16th Region Week 3 Review

 

Top dog, or shall we say, top cat Ashland Blazer held off its first threat to the throne by defeating regional rival Boyd County to begin the week. Had Boyd County prevailed, the Lions would have had a legitimate claim to the top spot in this week's regional rankings. However, the Tomcats got the job done and entrenched themselves at the top despite three out-of-region losses to 7-1 Great Crossing, 6-0 George Rogers Clark and 7-1 Bracken County (records through Saturday). Entering Sunday, Great Crossing's only loss and Bracken County's lone loss both came against Covington Catholic. We have a three-way tie at No. 3 due to confounding transitive property comparisons.

 

1. Ashland Blazer (4-3): The Tomcats went 2-1 for the week with the highlight being a 77-68 win at Boyd County. Rheyce Deboard led a balanced scoring attack with 19 points. Tucker Conway added 15. The Tomcats shot 56 percent from the field (28-for-50). The Tomcats then lost to Bracken County but beat Fleming County with Zander Carter (26 points) pacing three 20-point scorers. Deboard scored 25. Tucker put in 23.

 

2. Boyd County (7-1): The Lions had a chance to make a statement in their battle with Ashland Blazer, but the Tomcats had the last word with a nine-point victory. They bounced back with three wins in a row, taking down Fairview, Eastern and Central Hardin. Jacob Spurlock poured in 27 points in the overtime win over Eastern and Rhett Holbrook added 12 rebounds.

 

3. Bath County (6-1): A 3-0 week propelled the Wildcats after absorbing their only loss, to Russell. They downed Fleming County in overtime and handled Menifee County. Zack Otis scored 34 points against Fleming County, which led most of the game. Taylan Sorrell added 16.

 

3. Fleming County (6-3): Beat Russell but lost to Bath County and Ashland Blazer during a brutal week against region stalwarts. Adam Hargett scored 24 points in the win.

 

3. Russell (5-1): The Red Devils split a pair of games, beating West Carter at home and losing at Fleming County. Damon Charles led the team with 11 points and six rebounds in the win.

 

6. Morgan County (5-1): The Cougars had another 2-0 week with victories against Elliott County and Estill County, running their winning streak to five games. Preston Hoskins bucketed 24 against Elliott County. Logan Spencer led with 17 vs. Estill County.

 

7. Rowan County (5-3): The Vikings stretched their winning streak to five games with a 3-0 week, taking down Menifee County on the road and beating Elliott County and Bourbon County at home at Rowan County's own Stock Yards Bank & Trust Challenge.

 

8. Raceland (6-3): The Rams went 3-1 including wins over Elliott County and Fairview. Christian Large was team-high scorer in both wins with 18 and 16 points, respectively.

 

9. East Carter (4-2): The Raiders won three in a row, beating Greenup County in overtime, Lewis County and Berea. Blake Hall erupted for 30 points against Greenup.

 

10. Fairview (2-5): The Eagles dropped all three games, losing to Raceland, Boyd County and Floyd Central.

 

11. Lewis County (2-6): The Lions went 1-3 with a win over Rose Hill Christian. Drew Noble and Xavier Prater scored 14 points each in the win.

 

12. Menifee County (3-5): The Wildcats went 1-2 for the week, beating Francis Parker at the Stock Yards Bank & Trust Challenge. Brevon Ricker had 25 points in the win.

 

13. Greenup County (1-5): The Musketeers lost to East Carter by one in overtime.

 

14. West Carter (1-6): As part of a 1-2 week, the Comets snapped a season-opening five-game winning streak with a win over Francis Parker at the Stock Yards Bank & Trust Challenge. Nathan Webb led with 23 points.

 

15. Elliott County (1-6): The Lions had a busy week, playing four games and losing three of them. They snapped a season-opening six-game losing streak with a win over Berea at the Stock Yards Bank & Trust Challenge. Lake Adkins led with 28 points vs. Berea.

 

16. Rose Hill Christian (1-5): The Royals were 0-2 for the week, losing to St. Joseph Central (WV) and Lewis County. Christian Blevins scored 34 against St. Joseph Central.

Ashland Blazer is ranked 19th in the latest MaxPreps Kentucky high school boys basketball rankings.

Kentucky High School Basketball Rankings - MaxPreps

 

Bump.