13th Region Rankings and Regional Tournament Preview

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Region Tournament:
Here’s a breakdown of each region tournament game along with a ranking of the remaining teams. All games will be held at the Corbin Arena. Good luck and injury free ball to each team!

 

Game 1: Knox Central (21-9) vs. North Laurel (17-15) March 6th 6:00
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting
Series Overall (since 1997/98): North Laurel leads 19-14. North Laurel has won the three. 

After going to four straight region championships and winning three of them, Knox Central had a tough year last year going 4-26. This year they brought in Mitchell Madden to lead the way, big man Gavin Chadwell returned, and now the Panthers are 51st district champs and are looking to continue a solid year in which they’ve gone 21-9. Gavin Chadwell leads the way for the Panthers this year with a solid 21 points per game and 15 boards. Grayson Burton is the second leading scorer with 14.6 per game. Knox doesn’t really have a signature win per se this season, but they’ve been playing much better and improved basketball. Now, enter North Laurel. Fresh off a region championship last season, the Jaguars have played a brutal schedule this season going 17-15. The Jaguars are led by a balanced scoring attack with Reece Davidson averaging 15.6, Brody Brock 13.0, Kole Jervis 10.5, and Jordan Rawlings 10.5. They had won 7 of their last 8 before facing Clay in the district final. They ran into a buzz saw after splitting their season series with the Tigers and were defeated 42-79. North’s big wins this year have been over Taylor County, Clay County, Corbin, and Pulaski County. North has shown they can play really good ball, but they have to have consistency and can’t have a let down like they did in the 49th district championship game. I think this has the potential to be a very competitive game. Normally teams struggle to shoot at The Arena, and with Knox having the advantage in the paint with Gavin Chadwell this could pay dividends for them. I also think that North Laurel has played a more challenging schedule to this point to prepare them for a region run. Give me the Jaguars here by 5-10. 

 

Game 2: Corbin (21-8) vs. Bell County (25-7) March 6th 7:30
Series in 2023-24: Corbin won Feb 22nd 52-39
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Corbin leads 25-13. Corbin has won the last three. 

The Redhounds enter the region as winners of the 50th district for the first time since 2018. They knocked off South Laurel 61-59. Corbin is led through a balanced scoring attack of Eli Pietrowski (12.3), Zander Curry (11.7), and Trey Worley (10.7). Zander Curry also leads the Hounds on the boards with 7.5 per game. Corbin is 14-4 in the region, including a 13 point win over Bell at home a few weeks ago. Their signature wins this season include wins over DCA, Ashland Blazer, and Madison Southern. Many people believe Corbin can make a run from the top part of the bracket. The Bobcats enter region play as runner ups in the 52nd district after losing by 23 to Harlan County. They’re 3-3 in their last 6 games. Bell is a very young team and is led in scoring by Cameron Hall (17.4), Blake Burnett (16.8), and Ethan Buell (14.5). Bell, like Knox, lacks really a signature win on the season. They have played much improved ball under Coach Brad Sizemore, but they need to right the ship quickly going into a tough first round matchup with Corbin. Give me the Redhounds by double digits.
 

Game 3: Harlan County (28-4) vs. South Laurel (19-10) March 7th 6:00
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Harlan County leads 12-6. HC has won the last five. 

Anything less than a region championship will be a disappointment for the black bears. First year Coach Kyle Jones has Harlan Co playing great basketball with losses this year to only Bowling Green, Kell GA, Pikeville, and Douglass. Harlan Co is 15-0 in the region and not many of those games have been close. The Black Bears are led by a two headed monster in Trent Noah (30.1) and Maddox Huff (17.8). South Carolina commit Trent Noah is the 13th region player of the year and one of the top players in the state. Harlan County likely has its eyes on goals bigger than the region, with big time wins this year over Ashland, Desales, Butler Co, Male, and Woodford. Unfortunately for them though, they’re going to have to earn their path as they have the toughest draw in the tournament. They’re going up against 50th district runner up South Laurel. The Cardinals have been a tale of two teams. Since Jordan Mabe has been back, they’ve been dangerous. However, they did drop their district championship to Corbin by 2. This is the first time since 2018 they’ve lost the district. South is led by Jordan Mabe (16.0) and Colton Rawlings (14.5). Mabe is the motor that keeps the cards running. The Cardinals have signature wins this year over CAL and GRC. It’s going to be a tough task to knock off the Black Bears, but Jordan Mabe may be one of the only players in the region who can hang with Trent Noah from a size standpoint. Nevertheless, give me the Black Bears by double digits. 

Game 4: Clay County (23-8) vs. (20-10) March 7th 7:30
Series in 2023-24: Clay won Nov. 28th 85-68
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Clay County leads 10-3. Clay has won the last 2. 

Nobody enters region play with a win streak as high as Clays. Clay has won 14 straight and thrashed North Laurel in the district final by 37. First year Coach Michael Jones has the Tigers playing as good a ball as anybody in the 13th. Hayden Harris is leading the way with 17 per game, Elijah Bundy puts up 11 per, and Jerrod Roark is coming it with 11 per game as well. Clay’s biggest wins this year have been over North Laurel, Hazard twice, and Corbin at home. Pineville enters region play on another note having lost 4 of their last 7. After barely squeaking by Lynn Camp by 2 to make the region, Pineville pushed Knox Central to the wire and only lost by 1. Pineville has been up and down for a lot of the season. What has remained constant for the Mountain Lions has been Sawyer Thompson (24.0) and Ashton Moser (20.4). Will these two have enough star power to knock off Clay? I wouldn’t expect so. Clay won the first game of the year against Pineville by 17. Clay is playing much better ball since then. I think this game will be a blowout. I’ll take Clay by 20+. 

Predictions:
Semi Final 1: March 9th 1:00. North Laurel vs. Corbin
Semi Final 2: March 9th 2:30. Harlan County vs. Clay County
Finals: March 11th 7:00. Corbin vs. Harlan County
13th Region Champion: Harlan County

 

1. Harlan County (28-4)
 

2. Clay County (23-8)
 

3. Corbin (21-8)
 

4. South Laurel (19-10)
 

5. North Laurel (17-15)
 

6. Bell County (25-7)
 

7. Knox Central (21-9)
 

8. Pineville (20-10)

[DearToday]

And the semifinals are set for Saturday. 

Knox Central vs Corbin Saturday 1:00. 
Harlan County vs Clay County Saturday 2:30.