And then there were eight. With the district tournaments in the rear view mirror, the 12th region turns to Wednesday, March the 1st, and the start of the regional tournament. Let's trace the district tournaments results and take a look at the regional tournament to come.

45th District Tournament

Lincoln County defeated Boyle County by a sound 15 point margin in the championship game but there was a lot of drama getting there. In the lower bracket, Garrard County tuned up with a blow out win over the Kentucky School for the Deaf before giving Boyle County all they could handle. But in the end, the Rebels survived 74 to 69 behind former Golden Lion Montavin Quisenberry's 27 point performance. In his high school finale Ethan Cooper scored 38 for Garrard. 

On the other side of the bracket, the 4/5 game went all the way to overtime with Danville dispatching Danville Christian 63 to 61 with 3 crucial threes a piece by Jarius Bryant and Josh Bixler for the Ads while Demauriah Brown also had 2 three pointers in his team high 18 points. The Ads would push their semifinal game against Lincoln County to overtime as well but would fall by 4 as Tramane Alcorn, Colton Ralston and Connor Davis all scored in double-figures for the Patriots.

In the end, the 1 & 2 seeds made it to the finals with Lincoln defeating Boyle for the title behind a pair of 15 point performances by Blade Nuckols and Tramane Alcorn. This is the 5th year in a row Lincoln has won the district and they head into the regional tournament as most people's favorite to win it all.

46th District Tournament

No surprising results out of this one though the margins may have been tighter than some expected. Trinity Christian defeated Burgin by 10 to start things off before losing to 1 seed West Jessamine in a blowout. Mercer County squeaked by East Jessamine 67 to 64 behind Trevor Ellis' 23 points. In the end, Mercer would compete with West Jessamine in the title game but ultimately fall 58 to 51 as the Colts win the district title. 

47th District Tournament

It isn't the basketball post-season without an upset or two and here we find the surprise district tournament elimination in the 12th. Although this one was put on upset alert as soon as the double coin toss happened, the Rockcastle Rockets showed up and did what they needed to to make it real as they stunned the beleaguered Somerset Briar Jumpers by a score of 57 to 46. Freshman Walker Craig, a name to remember, scored 24 for the Rockets. Pulaski County beat Casey County 84 to 67 although just 5 players appeared in the scoring column, led by Brysen Dugger with 18. The Maroons would go on to claim the district title over Rockcastle by a score of 71 to 51 as Barek Williams scored 18 points, going a hot 7 of 11 from the floor.

48th District Tournament

The Raiders of McCreary Central hang a district title banner as they defeated Somerset Christian School in the first round and Wayne County in the finals. Wayne County survived a scare from Southwestern behind 21 points from Kendall Phillips in what turned out to be a 5 point victory. Kyle Stephens of McCreary scored 52 points in the tournament.

12th Region Tournament First Round Preview

Lincoln County vs. Wayne County - The Patriots are the favored pick to win it all. We know it. They know it. Everyone knows it. They have the best all-around player in the region in Tramane Alcorn and a supporting cast that continues to step up time and time again in Colton Ralston, Connor Davis, Blade Nuckols, Jackson Sims and Will Bishop. And to call Colton Ralston supporting is in reality underselling what the young man has done with his 13.5 points per game average and clutch shooting. They also have one of the best to ever sit on the sidelines in the region, Coach Jeff Jackson. However, the same can be said for the man across the way, Coach Rodney Woods of the Wayne County Cardinals. Wayne County boasts the duo of Kendall Phillips and Mason Burchett. Wayne County got rolled 58 to 31 when these teams met in early December though the Cardinals have gone on to beat some very good teams in the region. 

West Jessamine vs. Rockcastle County - The upstart Rockets and freshman Walker Craig have made it, they are in the show. Their reward - a date with the Colts of West Jessamine, a team they have not played this year. Unlike Rockcastle's star-driven production, West has a workman-like squad that all complement each other. Five players average over 8 points per game with Daniel Waters up over 18 to lead the way. Waters also leads the team with 7.1 rebounds but Drew Marshall also has 6.9 per game. West is poised to make a run but they can't overlook this pesky Rocket squad.

Pulaski County vs. Mercer County - Trevor Ellis and the Titans take on the three-headed monster that consists of the Maroons' Barek Williams, Cayden Lancaster and Carson Fraley. Williams and Lancaster both hover right around 20 points per game. Lancaster had 20 the first time these two teams squared off in what resulted in a 7 point Maroon road win. Trevor Ellis had 24 in the loss. He will need to have another stellar night to give the Titans a chance at the upset.

McCreary County Central vs. Boyle County - Save the best for last. Boyle County started off the year inconsistent and taking some bad losses. But in the month of February they only have 2 losses, one of those being the district championship game to Lincoln. They are led by Montavin Quisenberry, Kason Myers, Jakei Tarter and Avery Bodner, all of whom have had "step up" performances this year with Quisenberry being the most dominant force amongst them as of late. On the other side is McCreary County Central's Raider squad, a team Boyle has not played this year. They are led by senior Kyle Stephens, one of the best all-around players in the region. Both teams lack depth but McCreary definitely more so. They both have star power at the top and two men on the bench with Coach of the Year trophies on their shelves with Coach Webb of Boyle winning it in the recent past and Coach Wade Davis winning this year for McCreary.

 

Looking forward to a fun first round and we will be back next week to recap it and preview the final four of the regional tournament.

Tremendous preview here. I like Lincoln, West, PC, BC. Then WJ and PC. WJ wins it all. 

Lincoln, West, PC, MCC. Semis I’ll take Lincoln and MCC. MCC pulls off the upset and beats Lincoln in the finals to win the 12th this year. 

6 hours ago, Big Mck Bearcat said:

Tremendous preview here. I like Lincoln, West, PC, BC. Then WJ and PC. WJ wins it all. 

This is off topic but is the old McKinney school a cult compound now?