The Tomcats and Lions brace for impact…. Raiders continue their command of the Comets…. And the Devils were red hot against an Ohio River rival….

The wait is almost over. One of the state's great rivalries will reignite at James A. Anderson Gym on Tuesday night. Ashland will enter as region #1 against Boyd County, but their grip on that position is tenuous at best, after losing their only game last week, at Corbin. The Lions won twice, including avenging an earlier loss to Pike Central, to claim the Section 8 title of the State 2A Tournament. Having said that, you can throw momentum out the window. When the Lions and Tomcats are on, they're the two best teams in the region. And when they share the court, fur will fly.

Round 1 of this season's Carter County civil war saw the rivalry's momentum remain with the Raiders. Blake Hall and Evan Goodman each scored 17, with Hall adding 14 rebounds for a productive night's work around the rim in East's 65-53 win over West Carter. All together, the Raiders doubled up West on the boards. This was the fourth straight win for East Carter over the Comets. West will have an opportunity to level up the season series in Olive Hill on January 26th.

Top left and right: East's Blake Hall (10). Bottom left: West's Jordan Fuston (13). Bottom right: East coach Cole Brammer. Photo cred to Emma Hall for the Daily Independent.

 

Trending ?: As the temperature has dropped, the Devils are appropriately heating up. Russell is riding a modest four game win streak, best in the region at the moment. They survived a wire to wire battle against Lewis County in Vanceburg on a Caleb Rimmer putback at the horn and outpaced a good Ironton (OH) team behind an early barrage of threes. The young Devils are at least a year away from contending, but the Ironton game showcased their capabilities when perimeter shots are falling.

Russell vs. Ironton Highlights:

 

 

 

Sixteen For the 16th (Rankings)

1. Ashland Tomcats

Record: 9-4

Weekly Results: lost to Corbin (59-63)

 

2. Boyd County Lions

Record: 12-3

Weekly Results: beat Magoffin County (80-72) | beat Pike County Central (68-55)

 

3. Morgan County Cougars

Record: 11-3

Weekly Results: beat West Carter (75-40)

 

4. Fleming County Panthers

Record: 11-4

Weekly Results: beat Greenup County (67-36) | beat Mason County (61-58) 

 

5. Rowan County Vikings

Record: 9-6

Weekly Results: lost to Mason County (60-63) | beat Floyd Central (71-61)

 

6. Russell Red Devils

Record: 7-4

Weekly Results: beat Lewis County (54-52) | beat Ironton (OH) (72-57)

 

7. East Carter Raiders

Record: 7-7

Weekly Results: beat West Carter (65-53)

 

8. Raceland Rams

Record: 7-6

Weekly Results: lost to Coal Grove (OH) (53-54) | beat Rose Hill (64-37)

 

9. Greenup County Musketeers

Record: 8-9

Weekly Results: lost to Fleming County (36-67) | beat Notre Dame (OH) (43-42)

 

10. Lewis County Lions

Record: 5-6

Weekly Results: lost to Russell (52-54)

 

11. West Carter Comets

Record: 5-8

Weekly Results: lost to Morgan County (40-75) | lost to East Carter (53-65)

 

12. Menifee County Wildcats

Record: 6-9

Weekly Results: lost to Prestonsburg (66-70) | beat Fairview (85-63)

 

13. Fairview Eagles

Record: 5-13

Weekly Results: lost to Johnson Central (72-78) | beat Scioto Christian (OH) (64-22) | lost to Menifee County (63-85)

 

14. Bath County Wildcats

Record: 4-11

Weekly Results: Idle last week 

 

15. Elliott County Lions

Record: 2-12

Weekly Results: beat Rose Hill (63-18)

 

16. Rose Hill Royals

Record: 4-7

Weekly Results: lost to Elliott County (18-63) | beat Elk Valley Christian (WV) (59-50) | lost to Raceland (37-64) 

 

Get To The Point (High Scorers For The Week)

Brevon Ricker (Menifee County) - 35 against Prestonsburg & 31 against Fairview 

Seth Hickerson (Fleming County) - 30 against Greenup County 

Christian Blevins (Rose Hill) - 24 against Elk Valley Christian (WV)

Jason Ellis (Boyd County) - 23 against Magoffin County

Tamel Smith (Fairview) - 23 against Johnson Central

Christian Large (Raceland) - 21 against Coal Grove (OH)

No love for Fleming County... should be at least #3, and maybe higher IMO. 

6 hours ago, LCDAWGS19 said:

No love for Fleming County... should be at least #3, and maybe higher IMO. 

I dinged Fleming for a rough patch the week before last. I think they're healthy again and could climb the rankings next week depending on the fallout of Ashland/Boyd and how Fleming fares against a good LaRue County team. That's their only game this week.