8^th Region Week 5 Review

By:  Colonelmike

 

The first week of February brought chaos and milestones to the 8^th Region, as favorites stumbled, dark horses rose up and were counted, and players attained new statistical heights.

All in a day’s work in what is proving to be a very unpredictable season

CONGRATULATIONS to Deaton Oak of Oldham County and Kelly Niece of Simon Kenton for reaching career milestones!   Oak reached the 1,000 point career threshold on Friday in a loss to Ballard on the road, and Kelly Niece of SK joined the elite 2,000 point career club.

Only two players in Simon Kenton history have reached the 2,000 point mark.

Congrats to both players on their achievements.

Through five weeks, the crazy schedule means that the various 8^th Region teams have played as many as 15 games (Grant County) and as few as 4 games (Carroll County).   It’s reflected in the play on the court.   Consider:  Five teams – nearly a third of the region – have played seven games or less.   That means those teams are effectively playing “mid-December” ball.

Through five weeks, Simon Kenton leads the way in scoring per game.   The top scoring teams in the 8^th Region:

            Simon Kenton             70.9 ppg

            Walton-Verona           69.8

            North Oldham             69.2

            South Oldham             65.6

            Oldham County          64.7

Through five weeks, Eminence (42.1 ppg) and Anderson County (48.9 ppg) are the only teams scoring less than 50 points per game. 

Three teams remain undefeated against 8^th Region competition.   Walton-Verona is 8-0; Oldham County is 3-0; Simon Kenton is 2-0.   Williamstown (0-7) and Shelby County (0-4) are the only remaining winless teams in 8^th Region competition.

After only two very small moves last week, the ranking was tossed into a blender by last week’s results, which included at least five games between 8^th Region teams that might be considered upsets.  Twelve of eighteen teams changed position this week, so fasten your seat belts.   Here we go….

After Week Five:  (all upcoming games shown are 7:30 pm starts, unless otherwise noted):

1 - Oldham County – (4-2)  Last week: #1  The Colonels, whose schedule is very aggressive this year, played games against opponents best described as “tough, tougher, and toughest” last week, as Oldham faced off against region rival Collins, then followed it up against two top-tier 7^th Region squads in Seneca and #2-ranked Ballard.

Both teams were missing key guards in the Collins game; Oldham’s starting point guard, Grant Gibson, was out, and Collins’ leading scorer – sophomore Kenyon Goodin (13.2 ppg) – was out after tweaking his ankle against Lexington Catholic.   The Colonels’ however, ultimately built a 15-point halftime lead and coasted to a 61-46 win behind Tyler Slone’s 17 points.

Deaton Oak, who started the year in a shooting slump, broke out of that slump in a big way against Seneca, posting 23 points, including 12 points in the pivotal third quarter.    Oldham again built a big lead at 70-50, before settling for a 72-63 final margin.   The Colonels - Region 8's top free throw shooting team at 73.8% -  were particularly impressive at the line against the Redhawks, hitting 23 of 29 free throws (79.3%).

Oldham got a late add to their schedule, facing Ballard the night after playing Seneca, falling 73-52 on the road.

Xander Wagner-Rose seems to be the hot hand for the Colonels right now.  Stats for the Ballard game were unavailable as of this writing, but the 6’6” senior post had a string of three consecutive double-doubles going (against North Oldham, Collins, and Seneca), averaging 14.3 ppg and 11.3 rebounds during the stretch.

This Week –   2/9 @ Conner    2/11 vs. Great Crossing (www.pegasussportsky.com)     2/13 Jeffersontown (www.pegasussportsky.com)

2 –  Simon Kenton (6-5) – Last week:  #3 – Yes, Simon Kenton has lost two in a row and four of their last five, but let’s look a little further to see why SK moves UP a spot this week in the rankings.

The Pioneers don’t have a bad loss.   OK, the season-opening nine-point loss to Cooper doesn’t look so great – but it was Game One, and season openers are more about brushing off the rust and getting to know each other.   And this year especially, the first game of the season was a rough affair for teams that had had limited practices, no summer ball, and few – if any – scrimmages.

Other than that, SK hasn’t had a bad loss.  The other four losses have come to Scott High, Campbell County, Beechwood, and Dixie Heights – and the loss to the Red Colonels came by a mere two points.   Otherwise, SK has taken care of business.     The Pioneers are still looking for that signature victory, but Simon –

-       …leads the Region in scoring at 70.9 ppg

-       …has the region’s #2 scorer, and presumptive favorite for Player of the Year in Kelly Niece, who just scored his 2,000^th point last week,

-       …is the #2 shooting team in the 8^th Region, hitting 51.9% of their shots

-       …is the #4 free throw shooting team in the region at 71.8%.

-       …is the #4 three-point shooting team in the region at 40%.

In short, the Pioneers are showing all the attributes of a top-tier contender.

Last week, SK fell to Campbell County by 15, Scott High by 3, and Beechwood by 19.   In between the Pioneers sandwiched in a victory over Lloyd Memorial, 81-64.     Stats are available for the Campbell and Lloyd games; Kelly Niece led the way in both with 26 points against Campbell and 29 against Lloyd.    Averaging 26.3 ppg, Niece is the region’s #2 scorer, and he’s hitting 55.7% of his shots from the floor.

The Pioneers are getting good support for their star; Isaac Miller and Travis Krohman finished in double figures in both games, and Jack Marx had 12 in the win over Lloyd.

This week:   2/10 vs. Walton-Verona     2/12 at Holmes  6 pm

 

3 - South Oldham (3-2) – Last week:  #4    With North Oldham in free-fall in this ranking, South and SK both moved up a spot.   South actually lost their only game last week, a 79-67 decision on Saturday against Covington Holy Cross.  

South shot well in the loss, hitting 48% from the floor, including 13 of 33 from beyond the arc.   The Dragons have now made 57 threes in just five games, an average of 11.4 makes per game.   They have made at least nine in every game so far this season.

Zack Dolan led South with 19 points; Dolan became the fourth Dragon in South’s five games to lead the team in scoring.   Only Ben Michel has led South in two games.

This week:  2/8 vs. North Oldham (www.pegasussportsky.com)     2/13 – St. Xavier in the Ronald McDonald House Classic at Oldham County HS  12 noon  (www.pegasussportsky.com)

 

4 – Collins (7-5)   Last week:  #5    Collins moves up one spot this week, after falling to top-ranked Oldham County, 61-46, on the road, followed by a bounce-back victory over county rival Shelby County by a convincing 59-43 score.

Collins faced the Colonels without leading scorer Kenyon Goodin, and the smaller Titans managed to shoot just 32.7% against the much larger Oldham squad, which dominated Collins on the glass, 36-22.   Quinton Simmons had 11 to lead the way, and Aaron Thompson and Dawon Eden each added 10.      No stats were available for the Shelby game.

Collins is having to win on the back of its defense early in the season.   The Titans are averaging just 53.6 ppg – 15^th-best in the 18 team region – but the Titans are on the winning side of the ledger thanks to a defense that’s giving up just 52 points.    As the young starting backcourt matures, it will be interesting to see how much the Titans’ offense improves.

This week:   2/9/21 at North Oldham     2/12 CAL     2/13 Walton-Verona 3:30 pm

 

5 – Walton-Verona (9-4)  Last week: #6     Walton went 2-1 last week, edging a surging Grant County squad, 69-67 and then pounding Williamstown by a final score of 88-46 as the Bearcats improved to 2-0 in District 32 seeding games.

The Cats ended the week with a heartbreaking 69-66 defeat at the hands of Ryle.

Walton is now 8-0 against 8^th Region competition this year.

Four Bearcats are averaging double figures, led by Brant Smithers at 19.4 ppg.  Not surprisingly, the Cats are one of the region’s top scoring teams, ranking #2 at 69.8 ppg.    Walton has scored 63 points or more in 11 of their 13 games.

This week, the Bearcats begin the week with their final District 32 seeding game, facing the SK Pioneers – also 2-0 in district play – for the #1 seed in the post-season district tournament.

This week:  2/10 at Simon Kenton      2/12 at Gallatin County     2/13 at Collins 3:30 pm

 

6 – Spencer County (8-3)   Last week:  #7 -  Spencer County, riding the region’s longest winning streak – 5 games – did not play last week.

Spencer has won those five games by an average margin of 13.8 points.    The Bears have not lost since star senior Sam Conley returned from a pre-season injury.   Conley is averaging 19.0 ppg and 5.6 rebounds during that stretch.

This week:  2/9 at Bethlehem     2/11 vs. Valley     2/13 at Henry County

 

7 – North Oldham (1-4)    Last week:  #2    North takes a tumble this week, falling five spots to #7.

The Mustangs have lost four in a row since opening the season with a 100-81 win over Trimble County.   North has been bedeviled by COVID quarantines and injuries; the Mustangs started the season one week after the rest of the state, then had to quarantine after their January 22^nd game with Oldham County, their third game of the season.   In addition to the quarantine, North lost senior forward Caleb Hawley in that game due to a concussion.

North didn’t play again until last Friday, February 5^th, when they went on the road and fell by four in a bit of an upset to Grant County, 76-72.    Still without Hawley, North played Butler on the road the very next day, falling by 13, 58-45, to the Bears.  

With the Butler game still very much in doubt in the third quarter, the Mustangs lost star guard Dallas Roberts, a three year starter who leads the Mustangs in scoring at 19.7 ppg to an undisclosed injury.   His status for this week’s games is unknown.

North is going to take some knocks this season; the Mustangs put together what is arguably the toughest schedule in the 8^th region.   North still has games to play against St. X, Highlands, Male, Seneca, Bowling Green, Bardstown, Simon Kenton, South Oldham, Eastern, Spencer County, and CAL.    There is no doubt that this is an extraordinarily talented roster, but for North to be successful, the Mustangs are going to have to fix a leaky defense, which gave up 72 points or more in each of their first four games.

Roberts had 25 in the loss to Grant County; with Roberts sidelined through much of the Butler game, junior guard “Rico” Carr-Cole rose to the occasion to score 24 points.   North also got a strong contribution off the bench from Luke Anderson, who filled in for Hawley.   Anderson scored only two points, but grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. 

The going doesn’t get any easier for North this week, as they face four formidable opponents.   The district game with South doesn’t mean anything in regards to the district pairings – North Oldham and South Oldham will finish in the 2 and 3 seed spots, regardless, meaning they will play each other in the first round of the 29^th district tournament – but it is still a rivalry game and will be tightly contested.

This week:   2/8 – at South Oldham (www.pegasussportsky.com)     2/9 vs Collins     2/12 vs. Seneca     2/13 vs. #11 Highlands in the Ronald McDonald Classic at Oldham County HS 2:30 pm (www.pegasussportsky.com)

 

8 – Woodford County (6-7)  Last week:  #8     Woodford stays put at #8, despite dropping three straight games last week.

Playing three games out of region, Woodford fell to West Jessamine, 60-49, in overtime, to Henry Clay, 75-54, and to Frederick Douglass, 59-50.

The Yellowjackets’ scores from the three games were three of Woodford’s four lowest scores of the season.

The Jackets’ overtime loss to West Jessamine could have gone the other way.   Hunter Penn had a double-double – 25 points / 10 rebounds – but Woodford was hammered on the glass, 42-28. 

No stats were available for the Henry Clay and Frederick Douglass games.

This week:   2/8/21 at Scott County     2/9/21 at Montgomery County     after this week, Woodford is scheduled to have no more games until February 23^rd, when they face Bourbon County.

 

9 – Grant County (6-9)   Last week:  #13   The young Braves narrowly missed out on three straight wins this week, settling for a 2-1 mark for the week, including one moral victory.

Coming into the week, Grant had yet to string together two wins in a row.    They narrowly missed out on a win to start the week, falling by a narrow 69-67 score to Walton-Verona, despite shooting 48.9% from the floor.    Sophomore Dylan Hammonds had a double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Mason Guffey and Wayne Ziegler both had 16 in the loss.

The narrow loss turned out to be a warning to other 8^th Region teams.

Grant followed the loss to Walton-Verona up with a 72-58 handling of Henry County, one of the favorites to win the 31^st District.   The Braves followed that up with another upset, this time jumping out early on North Oldham and holding on for a 72-68 win.

After opening the season 2-6, Grant is now 4-3 in their last seven games, and two of those losses were a triple overtime defeat at the hands of Cooper and a two point loss to Walton.

Grant County, who is averaging 58.4 ppg on the season, is averaging 69.8 ppg over their last 5 games. 

Coach Joe Utter knows his young team will need time to mature.

“We are definitely growing quickly and learning to play against older more physical mature teams,” he said.  “We play a pretty tough schedule.”

“I have been starting three sophomores and two juniors and binging two freshman and two juniors off the bench,” he continued.  “Late game turn overs and strength (issues) have been a major struggle for us, top to bottom, in all our close losses.”

Despite the team’s youth, Utter knows he has a pair of gems in two of his sophomores.

“Dylan Hammonds is a kid who is always in the right spot,” he observed.  “He loves to beat and bang inside and can knock down jumpers.   He is only  6’3” but plays like he’s 6’7”.  He and Mason guffey have both been pretty consistent, which I expected.  They are my only returning players with varsity experience.  I need to find that 4th and 5th scoring option.”  

Grant – on a two game winning streak – has a legitimate chance to win their next four games.    If they do so, they’ll have rebounded from that 2-6 start to be 10-9 heading into a 2/16/21 showdown with region favorite Oldham County in Buckner.

This Week:    2/8/21 vs. Gallatin County     2/10 vs. Boone County     2/12 at Nicholas County

 

10 – Owen County (5-6)  Last week:  #9 –  Owen County falls a spot this week after dropping two District 31 seeding games last week.

The Rebels fell to Gallatin County, 56-46, to start the week.   Teagan Moore had 24 points and 8 rebounds and Isaac Wash 15 points to lead the Rebels.   Wash hit 4 of 5 threes in the contest.

Owen was upset in their second game of the week, falling to Trimble County, 64-56.   The Raiders reversed the result from a January 12^th game when Owen blitzed Trimble, 75-58.

Owen County has now lost 4 of their last 5 games and their advantage in the race for the #1 seed in the District 31 post-season tournament.    The Rebels look forward to a 3-game week of games against District 31 competition as they seek to regain the lead in the race for the post-season #1 district seed.

This week:    2/8 vs. Eminence     2/11 vs. Carroll County     2/12 vs. Henry County

 

11 – Henry County (9-4)   Last week:  #10  – The Wildcats won 2 of 3 games last week, but it was the one they lost that cost them a spot in this ranking.

Henry fell in a big way to start last week, losing to Grant County, 72-58.   It was the third-most points allowed by the Wildcats this year, and Henry fell in large part due to its inability to hit the three.   Henry managed to make just 2 of 15 shots from beyond the arc in the loss.   Kevin Wix led the Wildcats with 18 points, and Sam Royalty had a double-double with 16 points / 10 rebounds.   Trevor Hardin had 15 points and 9 rebounds in the loss.

Henry bounced back with a 49-42 win over Gallatin County, their second victory over the defending 31^st district champs this season.   They ended the week with a convincing 83-63 win over new District 31 rival Trimble County.   The Wildcats shot 54.5% against Gallatin in that win, but again struggled beyond the arc, hitting just 1 of 5 threes.  Hardin led the way with 28 points and 10 boards, hitting 12 of 13 shots in the process.

Threes have been the Achilles for the Wildcats this year; over the last five games with posted stats, Henry County has made just 13 threes in 57 attempts.

This Week:    2/8 at Whitefield Academy     2/9 vs Eminence     2/12 at Owen County     2/13 vs. Spencer County

 

12 – Shelby County (4-6)   Last week: #12     Shelby holds at #12 this week.

The Rockets went 1-2 last week, losing to Henry Clay to start the week.   The Rockets did a lot of things well in the game, but still fell by ten.  Shelby shot 61% from the floor overall, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc.    Shelby hit 10 of 12 free throws for 83.3%.  Three Rockets scored in double digits, led by Timothy Fuller (22 points), Austin Griffin (14), and Isaac Chandler (11).

The Rockets rebounded to defeat Western Hills, 56-49, before losing to Collins, 59-43, to wrap up the week.

This week:   2/9 at Henry Clay 6 pm     2/11 vs. Frankfort     2/13 Highlands Latin  4:30 pm

 

13 – Anderson County (2-5)   Last week:  #11    No games played last week.

Carson Wooldridge has had the hot hand in the last three games, all losses.    Wooldridge, who started the season slowly, has scored 50 points in the last three games for an average of 16.7 ppg during that stretch.

The Bearcats will be heavily favored in their only game this week against winless Foundation Christian Academy.

This week:   2/13 vs. Foundation Christian Academy 2 pm

 

14 - Gallatin County (5-6)   Last week:  #14    Gallatin had a productive week last week, winning two of three games.   The Wildcats, who started the year 1-5, have now won four of their last five games.

The Wildcats got a small upset over the Owen County Rebels to start the week, 56-46.   Drake Skidmore led the way with 22 points, hitting 6 of 8 field goals and 7 of 7 free throws.

Skidmore led the way again, this time with 13 points, in a 64-46 victory over Bellevue.

The Warsaw Wildcats’ luck ran out against the New Castle Wildcats of Henry County to end the week.   Henry held Gallatin to just 35.4% shooting in a 49-42 win.   Henry County’s big advantage was on the boards, where they outrebounded Gallatin, 30-16.

Gallatin has started to right the ship thanks to a stingy defense.    The Wildcats have held five straight opponents – and six of their last seven opponents – to under 50 points.

Gallatin has now won four of its last five games.

This Week:   2/8  at Grant County     2/9 vs. Carroll County     2/12 vs. Walton-Verona

 

15 – Trimble County (2-7) Last week:  #15 –  Trimble County is showing signs of life, and the Raiders went 1-1 last week, and pulled a mild upset.

Despite missing four games and nearly two weeks due to COVID quarantine, Trimble opened the week with a 64-56 upset victory over Owen County, despite shooting just 39.6% from the floor.   Tate Ogburn led the way with a double-double (18 points / 10 rebounds), Dylan Jennings had 17 points, and Ryan Long added 14.

The Raiders couldn’t make it two in a row, though, as Henry County blasted Trimble, 83-63, in their next game.   Trimble shot a respectable 46.2% from the floor and made 11 of 22 threes, but couldn’t slow the Henry offense.   J.T. Wilcoxson tallied 23 points and hit 6 of 7 threes to lead the way; Ethan Horn added 12 points. 

The Trimble offense is starting to awaken; after scoring over 60 points just once in their first five games, the Raiders have scored 63 points or more in each of their last four games and now average 60.4 ppg.

Trimble starts a six game homestand this week.

This week:    2/9 vs. Williamstown     2/12 vs. Eminence     2/13 vs Shawe Memorial (IN) 5:30 pm

 

16 – Carroll County (1-3)    Last week:  #17   Carroll – who had played just two games coming into last week – doubled that total.

Carroll opened the week by earning their first victory of the season, 64-47, over Eminence.   Keishaun Mumphrey had a double-double (24 points / 13 rebounds) to lead the way, with Jaxon Hewitt scoring 21.  

Mumphrey, the top scorer in the 8^th region at 26.5 ppg, recorded his fourth game of 20 points or more, and his third double-double in four games.

The Panthers then fell to Franklin County, 76-60, to close out the week.   Mumphrey again had a double-double (23 points / 10 rebounds) and Andrew Shaw had 12 points to lead the way.

This Week:  2/9 at Gallatin County     2/11 at Owen County     2/12 vs. Williamstown

 

17 – Eminence (2-7)  Last week:  #18  – The Warriors picked up two wins in three games last week, and move up one spot to #17.

Eminence knocked off Williamstown in a minor upset to start the week, 44-39.    The Warriors lost to Carroll County, 64-47, in a district 31 battle, but then battled back for win #2 as they defeated Dayton, 56-45.

No stats were available at the time of this writing.

This Week:   2/8 at Owen County     2/9 at Henry County     2/11 at Kentucky Country Day     2/12 at Trimble County

 

18 – Williamstown  (4-8)   Last week:  #16   –  Williamstown continues to struggle, but they did claim their fourth win of the season last week.

The Demons were topped by Eminence in 8^th Region action to start last week, 44-39.   Williamstown hit just 26.4% from the floor in the loss.   Caleb Tritschler led the way for the Demons with 14 points, and Gunner Feagan had 10.

Williamstown then fell in a District 32 matchup, 88-46, to Walton-Verona.   The loss left the Demons at 0-7 against 8^th Region competition.

The Demons rebounded to claim a win over Menifee County to wind up the week, 68-46 

Williamstown starts a five game road trip this week.

This week:   2/9 at Trimble County     2/12 at Carroll County     2/13 at Bellevue 1:30 pm

The 8th Region members are REEAALLY quiet this year....

Is everyone in a COVID coma?

?

CM - I think it's Oldham County then everyone else at this point.  Teams are probably trying to figure out how to stay injury-free and COVID-free leading up to districts!

2 hours ago, ColonelMike said:

The 8th Region members are REEAALLY quiet this year....

Is everyone in a COVID coma?

?

Sorry CM, but this so called season is just really hard to get into.  Being unable to watch live basketball is like sleeping on a rock, very hard.  Even the KHSAA scoreboard is lost at times trying to keep up with all the changes.  Kids or no kids, this deal just seems like a waste of time and resources.

The weather has wreaked havoc this week and could be worse next week.  This will make it very tough for some to get near a 30 game schedule.  Some coaches are scrambling to try to find games.  

29 minutes ago, ErnestTBass said:

The weather has wreaked havoc this week and could be worse next week.  This will make it very tough for some to get near a 30 game schedule.  Some coaches are scrambling to try to find games.  

30 games!?  Some 8th region teams will be lucky to play 15

5 hours ago, ConverseAllStar said:

30 games!?  Some 8th region teams will be lucky to play 15

Tell me about it....(Jefferson County schools will be lucky to get in 12....)

I appreciate the responses, guys....I honestly was beginning to wonder when I wasn't seeing any discussion at all....not the norm for this thread in past seasons at all....

4Quarters is right....even the KHSAA scoreboard is screwy half the time....

I was expecting to cover a whopping 9 games this week...including the four in the Ronald McDonald House Classic tomorrow.    Assuming no more last-minute cancellations, the final tally will be 5 games. 

Six of the nine originally-scheduled broadcasts got cancelled (7 due to COVID and 2 due to ice), and two games got added....the broadcast schedule changed literally every day this week...