13th Region Week 4 Rankings and Review

13th Region Week 4 Review:

1. North Laurel (7-4): The Jaguars went 1-1 on the week while finishing up their time at the City of Palms Classic. The jaguars finished their time at the classic going 2-2. UK commit Reed Sheppard continues to light it up for the Jaguars and make his case for Mr. Basketball while averaging 23.6 and 8.5 this season. NL picks things back up at the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic this coming week. Big man Gavin Chadwell is still out.  

2. Harlan (9-1): The Green Dragons went 2-1 on the week with wins over Ashland (80-63) and Bracken County (83-67) before dropping a rematch against Pikeville by 13 in the finals of the Pikeville Invitational, a team that they had beat by 12 previously in the season. Harlan is an interesting team that many are tagging as a top 25 team in the state and NL’s biggest threat to repeat as region champs. Harlan will compete in the Dan Swartz Classic at Bath County this coming week.

 3. Harlan County (7-3): The Black Bears went 1-1 on the week with a huge win over Male before losing to Trinity in the finals of the consolation bracket in the King of the Bluegrass tournament. HC went 2-2 while in the tournament, and look to have a successful stint in the Smoky Mountain Winter Classic this coming week. As a fan, I look ahead to that January 5th matchup with South Laurel. This game should tell more about how the top of the 13th region measures up.

4. South Laurel (7-3): The Cardinals had a great week going 3-0 with wins over Green County, Central, and Cooper to win the Legacy Nissan Dribble Drive Classic. Eli Gover is having a great season for SL. The cardinals hit the road after Christmas and travel to participate in the Daytona Beach Sunshine Classic before starting region play. 

 5. Corbin (4-2): The Redhounds had a tough week going 1-2 losing to Southridge out of Miami, beating Letcher County by 18, but then getting beat down by Barren County by 22. This Corbin team is hard to read so far as they have to get their football kids up to speed, but we should know more about them this coming week as they host their own Grace Health Cumberland Falls Invitational. They open with a game against Bell County. 

 6. Whitley County (7-2): I was so close in giving Whitley the nod over Corbin for the week, but I’m waiting for a signature win for the Colonels. They finished the week going 1-1 in the Lopez Holiday Classic in FL. The Colonels will also be in Corbin’s tournament this week and open with games against Knoxville Catholic and Doss. Jamie Fuson had a big week for WC averaging 15.5 on the week. 

7. Williamsburg (6-3): Williamsburg went 2-0 on the week led by their high flying offense scoring 94 and 89 in the wins. Henry Bowling scored 24 in one win and Andrew Smith scored 24 in the other showing the versatility of this team. The 50th district should be a blast to watch with all these teams being close. The Yellow Jackets host the Bill Perkins Holiday Classic this week. 

8. Bell County (3-5): The Bobcats went 2-1 on the week finishing up the Legacy Nissan tournament held at South Laurel. They dropped their opening game against Owen County, before finishing up with wins over 13th region foes Knox Central and Lynn Camp. Dawson Woolum had 37, 24, and 33 in the three games this week. Bell will also play in Corbin’s Cumberland Falls Invitational this week. 

9. Barbourville (6-4): The tigers went 1-2 on the week losing to 48th district teams McCreary and Wayne. They did end the week with a dominant win over Cordia 67-29. Matthew Warren and Travis Scott each had big games for Barbourville this week. The tigers also play in the Bill Perkins Classic at Williamsburg which may give us more 13th region matchups.  

10. Clay County (4-3): The Tigers make their way into the top 10 this week after picking up a win over Leslie County in the Bobby Keith Classic. The Tigers are a young team with only one senior on the roster, and are led in scoring by Hayden Harris (19.6) and rebounding by Elijah Bundy (10.4). Clay will take on Cumberland County and Logan County this week.

Best of the rest:

11. Jackson County (8-4)

12. Lynn Camp (3-7)

13. Pineville (5-3)

14. OBI (3-6)

15. Middlesboro (2-8)

16. Knox Central (0-9)

17. Red Bird (0-8)