3rd Region Week 9 Review and Rankings

[ApolloFan98]

The 3rd Region continues to struggle against top competition from around the state.  Ohio County fell short against Bowling Green.  Catholic ran out of legs against Holy Cross.  Owensboro continued to be inconsistent with a road loss to Madisonville.  The region has not scored a win at Rupp since Owensboro's 2015 State Championship and unless something picks up over the next few weeks, that streak may continue into 2024.  Owensboro probably has the highest ceiling of any team in the region, but has to find the right lineups.  Ji Webb earned a start on Friday so that is something to watch over the next few weeks.  The Devils finish the season with Bowling Green, Owensboro Catholic, Ohio County and Henderson County.  Those games should tell you a lot about where they are.

 

1.Ohio County Eagles (19-5) – SAME

Wins – Calloway County & Hancock County, Losses - Bowling Green

The Eagles fell short in their biggest test of the week against Bowling Green but bounced back with wins over Calloway and Hancock County.  Elijah Decker and Parker Culbertson continue to lead the way for the season.  Decker is putting up 16.6 ppg while Culbertson is at 14.7 ppg.  The Eagles will travel to Trinity tomorrow before closing the week at the Sportscenter against Collins.

2.Owensboro Catholic Aces (20-3) – SAME

Wins – Grayson County, Cumberland County, University Heights, Losses - Covington Holy Cross

The Aces opened the week with a regional win over Grayson before traveling to the All-A State Tournament.  They opened with an easy win over Cumberland County and looked to be on track for another easy win over University Heights, as they led by 17 heading into the 4th quarter.  UHA however, stormed from behind to take the game into 4 overtimes before Catholic prevailed.  Unfortunately for the Aces, the game played well past midnight and they had to come back for an afternoon tip against a tough Covington Holy Cross team.  The Aces just didn't have the legs to keep up and fell short in the semifinals.  Parker Gray, Luke Biekman and Brian Griffith led the Aces balanced attack through the tournament.  The Aces host Madisonville tomorrow and travel to Daviess County on Friday.

3.Owensboro Red Devils (13-7) – SAME

Wins - Daviess County & Hopkinsville, Losses – Madisonville 

Owensboro got Ji Webb back in the lineup this week, which should be a big addition for them down the stretch.  That being said, finding minutes for everyone will be a challenge for Coach Drake.  The team will need to avoid the friction of splitting minutes because the ceiling for them is sky high.  Ji led the Devils in the big district win over Daviess County Friday with 18.  Carbon led the way on Saturday at Hoptown with 22.  Owensboro will host Apollo in their lone game this week.

4.Mclean County Cougars (15-6) - SAME

Wins – Muhlenberg County

The Cougars held off Muhlenberg County on Friday to pickup another district win.  This is a preview of the first round matchup we will be getting in a few weeks.  Mclean has won both regular season meetings.  The Cougars will host Webster County tomorrow and have weekend games at the Sportscenter against Breck County, Whitesville Trinity and Christian Foundation.

5.Butler County Bears (16-7) – UP 2

Wins – Allen County, Muhlenberg County, Whitesville Trinity and Christian Educational

The Bears reeled off 4 straight wins this week.  Justin Castlen stepped up with 26 points in the win over Allen County.  In the 3 wins that followed, Ty Price averaged 33 per game.  The Bears host Ft Campbell tonight, travel to Grayson County on Friday and then get WEB Dubios on Saturday at the Sportscenter.

6.Hancock County Hornets (11-9) – SAME

Losses - Ohio County

The Hornets battled Ohio County in their lone game last week but came up 5 points short.  They travel to Cloverport tonight and Meade County on Friday night before finishing the week against Union County on Saturday.

7.Edmonson County Wildcats (12-9) – DOWN 2

Wins – Grayson County, Losses – Todd Central

The Wildcats dropped a tough overtime game to Todd on Tuesday but bounced back with a nice district win over Grayson County.  Braden Wall led the way with 23 while Highbaugh added a double double with 17 and 11.  They host Breck tomorrow and Whitesville Trinity on Friday.

8.Whitesville Trinity Raiders (9-6) – SAME

Losses – Meade County & Butler County

The Raiders struggles continued into this week, as they have now lost 4 straight games.  They will look to get back on track this week with tough games against Ohio County, Edmonson County and Mclean County.

9.Daviess County Panthers (9-12) – SAME

Wins – Bluegrass Blazers, Losses - Owensboro & Webster County

The Panthers got some bad news on Dylon Talbott this week.  His appeals have been turned down and he will not be eligible to play this season.  They did get Jack Payne back in the lineup on Friday which should be a big lift for the Panthers in the final few weeks of the season.  The Panthers have Muhlenberg County, Owensboro Catholic and Evansville Day this week.

10.Grayson County Cougars (8-14) – SAME

Wins - Apollo, Losses - Owensboro Catholic & Edmonson County

In the Cougars win over Apollo, Spencer Langdon knocked down 5 3's to finish with 17.  The Cougars could not maintain that momentum as they fell to Edmonson County on Friday.  They have home games against Meade County, Butler County and Trigg County this week.

11.Meade County Greenwave (6-13) – UP 2

Wins - Whitesville Trinity & Breck County, Losses – Hart County

The Waves are showing signs of improvement late in the season.  Coach Tripure always seems to have his teams playing at their best come district tournament time.  Cade Scott and Garrett Hardesty each scored over 20 in the big district win over Breck Friday.   Hardesty had 22 in the win over Trinity back on Tuesday.  They will look to keep it going against Grayson County, Hancock County and Cloverport this week.

12.Muhlenberg County Mustangs (5-17) – SAME

Wins - Breck Co, Losses – Butler County and Mclean County

The Mustangs ended their 5 game losing streak with a big win over Breck County on Saturday.  Madox Jernigan led the way with 27, while Kadin Ray added a double double with 14 and 11.  The Mustangs have Daviess County and Henderson County this week.

13.Breckinridge County Tigers (8-13) – DOWN 2

Wins - Cloverport, Losses – Meade County & Muhlenberg County

The Tigers struggled this week against a couple of teams previously ranked below them in Meade and Muhlenberg County.  Since picking up a signature win against Owensboro a few weeks back, the Tigers have struggled a little bit.  They will look to get back on track against Edmonson County and Mclean County this week.

14.Apollo Eagles (3-15) - SAME

Wins - Trigg County, Losses – Grayson County & Allen County

Apollo got a nice OT win over Trigg County this week.  Zjahn Tutt poured in 27 in the win.  They have Union County, Owensboro and Logan County this week.

15.Cloverport Aces (3-18) – SAME

Losses - Breck County and Brown

The Aces have games against Hancock County, Meade County, Francis Parker and Valley this week.