4th Region: Week 1

1) Warren Central (3-0) - 12/3 59-50 W at Owensboro,  12/5 71-53 W #14 Russell County, 12/7 82-42 W Southern (at St. X)    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 12/13 at #17 Russellville, 12/14 vs. PRP (at Bardstown)    
    
2) Bowling Green (1-0) - 12/6 84-50 W at #11 Franklin-Simpson    
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 12/10 at Elizabethtown, 12/13 vs. #7 Glasgow, 12/14 vs. Adair County (at Barren County)    
    
3) Warren East (2-1) - 12/2 60-59 OT W #6 South Warren, 12/6 69-71 L at Muhlenberg County, 12/7 65-62 W at Campbellsville    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 12/9 vs. Butler County, 12/13 vs. #9 Barren County, 12/14 vs. TBA (at Barren County)    
    
4) Greenwood (3-0) - 12/3 56-34 W Owensboro Catholic, 12/6 57-52 W Glasgow, 12/7 95-61 W Scott County (at Great Crossing)    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 12/10 at #17 Russellville, 12/13 vs. #13 Logan County, 12/14 vs. North Hardin (at Barren County)    
    
5) Cumberland County (2-0) - 12/3 82-77 W Adair County, 12/7 70-47 W Edmonson County    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 12/10 at #14 Russell County, 12/13 vs. #15 Monroe County    
    
6) Clinton County (3-0) - 12/3 73-45 W at Oneida Baptist Institute, 12/5 81-42 W Cumberland Christian Home, 12/7 72-41 W McLean County (at Campbellsville) 
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 12/10 at #15 Monroe County, 12/13 at #11 Metcalfe County, 12/14 vs. #7 Glasgow (at Barren County)    
    
7) Glasgow (0-1) - 12/6 52-57 L at Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 12/10 at #13 Logan County, 12/13 at #2 Bowling Green, 12/14 vs. #6 Clinton County (at Barren County)    
    
? South Warren (2-1) - 12/2 59-60 OT L at #3 Warren East, 12/6 74-64 W at University Heights, 12/7 88-82 W at LaRue County    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 12/10 vs. #11 Metcalfe County, 12/12 at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/14 vs. Christian County (at Hopkinsville)    
    
9) Barren County (1-1) - 12/3 38-69 L at Green County, 12/6 70-56 W Elizabethtown    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 12/9 at Caverna, 12/13 at #3 Warren East, 12/14 vs. LaRue County    
    
10) Allen County-Scottsville (2-0) - 12/2 82-53 W Whitesville Trinity, 12/6 73-70 W at #10 Metcalfe County    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 12/12 vs. #8 South Warren    
    
11) Metcalfe County (1-1) - 12/3 70-69 W Southwestern, 12/6 70-73 L #15 Allen County-Scottsville    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 12/10 at #8 South Warren, 12/13 vs. #6 Clinton County    
    
12) Franklin-Simpson (1-1) - 12/3 64-41 W #13 Monroe County, 12/6 50-84 L #2 Bowling Green    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 12/9 at Hart County, 12/12 vs. Ohio County    
    
13) Logan County (0-2) - 12/3 52-64 L at Jo Byrns (TN), 12/5 52-69 L Green County    
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 12/10 vs. #7 Glasgow, 12/13 at #4 Greenwood    
    
14) Russell County (1-1) - 12/3 90-63 W at Hart County, 12/5 53-71 L at #1 Warren Central    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 12/10 vs. #5 Cumberland County, 12/12 at Casey County, 12/14 vs. Central Hardin (at Green County)    
    
15) Monroe County (1-1) - 12/3 41-64 L at #11 Franklin-Simpson, 12/7 67-37 W at Red Boiling Springs (TN)    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 12/10 vs. #6 Clinton County, 12/13 at #5 Cumberland County, 12/14 at #16 Todd County Central    
    
16) Todd County Central (0-2) - 12/6 51-52 L Trigg County, 12/7 35-47 L at Whitesville Trinity    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: 12/10 at Creek Wood (TN), 12/13 vs. Jo Byrns (TN), 12/14 vs. #15 Monroe County    
    
17) Russellville (0-2) - 12/2 57-78 L Bluegrass Blazers, 12/6 69-76 L Springfield (TN)    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 12/10 vs. #4 Greenwood, 12/12 vs. TBA, 12/13 vs. #1 Warren Central    
    
18) Foundation Christian Academy (1-1) - 12/7 49-46 W Cornerstone Christian (at North Hardin Christian), 12/7 33-54 L Whitefield Academy (at North Hardin Christian)    
Previous Rank: 18    
This Week: 12/10 vs. Dayspring Academy (TN), 12/13 vs. Metro Christian Academy (TN), 12/14 at Heritage Christian   

Notes:

Notes:

-Right out of the gate on opening Monday night we had a tense matchup.  Warren East and South Warren are no longer district rivals, but they have still met every year of South Warren's existence, and renewed their series this week.  Coming into the game, the series was even at 16 all.  Warren East jumped out to an 11 point lead early, but fell behind by four early in the final quarter.  A back and forth affair saw Kaleb Prince unable to win it in regulation on a last second shot.  The two teams entered OT knotted at 57 all.  Jacob Miller opened the extra session with a three pointer which proved to be the winner.  South could only manage two points around the two minute mark, and that was that.  South did have multiple looks at a game winner, finishing with a Brandon Perkins as time expired going off the rim. The Spartans are still shorthanded, missing several football players, including Bryce Button.  So this result speaks better of them than it does the Raiders.

-The most eye-opening win came from Cumberland County.  They hosted Adair County, a team that appears in quite a few statewide rankings. There was a game thread on it:

Adair County won this game last year by 33 points, but the Panthers had full control of this one, winning 82-77.  Their 82 points were their most since scoring 83 last December, led by Gavin Craft's 23 points.  Craft was 7/8 from the floor, including 4/5 from three.  As a team, the Panthers were 31/55 from the floor (56.4%) and 9 of 18 from three.  The only place they didn't have it was at the foul line, shooting just 11/21.  All around, it is one of the best wins in Cumberland County in years, perhaps in the entirety of the 2000s.  The Panthers had not won their first game of the season since the 2012/13 season when they started 4-0.  They'll have three critical games they'll hope to win to surpass that mark, including two this week, when they visit Russell County and host Monroe County - they'll host Clinton County next week.  All are critical games in the five team 16th District.  

-Meanwhile at the top of the region, Warren Central and Bowling Green immediately established their usual dominance, combining to start 4-0, each with a win of 30+ coming in that span.  For Warren Central, after a lackluster performance against Owensboro saw them win by only 9, they won a region contest against Russell County by 18 (avenging an early season loss last year), and followed with an 82-42 win over Southern.  Ant McAfee, a recent Bellarmine commit, didn't have it in his debut against Owensboro, contributing only 2 points, but followed that up with 26 and 29 points.  McAfee went a combined 12/19 from three in those two contests.  Meanwhile, Bowling Green, still lacking Deuce Bailey from the top of the line, jumped out to a 22-11 lead after one and coasted to a running clock 84-50 victory over Franklin-Simpson.  The win was the 18th in a row for Bowling Green in the series, and only four of those contests were even decided by single digits.  It also marked the 100th victory in the series for Bowling Green, which dates to 1944, the first year Franklin-Simpson was a school.  Since D.G. Sherrill first led the program starting in the 05/06 season, the Purples are 24-3 in the rivalry.

-Special mention for Warren Central head coach Will Unseld, who became the school's all-time winningest coach with the victory over Russell County, passing Tim Riley.  Tim Riley went 307-128 from 1997-2011, before ceding the job to Unseld, who has led the Dragons to a 309-106 mark.  Unseld has the most wins, the best win percentage (.745), has equaled Riley's Dragons with a state title, and sits just one shy for region titles.  Between the two, the Dragons have 616 wins, 15 region titles, and two state titles in the last 28 seasons.

-Outside of Cumberland County, the most eye-opening performance came from Greenwood, who started 3-0 for the first time since the 2021/22 season.  They opened that year with wins over Owensboro Catholic and Scott County in that span as well, in a bit of an oddity.  Against Owensboro Catholic, it was the defense where they made their mark, holding the Aces to just 34 points, the fewest allowed in a contest by Greenwood since that same 21/22 season.  It's the 51st straight win by the Gators when holding an opponent to 41 or fewer.  Nick Simpson had 17 in the contest, with Pettus adding 12.  By the end of the week, it was the opposite, a 95 point explosion against Scott County.  That total ties for the 11th highest total in program history, their highest total score in three years since scoring 96 against Allen County-Scottsville, but that came in a triple overtime game.  This was their highest regulation score in almost 25 years, since scoring 96 against Monroe County in February 2000.  It's an incredibly strong start for a Gators team looking to break through.  They should easily move to 5-0 with matchups against Russellville and Logan County this week, before matching up against a pair of Hardin County teams in North Hardin (on Saturday) and Central Hardin (on the 16th).  

Games to Follow:

-#3 Warren East hosts #9 Barren County in a crucial 15th District contest this week.  Since joining the district, the Raiders are 2-3 against Barren County, including getting swept last year.  That proved to be decisive, as it put the Raiders into a much more difficult district semifinal with Glasgow, which they lost.  Barren County was dropped by a surprising margin against Green County, so it will be very interesting to see the difference when they meet a district opponent.  

-#6 Clinton County meets #7 Glasgow at Barren County on Saturday.  It comes after each has a game the day before, so a somewhat imperfect matchup between the two, but it is the best matchup of the week in terms of ranks.  Glasgow has started the year without their best player Jerrick Martin, so these are valuable minutes for the team while waiting for their star to return.

-#2 Bowling Green will get their crack at Adair County on the 14th, a comparison data point for the region.  It remains to be seen if Deuce Bailey will be back for that one, but the Purples will be very close to being whole soon.  

-District Matchups:
--13th District - None
--14th District - None
--15th District - 12/13 #9 Barren County at #3 Warren East
--16th District - 12/10 #5 Cumberland County at #14 Russell County, 12/10 #6 Clinton County at #15 Monroe County, 12/13 #15 Monroe County at #5 Cumberland County, 12/13 #6 Clinton County at #11 Metcalfe County