The first round of the 12th's Regional Tournament only featured one game that stayed close to the end but what a game that was. Let's take a look at the first round results and what this week has in store as the 12th will crown a champion Tuesday.

 

Quarterfinal 1 - The tournament opened up with a bang as McCreary Central and Mercer County went all the way to double overtime where the Raiders squeaked out a 2 point win. Trevor Ellis had 14 points and 14 rebounds in the losing effort for the Titans.

Quarterfinal 2 - Lincoln County showed its scoring ability, surpassing 70 points scored for only the third time in their last 12 games. They bested the Rockcastle County Rockets 72 to 57 behind Tramane Alcorn's 23 points. Jackson Sims provided 8 boards and 10 points, an example of the Patriots really winning the game down low where the Rockets could have possibly given them trouble.

Quarterfinal 3 - Boyle defeated West Jessamine 74 to 55 with William Carr leading the way with 21 points. This win, an improvement on their earlier nine point win over the Colts, featuring stellar performances in addition to their star Luke Imfeld's 13 points may show that the Rebels are playing their best basketball when it matters most.

Quarterfinal 4 - Host Pulaski County held off the Cardinals of Wayne County by a score of 73 to 64. Zach Travis led the way with 24 points. This is a slight narrowing of the margin from their December matchup when the Maroons rolled the Cardinals by nearly 20. 

 

Semifinal 1 - March 7th, 6:30 PM - McCreary Central vs. Lincoln County. The Patriots won the December matchup between these two 62 to 49. Jaxon and Evan Smith had to carry the water that game for Lincoln, scoring 26 and 21 respectively. Tramane Alcorn did not play in that game and Colton Ralston had only 2 points. On paper, this should be Lincoln County fairly easily. But if the Raiders can limit any of the Patriots from breaking out (big if) and hope that their star Kyle Stephens can score a lot more than the six he put up in that December game against Lincoln.

Semifinal 2 - March 7th, 8:15 PM - Boyle County vs. Pulaski County. These two teams met on this same floor on February 17th and the Rebels became the only 12th region team to beat the Maroons this year to date. It was an overtime thriller finishing with Boyle on top 74 to 73. Luke Imfeld scored 32 that night for the Rebels and Kason Myers added 27, meaning nearly 80% of Rebel scoring came from 2 players. Can Pulaski County stifle Imfeld? Can Zach Travis keep the Maroon offense clicking? This game has all the makings for a March classic.

 

Championship - March 8th, 7:00 PM. This game could be a lot of things. It could be the fourth game between Lincoln and Boyle. It could be the darkhorse Raiders of McCreary Central playing for a title. It could be Pulaski County looking to cap off this amazing year with a trip to Rupp after having just two regular season losses. What we do know is that there will be star power as each team brings some great individual talent to the table. We will also see if either team is tuckered out from their semifinal the night before. It will certainly be exciting and I will be back next week to talk about it and the 12th Region's champ's hopes at Rupp. 

Important to note the injury Evan Smith of Lincoln County sustained late in the 1st round game.  I still think Lincoln prevails over McCreary Central.  I'm torn on second semifinal.  I will stick with Pulaski Co. winning, and then defeating Lincoln in the championship game.