Week 4 saw several teams compete in pre-Christmas tournaments, a couple of teams host teams from out of the area in regular games and just 2 games featuring regional opponents. Coincidentally, Elizabethtown played in both of those games and won both of those games.

Teams did fairly well this week, combined in the region going 21-14. Overall, the region has a losing record of 84-87. Elizabethtown, Taylor County and Caverna are all tied with the longest winning streaks in the region at 4 games. Marion County has the longest losing streak in the region at 15 games, dating back to Feb. 5^th of last season. There are no 5^th region teams ranked in the top 25. There are several changes in the top 10 this week. Teams 13-18 remain unchanged.

The big story of the region this week though, was Larue County’s upset win at the King of the Bluegrass over George Rogers Clark. Here’s this week’s ratings, featuring a new number 1 team in the region.

Ranking, Team, Record, Previous Ranking

1	Elizabethtown (6-3) (2)
2	Taylor County (9-1) (3)
3	Larue County (6-4) (6)
4	North Hardin (6-4) (4)
5	Washington County (6-4) (1)
6	Central Hardin (5-5) (5)
7	Adair County (9-3) (9)
8	Caverna (9-3) (11)
9	Bethlehem (5-5) (8)
10	Campbellsville (6-4) (10)
11	Green County (5-6) (12)
12	Bardstown (3-5) (7)
13	Hart County (4-4) (13)
14	Nelson County (3-6) (14)
15	Fort Knox (2-5) (15)
16	John Hardin (0-9) (16)
17	Marion County (0-8) (17)
18	Thomas Nelson (0-8) (18)

1.       Elizabethtown claims the top spot this week, going 2-0, defeating previously ranked #1 Washington County 67-63. Jajuan Williams had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Obian Howard added 17 points and 7 rebounds. The Panthers also had a blowout win against district opponent Fort Knox. This week the Panthers head to Campbellsville for the Campbellsville High School Holiday Classic. The Panthers along with Danville Christian Academy look to be the favorites in that tournament.

2. Taylor County had a good week, going 3-0 on the week. They finished up at PRP with a 76-72 win over Lafayette. Jackson Wise and Layken Lyons both contributed 19 points. Keeton Clements added 17 points. The Cardinals then went to Edmonson County and defeated Daviess County and Edmonson County before their scheduled matchup with Meade County was cancelled due to bad weather. Taylor County won’t return to the court until after the New Year, when they’ll meet Larue County in the 2A Sectional.

3.       Larue County moves up 3 spots to number 3. Their highest ranking of the year so far. The Hawks had a much better than expected showing at the King of the Bluegrass tournament going 2-2. Of course, the big story in that is beating George Rogers Clark 72-71. The 5 started for Larue, played every second of that game. Daniel Allen had 21 points. The Hawks will head to Gatlinburg for 3 games this week.

4.       North Hardin holds steady at the 4 spot. The Trojans went 1-2 in the First United Bank Holiday Classic at Madisonville North Hopkins. Even with the 2 losses it was not a bad showing at all for the Trojans. They dropped a 5-point decision to the host school and then a 9-point loss to Owensboro before picking up a 10-point win against Webster County. Shaun Boykins was impressive this week, averaging nearly 30 points in the 3 games. North Hardin will travel to Franklin-Simpson this week for a game with the Wildcats.

5.       Washington County drops from the top spot down to number 5. They had a pair of losses, a 4-point loss to Elizabethtown and then a 14-point loss to Eastern. The Commanders have now lost 3 in a row. They’ll try and right the ship this week at Mercer County with 3 games against Rockcastle County, Boyle County and Lafayette.

6.       Central Hardin drops 1 spot this week despite winning the only game they played. Their drop is not so much a reflection of their week as it is several other teams having a better week. The Bruins defeated St. Henry 73-68 in overtime. Jakob Fredrickson had a double-double with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Brett Decker added 19 points. Central Hardin heads to Mercer County as well this week for 3 games. They’ll meet up with Danville, Rockcastle County and Knox Central.

7.       Adair County had a good week before Christmas going 3-0 with wins against Bullitt Central, Nicholas County and Monroe County. Sophomore guard Connor Loy averaged 25 points a game through that stretch. The Indians have just one game this week, they’ll travel to Allen County-Scottsville.

8.       Caverna makes the top 10 for the first time this season. The Colonels have a 4-game winning streak heading into Christmas. They won all 3 games they played in Ohio County at the Beaver Dam Classic. They defeated Ohio County 60-47, Grayson County 65-62, and Breckinridge County 69-56. They head to Barren County after Christmas for 3 more games. They’ll start with Evangel Christian. The Ater/Malonga matchup should be fun to watch.

9.       Bethlehem drops a spot after a somewhat disappointing week, going 1-2 at the Whittaker Country Christmas tournament. They lost 76-70 to Hopkins County Central and 86-72 to McLean County before defeating Cloverport 90-54. They’ll head to the 14^th region for the Railroad Classic at Estill County. Anything other than 3 wins will be disappointing for the Eagles at this tournament.

10.   Campbellsville holds onto the number 10 spot for the second week in a row. The Eagles had one game this week, a 73-54 win over Somerset Christian. The Eagles had 5 players hit double digits in scoring. Deondre Weathers led with 16, Taylor Spaw had 14 and added 10 rebounds. The Eagles play host this week for their annual Christmas tournament that features 5^th region teams, Elizabethtown and John Hardin. Southern, Franklin County, Oldham County, Danville Christian Academy and Crittenden County round out the field.

11.   Green County went 2-1 this week and moves up one spot to number 11. The Dragons lost to South Laurel 79-56 but then defeated Lynn Camp 92-65 and Knox Central 68-43. Hayden Blakeman had 28 and 23 points respectively in the wins. The Dragons will face Clinton County in the Owensboro Health Holiday Classic at Grayson County.

12.   Bardstown has the farthest drop in the rankings this week, dropping 5 spots. The Tigers dropped a 3-point decision to Letcher County Central in their only game this week. The Tigers are 3-5 on the season now and off to their worst start in recent history. They head to Eastern to play in the City of Middletown Classic that also features Desales and Butler. Bardstown’s first game will be against region 1 team St. Mary.

13.   Hart County went 2-0 this week and hold steady in the 13 spot. The Raiders defeated Calhoun Academy from South Carolina 87-53 and then defeated Montgomery Central from Cunningham Tennessee 59-41. Jaxon Shoulders had 27 points and 15 points in the 2 games. The Raiders only game this week will be against Butler County at the Owensboro Sports Center.

14.   Nelson County won its only game this week, a 63-60 win over Nicholas County. Havin Carothers led the Cardinals in scoring with 19 points. He also chipped in 6 rebounds. The Cardinals head to Columbia Illinois for 3 games this week.

15.   Fort Knox had one game before Christmas and it was an 82-34 thrashing at the hands of district opponent Elizabethtown. The Golden Eagles have only 1 game left before the end of the year. They’ll play at Burgin on the 29^th. They won’t play after that until Jan. 10^th.

16.   John Hardin didn’t play any games this week. They’ll look to get their first win of the season at the Campbellsville High School Holiday Classic. They matchup with Franklin County in their first-round game.

17.   Marion County hosted the Autism Holiday Classic and went 0-2. They dropped a game to Letcher County Central 57-42 and then was defeated by Bath County 51-42. Mason May was injured in the Letcher County Central game and it’s unknown how long he will be out. May has been the Knights second leading scorer. Hopefully May will recover quickly and make it back on the court for the Knights.

18.   Thomas Nelson dropped 2 games this week at the KME Classic. The Generals almost hit the win column for the first time this week losing 44-42 to South Fulton Tennessee. Thomas Nelson heads to Pendleton County for the Phillip Wood Classic. I think this is the week Thomas Nelson breaks into the win column.

 

A quick look at the district standings:

17th District	Central Hardin 2-0
	Elizabethtown 2-1
	North Hardin 1-0
	Fort Knox 1-2
	John Hardin 0-3
18th District	Larue County 1-0
	Hart 1-1
	Caverna 1-1
	Green County 1-2
19th District	Washington County 3-0
	Bardstown 2-2
	Bethlehem 2-2
	Nelson 2-2
	Thomas Nelson 0-3
20th District	Taylor County 3-0
	Campbellsville 2-1
	Adair 1-2
	Marion 0-3

 

Sweet, dude. Thank you.