16th Region News and Notes

• Not many could have predicted the ebb and flow of games 1 and 2 between Ashland and Boyd County this season. The Tomcats walloped the Lions by 28 on December 10th, the first indicator that their claws would tear through the flesh of this region once again. They looked invincible that night, lighting up Boyd for 85 points while holding the Lions to a season low 57 and well below their season long field goal percentage. 

And they did it on Boyd's home floor.

Ashland was a prohibitive favorite on Friday night, winners of ten straight and welcoming the Lions into enemy territory. James A. Anderson Gymnasium was packed, waiting to see if Boyd County had anything to offer, or if the Tomcats would administer another reminder that they run the 16th Region's yard.

In the name of pride, the Lions went toe to toe with Ashland early, before driving the first wedge between the two in the middle of the 2Q. Boyd maintained a modest lead until stretching it to as many as 14 late in the 3Q. The Tomcats drew within three inside the final minute, but desperation threes failed to find their mark, allowing the Lions to salt away the victory. 

Boyd's offense came from every nook and cranny of its starting five, as each landed in double figures, led by Jackson Childers’ 21. Cole Hicks, who missed the first game, made the Lions whole again, adding 15. Jacob Spurlock, the region's leading scorer, was held to just 11. When you can beat Ashland on its home floor with Spur scoring just 40% of his average, you've got a well rounded basketball team with points coming from every inch of the floor.

Spurlock and Carter. Photo by Matt Jones, courtesy of X.

Zander Carter went off for 38 in the first game and nearly matched that effort with 34 on Friday. He is simply the most dynamic, versatile player in the region. If he doesn't net 20-30 a night, it's because he's busy facilitating.

This wasn't a matter of Ashland “playing down”. Boyd County played “up”.... way “up”. Their best is good enough to throw a wrench into Ashland's plans for a seventh straight trip to Rupp Arena. 

The region has been tossed a life line, at least for now. The Tomcats do bleed, but there's no guarantee that what happened Friday will mean a thing in Morehead, which has become Ashland's western colony over the last six years.

Boyd County put a bow on a 4-0 week by blowing out Huntington (WV) Expression Prep 104-62 the following night. Ashland had to quickly regroup for a trip to Versailles to battle Bowling Green (Top 20 in multiple polls). The Tomcats held their own, but were unable to get back in the win column, falling 61-55.

• After a disappointing loss to Lewis County the week before, Russell sprung an upset in Flemingsburg over the shorthanded Panthers. Fleming County was without the services of point guard Lucas Jolly, one of the region's top floor generals. The game was competitive throughout, with only a few subtle changes in momentum. Russell happened to grab the last one, a 6-0 spurt inside the final minutes that turned a three point deficit into a three point lead. They would never trail again.

Tyler Cordial and Caleb Rimmer combined for 23 boards, with Rimmer scoring a team high 17. Fleming got 23 each from Seth Hickerson and Bradley Robinson. 

The Devils followed up that win with another over Raceland, keeping alive their hopes of attaining the district one seed. The “Marv” was jumping for the first meeting between Russell and the neighboring Rams this season. Raceland was coming off a thirteen point win over Lewis County, who had previously dispatched the Devils.

Ryder Burgess and Kaden Benge posed problems from deep, while Rimmer and Gabe Pridemore spent time above the rim, combining for three dunks.

 

Raceland turned it on in the 4Q, scoring nearly as many points in the final frame (30) as the first three combined (34). Despite the sharp uptick in scoring, it was still too little, too late. Russell did enough down the stretch to fend off the Rams.

The week did end on a sour note for the Devils, losing to Paintsville - 15th Region's RPI #1 - by 19.

 

• Aside from Russell's wins over Fleming and Raceland, there were several other results last week that further illustrate the unpredictable nature of this region beyond the pillars of consistency that are Ashland and Boyd.

  1. The Panthers beat Rowan County on the 27th, but lost Jolly in the process. Four days later, the Vikings ran away from Fleming in the 4Q in Flemingsburg for a fourteen point win.

 2. East Carter, who had been trending toward the bottom of the region for weeks, defeated Elliott County, who'd been heading in the other direction following wins over Lewis County and Raceland. The Lions’ offensive woes continued, as they could only muster 38 points against the Raiders after scoring a scant 23 versus Danville Christian Academy in their previous game.

  3. The Raiders promptly dropped an OT thriller to Greenup County two nights later, 55-52. The Musketeers’ record has surely been a disappointment to those in Lloyd, but they've competed well in most of their losses this season. In the topsy-turvy world of the 63rd District, you can't count anyone out.

  4. Greenup's win over East occurred after the Musketeers lost for the second time to Lewis County, which preceeded the Lions’ aforementioned loss to Raceland, who then lost to Russell.

  5. To bring it full circle…. The two teams Russell defeated last week - Raceland and Fleming County - met up in Flemingsburg Saturday evening. The Rams dominated the 1Q and led by thirteen at the half. It appeared the Panthers - with Jolly back in the rotation - were headed for a three game skid in the region. Instead, Fleming decimated Raceland in the second half by a tally of 53-24 to win going away, 82-66. An 18-0 run in the 3rd and 4th quarters was a prolonged barrage of punches that flattened the Rams, who looked powerless to defend themselves.

The gist of it is this…. it's safe to say that Ashland and Boyd County are the two best teams in the region. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess for the next eight spots or so. Throw the names in a hat and any game could go either way or at least be highly competitive. 

 

Ranking The Region

This week was a challenge unlike any I've faced in the two years I've tracked this region. Sorting out the rankings was like trying to untangle a 150 foot extension cord that you let your neighbor borrow, but he's lazy and doesn't properly roll it back up, so he left it on your porch in an unruly orange ball of chaos. He knows he can do better, but chooses not to and can't look you in the eye when he returns it. That's assuming he returns it at all and you don't have to ask for it back. You know who you are. ??

I contemplated leaving Ashland at #1. Their body of work is superior to Boyd's and they clubbed them earlier this season, but the Lions just beat the Tomcats at Anderson Gym with both teams at full strength. Couple that with Boyd beginning to hit its stride off a 4-0 week.

Fleming stays put at #3, largely because their losses occurred with Lucas Jolly sidelined. When the Panthers are united, the results reflect them as the third best team in the region.

Numbers 4-8 were all over the map last week. Having watched all of them recently, I resorted to the eye test to make some kind of sense out of that group. 

1. Boyd County (13-8) ?

2. Ashland (13-7) ?

3. Fleming County (14-7) ?

4. Rowan County (10-12) ??

5. Lewis County (11-7) ?

6. Russell (9-9) ?

7. Raceland (15-7) ?

8. Elliott County (11-5) ?

9. Bath County (8-9) ??

10. Greenup County (7-13) ??

11. Morgan County (7-10) ??

12. East Carter (6-11) ??

13. West Carter (3-16) ☄️

14. Menifee County (4-16) ??

15. Fairview (4-15) ?

Player Of The Week 
Jackson Childers (Boyd County) - The 6’8” transfer from Huntington (WV) exceeded his scoring average (11 ppg) in all four games for the Lions. He shone brightest in the week's biggest game, recording a double-double of 21 & 10 in Boyd's win over Ashland. 

Childers, courtesy of Hudl.

Ashland really wasn't at full strength as Jennings, an intregal part of their rotation, announced a few weeks ago he was leaving the team to concentrate on football. They also have been without Neel, a transfer point guard from Russell, who has not been cleared to play by the KHSAA(actually do not understand why). Those two were part of this anticipated rotation at the beginning of the season. 

1 hour ago, jstanley92767 said:

Ashland really wasn't at full strength as Jennings, an intregal part of their rotation, announced a few weeks ago he was leaving the team to concentrate on football. They also have been without Neel, a transfer point guard from Russell, who has not been cleared to play by the KHSAA(actually do not understand why). Those two were part of this anticipated rotation at the beginning of the season. 

Oh there is a reason he hasn’t been cleared and I doubt he is. 

4 hours ago, jstanley92767 said:

Ashland really wasn't at full strength as Jennings, an intregal part of their rotation, announced a few weeks ago he was leaving the team to concentrate on football. They also have been without Neel, a transfer point guard from Russell, who has not been cleared to play by the KHSAA(actually do not understand why). Those two were part of this anticipated rotation at the beginning of the season. 

Thanks for the info. I've put off commenting on Neel because I didn't know the situation there and I wasn't aware of the reason for Jennings' absence. I try to avoid the speculation game.

If someone were to tell you in advance that Jacob Spurlock would be Boyd County's fifth leading scorer and they would beat Ashland, would you believe it? Where Boyd has gained over the course of the season (not counting the unusually large number of injuries early in the year) is how comfortable Childers and Rardon are becoming in the offense. I felt they were key in that game. Childers had a double-double and Rardon had several big buckets for Boyd. One thing to note about Boyd is that they have improved their free throw shooting by six percent compared to last year. And the dangerous part about Childrers with him finding his spot in this offense, is that he's an excellent free throw shooter - 83%. He's slithery, hard to defend and I think that is a big part of him being able to make plays to get to the free throw line for Boyd.

What's interesting is that Boyd has won three in a row at Ashland. The same thing happened two seasons ago, when Ashland would go to Boyd and pick up a nine point win in a game where they led by as much as 25. Boyd would come to Ashland and pull an 88-80 victory out over the Tomcats. Last season was a little different, but Boyd would win the first three matchups before Ashland would win in the regional final. 

Ashland likes to play quick, but I think at times struggled to put it together. Lately there have been a lot of possessions with a quick pass and a three instead of that signature ball movement they are known for while also not attacking the basket enough. They can shoot, but at times I don't feel they have been playing too great as of late. 

As for the region, nice job in the rankings DMC. I would toggle as well but think you went right putting Boyd ahead of Ashland right now. Russell is one to watch like you mentioned and Fleming ended up beating both Ashland and Boyd last season - wouldn't be surprised to see them throw a wrench into their opponent's plans at some point.

10 hours ago, TCR said:

Where Boyd has gained over the course of the season (not counting the unusually large number of injuries early in the year) is how comfortable Childers and Rardon are becoming in the offense. I felt they were key in that game. Childers had a double-double and Rardon had several big buckets for Boyd. One thing to note about Boyd is that they have improved their free throw shooting by six percent compared to last year. And the dangerous part about Childrers with him finding his spot in this offense, is that he's an excellent free throw shooter - 83%. He's slithery, hard to defend and I think that is a big part of him being able to make plays to get to the free throw line for Boyd.

Rardon's development into a reliable shooter (probably an understatement, as he's hitting at a near 50% clip from three) has been huge for Boyd in the face of Drew Smith transferring out and Griffin Taylor missing basically all of the season so far.

 

On 2/3/2025 at 4:59 PM, TribeTime said:

Oh there is a reason he hasn’t been cleared and I doubt he is. 

He DID get cleared and has played the last 2 games for him. Way overdue. He will help their rotation down the stretch.