Whew! What a wild finish to 12th Region competition. Lincoln County is the last team standing from the 12th after Colton Ralston's buzzer beating jumper gives the Patriots a 42 to 40 win in overtime over the hosting Pulaski County Maroons. Let's put a bow on the regional tournament and look at the upcoming path for Lincoln County.

Semifinal 1 - Lincoln County 69 McCreary County 49 - Without the services of Evan Smith, the Patriots efforts were led by a balanced attack of Tramane Alcorn, Jaxon Smith, and Jackson Sims. Alcorn and Jaxon Smith had 18 points and Sims had 16 points. Jaxon Smith added 10 rebounds to give him a double-double. McCreary's tournament run ended but by the end of the year there was little doubt they belonged at the top of the tier below the three major contenders.

Semifinal 2 - Pulaski County 59 Boyle County 51 - The Rebels came out quick and hot but Pulaski County got the win behind a magnificent second half effort and the leadership of Zach Travis. This ended the incredible season of  Luke Imfeld who powered the Rebels all year.

Finals - Lincoln County 42 Pulaski County 40 OT - The Patriots controlled the pace the whole game, sending it to overtime at the snail's pace score of 37 all. With no Evan Smith, it took a balanced Patriot effort that included one face unfamiliar to the lime light. Tramane Alcorn led the way with 12 points, Colton Ralston had 10 including the game winner, Jaxon Smith had 8, and Jackson Sims had 6. However, it was Clayton Davis' 6 points and 8 rebounds that really helped fill out the Patriots stat sheet in the continued absence of Evan Smith. It took a complete team performance to defeat the Maroons and now they turn their eyes to the Sweet 16.

 

State Quarterfinals - Jeffersontown versus Lincoln County. This is the first game of the tournament, tipping off at 11:00 AM on March 16th. This should come down to pace of play. Jeffersontown likes to play faster, higher scoring affairs as opposed to the Patriots' methodical, defensive minded game play. Also, Lincoln's biggest weakness remains depth so faster game play would certainly stress that. They have one shared opponent in Great Crossing. Lincoln County defeated the Warhawks, Jeffersontown did not. We will see how clear of a predictor that game is. If this game stays in the 50s or below, the Patriots should be looking good. Beyond that, I do not think they can keep up. 

If Lincoln can get past Jeffersontown, they would play the winner of Muhlenberg County and North Oldham which should be a winnable game (but certainly not a gimme) either way. Then most likely it would be Clark County or North Laurel waiting in the semifinals (barring upset) and that may be where lack of depth gets the best of the Patriots. 

 

It certainly is setup to be an exciting week and Lincoln County has the chance to make some noise.

IMO Tramane Alcorn is the second best player in the Region behind Luke Imfeld. 

1 hour ago, Statsdontlie said:

IMO Tramane Alcorn is the second best player in the Region behind Luke Imfeld. 

So, I didn't rank players at the end of the year because this region really has like 25 players that all deserve relatively equal praise. That being said, Luke Imfeld is flat out the best and the most important to his team. However, Tramane Alcorn is a very close second AND was probably the fourth most likely player to fill that role for Lincoln at the start of the year. If you had me rank ten, I'd go:

1. Luke Imfeld (Boyle)

2. Tramane Alcorn (Lincoln)

3. Zach Travis (Pulaski)

3. Daniel Mullins (Rockcastle)

4. Jaxon Smith (Lincoln)

5. Kyle Stephens (McCreary)

6. Ethan Cooper (Garrard)

7. Daniel Waters (West Jessamine)

8. Montavin Quisenberry (Garrard)

9. Mason Burchett (Wayne County)

10. Kendall Phillips (Wayne County)

 

Colton Ralston, Dante Hayden, Jake Huggins, Jakei Tarter, Kason Myers, Evan Smith, Drew Marshall are some others that I would put up there as honorable mention (among more that I cannot name off the top of my head).

2 minutes ago, se7ens said:

So, I didn't rank players at the end of the year because this region really has like 25 players that all deserve relatively equal praise. That being said, Luke Imfeld is flat out the best and the most important to his team. However, Tramane Alcorn is a very close second AND was probably the fourth most likely player to fill that role for Lincoln at the start of the year. If you had me rank ten, I'd go:

1. Luke Imfeld (Boyle)

2. Tramane Alcorn (Lincoln)

3. Zach Travis (Pulaski)

3. Daniel Mullins (Rockcastle)

4. Jaxon Smith (Lincoln)

5. Kyle Stephens (McCreary)

6. Ethan Cooper (Garrard)

7. Daniel Waters (West Jessamine)

8. Montavin Quisenberry (Garrard)

9. Mason Burchett (Wayne County)

10. Kendall Phillips (Wayne County)

 

Colton Ralston, Dante Hayden, Jake Huggins, Jakei Tarter, Kason Myers, Evan Smith, Drew Marshall are some others that I would put up there as honorable mention (among more that I cannot name off the top of my head).

Jaylen Dunn and Gavin Stevens are top 10 players. Other than that your list is pretty spot on. 

17 hours ago, se7ens said:

So, I didn't rank players at the end of the year because this region really has like 25 players that all deserve relatively equal praise. That being said, Luke Imfeld is flat out the best and the most important to his team. However, Tramane Alcorn is a very close second AND was probably the fourth most likely player to fill that role for Lincoln at the start of the year. If you had me rank ten, I'd go:

1. Luke Imfeld (Boyle)

2. Tramane Alcorn (Lincoln)

3. Zach Travis (Pulaski)

3. Daniel Mullins (Rockcastle)

4. Jaxon Smith (Lincoln)

5. Kyle Stephens (McCreary)

6. Ethan Cooper (Garrard)

7. Daniel Waters (West Jessamine)

8. Montavin Quisenberry (Garrard)

9. Mason Burchett (Wayne County)

10. Kendall Phillips (Wayne County)

 

Colton Ralston, Dante Hayden, Jake Huggins, Jakei Tarter, Kason Myers, Evan Smith, Drew Marshall are some others that I would put up there as honorable mention (among more that I cannot name off the top of my head).

I think this a good list.  I think Gavin Stevens from PC and Ethan Willoughby from Casey Co were top 10 players this season.  I would probably flip flop them with the Wayne co players.  Willoughby may have led the region in scoring&rebounding this season.  Good list though, and excellent coverage all season!  

Yamo from DCA and Titus Boyd also played great basketball.  A lot of balance and good young players in this region.

20 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

I think this a good list.  I think Gavin Stevens from PC and Ethan Willoughby from Casey Co were top 10 players this season.  I would probably flip flop them with the Wayne co players.  Willoughby may have led the region in scoring&rebounding this season.  Good list though, and excellent coverage all season!  

Yes, I could concede moving out Burchett and Phillips, especially for Gavin Stevens. He was a for sure miss from my list.

 

But I will tell you this - Kendall Phillips is going to be wildly good in a few years. 

16 minutes ago, se7ens said:

Yes, I could concede moving out Burchett and Phillips, especially for Gavin Stevens. He was a for sure miss from my list.

 

But I will tell you this - Kendall Phillips is going to be wildly good in a few years. 

No doubt about it.  Phillips will be a great player, and shoots the lights out.  Willoughby is a load for Casey County avg. 23 PPG and 11 RPG.  Yamo and Boyd led DCA to their first All A Region Title, and significant wins/competitive losses in the best district in the region.  Either way, it's hard to go wrong and speaks to the talent pool in the region.