16th Region News and Notes

Like all other regions across the state, the 16th saw its slate of games cut down by the snow and ice that's blanketed the commonwealth. 

Only a handful were contested, but the region's best had their fingerprints all over them.

The 2A Tournament Section 6 semifinals were decided in Morehead, where high drama permeated the night cap.

• Sectional host Rowan County squeaked by favored Fleming County in a 64-63 upset. The Panthers kept Rowan at arm's length in the first half, leading by as many as twelve. An 18-3 Vikings run spanning five minutes of the late 2Q through mid 3Q gave Rowan its first lead. From there, the two traded shots and spurts of momentum to the final horn, when the Vikings emerged victorious on a Jace Coats free throw with three tenths of a second on the clock.

Rowan won despite being outshot 51% to 44%. One statistic doesn't make or break the outcome, but Fleming's paltry 37% shooting from the free throw line stands out.

The Vikings’ starting five provided balanced scoring, combining for 60 of their 64 points, led by Wyatt Slone's 16. 

The Panthers got 23 from Bradley Robinson, but Hickerson's average was cut in half to 10 and Lucas Jolly could only muster 3.

Rowan County makes a small jump in the rankings this week, though not far enough to move ahead of Fleming. They may have just beaten the Panthers, but it was an evenly played game and Fleming's body of work is superior. I'm content to hold off on making that move until after Rowan gets its shot at Boyd County in the 2A Section 6 finals tomorrow night and plays Fleming again next Friday. An opportunity to avenge a lopsided early December loss to Lewis County is also on the table this week.

• The other semi was far less compelling, as Boyd County pounded Estill County 91-55 behind 51 combined points and seven threes from Jacob Spurlock and Cole Hicks. The latter is now the second most prolific three point shooter in Boyd County history, trailing only Spurlock. The top two long range snipers in program history are both active for the Lions.

 

• After taking a week off, Ashland needed a quarter to shake off the rust against Huntington (WV) Expression Prep. Once the Tomcats hit their stride, they separated and never looked back for a convincing 71-51 win. Zander Carter dropped a game high 27 with strong contributions from his supporting cast. Caleb Clarke scored 14, including going airborne for a baseline dunk and up-and-under reverse layup. Drew Smith and Preston Hoskins carried their weight with 11 points each, plus six assists from Smith.

Hat tip to @TCR for the numbers and a fantastic job calling the game.

 

Region Leaders

Scoring
1. Jacob Spurlock (Boyd County) 28.1
2. Zander Carter (Ashland) 23.5
3. Brevon Ricker (Menifee County) 23.4
4. Bradley Robinson (Fleming County) 21.7
5. Seth Hickerson (Fleming County) 20.2

Rebounding
1. Connor Thacker (Raceland) 9.0
2. Brayden Gerkie (Lewis County) 7.6
3. Jacob Spurlock (Boyd County) 7.4
4. Drew Noble (Lewis County) 7.3
5. Caleb Rimmer (Russell) 7.2

Team Scoring
1. Boyd County 74.9
2. Fleming County 74.8
3. Ashland 71.9
4. Morgan County 63.3
5. East Carter 62.1

Team Defense
1. Elliott County 47.5
2. Raceland 53.3
3. Lewis County 53.9
4. Rowan County 55.7
5. Fleming County 57.8

 

Ranking The Region

1. Ashland (8-5) ? 

2. Boyd County (7-7) ?

3. Fleming County (10-4) ?

4. Rowan County (7-6) ??

5. Raceland (10-3) ?

6. Elliott County (7-3) ? 

7. Russell (5-7) ?

8. Lewis County (7-4) ?

9. Morgan County (6-7) ??

10. Greenup County (3-9) ??

11. Bath County (3-8) ??

12. West Carter (3-9) ☄️

13. East Carter (4-8) ??

14. Menifee County (3-11) ??

15. Fairview (1-10) ?

Co-Players Of The Week 

Slone (0) and Ingles (11).

Wyatt Slone and Jayson Ingles (Rowan County) - The duo found their strokes in the second half against Fleming County, igniting Rowan's offense with pure jump shooting . They combined for 23 points in the second half after scoring just five in the first. Each made three 3s after halftime to propel the Vikings to the Section 6 finals.

Thank you for the kind words @DevilMayCare. Great write-up! Rowan certainly shaking things up and now that everybody's healthy Boyd County looks to be hitting their stride. Ashland picked up a big win against Chapmanville, WV last night who is just three seasons removed from a state championship and if they can keep their core of freshmen together, could go on a serious run.