13th Region Week 6 Rankings and Review

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13th Region Week 6 Review:

This week some of the higher ranked teams took some losses, some kept their winning streaks alive, and there was a top 5 matchup with South Laurel and Harlan County. The bottom half of the region got to shake out with teams getting to face each other in region matchups and the start of the All “A”. More district and region matchups will ensue over this week. 

1. Harlan (13-2): The Green Dragons went 2-0 on the week with dominating wins over Knox Central and Lynn Camp. Jae dyn Gist and Kyler McLendon both led Harlan with 28 in the win over Knox Central. Harlan has been scoring points in the bunches with their last seven wins them scoring over 80 points in each. Harlan finishes up the All “A” this week against Barbourville then likely Jackson County or Pineville. They’ll then take the road against Clay County on Thursday before taking on Bell County at home in a big district matchup. With possible games Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday the Green Dragons should have a busy week. 

2. Harlan County (12-3): The Black Bears had a nice week by going 2-0 with a big region win over South Laurel at home then going to South Laurel to play St. Henry and winning over them by 10. Junior superstar Trent Noah led the way in both scoring 34 and 20 respectively. HC has won their last 5 and look to push that win streak to 8 this week when they take on region opponents Clay County, Middlesboro, and Knox Central. There’s a lot of good basketball being played in the Harlan County right now. 

 3. North Laurel (9-6): The Jaguars went 1-1 on the week with the thumping of district team Clay County, before dropping an electric game against Lyon County. Reed led the way against Lyon dropping 32 but was out scored by Travis Perry. The Jaguars are off most of the week before they take on Mount St Joseph on Saturday. The week off will be much needed for NL as they were without the services the Davidson brothers in addition to big man Gavin Chadwell. If everyone can get healthy, regardless of record, North Laurel will be one of the better teams in the region and state. 

4. South Laurel (11-4): The Cardinals dropped a game on the road earlier in the week against Harlan County before bouncing back with a 15 point win over Bell County. South Laurel is pretty balanced in the scoring department with three guys scoring double digits per game. The Cardinals have a huge week ahead with district games against Corbin and Williamsburg. SL has won their last 12 games over Corbin and look to push that up to 13 games and keep control of the 50th district. 

 5. Corbin (7-4): The Redhounds had a rough week going 0-2 with losses against Danville Christian Academy and Trinity. This week can quickly be forgotten if the Hounds can pick up a win over district rival South Laurel at home on Tuesday. The last time Corbin beat South Laurel? Try 2018, when Corbin star and current Marshall starting PG Andrew Taylor led Corbin to the region tournament finals win in overtime. Crazy to think it has been that long. Corbin will also close the week up against Belfry at home on Friday. 

 6. Barbourville (8-5): The Tigers went 1-0 on the week by doubling up OBI in the start of the All “A” with a 81-40 win. All eyes are on Harlan now which they get to face on their homecourt as they are hosting the All “A”. This could be a season defining win if the Tigers can find a way to pull the upset. If they can pull the upset they’ll play in the finals on Tuesday, and if not they will still close out the week against Jackson County. 

7. Whitley County (8-4): The Colonels won their first game in the 2A sectional by beating Knox Central, but then let a game against McCreary Central get away from them before losing in OT 66-71. Evan Ellis led the way with 23 by going 5-5 for from 3 in the loss. Whitley will try to bounce back with a big district game against Williamsburg at home on Tuesday. They will then wrap up the week playing Lynn Camp at home. 

8. Jackson County (7-5): The Generals move into the top 10 this week coming off a big win over Williamsburg in the All “A”. Most had penciled in Harlan and Williamsburg in the finals, but Jackson Co. had other plans. JC will play Pineville tomorrow for a chance to go to the finals of the All “A” regional, then wrap up the week playing Barbourville and and Middlesboro. There’s the possibility of having 4 games this week and if Jackson County could find a way to win 3 to 4 of those they would have a very successful week. 

9. Williamsburg (8-6): The Yellow Jackets are in a slump right now after going 1-1 on the week and dropping three of their last four. They had a 5 point win over Lynn Camp before dropping a game many thought they should have won against Jackson County in the All A. Williamsburg needs to have a short memory as they have two huge district games this week with Whitley County and South Laurel both on the road. Jerrod Roark and Henry Bowling will need big weeks for the burg to see success. 

10. Pineville (9-3): The Mountain Lions also slide into the top 10 this week after beating Middlesboro in the first round of the All A. They play for a chance to go to the championship if they can get past Jackson County. They also play at Knox Central and have a home game against Burgin to wrap up the week. Sawyer Thompson leads Pineville with 21.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game with Ashton Moser coming in right behind with 16.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. 

Best of the rest:

11. Bell County (3-10)

12. Clay County  (6-5)

13. Lynn Camp (4-10)

14. OBI (5-8)

15. Middlesboro (3-11)

16. Knox Central (0-14)

17. Red Bird (0-8)