15th Region: Week 4

[DearToday]

That’s another week in the books in the 15th region. Some teams went to Christmas tournaments, some stayed home and didn’t play anyone. Martin County still seems to be the cream of the crop and have won 7 straight. Lawrence cooled off a touch, as did Betsy Lane. Pike County Central is starting to get hot and we all know what a team like Pikeville is capable of. Johnson Central has been hot and cold, so can we see consistency out of them this week? Phelps had the biggest win on the week, going into Tug Valley WV and getting the win. They are also waiting on a transfer from Belfry to get eligible who will provide some help. Without further ado, here are the rankings. 

Week 4 Rankings: 

1. Martin County (9-1): The Cardinals have upped their win streak to seven games now after going 2-0 on the week. They are currently in FL playing at a Christmas tournament. Their first game they beat Lennard FL and their second Smith County TN. Parker Watts had 33 and 23 in both wins. The young man has been on fire. Martin Co has a busy week with games tonight against Everglades FL, Johnson Central on the road Friday, and then East Ridge on Saturday.

2. Lawrence County (9-3): The Bulldogs went 2-2 on the week. They won their first two games over Portsmouth OH by 11 and Bishop England SC by 2. Gunnard Woods had 21 in the first win and Hayden Perry had 21 in the second. They then fell to Hopewell NC by 2, before dropping a game this morning to Archbishop Alter OH by 39. They were led by a balanced scoring effort in the first loss. There are TBA’s in place for the schedule for the rest of the week, so we will revisit next week's ranking/recap. 

3. Betsy Lane (7-4): The Bobcats cooled off a bit going 1-2 on the week. Their first loss was to Henry Clay at LCA in a game they dropped by 17. Then they played the next day and lost to Christian County in OT by 3. They did however, finish the week on a strong note crushing Rockcastle by 35 in a game they put up a season high 92 points. Betsy Lane has one game on the schedule this week, a showdown with Shelby Valley on Thursday. 

4. Pike County Central (5-5): PCC is finally sitting at .500 for the first time this year after going 2-1 this week. They are now 5-2 in their last 7 after a slow start. They played their games this week in the State Farm Holiday Basketball Tournament at East Jessamine. They lost their first, a 15 point setback to Tates Creek. They did respond well by winning their next two games. Their first win was over Harlan by 20, then a 12 point win over Wayne County which is a nice win. PCC is led by do it all Jaden Stewart who is averaging 30 and 11 on the season. 

5. Pikeville (6-2): The Panthers bounced back this week going 2-0 on the week. Their first win was a 15 point game over Lenoir TN, and their second was a 20 point win over Moore outta Louisville. Ian Onkst had 19 in the win and so did Jackson Keene. EB Walters and Cole Slone led the way on the boards with 6 a piece. Pikeville has a pretty slow week as they only have one game this week, a showdown with Prestonsburg on Saturday. 

6. Paintsville (8-3): The Tigers have things rolling after going 3-0 on the week and now winning their last four. They played all their games at Palmetto Christian Academy in South Carolina over the break. Their first win was over Palmetto Christian Academy by 48, then Charleston Charter School by 39, and then Curtis Baptist GA by 19. I’m not sure how good the competition was down there, but all the wins were blowouts for sure. Paintsville seems to be playing good ball. They have one game this week, a showdown Friday with Belfry. 

7. Johnson Central (4-4): The Golden Eagles went 1-1 on the week. They beat Andalusia AL by 13 in the Marlin Classic, and then dropped a 6 point game to Stone Memorial TN in the same tournament. They finish the tournament up today as they take on Maine Endwell NY. I know JC lost to Valley earlier in the year, but I think they’re playing better ball as of late. We will find more out about this team as they take on region favorite Martin County at home on Friday. 

8. Shelby Valley (7-5): After a very hot start, the Wildcats have now lost 4 of their last 6. This week they had a tough time getting going finishing 1-3. They lost to Notre Dame TN by 4, Union VA by 5, and Chilhowie VA by 1. They did beat Rye Cove VA by 29. However, if anyone knows Coach Matthew Taylor, tell him DearToday is asking him once again, to upload his stats on the season! Shelby Valley will get their shot to move up the rankings this week as they play Betsy Lane on Thursday. 

9. Floyd Central (5-5): The Jaguars had a slow week going 1-2. Their lone win was over Geraldine AL by 16. They dropped games to Gatlinburg-Pittman by 24 and University School TN by 4. FC has now dropped five of their last seven and things aren’t slowing down soon. They play Pike County Central on Friday at home, and Knott County Central at home on Saturday. 

10. Phelps (5-4): The Hornets put together a nice week going 2-0 and possibly had the biggest win of the week over Tug Valley WV who won the 1A state championship last season in WV. They also took down Tolsia WV in the game before. I’m pretty sure the game winner in the Tug Valley game is on D&D Sports on Facebook, and is well worth checking out if you haven’t already. Phelps plays Presonsburg on the road on Thursday to round out their week. 

11. Belfry (5-7): The Pirates went 1-2 this week. They lost to Barbourville by 4, and Shroder OH by 6. They beat Magoffin by 11. This week they play Paintsville on Friday and Mingo Central WV on Saturday.  

12. Prestonsburg (2-5): Don’t look now but the Blackcats are finally in the winners column, and have actually won two straight. Their first, a 1 point win over Magoffin County. The second was a 6 point win over Shroder OH. They play Mingo Central WV tonight, then Phelps at home on Thursday. They finish up with Pikeville on Saturday. 

13. Magoffin (3-7): Magoffin went 0-2 on the week with a 1 point loss to Pretonsburg and a 11 point loss to Belfry. KHSAA is showing the Hornets as being off this week. 

14. East Ridge (3-7): East Ridge was off the entire week. This week they play Hurley VA tonight, then Martin County on Saturday.