13th Region Week 1 Review and Rankings

Here is your 13th Region Top 10 Week 1 (half of week 2 sorry won’t be late from here on out!). Would like to extend prayers and condolences to the Hicks family with the passing of one of our state's coaching legends. 

1. Harlan County (3-0).
Harlan Co had the clean sweep on the week and opened up Monday with a win over Letcher in the WYMT Mountain Classic. They also added in a nice 10 point win over Ashland Blazer who is always a force to be reckoned with. They play Martin County Friday in the WYMT and barring no upsets will likely play Saturday in the finals. 

2. South Laurel  (2-0)
The Cardinals started the season off with a drubbing of McCreary Central then picked up a nice win last night over cross town rival North Laurel 56-40. Colton Rawlings led the way with 24 against his former team, and Jordan Mabe finished with 19. South wraps up the week with Sayre in the Ted Cook Classic on Saturday. 

3. Clay County (2-2).
Clay opened the week 2-1 before taking a loss last night in the WYMT Classic. They kicked off the season with a 17 point win over Pineville which saw Jerrod Roark put up 25 and Elijah Bundy put up 22. Not to be out done, they then throttled Harlan and were led in scoring by Hayden Harris with 15. A tough loss last night to Floyd Central puts the matchup with Harlan County away and brings back a rematch with Harlan tonight to wrap up the week. 

4. Corbin (0-0).
Corbin is off one more week before they kick the season off on the 13th against Cordia. I am sure they’re taking this time to perfect the small things and get their football guys acclimated to the basketball grind. 

5. Bell County (2-0)
Bell is off to a hot start with a 70 point win over Cordia and a 37 point win over Knoxville Ambassadors. They’ve been led in scoring each game by Cameron Hall with 22 and 24. The wrap up this week with games against Tri-Cities Christian and Knox Central in the Pride of the Mountains Basketball Showcase. 

6. Pineville (2-1)
Pineville started the year off with a 17 point loss at home against Clay County, but has since responded with wins over Cumberland Gap and a nice road win over Scott County in OT in the Jersey Mike’s Classic. Sawyer Thompson and Ashton Moser both led the way with 21 a piece. They wrap up this week with games against Red Bird and Thomas Walker.
 

7. Whitley County (1-1)
The Colonels opened the year with a 2 point loss to Wayne County on a buzzer beater, but responded with a win over Lynn Camp last night by 32. They finish this week out with Knox Central and Garrard County. The game against Knox County should tell more about how these 7-10 range teams fall. 

8. Knox Central (3-0).
With the Panthers hot start they are now 1 game away from their season total wins last year. It’s been a nice sight to see the Panthers start hot. They opened up the year with a 17 point win over Owsley County, followed by a 30 point win over town rival Barbourville, then had a 16 point win last night over OBI which saw Gavin Chadwell put up 26 and 17. The Panthers may be a sleeper team to keep climbing the rankings. Knox will face off against Whitley on Thursday and Bell on Friday. 

9. North Laurel (0-4).
Graduation and transfers have not been kind to the Jaguars thus far. They’ve started the season with four losses against Lex Cath, CAL, Woodford, and South Laurel. Each of these games have been competitive but Lex Cath. It’s the first week so I don’t see the need to hit the panic button yet, but things do need to start to pick up. North will look to get their first win of the year over Henry Clay on Saturday. 

10. Jackson County (2-2).
The Generals started the season with a win over Leslie, then dropped a game to Harlan County, then beat Lee County, then lost to Berea last night. As long as they keep pace, they’re looking to get back in the W column over Mercer in the Ted Cook Classic. Jackson has been led so far in scoring by Keagan Ward and Tydus Summers.