9th Region Week 13 Rankings and District Tournament Preview

The regular season has now concluded and we turn our attention to what I believe is year in and year out the region with the most competitive district semi-final games. There will be some very talented teams being sent home this week. Let's recap the last week of the regular season, look ahead to district tournament week and point out what to keep an eye on.

Rankings:

1. Newport - The Wildcats finish the season off 27 - 3 and have not lost since December 23rd. Last week they held off the surging Beechwood Tigers 67 to 62 behind Deshaun Jackson's 19 point performance. They await the winner of Bellevue and Dayton, two teams they have defeated by 30 plus points this season.

2. Cooper - Coach Sullivan now has a full cupboard to work with as the Jaguars have everyone back, and it definitely showed as they put it on the Scott Eagles 72 to 34 with thirteen players reaching the scoring column. The game before they defeated Dixie by 12 behind Shaun Pouncy's 23 points. They await the winner of Heritage and Conner. That most likely will be Conner, a Cougar squad that took Cooper down to the wire in December with the Jaguars escaping with a one point victory.

3. Covington Catholic - The Colonels extended their winning streak out to 8 games as they defeated Madison Central by 32 with 5 scorers in double figures, Athens McGillis leading the way with 18. They face Holmes in the district semifinals, a team they defeated by 50 in the regular season.

4. Lloyd - The Juggernauts went on the road and got a blowout win at Brossart and a narrow victory at Conner. EJ Walker had 18 in each game. They await the winner of Ludlow and Villa Madonna, two teams they defeated by 30 plus points earlier this season.

5. Ryle - The Raiders put up 100 on Western Hills, finishing the season off with a 40 point victory. Landon Lorms ends the regular season with a 16.5 points per game average. Ryle's attention now turns to Boone County, a team they lost to by 10 in December. The game will be on a true neutral court as Conner hosts the district.

6. Boone County - The Rebels defeated Pendleton County on the road by 13 but fell to Dixie at home by 1. They now face off against Ryle with elimination on the line.

7. Conner - The Cougars couldn't pull off the upset as they fell by two to Lloyd at home. They are the hosts for the 33rd District Tournament and start off their postseason with Heritage. Provided they get past Heritage, they will then face mighty (and healthy) Cooper, a team they nearly defeated in December. It will be a tough task to knock off the Jaguars but the Cougars do get the home court advantage.

8. Dixie Heights - Hudson Blank and Max Rubemeyer both scored 17 but the Colonels couldn't best the Cooper Jaguars as they fell by 12. However, Dixie followed that game up with a one point win over Boone County. They face St. Henry in the district tournament semifinals, a rematch of a January 3rd contest that saw the Colonels win 74 to 59.

9. Beechwood - The Tigers are hitting the gas at the right time. Behind Jack Sullivan's 20 points they threatened late to take down the Newport Wildcats but ultimately fell by five. Sullivan scored 23 three nights later as the Tigers defeated Highlands. They face Holy Cross this week with the season on the line, a rematch of their February 9th triple overtime victory.

10. Highlands - The Birds lost their last two games of the regular season, road trips to Simon Kenton and Beechwood. They now square off with Newport Central Catholic in the district semifinals at Newport. The Birds bested the Breds by 5 in the regular season on the road.

11. Holy Cross - The Indians had Nate Rominger score 21 in their win over NCC and 16 in their win over St. Henry. He had 21 the last time they played Beechwood, a triple overtime defeat. They'll have to beat the Tigers if they want to make it to the regional tournament.

12. St. Henry - The Cru fell on the road to both Campbell County and Holy Cross. Caden Kunstek scored 18 against the Camels. They now travel to Villa Madonna for the 34th District Tournament where they square off with Dixie Heights who defeated them by 25 earlier in the season.

13. Newport Central Catholic - It has been a tough year for the Thoroughbreds as they finish the regular season 8 - 21. They fell to Holy Cross last week by ten but were able to close out the regular season with a 20 point home win over rival Bishop Brossart. All is not lost for the Breds as their district semifinal opponent, Highlands, is a team they fell to by just 5 points.

14. Ludlow - Spencer Brandenburg scored 27 as the Panthers defeated Holmes on the road. Ludlow ended the regular season with a loss to Williamstown. They face the host school, Villa Madonna, in the district tournament's opening game. The two teams split the regular season series, both games being decided by 5 points.

15. Bellevue - Noah Frommeyer had 22 and Jase Iles had 28 as Bellevue decimated Heritage. Frommeyer scored 20 as the Tigers blew out St. Patrick at home and 31 as they defeated Holmes on the road by 18. They face rival Dayton for the opportunity to play Newport. The Tigers defeated Dayton three times this season.

16. Villa Madonna - The Vikings had a busy week on the road as they played all three games away. They defeated Francis Parker, fell to Paris in overtime, and blew out Robertson County. Henry Thole finishes the regular season averaging 17.9 points per game and 15.2 rebounds per game. They host the district tournament and need to get past Ludlow if they want to play Lloyd for a chance to make it to the regional tournament.

17. Heritage Academy - The Eagles fell to Bellevue in a blowout to end their regular season. They square off against Conner in the district tournament 4/5 game. They did not face Conner in the regular season as Heritage opts out of regular season district play and automatically accepts the 5.

18. Holmes - The Bulldogs fell to Ludlow, Bellevue and Gallatin County as they end their regular season with just two wins. They face Covington Catholic in the district semifinals.

19. Dayton - The Greendevils fell to Pendleton County by 48 last week and end the regular season 5 - 22. They face off against Bellevue in the district semifinals.

20.  Covington Latin - The Trojans ended their season earlier in the month at 2 - 6 and do not participate in the district tournament.