After the weather had quieted things in the region for a week or so, last week saw a flurry of activity including a major win that gave us a shake up towards the top of the rankings. As things continue to proceed towards district tournament time, we have a clear number one, a surging historical power, two tournament contenders trying to get and remain healthy, and about 5 teams underneath those four trying to tune themselves up for a postseason run.

Rankings

1. Danville Christian - Emmanuel Dut had quite the week last week, scoring 17 in the Warriors' win over Jackson County in the Hometown Bank Classic at Corbin, 16 in their All A Classic opening round win against Breathitt County (Titus Boyd and Lual Ayiei had 17 each) and 10 against Newport as their run at Corbin came to an end. Newport represents only the second loss for DCA since we entered 2024. They host Lincoln County and Danville this week in two big district games.The Warriors have beaten both teams on the road already this year, but that Lincoln County game was all the way back on December 8th.

2. Lincoln County - The Patriots are 12 - 8 but are 8 - 1 since December 29th. They scored a major road victory last week by 4 over Madison Central behind Blade Nuckols' 18 points and followed that up with 2 convincing wins over Garrard County and Danville. They travel to DCA and host Boyle next week as they continue their journey through the district. 

3. Pulaski County - The Maroons got Carson Fraley back but he left during their huge win over Somerset. That huge win was followed by a letdown loss to Henry Clay but the bigger issue is if the Maroons can get and keep Fraley healthy. They have been terrific without him but he may truly be the missing piece if they want to challenge for a regional title. They face North Laurel on the road in their only game this week.

4. Somerset - Ben Godby scored 26 in a road win over Western Hills before the Briar Jumpers came home and lost to crosstown foe Pulaski County. Godby had 23 in the loss. Jamison Coomer is still out for Somerset but they hope to get him back soon. They travel to McCreary Central and Southwestern this week.

5. Mercer County - Similar to Lincoln County, Mercer County is 7 - 1 since December 29th. The difference is they are playing in a weaker district. They gained another district win this week with a win over West Jessamine and then snuck past Russell County 54 to 51 with four players scoring double figures. They travel to East Jessamine and host Burgin this week for two more district games.

6. Wayne County - The Cardinals got two blowout wins over Somerset Christian and Southwestern. They are 5 - 0 in district play. They travel to Rockcastle County and host McCreary this week.

7. Rockcastle County - The Rockets had three home games last week, beating Anderson County and Knox Central, but falling to Sayre by 3. Walker Craig scored 34 against Knox Central and 31 against Sayre. Frankfort, Wayne County and Madison Southern are the opponents on Rockcastle's schedule this week.

8. East Jessamine - The Jaguars had 3 road games last week, falling to Mason County but defeating district foes West Jessamine and Burgin. The win over West was a 3 point thriller, a true testament to the rivalry even in a down year for West. East got the win in large part due to Myles Radford's 20 points. They host Mercer County and North Hardin before traveling to Lexington Christian.

9. Boyle County - The Rebels defeated Garrard County and Pleasure Ridge Park last week and have not lost since Lincoln County defeated them on January 12th. They travel to West Jessamine before traveling to Lincoln County for the rematch of that 52- 49 loss.

10. Southwestern - The Warriors fell to Knox Central and Wayne County and have not won since January 8th. They'll look to right their woes as they face Somerset Christian, Somerset, Clinton County and Pickett County (TN) this week.

11. McCreary Central

12. Trinity Christian

13. Danville

14. West Jessamine

15. Somerset Christian

16. Garrard County 

17. Casey County

18. Burgin

19 Kentucky School for the Deaf

Good analysis once again. I agree that DCA is alone at the top at this point.

Before the season, I thought Mercer had a legit shot of winning region, and definitely being top 3. If they can keep Barnes healthy, I think they’re trending in that direction. Barnes is paired with arguably the best player in the region in Ellis, and that makes for a great combo. And their coach seems to be doing a really nice job getting their other players to buy into their roles..

I think there are two wild cards in the 12th Region.  One, is whether or not Carson Fraley is going to be at full strength.  He's not only a good player but his experience really helps Pulaski.  The other is how well Leek Ateny (6-10) meshes with the rest of DCA's team.  He has the potential to take DCA's defense, which is already good, to another level.  Having a second big man inside will allow the other 3 to really crowd the other team's three point shooters.  

1 hour ago, 24Rocks said:

I think there are two wild cards in the 12th Region.  One, is whether or not Carson Fraley is going to be at full strength.  He's not only a good player but his experience really helps Pulaski.  The other is how well Leek Ateny (6-10) meshes with the rest of DCA's team.  He has the potential to take DCA's defense, which is already good, to another level.  Having a second big man inside will allow the other 3 to really crowd the other team's three point shooters.  

I agree on those points, though I already think DCA is sitting at the top. This addition could be very helpful or could negatively impact chemistry. No way to tell until it happens.

Pulaski with a healthy Fraley is a different team, for sure.  

Whether we want to admit it or not, the 12th region is not that strong from 1 thru 10. Any of these teams can beat each other on a given night. One critical injury can ruin a teams chance come tournament time. I am not disagreeing with any of the comments that I have been reading, it is just a fact. DCA looks like an imposing team on paper, but their results show they are just a good team in a weak region. On the other hand the state has very few really strong teams this year so the 12th is not the only weak region. Starting two bigs like it has been suggested that DCA will do leaves them so vulnerable against a good pressing team. If a team has good 3 pt. shooters the 2 bigs can't guard them out on the perimeter. Another factor can be the location of the districts and regional tournament. Going to be interesting around tournament time.

It's unfortunate Coomer hasn't been healthy a lot of the season for the Jumpers.  They haven't lost a game in which he is full bore.  He is by far their best perimeter defender, and has a nice shooting touch.  Good news for them, he's trending to be back for the stretch run.

9 hours ago, 24Rocks said:

I think there are two wild cards in the 12th Region.  One, is whether or not Carson Fraley is going to be at full strength.  He's not only a good player but his experience really helps Pulaski.  The other is how well Leek Ateny (6-10) meshes with the rest of DCA's team.  He has the potential to take DCA's defense, which is already good, to another level.  Having a second big man inside will allow the other 3 to really crowd the other team's three point shooters.  

I agree on these two points. If the 7 footers mesh well for DCA they will have so much length that I don’t know how anyone in our region will be able to consistently score. If Fraley is back for the maroons then he takes them to another level. I believe they were up 17 against the Jumpers when he went down. So if those two wild cards play out… I think they would put themselves at the top of the pack. 

Jumpers lose to McCreary per score board 

Jumpers are falling apart. Is Coomer that big of a deal? Whitaker and Godby should be able to carry them over Mccreary Central. That's a bad loss for the Jumpers! 

Somerset has lost 3 of 4. Seems like Coomer is not been able to play much of a consecutive game stretch because of shin splints. Not sure that bodes well for the post season. I think he does make a difference, but not sure he is the sole reason for their poor stretch. 

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