My apologies for the delay; I've been either at work (I hate it when work interferes with basketball), calling ballgames (Fri/Mon/Tonight), or out all day - literally - Saturday and Sunday with baseball.   Haven't had a moment to sit and pound out this week's Region 8 ranking.

After tonight's game broadcast (North Oldham vs. North Hardin) I will try to finalize the Week 8 review.

Please accept my apologies for the delay....much to talk about regarding last week!    

Check back tomorrow!

CM

8^th Region Week 8 Review

By:  Colonelmike

 

OK, many, many thanks to all for your patience.   Tonight is – quite literally – the first moment I’ve had to myself since last Thursday(!).  It’s been a brutal week, with me effectively away from my computer from 8 am to 11 pm each day.   Wow – please accept my sincere apologies!   (‘Ru is gonna “fire” me over this…)

Finally sitting down with my laptop, for what is a “Week 8 1/2” review…

  

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

A group of three seems to be separating itself from the rest of the pack…

1 - Oldham County – (10-4)  Last week: #1   Oldham County continues to be the team to catch in the 8^th Region, and the Colonels rebounded from a surprising 54-50 loss to Doss by winning their last three games, including victories over some better ball clubs.    A 61-43 victory over then-#12 Eastern, followed by a 7-point victory over 8^th Region contender Spencer County solidified the Colonels’ resume.   Oldham capped things with a decisive 63-48 win over region rival Woodford County last night.

Oldham continues to benefit from balance; in the last three games for which stats were available, three different Colonels led the attack, with senior Tyler Slone scoring 19 against Doss, Sam Powell coming off the bench to score 13 in the win over Eastern, and Sam Campbell leading the charge against Spencer with 15 points..

Oldham continues to be among the elites at the stripe; the Colonels’ 15 of 18 shooting against Spencer was a huge factor in the win.

This Week –   3/5 at Central 7 pm    3/6 at Highlands   3pm

 

2 –  Simon Kenton (10-8)    Last week:  #2    Kelly Niece continues to put on a show throughout his senior season.   The star SK guard has become almost unstoppable of late, scoring 30 or more points in his last 6 games, and in 8 of his last 11 games (Conner game not included due to inavailability of stats).    In fact, even in the three games over that 11-game span when Niece did NOT reach 30 points, he still tallied “respectable” efforts of 28 (vs Beechwood), 26 (vs. Campbell County), and 29 points (vs. Lloyd).

Three times in the last eleven games, Niece has topped the 40 point mark, with 42 against Dixie Heights, 41 against South Oldham, and 42 against Ashland.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect isn’t the sheer magnitude of the points scored, it’s the fact that Niece is doing it against such high-quality competition.

The tour continued last week as Niece hammered 32 points on top-10 Highlands in a 98-70 loss to the Birds, then saddled North Oldham with 35 points in an 82-70 upset loss to the Mustangs.    North’s victory over SK was the Pioneers’ only loss to an 8^th Region team to date.

Just as you might have been ready to question SK’s contender status, though, the Pioneers rebounded for a big win over Top-20 Ashland, with Niece – who scored 42 – hitting the two winning free throws with 1.5 seconds left in the contest.

As the tournaments loom, Niece is putting an exclamation mark on his senior season; the Player of the Year candidate – favorite? – is averaging 34.4 ppg since February 3^rd.

This week:     3/5 vs. Ryle

 

3 – Spencer County (15-5)     Last week:  #3    The Bears – combined with Oldham and Simon Kenton – appear to have clearly established themselves as the lead group in this year’s region 8 race.

Spener had a solid week and a half, winning four of six games, with only one game looking like a “hiccup.”    Spencer started by garnering a solid win Central, 58-43.    Sam Conley – making a strong bid for 8^th Region player of the Year – had a monster 31 point / 9 rebound game.

The Bears had that “hiccup” in the next game, falling 49-47 to Western in a game that the Bears hit just 29.4% of their shots, including 3 of 17 beyond the arc (17.6%).   The Bears couldn’t even find the basket at the stripe, hitting just 14 of 26 for 53.8%.

Since then, Spencer has resumed playing solid basketball.    They sandwiched a very respectable loss (66-59 to #12 ranked Oldham County) between two impressive wins (42-38 over District 30 rival Collins, cementing the #1 seed in the 30^th District tournament and 67-59 over Walton-Verona).    They wrapped up things with a convincing 66-51 win at South Oldham.

Conley has excelled throughout.    He hung 29 points on Oldham County, and 24 on South Oldham.    Without garnering the same publicity, Jake Whitlock has quietly thrived on this team, though, and has had big games of late   His 16 points led the Bears in the win over Collins, and he tacked on 26 against South on a variety of drives, mid-range jumpers, and threes.

  

This week:  3/6 at Thomas Nelson

 

The Next Group:

 

4 – Collins (10-7)   Last week:  #4    Collins has stumbled a little of late, and has dropped two of their last four, but the Titans continue to be competitive even in their losses.

The Titans faced two formidable opponents last week and dropped both games, falling 53-48 to top-10 DeSales at home, and losing 42-38 to Spencer County at home in a game that decided the district #1 seed.

Shooting bedeviled Collins against DeSales as the Titans shot just 35.6%, including 3 of 20 from beyond the arc.

Kenyon Goodin had a 12 point / 10 rebound double-double against Spencer, but the Titans again suffered on the offensive end of the court and couldn’t take advantage of another sterling performance by the defense.

Collins bounced back into the “win” column on Tuesday with a narrow, 52-48 win over South Oldham.   

Despite the Titans’ challenges on the offensive end, the Titans’ defense continues to pick up the team, keeping them close enough to win.   Five of the Titans’ last six opponents have been held under 50 points, and only DeSales (53 points) was the exception.   No team has reached 60 points against Collins since Oldham County scored 61 points in a 61-46 win over Collins on 2/2/21.

This week:   no games  

 

5 – Walton-Verona (14-9)    Last week:  #5   Walton’s hit a bumpy patch, losing three of their last five games.     Over the last week and a half, the Bearcats have secured wins over Trimble County (80-52, behind Brent Smithers’ 30) and an exciting 81-80 win over 31^st district power Henry County.

The shots were falling for W-V in the big win over Henry as Walton-Verona made 13 of 23 threes (56.5%) and five players scored in double figures, led by Smithers’ 28.

The opposite was true against St. Henry in the “All-A”; the Cats offense couldn’t find the basket in a nightmarish 10 of 55 outing (18.2%) that included 2 of 26 shooting from beyond the arc.  St. Henry won that game, 73-29.

Walton was much more competitive in a loss to 8^th region contender Spencer County.   Despite falling, the Cats made a good impression in the 67-59 loss, with solid shooting from the floor and four players in double digits.

Walton represented the 8^th region well last night, falling to 10^th Region powerhouse Mason County by just two points, 73-71.   No stats are available yet.

This week:  3/6 at Beechwood 3 pm

 

The Mid-Pack

6 -  Grant County (13-13)    Last week:   #6   The Braves seem to have lost a little bit of their steam.    After a run that saw Grant win 6 of 7 games, the Braves have now split their last six games.

Wins over Owen County (66-51), South Oldham (84-78, in overtime), and cross-town rival Williamstown (69-51) have been interspersed by three somewhat surprising losses to a resurgent Shelby County team (78-69), Boone County (75-69), and Western Hills (62-55).

All of which points to the importance Mason Guffey brings to this team.   The sophomore – averaging 13.3 ppg, and who has hit a team-high 43 threes – was injured in the win over South Oldham and missed the Boone / Williamstown / Western Hills games.    Guffey’s 24 points led the Braves in the win over Owen.

Fellow sophomore Dylan Hammonds continues on a joy ride throughout the schedule, though.   Hammonds had 30 points / 11 rebounds against Shelby and was even more impressive against Boone (35 points / 15 rebounds).   He continues to average a double-double on the season at 21.7 ppg / 10.7 rebounds.

Grant is still probably a long-shot to make the region, having to deal with both Simon Kenton and Walton-Verona in the 32^nd district.   But if Guffey gets healthy, this is a Braves program that has progressed a lot this year and has a legitimate shot to make it to New Castle.

 

This week:   3/5 at Eminence     3/6 vs Pendleton County  2:30 pm

 

7 – North Oldham  (4-7)  Last week:  #9 -   I’m moving the Mustangs up two spots this week as they appear to be trending in the right direction.

Like some of the other teams in the region that have been most affected by COVID, the Mustangs suffer from a lack of games.     Compared to a team like Grant County, which has played 26 games – practically a “normal” number of games for this time of year – North has managed to play just 11 games, and many with reduced numbers.

But the Mustangs seem to finally be rounding into form.   After suffering through their second COVID quarantine – a stoppage of play that prevented the Mustangs from playing a pivotal schedule of games against Seneca, Highlands, Spencer County, and St. Xavier – the team has finally gotten back to playing basketball. 

Their first game back came against Top-15 Eastern, and North fell, 57-43, despite Dallas Roberts’ 26 points.    But the team shook off the rust to upset Simon Kenton on the road, 82-70, shooting 612% from the floor, and getting tremendous performances from Roberts (28 points) and Luke Anderson (22 points / 7 boards).

A return home resulted in a two point loss to Evangel – Evangel’s first game with their full roster, including transfer Gage Mabry – before North bounced back with a very business-like performance in a 61-36 win over North Hardin.

North’s defense – a weakness early in the year – seems to be coming together.   North ran a simple 2-3 zone to perfection against the Trojans, resulting in the fewest points allowed by the Mustangs this year. 

Roberts, a pre-season candidate for 8^th Region Player of the Year, is on fire of late, having scored over 20 points in each of the Mustangs’ last four games.   But North is getting help from other sources in the scorebook; Luke Anderson (22 against SK), Ian Higdon (22 vs. Evangel), and Caleb Hawley (17 rebounds against North Hardin) have made it clear that North is not simply a one-man team.

The Mustangs will have the remainder of their roster active at the end of this week after playing the last couple of games down a starter and a key reserve.

North Oldham faces two brutal opponents tonight and tomorrow, both on the road.

This week:  3/5 at Bowling Green     3/6 at CAL

 

8– Woodford County (8-10)   Last week:  #8    I’m keeping the Yellowjackets at #8, somewhat against my better judgement.   Woodford has lost 6 of their last 8 games, but they have split four games in the last week and a half.     The Yellowjackets have, at times, shot the ball very well, but they have proven erratic from both the floor and the stripe.

Still, Woodford County has played decently against strong competition in the 10^th and 11^th Regions, and their 4-3 mark against 8^th Region competition suggests “middle-of-the-pack” ranking.

Woodford claimed an 18  point win over Bourbon County and defeated Paris by 26, but lost to Lexington Christian by 7 in a game in which the Jackets managed just 40.8% shooting.   Likewise, Woodford struggled to get shots to drop against region favorite Oldham County, falling by 15 while hitting just 40% from the floor and making only 1 of 11 threes.

The loss to Oldham County was Woodford’s first game against an 8^th Region team since they played Shelby County on 1/29/21.

Perhaps most concerning about the Yellowjackets is their point production.   After spending the first half of the season as one of the higher-scoring region 8 teams, the Jackets have managed to reach 60 points or more only twice in the last eight contests.   

Woodford wraps up their regular season Saturday.

This Week:     3/6  at Bryan Station

 

The “Impossible to Rank” Group  - South beat Henry at Henry by 26….Henry beat Gallatin twice….Gallatin beat South Oldham by 10.    Then there’s Owen County, who’s split with Henry County and Gallatin County.   Shelby County is surging, having won 5 of 6 – including a win over Henry, but a loss to Owen.  This week’s ranking is going to take each team’s recent trend into heavy consideration….

 

9 – Gallatin County (12-7)  Last week:   11 – Gallatin County may be the hottest team in the 8^th Region.   The Wildcats won two of three over the last week and a half, but they’ve now won 11 of 13 since January 26^th.

After starting the year 1-5, the defending 31^st district champs are starting to find their groove.   Jon Jones, a master at developing his squads into smart, cohesive units, appears to have done it again.    If Gallatin isn’t the favorite to win the 31^st district for a fifth consecutive year, neither are they much of an underdog.   The district title runs through Warsaw, and it won’t be yielded lightly.

Gallatin moves up two spots this week after bouncing Eminence, 55-42, losing an overtime heartbreaker to Owen County, 87-80, and then beating South Oldham, 76-66.    Ashton Gullion led the Cats in all three games, with 14 against the Warriors, 19 against Owen County, and a monster 30 point outing against South Oldham in which he calmly dropped 14 of 16 free throws through the hoop.

Gallatin has evolved into a superbly-balanced squad, with four players – Logan Riddle, Ashton Gullion, Drake Skidmore, and Hayden Dickerson all averaging between 9.9 and 10.9 ppg.    The Owen County game was a perfect example of what teams have to contend with when facing the Warsaw Cats as all four players, plus Zac Johnson, finished in double digits.

This week:    no games

 

10 – South Oldham (4-9)   Last week:  #7 –  The Dragons are in a bit of free-fall this week after dropping three of four.   South has now lost 8 of their last 9, and the many lost games due to COVID and the weather seem to weighing heavily on this squad as they play against teams with more on-court experience.

South has definite talent.    The Dragons can shoot, and have tremendous length.    South has mis-matches they can exploit, such as 6’6” junior forward Ben Michel, who poses a real problem for defenses who don’t know whether to send a big out on the floor to guard him, or roll the dice with a guard who may be giving up 6-10 inches to the tall perimeter sharpshooter.    And South has depth.

But the Dragons right now are struggling to find the offensive and defensive consistency that has made them one of the region’s elite squads over the last decade.   And – after four straight losses to Grant County (84-78 in OT), Gallatin County (76-66), Collins (52-48), and Spencer County (66-51), South now finds itself just 1-7 against 8^th Region competition, with the Dragons’ lone region win a convincing 81-55 win over Henry County way back in the first couple of weeks of the season.

Perhaps most troubling for South fans, the Dragons’ prolific three-point shooting attack has stagnated of late, as South has hit just 36 of 124 threes in the last 4 games.    While that translates into nine makes a game, it’s also just 29.0%, well below the Dragons’ usual perimeter percentage.

Steve Simpson’s track record in Crestwood has been superb; he’s shown himself to be more than capable of developing shooters.   He is running out of time this season, but I’m not sure but what South could be one of the most dangerous teams come tournament time.    For now, though, South falls three spots to #10.

This week:    3/5 vs. Iroquois    

 

11 – Henry County (15-8)    Last week:  #10  –  The Wildcats are coming off an 18-win season, and this year’s Cats have a good chance of exceeding that win total, despite the shortened season.

Henry has lost 3 of its last 5 games, though, coming into the final regular season game against Bishop Brossart.    The Cats pounded Carroll County, 57-39, behind 56.8% shooting and with Kevin Wix leading the way with 17 points.    Henry missed out on a big region win when they surrendered a lead late against Walton-Verona and fell, 81-80, despite shooting a remarkable 67.3% from the floor.

Trevor Hardin, fresh off a double-double against Carroll (14 points / 10 rebounds), was unstoppable against W-V, with 44 points and 18 rebounds, while hitting 19 of 25 shots.

Henry shot over 50% for a third consecutive game, outlasting Owen County in a key district 31 battle, 59-46.   The Cats shot 51.1% from the floor, and Hardin led the way with 26 points.   And Henry got their 15^th win of the season when they beat Walden, 59-47.

But the Cats seemed to take a step back in their most recent games, falling to Bullitt Central by 8 and Shelby County by 8.

This Week:    3/6 at Bishop Brossart

 

12 – Shelby County (9-10)   Last week:  #13    The Navy-and-Old-Gold is starting to stir again in Shelbyville.   After a few years down in the depths of the Region, Coach Eddie Oakley’s crew is starting to revive.

The Rockets have won 5 of their last 6 games, and have now won more games than last year’s 7-22 squad – despite the COVID-shortened season.

Shelby has been busy over the last week and half, with two impressive regional wins (78-69 over Grant County and 78-70 over Henry County), plus victories over Anderson County (44-40), North Bullitt (74-54), and Trimble County (75-49).    The Rockets’ only defeat over the last six games came at the hands of Fifth Region power Bardstown – and Shelby stayed competitive in that one, falling by just 8 points.

Timothy Fuller seems to be rounding into form as Shelby’s go-to scorer.   The talented sophomore has led the team in scoring in 3 of the last six games, including a 20 point effort against Grant (5 of 8 beyond the arc) and a 25 point / 8 rebound effort against Bardstown.  But Shelby’s resurgence undoubtedly has a lot to do with the fact that the Rockets are showing more offensive threats than just one here late in the season.

Sophomore Kyre Bishop has emerged as a real scoring threat over the last five games, scoring in double figures in four of those games, leading the team in scoring twice, and tallying a season-high 20 in the win over Henry County.

Trenton Burchfield led the way against Trimble with 20 points, and he and point guard Austin Griffin have both had multiple double-digit games in the last six contests.

The district road will be rocky for Shelby, who first must beat Anderson County before challenging heavyweights Spencer County and/or Collins.   But this is a new-look squad that will be heard from before all is said and done.

This week:   Regular season is over for Shelby County

 

13 – Owen County (11-8)  Last week:  #12  Owen County has won six of its last eight games, but the Rebels fall one as Shelby County makes its move up.

Owen went 3-1 over the last four games, with victories over Williamstown (65-39), Gallatin County (87-80 in OT), and Western Hills (65-45), and a loss to Henry County in a district 31 showdown, 59-46.  

This young Owen County team is capable of exploding on anyone – but with the youth comes a little bit of unpredictability.    Right now, about the best that can be said is the Rebels appear to be in the top 3 of District 31, with Gallatin and Henry County, but a potential 2 vs. 3 matchup with Gallatin County appears to be looming in the District tournament, and that would be a thing to see.

One thing that is predictable:   Sophomore guard Teagan Moore continues to excel.    Moore just missed his fourth consecutive double-double when he hung 28 points on Western Hills and grabbed 8 rebounds.   He had previously gone for 32 points / 10 rebounds against Williamstown, 27 points and 14 boards against Gallatin, and 23 points / 11 rebounds versus Henry County.

With several contenders lurking for the Player of the Year award, Moore may miss out this year due to his age, but there’s no doubt Moore should be among the top contenders for the award over the next two years.

Owen goes to Boone County tonight, before finishing the season with four consecutive home games to end the regular season.

This week:   3/5 at Boone County

 

Looking for momentum….

 

14 – Anderson County (5-8)   Last week:  #14    Anderson County won three of their last five games, but stays put at #14 this week.

The Bearcats defeated Nelson County, Collegiate, and Garrard County, and came up just short in a 44-40 loss to Shelby County and a 60-58 loss to Casey County.

Carson Wooldridge continues to lead the way for AC, leading the team in all of those games except Casey County (no stats available yet).   Wooldridge scored 22 against Nelson and 25 against Garrard, averaging 18.8 ppg during the stretch.

The Bearcats are just happy to be playing ball; Anderson has played 6 games in 13 days – after previously playing just 7 games in 46 days

This Week:   No games

 

15 – Trimble County (6-12)    Last week:  #15 –  Trimble County dropped three straight before finally ending the skid with a 78-68 win over Williamstown.

The Raiders were routed by Walton-Verona, 80-52 by Southwestern (IN), and 75-49 by Shelby County.   Trimble shot 44% or less in all three games – just 27.9% against Southwestern – and they struggled on the glass.

Shelby County hammered Trimble, 43-11 on the boards in that game.

Tate Ogburn (16 points / 13 rebounds versus Walton-Verona and 23 points against Williamstown) and sophomore J.T. Wilcoxson (18 points against Southwestern and 21 in the loss to Shelby) led the Raiders in their four games.

This week:    3/6 vs. Ryle

 

16 – Williamstown (8-16)  Last week:  #16    The Demons played six games over the last week and a half, with one win.

Williamstown suffered losses to Model (63-55), Owen County (65-39), Boone County (62-45), Grant County (69-51), and Trimble County (78-68), with their lone win coming against Eminence, 55-38.

This Week:    3/6 vs. St. Patrick   2:30 pm

 

17 – Carroll County (1-8)   Last week:  #17  –    COVID and bad weather have picked on Carroll County more than any other 8^th Region team.    The Panthers have finally started getting some games in, but over the first six weeks of the season, Carroll played just four games.    The Panthers now face the task of catching up, but there’s basically no time left on the clock to do so.

Carroll’s last game was a 57-39 defeat at the hands of Henry County on 2/23/21.   Carroll hasn’t played since, and won’t play again until next week (3/8 vs Trimble County).   Carroll has four games scheduled next week, and will need all of them.

Keishaun Mumphrey – who we haven’t seen enough of this year, in his senior season – had yet another double-double, with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Panthers have had a whopping 18 games cancelled due to COVID restrictions.

This Week:  no games

 

18 – Eminence (3-17)   Last week:  #18   –   Eminence went 1-4 over the last week and a half, with their lone victory coming 61-52 over Brown.

The Warriors lost to Gallatin by 13, Williamstown by 17, Caverna by 13, and – in their most recent outing, to Beth Haven by a score of 69-59.

The Warriors are 1-11 in Region 8 games now, and winless in District 31 play in 9 contests.

This week:   3/5 vs. Grant County    3/6 vs. Whitefield Acad