N LM | Final at Stan Arnzen Gym via the @859Radio livestream. 

A Wildcats' 13-1 first quarter run set the tone in this one.

Lloyd:          9 8 14 17 • 48

Newport: 20 16 21 14 • 71 

Up next ~

Lloyd (KY #26, 19-8, R9 9-3), hosts Collins Saturday. 

Newport (KY #8, 26-3, R9 13-1), closes out the regular season at "The Stan" Tuesday vs. Beechwood.

? Leading scorers ~ 

Lloyd: Walker 11, Blaacker 11, Sebastian 9, Golsby 4, Jackson 4. 

Newport: Kinney 24, Silverton 12, Covington 10, Turner 10, Starks 7, Jackson 6.

The Juggernauts, one of the state's better 3-point shooting teams went 1/18 from beyond the arc.

Archived livestream at the link below ~

meridix.com/event/Lloyd_at_Newport

Photo credits to Dale Dawn.

9th runs through Newport this year.

36 minutes ago, Nkybballfan23 said:

9th runs through Newport this year.

As of today, no doubt. There will be challengers before it’s all said and done but you are correct, they are the leaders in the clubhouse currently. 

2 hours ago, Mr. Sixer said:

As of today, no doubt. There will be challengers before it’s all said and done but you are correct, they are the leaders in the clubhouse currently. 

Cov Cath and Cooper will definitely be challengers. I think Lloyd will give them a better game if they play them again especially since Lloyd had 2 of their top 6 players out. But beat them I’m not sure. 

47 minutes ago, Nkybballfan23 said:

Cov Cath and Cooper will definitely be challengers. I think Lloyd will give them a better game if they play them again especially since Lloyd had 2 of their top 6 players out. But beat them I’m not sure. 

Couldn't agree more.  Cooper's top 2 players missed the game this week and Cooper still almost pulled off the upset with tough defense and a monster game from Shaun Pouncy.  Kinney is Kinney and there is no one that has completely stopped him all season. However, their depth is a question in my opinion as he had 28 of the 48 points and only 3 other players scored in that game.  Just hoping there is a round 2 with both teams at full strength.  CCH will certainly have their hand in things also as Caden Miller is a force that NKY has not had in many years and there are a couple of other sleepers that could pull off upsets. Of course we all know the ball can bounce any way at Truist just like last year.

I think we are in for another great 9th region tournament and NKY is just simply blessed with great basketball talent and coaching.

38 minutes ago, Mr. Sixer said:

Couldn't agree more.  Cooper's top 2 players missed the game this week and Cooper still almost pulled off the upset with tough defense and a monster game from Shaun Pouncy.  Kinney is Kinney and there is no one that has completely stopped him all season. However, their depth is a question in my opinion as he had 28 of the 48 points and only 3 other players scored in that game.  Just hoping there is a round 2 with both teams at full strength.  CCH will certainly have their hand in things also as Caden Miller is a force that NKY has not had in many years and there are a couple of other sleepers that could pull off upsets. Of course we all know the ball can bounce any way at Truist just like last year.

I think we are in for another great 9th region tournament and NKY is just simply blessed with great basketball talent and coaching.

Agree with all of this. Cooper is the biggest threat to beat Newport in my opinion. If Cov Cath has a hot shooting night they can pull it off as well. I’ve watched all of the top 4 teams play each other (Newport, Cooper, Cov Cath, Lloyd) Lloyd matches up better with Cov Cath and Cooper than they do Newport. I believe Lloyd is able to beat Cooper and Cov Cath but just doesn’t match up with Newport good enough to beat them. Very interested to see how Ccoper looks when they’re at full strength. Gonna be a very exciting postseason as always!

51 minutes ago, Nkybballfan23 said:

Agree with all of this. Cooper is the biggest threat to beat Newport in my opinion. If Cov Cath has a hot shooting night they can pull it off as well. I’ve watched all of the top 4 teams play each other (Newport, Cooper, Cov Cath, Lloyd) Lloyd matches up better with Cov Cath and Cooper than they do Newport. I believe Lloyd is able to beat Cooper and Cov Cath but just doesn’t match up with Newport good enough to beat them. Very interested to see how Ccoper looks when they’re at full strength. Gonna be a very exciting postseason as always!

Not being funny or disrespecting your comment, but help me understand your thought process on how Lloyd matches up better vs. Cooper with arguably their best player in Andy Johnson, who is now healthy? Cooper is a different team with Johnson on the floor, offensively and defensively, and has the ability to go 10-11 deep with their bench.

Truly, anything can happen but the only teams to beat and/or hold Newport within 10 or less points in this region are CCH and Cooper.

1 hour ago, Mr. Sixer said:

Not being funny or disrespecting your comment, but help me understand your thought process on how Lloyd matches up better vs. Cooper with arguably their best player in Andy Johnson, who is now healthy? Cooper is a different team with Johnson on the floor, offensively and defensively, and has the ability to go 10-11 deep with their bench.

Truly, anything can happen but the only teams to beat and/or hold Newport within 10 or less points in this region are CCH and Cooper.

I thought about it this way…Lloyd doesn’t have a ton of shooters aside from Collins and Bresser and Newport’s size cuts off their drive. Newport has Turner and Starks inside to neutralize Walker. Turner proved to be able to step out and guard Walker effectively on the perimeter. In the game I watched Lloyd play Cooper, Pouncy wasn’t overly effective protecting the rim on defense as Lloyd’s guards got to the rim effectively and were able to finish. Walker was able to get what he wanted a decent amount of the time offensively against Pouncy. I just think Newports size at all positions bothers Lloyd the most and how they want to play.