13th Region: Week 3

[DearToday]

Week 3 saw a lot of teams in a lot of tournaments. South started the week off with the biggest bang with a win over Trinity in the KOB, but then saw things cool off as they dropped the next two. Harlan County had a decent showing in SC. Corbin and North Laurel both went to Rocky Top. Pineville went to the Smokey Mountain Christmas Classic. Whitley was the only team to win their tournament and they did so winning a tournament down in TN. I think you can break the region off into tiers right now. The Laurel County’s, and Harlan County are likely your tier 1 teams thus far into the year. Corbin, Bell, and Clay are probably within your next tier of teams that could win a region game or two, but probably can’t string three in a row. Seven through nine are probably teams that can show lightning in a pan, but probably not beyond that. Then 10 through the rest are your best of the rest. But without further ado, here are your rankings. 

 

Week 3 Rankings:

1. South Laurel (5-2): The Cardinals had the biggest win for the 13th on the week when they knocked off Trinity to start the King of the Bluegrass tournament. They were down when they made a run in the fourth to force OT. Mabe finished with a game high 26 on 50% shooting, and Steele added 17 going 8 for 11 from the field. Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep the momentum going as they dropped the next game to North Oldham by 15. Being outscored by 15 in the second quarter was enough to keep them at a distance they couldn’t overcome. South then dropped their second straight as they were taken down by Bryan Station 63-54. All in all, you hope to do better than 1-2 in the tournament, but KOB is one of the premier tournaments of the state, and playing the likes of Trinity, Station, and North Oldham will go a long way throughout the season. The KHSAA schedule has them off till January 3rd. 

2. North Laurel (7-2): North Laurel had a solid week going 3-1. They started it off killing Red Bird, then they played in the Smokey mountain Christmas Classic. They opened up with a 20 point win over Brooks AL. They dropped their next game, a 9 point loss to Miami Southridge Sr out of Miami FL. They finished on a positive note with a gritty 43-39 win over Santa Fe FL to go 2-1 in the tournament. Right now they are poised to take place in the WGM Holiday Tournament at Lexington Catholic against Butler County on Friday. 

3. Harlan County (7-2): The Black Bears went to Hilton Head for the week and went 2-1. They lost their first matchup to Boyd Anderson FL by 11. They rebounded with a 12 point win over Sumter SC, and a 9 point win over HIlton Head SC. None of the stats are on KHSAA right now and I couldn’t find them anywhere else so we will comment on that next week. We know Maddox Huff and Reggie Cottrell are the two that make the Bears go though. Huff is at 29.3 on the year and Cottrell at 12. Huff is also adding 8 boards a game to that. Harlan County will make the trip to the Ashland Invitational Tournament on Friday and play Lloyd Memorial at 8:30. 

4. Corbin (6-3): The Redhounds had a great week going 3-1. They opened up with a 5 point win over Berea on the road. Then they made the trip to TN to play in the Rocky Top Sports World Tournament as well. They opened with a 14 point loss to Loretto TN. They bounced back in a big way though with a 33 point win over Hamilton AL, then a 12 point win over University School of Nashville TN which was close through three, but then Corbin turned it on at the end. Corbin hosts the Cumberland Falls Invitational Tournament (CFIT) this weekend, and if things pan out we could see a final with them and Bell County. Right now, they will open up with Lynn Camp on Friday, and then they’ll play Little Miami OH on Sunday. 

5. Bell County (6-3): After finishing the week before last with a close loss to GRC, the Bobcats bounced back going perfect on the week in the REdmond Auto Group Holiday Classic. They started the week with a dominant district win over Harlan winning by 35. They then knocked off Belfry by 24. Their closest game was their last one over Campbell County TN where they won by 10. Blake Burnett led the Bobcats in scoring in the first two wins with 22 and 20 respectively. Bell also will play in the CFIT at the end of this week. They will open up with Somerset on Saturday, then Model on Sunday. If Bell wins out and Corbin does too, like mentioned before we could see a big region matchup in the finals. 

6. Clay County (4-3): Clay went 2-1 on the week. They started off with a 27 point win over Whitley. Four players finished with double digits and a fifth had 9 and a sixth had 7. An all around dominating game. They then knocked off Pineville by 12. Ethan Jackson had a huge game with 26 and Aiden Wagers poured in 25. Unfortunately, their week was marred by a puzzling 1 point loss to Wayne County on Saturday at Sayre. Only Aiden Wagers finished in double digits and he had 17. Wayne had previously lost to Whitley during the season, so the loss is puzzling. Clay will look to rebound as they play Anderson Co on Monday, and then take part of the BSN Borderline Classic at Whitley County this weekend. They open up with St. Louis Miller on Friday, then Todd County Central on Saturday. 

7. Whitley County (8-2): Whitley had a chance to jump up the rankings with a big win on the road against Clay, and they played close for a half before things unraveled quickly which led to a 27 point loss. They were led by freshmen Bryson Mahan with 15 and Riley Fuson with 11 in the loss. The plus side, is they turned things around quick and won their tournament they played in in TN. They opened up with a 51 point win over Clayton-Bradley Academy TN, then knocked off Oneida TN by 28, then won the championship in a thriller by a score of 55-54 over Lakeway Christian Academy. This week they host the BSN Borderline Classic and look to win it as well. They play Friday against Todd County Central, then Green Valley Christian on Saturday. 

8. Knox Central (6-1): The Panthers went perfect on the week at 3-0. Their first was a scare to Harlan. Harlan had the Panthers down big before they made their comeback and won by 6. Freshman Grayson Burton had a huge game with 36, and Austin Bargo added 21. Burton also had 10 boards. Freshman Hayden Melton had 16 boards. The Panthers also beat Owsley County by 45 and Buckhorn by 37 to close out the week. They go to McCreary County on Monday, then will play Forsyth Central GA at South Walton on Friday. Things won’t pick up in the schedule till after the new year and we will have more of an idea on how the panthers are. 

9. Pineville (4-3): Pineville went 2-2 on the week. They lost the first two, a 12 point setback to Clay County and 3 point loss to Briarwood Christian School AL. Thompson and Moser combined for 52 in the first loss and 42 in the second. They are as good of a scorers as any within the region. They then knocked off Estill County by 10 and Lanier Christian Academy GA by 11 in their final two games of the Smokey Mountain Christmas Classic. The two headed monster combined for 47 and 53 in those two wins. I swear, I think if Pineville makes the region those two can get hot enough to knock off somebody for a game. 

10. OBI (5-4): OBI is the newest team to enter the top 10 for the 13th region. They do so off a 3 point win over Jackson County at home and a 24 point win over Buckhorn. They did drop their last game of the week, a 9 point loss to Leslie County. The win over Jackson was a huge district win. Freshman Jacob Rogers had a huge game with 24 and 3 in the win. Freshman Skyler Roberts had 19 and 3 in the win over Buckhorn. It seems like there’s a lot of young talent at OBI. This week they play in the Chain Rock Classic in Pineville. They play McCreary Central on Thursday, then Claiborne County TN on Friday. They finish up with Pineville on Saturday. 

11. Barbourville (5-2): The Tigers went 2-1 on the week. I do want to highlight their win over Williamsburg. At the time they were undefeated, so this was a big win for them. They were led by a pretty balanced attack as they won by 11. They lost their first game to Christian Academy TN in the Redmond Auto Group Holiday Classic, but rebounded with a 16 point win over East Ridge TN. This week they play Belfry, Marion County, Gallatin County, and Nicholas County. 

12. Williamsburg (9-1): Williamsburg had their first loss on the year to Barbourville by 11. They rebounded with a 2 point win over Model, a 1 point win over Middlesboro, and a 22 point win over Lynn Camp. They play Cumberland Christian Home on Friday. 

13. Jackson County (3-5): The Generals had a tough week going 0-3. Dropped games to OBI, Campbell County TN, and Belfry. They will look to get back in the win column this week with East Ridge TN, West Carter, and Morgan County. 

14. Harlan (2-7): The Green Dragons went 1-3 on the week. Their lone win was over Spring Hill TN. They dropped games to Knox Central, Bell County, and Pulaski County. They look to get back on track against East Jess on Friday. 

15. Middlesboro (2-6): The Yellow Jackets went 1-2 on the week. They beat Lynn Camp but dropped games to Williamsburg and Model. They play Nicholas County and Marion County this week. 

16. Lynn Camp (1-9): The Campers went 1-3 on the week but did get their first win on the year over Red Bird by 14. They dropped blowout games to Middlesboro, Model, and Williamsburg. They look to get back in the win column this week against Corbin and Little Miami OH in the CFIT. 

17. Red Bird (0-7): The Cardinals dropped games to North Laurel, Lynn Camp, and Cordia this week. They don’t play again till the new year. 

[theguru]

Bump.