8th Region Tournament Recap and Semifinals Preview

[DearToday]

Region Tournament:
Here’s a recap of the Region Tournament games played so far, and a look into the final two games. Been a great season so far, and the ending should be electric. The semi finals are tomorrow, and the finals are Tuesday. 

Game 1: Simon Kenton 58 Woodford County 53
The tournament started off with Simon Kenton getting the big win. They’ve now won 9 of their last 11 and look to keep the hot streak going against North Oldham. Travis Krohman is the engine that keeps the Pioneers going and he’s going to have to have a big game to keep things rolling. Woodford finishes their season at 24-7 with back to back disappointing losses. Woodford loses only Layton Starks to graduation.
 

Game 2: North Oldham 77 Gallatin County 52
North Oldham was led by Grant Neal’s 30 in the blowout win over Gallatin County. Brooks Cargould also added 10. Ten Mustangs scored in the dominating win. Gallatin wraps their season up at 20-13. Gallatin was led by Kellen Dossett in the loss. He finished with 20 points behind six threes. Andrew Brinker also had 14 and 5 in the loss. The Wildcats lose Kasen Baker, Connor Browning, Dominic Cayton, Kellen Dossett, Domanick Hutchinson, Eli Newman, and Ronaldo Zapote to graduation. 

Game 3: Owen County 46 Walton-Verona 52
Walton-Verona was the only district runner up to get the win in the region tournament. WV is led by Aaron Gutman and they’re going to need him to show up ready to dominate in their big matchup next game. Owen County finishes their season at 19-14. Brax Ward and Micah Shelton led the way in the loss with 19 and 15. The Rebels graduate Ashton Moore, Micah Shelton, and Brax Ward. 

Game 4: Spencer County 74 South Oldham 67
Spencer County kept their winning ways going and are probably the favorite to come out of the bottom of the bracket. They’ve won 18 of their last 20 games. South Oldham put up a valiant fight but came up short. South Oldham finishes the year at 17-14. The Dragons played spoiler to keep Oldham County out of the region but came up short. Jake Fithian had 21, William Burnside had 17, and Christian Veirs had 10 in the loss. The Dragons lose Lincoln Fasoldt, Taylor Sharf, and Christian Veirs to graduation. 

Game 5: Simon Kenton (17-15) vs. North Oldham (26-5) March 11th 6:30
Series in 2023-24: North Oldham 72 Simon Kenton 46 Dec 8th
Series Overall (since 1997/98): North Oldham leads 4-2
Most probably had a Woodford North Oldham semifinal, but the Pioneers had other plans. To continue to play spoiler, Travis Krohman is going to have to dominate. These two teams played earlier in the season December 8th. It looks like Krohman didn’t play, and Bode Stone led the way with 16 points. No one else scored double digits and the Pioneers shot 37.3/15.8/62.5. They’re going to have to raise those numbers drastically to change the outcome of this one. Grant Neal did what he does for North Oldham in the dominating win and put up 25 and 75% shooting from the field. I would say the Mustangs are the heavy favorite, but as everyone knows anything can happen in March. I look for the Mustangs to win this game by double digits. 

Game 6: Walton-Verona (23-10) vs. Spencer County (23-9) March 11th 8:00
Series in 2023-24: Spencer County 76 Walton-Verona 43 Feb 9th
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Spencer County leads 7-4, winners of 5 straight
February 9th saw Spencer dominate from start to finish. Julian Dixon and Max Montgomery had 11 and 10 in the loss. The Bearcats shot 28.6/10.5/72.2 in the loss. These numbers are obviously going to have to skyrocket for WV to have a shot in this one. Gutman struggled in the loss, but I don’t look for that to happen again. I think he will come out firing and ready to put the Bearcats on his back. For Spencer, they just need to do what they did the first time around. They shot 54/52.6/100 in the game. Luek Erhardt had 25, Jackson Combs 12, Keaton Baird had 12, and Camden Cox had 11. You can’t overlook anybody at this point in the year, but I think all signs are pointing to a North Oldham vs Spencer County final. 

Game 7: 8th Region Championship March 12th 7:00 at Henry County

 

Rankings of the final 4:
1. North Oldham (26-5)
 

2. Spencer County (23-9)
 

3. Simon Kenton (17-15)
 

4. Walton-Verona (23-10)

[LLS10]

My views on each game......

Simon Kenton / Woodford 

Woodfords coach obviously did not scout, as they let Khroman roam free the entire first half, and he lit them up. SK's zone gave Woodford fits, and Woodford cannot shoot very well. SK also has some size and athletes to match up with Woodford. 

North Oldham / Gallatin

Grant Neal is a great athlete, and an even better player. The Mustangs were just a much better team. Gallatin turned the ball over 5 times the first minute, and the game was over. The only cats who competed in this one were Brinker and Dossett. 

Owen County / Walton-Verona

WV came out looking like they did not want to be there, but eventually came back and took the lead as I expected. WV can be a tough matchup for anyone in the Region if they are shooting it well, and could very well find themselves in the 8th region championship game. Hearing there is some strife going on in the WV locker room......

Spencer County / South Oldham

WHAT A GAME!!! Great game from the second it began, till the end. Spencer went on a big run, and closed it out in the end. The costly turnovers before the 1st half may have cost South the game. Did not see much out of Miles for South. Cox is impressive. 

Simon Kenton / North Oldham

I have a feeling North Oldham will have control of this game, and win by 10+. Bad matchup for SK. 

Walton Verona / Spencer County

Spencer beat Walton by 40+ earlier in the season. I predict it will be a much closer game this time around, but still expect Spencer to win. 

8th Region Championship

I expect it to be North Oldham, and Spencer in the finals. Also, for North Oldham to win another regional title. 

 

Let me know your predictions!