free throw shooting.  Walton, normally a 70+% free throw shooting team, hit just 8 of 20 in the win, nearly sabotaging the victory.   But they found a way to win, anyway.    I thought that the win over Woodford was significant; it showed the Cats’ ability to face down a team with superior size on the inside.

The Cats dropped a 68-55 decision to 7^th Region power St. Xavier – the only time this year Walton-Verona has scored fewer than 63 points in a game – before rebounding for a decisive encore victory over Owen County in a rematch of the All-A Classic championship, 80-64.   It was the most points scored by the Bearcats so far this season.   Smithers led the way with 26.

In the last three games, five different Bearcats have reached double figure scoring, and in the Cats’ six games so far this season, there have been three different leading scorers.

The only thing that has to be perplexing head coach Mike Hester is the free throw shooting.   Walton-Verona was one of the very best free throw shooting teams in the region last year at 74.4%, but they are off to a difficult start at the line this year, hitting just 60.5% of their free throws through six games.

This week:  1/18 vs. Campbell County     1/19 vs. Gallatin County     1/22/21 at Simon Kenton

 

7 – Woodford County (4-2)  Last week:  #9   I haven’t seen Woodford yet, and the Yellow Jackets haven’t posted any stats yet for any of their six games, so I still feel a little out of touch with where Woodford belongs in this ranking.   But the Jackets lost to Walton-Verona (albeit by just 2 points), beat Spencer County by 13, and beat Anderson County by 9 to give me a bit of a barometer of where Woodford just might fit right now here in the upper-middle part of the rankings.

Woodford got off to a difficult start last week, dropping two games to Walton-Verona (63-61) and Tates Creek (78-71) before rebounding to manhandle Spencer County (60-47) and Wolfe County (67-58). 

No stats were available for any of the games, but Woodford has now scored 60 or more points in all six of their games this season.   They’re also getting accustomed to close games; five of the Yellow Jackets’ six games have been decided by 9 or fewer points.

Woodford heads into Week Three riding a two game winning streak.

This week:  1/19 at East Jessamine     1/22 vs. Collins     1/23 vs. Trimble County

 

8 – Henry County (5-0)   Last week:  #8 – Other than Oldham County and North Oldham – who are both 1-0 after playing their first games last Friday – Henry County is the only remaining unbeaten team in the region and owner of the region’s longest winning streak at five.

Henry is off to their best start since the 2013-14 team opened the season 6-0.

The first three wins came by a total of five points, so head coach Enoch Welch knows his team can’t celebrate too much.

“We have played three really close ones - all decided by one possession - so we know we are fortunate to be sitting at 5-0, because we could easily be 2-3,” he said.  “But good teams find ways to finish games and we have the potential to be a good team.  There are still a lot of things we need to clean up before we are there.  Our schedule continues to get stronger.”

The Wildcats won three last week, escaping with a 47-45 decision against District 31 rival Gallatin County, then topping county rival Eminence, 58-38.    The Wildcats capped the week with an easy 82-57 rout over Highlands Latin.

Henry County is off to a great start because 1) they have a legitimate 8^th Region Player of the Year candidate in senior center Trevor Hardin who is playing to his potential, and playing hungry, 2) they’ve added another contributor, Sam Royalty, on the front line who is taking some of the pressure off Hardin and giving coach Enoch Welch the ability to both give Hardin meaningful breaks and to put a “twin towers” look on the floor, and 3) they have found other players who have stepped up to assume the roles previously handled by graduated players like Ethan Lankford, who averaged 18.5 ppg last season and hit 86 threes.

Hardin is off to a “beast mode” start.   The big center has scored in double figures in all five games to date.   He’s led the team in scoring four times, and recorded a double-double four times.  (the only time Hardin didn’t have a double-double, he just missed it with a 15 points, 9 rebound effort against Gallatin County).  Hardin, who’s hitting 64.9% of his shots, is averaging 24 ppg and 13.6 rebounds through five games, with two 30 point games (30 points 17 boards against Western Hills and 32 points 11 rebounds against Highlands Latin).  Whew!

Welch knows he has something special.

“Trevor plays with a motor unlike any kid I've ever coached,” said Welch.  “He just goes so hard.  He has really worked on his overall game and has become a complete player for us.  He is definitely one of top talents in the region and state.  His energy is contagious and our guys feed off of him.”

Sam Royalty, the quarterback on the Henry County football team, has clearly gotten much stronger since last season.   A solid 6’6”, Royalty is not going to be moved easily on the interior.  Though his offensive game is still coming around, he’s been a remarkably consistent force on the glass, with at least 8 rebounds in each game.   He had a double-double – 11 points / 11 boards – against Eminence.

Things start to ratchet up a little bit more this week, and Enoch stressed the one-game-at-a-time approach to the season:

“Our only goal this year is the next game on our schedule; we try to stay focused on the task at hand.”

The Wildcats start the week with a matchup against a young Owen County team on Tuesday, one of the top contenders for the 31^st district crown, and end it back at home against South Oldham on Saturday.

This Week:  1/19 vs. Owen County     1/22 at Williamstown     1/23 vs. South Oldham 8 pm (www.pegasussportsky.com)   

 

9 – Spencer County (3-3)  Last week:  #3   Spencer County is the big mover in the rankings this week; unfortunately for Coach Jason Burns’ club, the Bears are going in the wrong direction as they fall six spots.

Spencer, still playing without injured star Sam Conley (broken wrist), played a pretty strong schedule last week, and lost three competitive games.   The Bears opened the week by falling to powerful 12^th region foe Boyle County, 60-52 (Boyle is the only team so far to beat St. X, knocking off the Tigers by 10), despite a 25 point effort by Lucas Hornback. 

The Bears then fell in a heartbreaker to North Hardin, 57-56.   Hornback recorded a double-double – 19 points / 11 rebounds – and Jake Whitlock scored 19, but the Bears hit just 31.2% from the floor and 27.3% from beyond the arc.   Spencer wrapped up the week in a District 30 matchup with Woodford County, falling by 13, 60-47.   Hornback led the way scoring for the third straight game with 23 points; Whitlock added 16.

“We played well Monday at Boyle County,” head coach Jason Burns observed.  “they were just better. Let one slip away Tuesday vs North Hardin. Friday we really missed him (Conley) as we were killed on the boards. We just have to have some other guys step up and make some shots.”

As mentioned above, one positive last week for Spencer was the 1,000 point milestone reached by Jake Whitlock during the Woodford County game.

Spencer is playing heroic ball right now, but the Bears are very short-handed and looking to find more sources for points.  Nobody besides Hornback and Whitlock have scored over 7 points in the last three games, and other than those two, only Jonathon Combs (11 points against Nelson County and 18 points against Trimble County) have scored in double digits at any time this year.

To complicate things, the Bears aren’t shooting well.  Only once in six games has Spencer hit over 40% of their shots (54.7% against Nelson), and Spencer has now shot under 37% for four straight games.  For the season, the Bears are hitting 38.3% overall and just 27% from beyond the arc.

“We haven’t shot the ball well this week,” said Burns.  “Really haven’t shot how we’re capable all year so far.”

The good news is that it’s early; players will take on additional responsibilities, and when Conley returns, Spencer could rapidly move back up this ranking.   If Conley returns and is able to rapidly get back to his former form, this could all work out in Spencer’s favor as other players’ development is forced to move ahead.   Maybe.  In the meantime, the Bears may take a few lumps.

This week, the schedule lightens a bit; we’ll see if Spencer can get back on track and end this three-game losing skid.

This week:   1/19 vs. Bullitt Central     1/22 at Gallatin County     1/23 vs. Grant County

 

10 – Anderson County (2-2)   Last week:  #10 – Anderson holds at #10 after evening their record at 2-2 last week with back-to-back victories.

Anderson, expected to be more of an offensive team than a defensive team this year, last week brought back memories of last season’s defensive giant, when the Bearcats led the state in defensive scoring.   In both games last week, Anderson held the competition under 40 points as they knocked off Bullitt Central, 42-37, and then dumped district rival Collins, 34-33, ending a three-game losing streak against the Titans.   The last Bearcat win in that series came in February of 2018 when Anderson beat Collins, 44-40, in the District 30 finals.

Anderson gave up 68 points in a one point loss to Henry County to start the season; they’ve been allowing fewer points every game ever since.  (Though they’ll have a tall order against Lexington Christian in their next game if they want to hold the Eagles to under 33 points!) 

Coach Bryan Hyatt was asked if he was surprised by the fact that the Bearcats were having more success on the defensive end than on the offensive end of the court.

“We are trying to mix smart basketball and defense with shooting ability,” he stated.  “We haven’t shot as well as I hoped so far.  (Carson) Wooldridge and (Tristian) Staley are leading the way.   Staley is averaging around 16-17 a game.   Wooldridge is doing a little bit of  everything.  Guarding the rim and rebounding the ball.”

Anderson starts a four-game homestand, including two out of region contests, this week:  

This Week:   1/19 vs. Lexington Christian     1/22 vs. Shelby County     1/23 vs. Southwestern

 

11 – Owen County (3-2)   Last week:  #11   Devin Duvall has Owen County slowly building back into a contender.   The Rebels split two last week, defeating new District 31 rival Trimble County, 75-58, behind 32 points from sophomore guard Teagan Moore – who also had a team high 9 boards – before falling to fellow Class A school Walton Verona for the second time this season, 80-64.

Moore posted back-to-back 30+ point games when he tallied a season-high 33 points against W-V.

Devin Duvall has a real youth movement going in Owenton.   The Rebels have been led through five games by three outstanding underclassmen.   Moore – a sophomore – leads the parade at 26.8 ppg / 8.2 rebounds, while shooting 54.3% from the floor.   Junior Isaac Wash is the only other player in double digits, averaging 10.6 ppg and 4.6 rebounds.  Wash is hitting 48.6% from the floor.   And freshman center Brax Ward, at 6’8” one of the tallest players in the region, is averaging 8.8 ppg and 7 rebounds.  

This Week:   1/19 at Henry County     1/22 vs. Carroll County

 

12 – Shelby County (1-3)   Last week: #12     Shelby holds pat at #12 this week, despite a 57-45 loss to Franklin County last wek.   Timothy Fuller led the Rockets with 21 points / 8 rebounds, but the Rockets could not shut down the Flyers and couldn’t muster sufficient offense of their own.

Shelby is showing the potential to evolve into a decent offensive team.  The Rockets have three players averaging in double digits (Austin Griffin 13.2 ppg / Timothy Fuller 11.5 ppg / Trent Burchfield 10.5 ppg) and one just shy of double digits (JaShon Marshall 8.2 ppg), but the Rockets have – to date – been sidetracked by poor shooting, hitting just 42.1% of their field goals overall, including 32.8% from beyond the arc, and 58.5% at the line.

Two of the top three scorers – Burchfield and Fuller – are shooting just 38.9% and 39.5% from the floor, respectively.

The Rockets will see their competition up a bit this coming week.

This week:   1/19 at West Jessamine     1/22 at Anderson Co.     1/23 at Bourbon County

 

13 - Gallatin County (1-2)  Last week:  #13    Gallatin County dropped its only gap last week to District 30 rival Henry County, 47-45.  Logan Riddle had a double-double in the loss, going for 14 points and 10 rebounds, but the Cats’ shooting failed them (33.9% for the game, including 3 of 17 (17.6%) from the three point line.  The Cats managed just six trips to the free throw line, making only two. 

For the Wildcats, the early season has plenty of surprising statistics.

Gallatin County is shooting just 41.3% from the floor, 25.5% from beyond the arc, and 55.8% from the stripe, both below the hallmark set by this proud program over the years.

This Week:   1/19  at Walton-Verona     1/22 vs. Spencer County  7 pm

 

14 – Grant County (1-4)   Last week:   #15 –  Despite dropping both of their games last week, the Grant County Braves leap over Williamstown into the #14 spot this week, thanks to better-than expected performances against more powerful competition.

Grant County has lost three in a row since earning their only win over Villa Madonna.  But the young Braves have faced a pretty strong schedule so far; the four teams the Braves have lost to – #16 Beechwood, Collins, Simon Kenton, and Conner – have a combined record of 16-5 heading into week three.   All four teams have won 4 games, and none have lost more than two.

Yet this Grant County squad, with two sophomores leading the charge, has managed to stay competitive at times.   Grant fell to Collins by only two points in overtime, and put up solid numbers in their most recent game, an eleven point loss to Conner (4-1).

Last week, Grant County lost by twelve (82-70) to district rival Simon Kenton.   Sophomores Mason Guffey (28 points) and Dylan Hammonds (19 points) led the way.  Junior guard Wayne Ziegler added 10.  

The Braves again fell short in a competitive game with Conner in their final game last week, falling 71-60 despite shooting 54.5% from the floor and hitting 9 of 14 threes.  Grant added 15 of 20 (75%) at the stripe.   Guffey (16 points), Ziegler (15), and Hammonds (12) again led the Braves’ attack.

Right now, Grant simply has to gain more experience and learn how to win again.   With that experience, the scoring will return.   After averaging 70.5 ppg in 2019-20, one of the highest scoring teams in the 8^th Region, the 2021 squad is managing just 58.8 ppg.

This week:   1/18 at Trimble County     1/22 at Dixie Heights     1/23 vs. Spencer County

 

15 – Williamstown (2-2)  Last week:  #14 – The Demons fall a spot after a somewhat surprising loss last week.

Williamstown dropped a heartbreaker, 52-50, to Bluegrass United to start last week before rebounding to topple Powell County, 53-47.

The Demons have three games scheduled this week; among those three games are battles with district 30 rival Simon Kenton and the district 31 favorites, Henry County.   Victories in two of three would be a huge statement for a Williamstown team trying to make it back to the region tournament.

The Demons have not yet posted any stats.

This Week:   1/19 Simon Kenton     1/22  vs. Henry County     1/23 at Dayton

 

16 – Trimble County (0-4) Last week:  #16 – Last week was a difficult week for the Raiders, facing uphill battles against Owen County and North Oldham.

Not surprisingly, Trimble County took a pair of losses, falling to Owen County, 75-58, and then losing on the road to North Oldham, 100-81.

Dylan Jennings, the leading returning scorer from last year, finally found his shooting touch against Owen County after two sub-par games to start the season.   He led the Raiders with 18, and was supported by talented sophomore J.T. Wilcoxson (12 points) and Hunter Kelly (11).   Tate Ogburn added 8 points and 16 rebounds.  Despite outrebounding Owen County, 39-31, the Raiders were out-shot (51% to 34%), resulting in Owen making 7 more field goals and 6 more free throws.

The Raiders finally got their offense in gear against North Oldham, scoring their highest point total of the year (81 points).   Unfortunately, North Oldham also had an offensive fun night, scoring 100 points – the second most points ever scored by a North Oldham basketball team in school history.

Despite the 19 point loss, Mumphrey had to be pleased with what his Raiders did with the basketball.   Trimble made 30 of 45 shots from the field (66.7%) and 17 of 24 free throws (70.8%).   Wilcoxson scored 33 points, hitting 14 of 27 shots, including 3 of 5 threes.   He got support from three other Raiders in double figures, as Ethan Horn added 13, Dylan Jennings scored 13, and Tate Ogburn added 12. 

Wilcoxson’s 33 points was the highest point total scored by a Raider since Evan Stevens scored 36 on 2/13/19 in a 79-76 win over Henry County.

This week:    1/18 vs. Grant County     1/19 at Eminence     1/23 at Woodford County

 

17 – Carroll County (0-1)  Last week:  #17 – Since opening the season with a 15 point loss to Owen County, the Panthers have been out of action due to COVID guidelines.  They return to action this week with two games, including a rematch with Owen County.

It will be interesting to see how Keishaun Mumphrey follows up his season-opening act, an incredible 39 point / 17 rebound performance against the Rebels.

This Week:   1/19 vs. Ryle     1/22 at Owen County

 

18 – Eminence (0-3)   Last week:  #18 – Eminence managed to get one game in last week, a 58-38 loss to county rival Henry County at home in Eminence.   No stats have been made available.

This week:   1/19 vs. Trimble County     1/21 vs. Nelson County

 

Live video internet coverage of 8^th Region games this week:

Wednesday, 1/20/21 – South Oldham vs. Bullitt East   www.pegasussportsky.com   7 pm ET

Friday, 1/22/21 – Oldham County vs. North Oldham    www.pegasussportsky.com  7:40 pm ET

Saturday, 1/23/21 – South Oldham vs. Henry County    www.pegasussportsky.com   7:30 pm ET

 

 

The 8th Region followers either have taken the year off due to COVID, or they're simply being real quiet around here.   Where is everyone?