The top of the 3^rd lived up to the hype during the first week of the season.  Butler Count got an impressive 7 point win over McCracken, while Daviess County opened the season with one of the top teams in the 2^nd Region in Henderson.  The Panthers also showed well in a close loss to Newport.  Grayson County finished out a tough win over Elizabethtown.  There are several high profile matchups coming this week as several programs open district play.

 

1. Butler County Bears (1-0)

(W 70-63) McCracken Co Marshall Co Hoopfest

               The Bears got a nice opening season win on Saturday in the Hoopfest against a good McCracken County team.  Ty Price led the way scoring 31while Trevor Deweese and Justin Castlen both picked up double doubles in the win.  Butler started the season a little late but make up for it with a busy week, as they have Warren East, Owensboro, Whitesville Trinity and J-Town scheduled.

 

 2.Daviess County Panthers (2-1)

(W 50-48) Henderson Co,(W 78-48) Whitesville Trinity, (l 66-61) Newport at Marshall Co Hoopfest

               Coach Hayden and the Panthers got a nice opening season win over Henderson on Tuesday.  The Colonels were ranked as the top team in the 2^nd region, so this is not only a nice win for the Panthers but for the region as well.  DeArron Watkins stormed out of the gate with a 17 point, 12 rebound effort.  On Friday, Jonathan Moss came to life and led the Panthers with 20 points in the win over Whitesville Trinity.  Moss had another big performance vs Newport on Saturday, scoring 27 but it was not enough for the Panthers, as they fell 66-61.  DeArron Watkins chipped in 18 in the loss. Daviess has road games at Mclean County and Owensboro this week.

 

3.Grayson County Cougars (2-0)  UP 1

(W 63-37) Washington Co, (W 62-6) Elizabethtown

               The Cougars opened the season with an impressive blowout win over Washington County.  Jack Logsdon led the way with 19 while Armstrong and Langdon were both in double figures with 16 and 14 respectively.  Against E-Town on Thursday, Logdsdon came up big again, hitting a buzzer beater to take down E-Town. Brody Armstrong continued his strong start with 18.  Grayson has Ohio County, Edmonson County and Bethlehem scheduled this week.

 

4.Muhlenberg County Mustangs (3-0)  UP 3

 (W 86-76) Hopkins Central, (W 71-69) Warren East & (83-54) Northeast Clarksville, TN

               Gunnar Revelett paid immediate dividends for the Mustangs, as he opened the season with 33 points and 11 rebounds in their win over Hopkins Central.  Issac Coats and Jace Sommers also scored in double figures to open.  Sommers continued his nice start winning player of the game honors in a tight win over Warren East.  Saturday, Revelett again came up big for the Stangs.  He scored 40 in Muhlenberg’s big win over Northeast Clarksville.  Its only been a week, but Gunnar is throwing his name in the hat for player of the year after a strong start.  The Mustangs have Hoptown and Mclean County scheduled this week.

 

5.Owensboro Catholic Aces (0-1)  DOWN 2

(L 56-34) Greenwood

               With the Aces missing half of their roster due to football, it is very difficult to properly rank them.  They started 2-3 last season before finally getting their legs under them in the holiday tournament season.  Luke Beickman and Solly Smith are available and both scored in double figures in the loss to Greenwood.  They are scheduled to face Evansville Memorial, Apollo and Marshall County this week. 

 

6.Apollo Eagles (2-1)  SAME

(L 64-56) Central Hardin, (W 59-54) Owensboro & (45-42) Marion Co

               The Young Eagles got off to a tough start against Central Hardin to open the year.  They held a small lead early in the 3^rd quarter but could not maintain it.  Luke Jarboe led the way with 15.  They bounced back on Friday, ending a 6 year losing streak with a win over Owensboro.  Tate Powers led the Eagles with 21.  Apollo built on that Saturday, with a close win over Marion County.  They will look to extend their winning start with games against Whitesville Trinity, Owensboro Catholic and Crittenden County.

 

7.Owensboro Red Devils (0-2)  DOWN 2

(L 59-50) Warren Central, (L 59-54) Apollo

               The Red Devils opened the season with a nice showing against Warren Central, playing them to within 9 points.  With Central being right there with Bowling Green as favorites in the 4^th region, this should show that Owensboro can compete with any top team in the 3^rd.  Michael Acton and newcomer Aaron Richardson led the way with 14 each.  Keaton Hughes added 11 in the loss.  On Friday, the Devils opened 9^th district play with a misstep.  They fell to Apollo 59-54.  It was Owensboro’s first loss to Apollo since the 2018 season.  Owensboro tough schedule continues this week with games against Butler County, Daviess County and UHA.

 

8.Breckinridge County Tigers (2-1)  SAME

(L 74-56) Central Hardin, (W 47-41) Ohio Co & (W 74-15) Cloverport

               The Tigers stumbled out of the gate a little bit with a lopsided home loss against Central Hardin but bounced back with 2 wins to close the week.  Thursday, they got a nice region win over Ohio County.  Jonah Miller led a balanced Tiger attack with 13.  The Tigers carried that momentum into Saturday and got a district win over Cloverport.  Breck has Nelson County and Meade County scheduled this week.

 

9.Meade County Greenwave (1-1)  SAME

(L 66-61) Floyd Central & (W 73-65) Bullitt Central

               Hayden Shouse opened the season with 25 points in the loss to Floyd Central but the Waves bounced back with a nice 73-65 win over Bullitt Central.  The Wave open district play this week against Cloverport and Breck.

 

10.Ohio County Eagles (2-1)  UP 1

(W OT 58-57) Hopkinsville, (L 47-41) Breck Co & (W 70-59) Knights Christian

               The demise of Ohio County may have been greatly exaggerated, as they opened the season with an overtime win over Hopkinsville.  Ryan Durham led the way with 18.  Tate Abney added 15, while Alex Quisenbery scored 12.  While they fell to Breck on Thursday, they bounced back with a win over Knights Christian to close out the opening week.  The Eagles have Grayson County, Franklin Simpson and Caldwell County scheduled this week.

 

11.Hancock County Hornets (2-0)  UP 1

(W 83-10) Cannelton, IN & (W 58-49) Brown

               Coach Roberts scheduled some games for the Hornets to build some confidence early in the season.  Wins over Cannelton and Brown have started the Hornets on the right foot.  Alec Madden has lived up to the role of leader early on.  He had 20 points and 15 boards against Brown.  Contributions from Keegan Wilson and Abe Simpson were welcome surprises for the Hornets.  John Hardin is the lone opponent for Hancock this week.

 

12.Mclean County Cougars (0-2)  DOWN 2

(L OT 83-79) Hopkins Central & (L 72-41) Clinton County

               Mother nature cost Mclean its opener against North Hardin on Tuesday.  They were able to get the season started on Friday but fell in overtime to Hopkins Central.  The slow start continued on Saturday with a big loss to Clinton.  They will try to get back on track with a busy week with Ft Campbell, Daviess County, Muhlenberg and Evansville Day scheduled this week.

 

13.Edmonson County Wildcats (2-1)  SAME

(W 68-67) Knights Christian, (W 75-56) Ft Knox & (L 70-46) Cumberland County

               Edmonson got an opening season win at the Owensboro Sportscenter against Knights Christian.  It was not only the Cats first win of 2025, it was new Head Coach Brad Meredith’s first win as well.  Coach Meredith and company kept it going with a blowout win over Ft Knox.  The Cats suffered their first setback in the loss to Cumberland County on Saturday.  The Cats have road games against Thomas Nelson and Grayson County this week.

 

14.Whitesville Trinity Raiders (0-2)  SAME

(L 82-53) Allen County, (L 78-48) Daviess County

               The Raiders and Coach West are still working through a little bit of a rebuild and struggled in tough matchups against Allen County and Daviess County to open the season.  The Raiders will look to get their first win of the season with against Apollo, Ft Campbell and Butler County this week.

 

15.Cloverport Aces (0-1)  SAME

(L 74-15) Breck County

               The Aces opened the season with a district loss to Breck County on Friday.  They will continue district play this week with games at Meade and Hancock respectively.

UPDATE: Whitesville Trinity got their first win of the season over Todd County Central.  That brings their record to 1-2 on the season.  Ian Roby led the way with 11, while Connor Hatfield, Cale Boarman and Hayden Aull pitched in 10 points each.