BluegrassPreps.com 16th Region Week 1 Review

BluegrassPreps.com 16th Region Week 1 Review

One week is in the books and already the region is down to four unbeaten teams: Boyd County, Bath County, Fleming County and Raceland. There were several notable victories including at Ashland Blazer and Fairview, two blowouts for Boyd County and a hard-fought week for Bath County despite some heroics from senior guard Zack Otis, one of many players enjoying fast starts with high-scoring performances. Here is a look at the region with unchanged preseason rankings.

1. Ashland Blazer (1-1): Ryan Bonner, a last-minute replacement for ousted Jason Mays, won his first game as Tomcats head coach with a 67-37 home win over St. Joseph Central (Ohio). Zander Carter led the way with 21 points. The Tomcats traveled to Georgetown the next day for a battle of state-ranked teams against Great Crossing and lost 78-73 while bending to the will of Malachi Moreno (29 points) at the Jersey Mike's Classic. Carter scored a team-high 28 points against Great Crossing while Tucker Conway hit five 3-pointers and scored 19. Carter ended the week averaging 24.5 ppg.

2. Boyd County (2-0): The Lions came out crushing it and ended the week with an average victory margin of 33 points. The carnage: 81-53 on the road vs. Rowan County with six scorers putting in nine points or more, led by Cole Hicks' 21 and Jacob Spurlock's 18; and 93-55 at home vs. East Ridge. Spurlock had 25 points and 10 rebounds in that one. Hicks scored 23. Both players ended the week with scoring averages of 21 points or better. Jason Ellis also had a double-double against East Ridge with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

3. Bath County (2-0): The Wildcats beat Lawrence County by 12 at home and eked out a two-point win against East Carter at the Eastern Kentucky Conference Tournament where they pick up action again Monday. A 3-pointer at the buzzer by Zack Otis (36 points) clinched the win over East Carter and put the Wildcats in the tournament semifinals.

4. Russell (1-1): The Red Devils lost the home opener to Martin County despite 23 points from Damon Charles but bounced back with a four-point home win against Rowan County.

5. Morgan County (1-1): The Cougars beat Model to even their record after dropping the opener at Lawrence County. Preston Hoskins drilled seven 3-pointers for a game-high 27 points against Model. Eli Griffith scored in double figures both games.

6. Fleming County (2-0): The Panthers beat Nicholas County by 17 in the opener with 22 points from Seth Hickerson and a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds from Isaac Frye, then beat Fairview by 25 with 25 points from Lucas Jolly.

7. Rowan County (0-3): The Vikings got off to a slow start with blowout losses to Mason County and Boyd County but lost by just four against Russell thanks in part to an 18-point effort from Dashawn Watson, who ended the week with an average of 11.7 ppg. Colby Watson leads the team with 14 ppg.

8. East Carter (1-1): The Raiders won their opener against Rose Hill with a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds from Blake Hall then narrowly lost to Bath County, 61-59, despite 37 points from Evan Goodman.

9. Raceland (1-0): The Racers received a large topping of Large and Topping in the opener as Christian Large scored a team-high 21 points and Holden Topping added 13, keying a 68-53 win over Pendleton County. Raceland has won five of its last six season openers.

10. Fairview (2-1): Clarence Thompson enjoyed a triumphant return to the hardwood at his alma mater with two wins in the first two home games against Greenup County and West Carter. Tanner Johnson scored 22 points and Tamel Smith added 19 in the opener against Greenup. Johnson scored 24 against West Carter but teammate Steven Day was top scorer with 27 after leading the Eagles with 11 rebounds in the opener.

11. Lewis County (1-1): The Lions evened their record with a 54-48 home win against Paintsville while spreading out the scoring and rebounding numbers in both games. Drew Noble nearly had a double-double in the season-opening loss at Prestonsburg with eight points and nine rebounds. Andrew Collins led with 16 points against Paintsville.

12. Menifee County (1-1): The Wildcats dropped the home opener but won on the road, beating West Carter, 57-54. Brevon Ricker had 28 points in the win, 20 in the loss to Powell County for an average of 24 ppg.

13. West Carter (0-2): The Comets received 25 points from Brett Dailey and 12 rebounds from Jake Carter in a three-point home loss to Menifee County but ended Week 1 still looking for their first win. Daily scored 23 at Fairview and finished the week averaging 24 ppg.

14. Greenup County (0-2): The Musketeers also ended the week winless although they did get 26 points and 12 rebounds from Cohen Underwood in a narrow three-point loss in the opener against Fairview.

15. Elliott County (0-1): Despite 22 points and six rebounds from junior forward Nathan Sturgill, the Lions dropped their season opener with a 68-50 home loss to Floyd Central.
 

16. Rose Hill Christian (1-1): With a 73-66 win in the home opener Dec. 2 against Robertson County, the Royals are already one-quarter toward their entire win total last season (4). They didn't win their first game last season until Dec. 18 and didn't win a home game until Jan 31. Christian Blevins scored 29 in the victory.