Winter break and the holiday classics have come to an end and the region has returned to a heavy schedule of  competition between teams inside the region. There were a few attention grabbing wins this week as two old powers made their presence known and Somerset affirms their stranglehold on the top spot. There are more matchups this week that will continue to provide clarity to the region as well as the All A Tournament, an event that features the top two teams in the region.

Rankings:

1. Somerset - The Briar Jumpers decimated Rockcastle County and Casey County to remain undefeated in both the region and district. Indred Whitaker (29) and Ben Godby (23) combined for 52 points in the win over Rockcastle. Over the two games the Jumpers went 26 of 58 from three point range. And as explosive as those offensive figures are, for the year Somerset is averaging just 54 points allowed per game. They face Somerset Christian in their opening game of the All A Classic.

2. Danville Christian - The Warriors took one on the chin to Corbin on the road but picked up a road win over district and city rival Danville as well as a neutral site win over Clay County at Lincoln County's Patriot Classic. Not to be outdone by Somerset, DCA is averaging just 45.5 points allowed per game. They have Trinity Christian as their first round opponent in the All A. Will we be treated to that sensational title matchup between Somerset and DCA? It would take a major upset to prevent it from happening.

3. Wayne County - The Cardinals got a blow out win over Somerset Christian before falling to Boyle County and Warren Central. They face McCreary Central and Lafayette this week.

4. Mercer County - Still missing Owen Barnes, the Titans fell to Bryan Station at home. They are scheduled to play Trinity Christian and West Jessamine this week in two district contests.

5. Lincoln County - Well look who it is. After being as low as number 14 in this poll during their losing streak to start the season, the Patriots have climbed the ladder in workman-like fashion. They defeated Pulaski County and Southwestern before falling to Madison Central. Seth Horton led the way with 15 against the Maroons while Blade Nuckols, Cash Baird, Sawyer Robbins and Sawyer Horton join him as the core scoring five for Coach Jackson. At the beginning of the year the Patriots were pretty much solely dependent on Nuckols. That has changed. And although bench depth is still a major question, there is no doubt the Patriots can put a variety of scoring options on the floor now, something that was not evident at the start of the season. They face Garrard County and Boyle County on the road this week.

6. Pulaski County - The Patriots of Lincoln County took down the Maroons at home, Somerset being the only other team to achieve that this year. Will Blankenship scored 17 in the bounce-back win over Rockcastle on the road. They face Casey County, Southwestern and Tates Creek this week.

7. Rockcastle County - The Rockets had a rough week playing really tough competition as they fell to Somerset, Pulaski County and Fairdale. They face Casey County and Frankfort on the road this week as they hope to return to the win column.

8. East Jessamine - Keelyn Daniel scored 21 as the Jaguars were able to hold off Trinity Christian in a very important district game. They host Boyle County and Garrard County this week.

9. Boyle County - The Rebels are all over the place. After getting just run out of the gym by Lexington Catholic in the 2A sections, Boyle turns around and beats Wayne County and South Laurel, both by double digits. Montavin Quisenberry scored 20 in the win over Wayne County. They face East Jessamine and Lincoln County this week, both winnable games that, if victorious for the Rebels, would go along way to proving they are capable of consistent success.

10. Southwestern - Jarrett Simpson's 14 points got the Warriors past Danville but they fell to Lincoln County in a blow out. They host Russell County this week before going across town to Pulaski.

11. McCreary County Central - The Raiders fell to Whitley County and Knox Central in the 2A sectionals but were able to come out of the week with a win over Somerset Christian. They face Adair County and Wayne County this week.

12. Trinity Christian - It would have been a great win in the district but it wasn't meant to be as Trinity Christian competed with but was unable to beat East Jessamine. They face DCA in the opening round of the All A Classic before taking on Mercer County in district play. A win against either would be massive and there is a case for either or both being possible. DCA's deliberate pace of play should allow the game to unfold at a pace in which Alan Coffman can slowly pick apart the Warrior defense. Preventing offensive rebounds for DCA and limiting turnovers will be paramount. And when it comes to the game against Mercer, they might be getting their district foe at the right time as they may still be without Owen Barnes and relying almost exclusively on Trevor Ellis for offense. And on the other hand, this may be the week that they lose both in blowouts and are dispatched back to the bottom of the rankings with all the other tiny schools.

13. Danville - Braylon Guest scored 28 in a win over Garrard County for the Ads but that came after a pair of losses to Southwestern and DCA. They just have the All A this week which should be them meeting Somerset in the semifinals as the Ads sit back with that first round bye.

14. West Jessamine - The Colts got a blow out win over Burgin last week. They go on the road in the district again, this time going to Harrodsburg to face Mercer County.

15. Somerset Christian - The Cougars lost to Wayne County and McCreary Central. They now face crosstown nemesis Somerset in the All A Classic before hosting Letcher County Central on Saturday.

16. Garrard County - The Golden Lions fell to Anderson County and Danville. They face Lincoln County and East Jessamine this week.

17. Casey County - The losing streak continues for the Colonels as they fall to Berea and Somerset at home. They face Pulaski County and Rockcastle this week.

18. Burgin - The Bulldogs fell to West Jessamine and Berea. They face the winner of DCA and Trinity Christian in the All A and are scheduled to play at Dayton in Northern Kentucky on Saturday.

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf - The Colonels have been off for a few weeks but resume play this week against the homeschooled Wellspring Guardians.

I agree whole heartedly with your first two in the rankings. But I am not sure how we can still put Wayne in the top 3 after a loss to Harlan and blowout by Boyle. I understand that Warren Central has some of their players back, so I won’t hold that one against them. I think Pulaski, Lincoln, or even Rock could be considered in front of them. 

DCA beat Trinity Christian 73-47 tonight, and will play Burgin Wed. In the All A Region Semifinals. 

Somerset cruised tonight past SCS 77-56.  They built a running clock, and cruised to the finish.  Somerset will play Danville TH night in the Semifinals.

Another interesting score of note— Big win for East Jessamine over Boyle Co. 67-47 tonight! 

23 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Another interesting score of note— Big win for East Jessamine over Boyle Co. 67-47 tonight! 

Boyle continues to be the most confusing team in the region.

 

East is also out here proving they are not a team you can discount down the stretch.

Trinity Christian has been dispatched back to the small school tier for now as they aren’t able to compete with Mercer. Still very interested to see what happens when they face district opponent West Jessamine.

There is ton of parity this year in the region. It looks like any of the top 6-8  on a good night could pull a huge upset. 

Lincoln & Garrard score was interesting. Maybe the Ads have a shot at an upset on the 16th. 

54 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Somerset cruised tonight past SCS 77-56.  They built a running clock, and cruised to the finish.  Somerset will play Danville TH night in the Semifinals.

Is that game at Burgin?  And what time? 

26 minutes ago, se7ens said:

Boyle continues to be the most confusing team in the region.

 

East is also out here proving they are not a team you can discount down the stretch.

I haven't seen Boyle play in person.  But looking at their scores, and statistics, it looks like they are just not a very good shooting team.  So far they are at 38.3% from the field, 28.3% from three, and 57% from the line.  I know they have athletes, but it looks like they have to get some easy buckets out of their defense to overcome their overall poor shooting.  I would say that they have the talent to beat anyone in the 12th Region when their shots are falling, but it is hard to see them beating 3 quality opponents in a row in the Regional Tournament with those shooting numbers.  

33 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

Is that game at Burgin?  And what time? 

Yes the All A Region is @ Burgin.  7:30

59 minutes ago, RimRacker said:

Lincoln & Garrard score was interesting. Maybe the Ads have a shot at an upset on the 16th. 

I heard Cash Baird (Lincoln’s PG) stayed in foul trouble tonight.  Regardless, still a good showing for Golden Lions. 

Boyle has to find some shooters. They got a lot of shot takers but not enough shot makers! Other than Guy Turner I would let every other player shoot all game. I think the younger Driver needs to start over the older Driver. The younger one gets way more done. To beat Boyle just play zone and find Guy Turner. 

8 hours ago, LethalPG said:

I heard Cash Baird (Lincoln’s PG) stayed in foul trouble tonight.  Regardless, still a good showing for Golden Lions. 

Wow, that’s interesting. This was a lot closer than I would’ve thought, even with some foul trouble.