Those who have followed my coverage of this region the past few years know that I love to utilize tiers when talking about the competition in the region. I think we clearly have separation established. DCA is the clear frontrunner, alone on the top. Pulaski and Mercer are the other contenders for the regional title. Below them are Lincoln and Boyle, two teams in the 45th with DCA, trying to claw their way to the regional tournament. Right below them we have the 4 teams of the 48th, only two obviously being able to make it to the regional. With those teams I would also clump Garrard, West Jessamine and Somerset, rounding out that fourth tier and the teams I think can make any noise in the postseason. 

Rankings

1. Danville Christian Academy - The Warriors just win. There was on fall off from the All A Championship title run as they beat Lincoln County behind Geu Leek Ateny's 24 points and 9 rebounds. They host Garrard County in a district matchup before traveling to Lafayette to face Bryan Station. Win both and they will already be at the 20 win mark.

2. Pulaski County - The Maroons got wins over Southwestern and Rockcastle County. They have three road games this week against East Jessamine, Somerset, and Mercer County. The Mercer County game should be the game of the week. Pulaski still has not lost since losing to DCA on January 14th.

3. Mercer County - As mentioned, the Titans host Pulaski County this week in an epic matchup. Last week they had just one game, a win over district opponent East Jessamine with four players in double figures and Trevor Ellis getting 15 rebounds. They host West Jessamine and Burgin this week before traveling to Rockcastle and finishing up with the home game against Pulaski County.

4. Lincoln County - The Patriots lost to DCA but got a nice revenge win over Boyle County where Braden Fugate went 4 from 8 for three on his way to 16 points. Lincoln also got a two point overtime win over Model. They host Southwestern and Danville this week.

5. Boyle County - The Rebels narrowly fell to North Laurel before getting solidly defeated by Lincoln County, a team they had just beaten. They then got a win over East Jessamine. They have three more district games in a row to finish out that seeding play. They play Danville and Garrard County on the road this week.

6. McCreary County Central - The Raiders open up the next tier, sitting on top of a bunch of teams that have beaten up on each other. They had two thrilling wins over district opponents this past week, a three point victory over Somerset Christian and an overtime win at home against Wayne County. Peyton Higginbotham had 28 points and 14 rebounds in the win over the Cougars. They face Somerset, Cordia and Buckhorn this week.

7. Somerset Christian School - Though they fell to McCreary, the Cougars got decisive wins over Southwestern and Jackson City. They only have one loss by a margin greater than ten this year and that was against mighty DCA. They face Wayne County, Clinton County and Cornerstone Christian on the road before hosting Burgin.

8. Wayne County - The Cardinals fell to McCreary County after beating them by 20 plus only a couple of weeks ago. They now find themselves in a precarious situation where the four seed is looking them square in the eyes. They have their last two chances to potentially change that this week as they face Somerset Christian and Southwestern, two teams they have already lost to.

9. Garrard County - The Golden Lions have shown they play to the level of their competition all year. So far they have avoided any ugly losses though Danville got real close last week in a two point game. They had a one point loss to Madison Southern and a blowout over Casey County. If they want to show that they are "for real," then they need at least a win over Boyle this week. They also have a game against DCA and though the Warriors are clearly the better team overall, you can't count Garrard out. 

10. West Jessamine - The Colts got road wins in Lexington over Dunbar (where former coach Damon Kelley is AD) and Lafayette (ironically the other place Damon Kelley coached). They have two district games this week as they travel to Mercer County and host Trinity Christian.

11. Southwestern - After starting 8 - 4, the Warriors have lost 7 in a row. Last week that included losses to Pulaski County, Somerset Christian and Cumberland County. They host Rockcastle County before going on the road to face Lincoln County, Wayne County and Berea.

12. Somerset - It will be more than a week off once the Briar Jumpers finally get to the hardwood this week. They had just one game last week, a Monday night loss to Corbin. They face McCreary County Central on Tuesday and then Pulaski County on Friday, both games at home. In fact, they don't go on the road again until Valentine's Day. 

13. Rockcastle County - The Rockets were on both ends of blowouts last week, beating Casey County by thirty before falling to Pulaski County by 34. They face Southwestern and Mercer County this week.

14. East Jessamine - The Jaguars, like the Rockets right above them, won one big (over Burgin) and lost one big (to Boyle). They host Pulaski County and Sayre this week.

15. Danville - Nine losses in a row for the Ads, though they almost pulled off the win over Garrard County. They face Boyle County and Lincoln County this week in a pair of district games.

16. Trinity Christian - The Titans beat Cornerstone Christian with Bryce Thompson scoring 26. They face Dunbar, West Jessamine and Francis Parker this week.

17. Burgin - The Bulldogs beat Frankfort Christian for their fourth win of the year. They face Mercer, Cornerstone Christian and Somerset Christian this week. 

18. Casey County - Not only did Casey County get their first win of the year, they got it by 50 points over North Hardin Classical. Braiden Wilkerson went 3 of 4 from three point range, totaling 17 points. 

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf - The Colonels play Frankfort Christian Thursday.

Solid job! I think somerset will climb back up the rankings as Absher gets healthy. The first 4 I think are pretty clear right now. 

13 minutes ago, 12th Region Fan said:

Solid job! I think somerset will climb back up the rankings as Absher gets healthy. The first 4 I think are pretty clear right now. 

Is he able to practice and play yet?

1 hour ago, 24Rocks said:

Is he able to practice and play yet?

Yes.  It's time for them to get going if they are going to make a run.  My guess is you'll start seeing them trend upwards. 

3 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Yes.  It's time for them to get going if they are going to make a run.  My guess is you'll start seeing them trend upwards. 

I think West Jessamine, Southwestern and Somerset all have the talent and coaching to be dangerous. I think out of those three, Somerset is clearly the one most effected by injury and not just inconsistency, growing pains etc…

Will be fun to see what they can do if they can get to full strength.

On 2/3/2025 at 10:50 AM, se7ens said:

I think West Jessamine, Southwestern and Somerset all have the talent and coaching to be dangerous. I think out of those three, Somerset is clearly the one most effected by injury and not just inconsistency, growing pains etc…

Will be fun to see what they can do if they can get to full strength.

All 3 of these teams with big starts to their week.  West Jess. Upends Mercer Co.  SW goes to Lincoln Co. and beats them, and Somerset hammers McCreary Central.  The offense for the Jumpers can be dynamic with all its parts back.  The loss to the Cougars may have been the best thing for SW to refocus. 

1 hour ago, LethalPG said:

All 3 of these teams with big starts to their week.  West Jess. Upends Mercer Co.  SW goes to Lincoln Co. and beats them, and Somerset hammers McCreary Central.  The offense for the Jumpers can be dynamic with all its parts back.  The loss to the Cougars may have been the best thing for SW to refocus. 

Not to take anything away from the Jumpers, but did Mcreary have anyone missing? I was surprised that the score was so lopsided because the Raiders had been playing better as of late. 

55 minutes ago, 12th Region Fan said:

Not to take anything away from the Jumpers, but did Mcreary have anyone missing? I was surprised that the score was so lopsided because the Raiders had been playing better as of late. 

Yes.  But, what about the games the Jumpers have lost this season without players? 

Personally, I don’t think it would’ve mattered who McCreary had playing last night.  But, that’s just my opinion.

I have to admit, that's the first thing I thought (that McCreary must have someone out) when I saw the score too.  I'm not surprised Somerset won, but I was surprised McCreary lost by 32 with the way they've been playing as of late.

I don't know if I've just paid more attention this year, but it seems like the 12th region has had a lot more key players out for extended games than normal.

1 hour ago, LethalPG said:

Yes.  But, what about the games the Jumpers have lost this season without players? 

I didn’t say anything about the Jumper's. I have been very commemorative of Somerset this year, and have even said in this thread as they get healthy they will climb the rankings. I just asked a question that I did not know the answer to because that score shocked me. Somerset winning doesn’t surprise me, but winning by 30 points raised the question. 

At this time of year it comes down to match ups if everyone is pretty healthy.  Some teams match up pretty well so the outcome isn't as easy to predict.  Somerset, with a full compliment of players, and Pulaski looks to be an interesting game.  Both teams have good size, not only in terms of height, but they've got some solidly built front line players.  Neither team is super quick.  They both have capable three point shooters but not a host of them like an Ashland or Fleming County.  They both have good coaches.  Pulaski might have an edge in that the Somerset players have not been playing together due to all of the injuries.  

1 hour ago, 24Rocks said:

At this time of year it comes down to match ups if everyone is pretty healthy.  Some teams match up pretty well so the outcome isn't as easy to predict.  Somerset, with a full compliment of players, and Pulaski looks to be an interesting game.  Both teams have good size, not only in terms of height, but they've got some solidly built front line players.  Neither team is super quick.  They both have capable three point shooters but not a host of them like an Ashland or Fleming County.  They both have good coaches.  Pulaski might have an edge in that the Somerset players have not been playing together due to all of the injuries.  

I agree one hundred percent. What’s weird is Pulaski is limited to injuries too. They have started playing their best basketball without Carson Fraley. I’m not sure they will even get him back, but if they do it will be interesting to see how he fits back in. 

13 minutes ago, 12th Region Fan said:

I agree one hundred percent. What’s weird is Pulaski is limited to injuries too. They have started playing their best basketball without Carson Fraley. I’m not sure they will even get him back, but if they do it will be interesting to see how he fits back in. 

Kade Hargis has impressed me a lot at the PG spot.  He’s a stud on ball defender and capable shooter. 

Two games that stick out to me tonight are Southwestern at Wayne and Pulaski at Somerset. Southwestern is coming off a big win against Lincoln County after struggling for a few games. Wayne is coming off a big win against Somerset Christian. I am not sure what kind of district seeding is on the line. 
 

I look for Somerset to be much more competitive this time against Pulaski with the return of Absher. I haven’t heard if Pulaski has Carson Fraley returning or not. It will be interesting to see how each coach makes adjustments from their previous matchup.