16th Region Week 7 Review

[Basketball Jones]

16th Region Week 7 Review

 

Ashland Blazer is now the only unbeaten team against regional competition after Morgan County lost to Russell and East Carter. Ashland Blazer, Boyd County and Russell are the only teams with fewer than two losses against other regional teams. Ashland Blazer and Russell ended the week riding winning streaks. Morgan County and Fleming County are sitting on two regional losses each. Everybody else has three or more. Four teams, Ashland Blazer (2-0 in the 64th), Russell (3-0 in the 63rd), East Carter (2-0 in the 62nd) and Bath County (2-0 in the 61st) remain unbeaten against district opponents. Among the better individual performances, Rheyce Deboard had a nice week for Ashland Blazer. There are no changes to the top seven, but East Carter and Menifee County switched spots in the back half of the top 10, giving East Carter the biggest ascending move of the week.

 

Regional Rankings:

 

1. Ashland Blazer (12-6): The Tomcats went 3-0 for the week with home wins against Madison Central (81-68) and Bath County (70-56) and a rout of Raceland. Rheyce Deboard scored a team-high 34 points against Mad Central and had 24 against Bath County. The four-time defending regional champs have won five straight games. They are 5-0 against regional teams, including a nine-point win at Boyd County.

 

2. Boyd County (11-4): The Lions dropped their only game of the week, losing 81-77 at Letcher County Central. They could have been a little rusty after a 12-day layoff. Nevertheless, they have lost three of four after their 10-1 start.

 

3. Fleming County (11-7): The Panthers went 2-0 with victories over Rowan County and Augusta and improved to 6-2 in the region. The win against Augusta was just their second against a team with a winning record (they also beat Russell). However, they don't have a loss to a mediocre team. Other previous results: Two losses to Mason County, one of them by just five points, and losses to once-beaten Owensboro Catholic, Butler, Highlands, Ashland Blazer and Bath County. They beat Russell by five on the road last season and by 21 at home this season.

 

3. Russell (15-3): A fourth straight unbeaten week for the Red Devils, who went 2-0 with victories against Morgan County and Greenup County. Damon Charles scored 22 points against Morgan County and 18 vs. Greenup County. Russell has won 10 games in a row. The Red Devils are 11-1 vs. the region, the lone loss to Fleming County in December. Three of those regional wins have come against West Carter. Beat Bath County by nine Dec. 8 and has also beaten Raceland and East Carter but has not played as tough a schedule as Fleming County.

 

5. Morgan County (12-4): The Cougars were 1-2 for the week beating Powell County by 16 and losing to Russell by six and East Carter by seven. Preston Hoskins scored 22 in the win. They are 3-2 against the region including a 27-point win against Bath County.

 

6. Bath County (10-5): The Wildcats lost by 14 at Ashland Blazer and beat East Carter by one. Lost to Russell by nine earlier in the season and beat Fleming County by one in OT. They are 6-3 against the region.

 

7. Rowan County (7-9): The Vikings snapped a four-game losing streak with a 1-1 week that featured a road win against Lewis County. They lost at home to Fleming County and are 4-3 vs. the region. Still giving them the benefit of the doubt over Raceland because of a 46-20 win vs. Raceland in last year's 16th Region tournament. Beat Menifee County by 21 earlier in the season and beat East Carter by seven

 

8. East Carter (9-7): The Raiders beat Greenup County by 10 and Morgan County by seven at home and lost to Bath County by just one on the road. They have won three of their last four games and are 6-4 vs. the region but have beaten just two teams with winning records (Morgan County and Bethlehem).

 

9. Raceland (10-6): The Rams defeated Fairview with 20 points and nine rebounds from Conner Thacker and beat Menifee County by four in OT at the 16th Region All "A" Classic. They were routed by Ashland Blazer. Johnson Central is the only Kentucky team with a winning record that they have beaten, but they are 6-3 against the region. They've only played one district game and lost it.

 

10. Menifee County (7-10): The Wildcats finished 1-1 while hosting the 16th Region All "A" Classic and have dropped nine of their last 14 games. They beat West Carter with 21 points from Brevon Ricker but lost to Raceland in overtime with 23 from Ricker. They are 4-4 vs. the region with an earlier win against Raceland and 0-3 against the district

 

11. Fairview (7-8): The Eagles lost to Raceland for the second time this season at the 16th Region All "A" Classic and beat Rose Hill Christian.

 

12. Lewis County (3-13): The Lions were winless for the second week in a row, going 0-3 against Rowan County, Augusta and Lawrence County. They have lost five straight.

 

13. West Carter (3-10): The Comets lost to Menifee County by seven at the 16th Region All "A" Classic.

 

14. Greenup County (3-12): The Musketeers have dropped six straight after losing to East Carter and Russell.

 

15. Elliott County (2-13): The Lions lost to Powell County and Belfry, pushing their losing streak to seven. Still looking for their first win in eight games against another team from the region.

 

16. Rose Hill Christian (3-11): The Royals went 1-1 with a win over Covenant (WV) and a loss to Fairview. They are 0-7 vs. the region.

[Basketball Jones]

Here are the region's top six scorers (through Monday):

Zachary Otis, Bath County 28.7
Brevon Ricker, Menifee County 25.1
Zander Carter, Ashland Blazer 23.7
Christian Blevins, Rose Hill Christian 21.0
Tanner Johnson, Fairview 20.1
Jacob Spurlock, Boyd County 20.0

Note: Otis and Blevins aren't showing up in the KHSAA list of top 50 scorers, so this is actually more accurate and updated. Spurlock is just outside the KHSAA top 50.

*The KHSAA top 50 list only includes players from teams having two or fewer missing stat reports at compilation time.