15th Region: Week 9

Week 9 is now over. Paintsville is your new number 1 as they are also playing the hottest ball right now. They’ve won five straight, and look to avenge their last loss over Martin Co this week. Johnson Central had the biggest week knocking off three teams that were in front of them as they catapulted up the rankings. Martin Co still has a great record, but seems to be playing not great basketball at a bad time. Pikeville is probably the one team I wouldn’t count out that is probably flying under the radar right now. Here are your rankings! 

Week 9 Rankings: 

1. Paintsville (15-4): Scoot over Martin Co, there’s a new top team in town. After losing to Martin Co in the All A, the Tigers have now won 5 straight and are playing great ball. They beat Betsy Lane by 6, Magoffin County by 30, and Russell by 19. Ethan Cole had a nice game with 29 in the win over Magoffin. The Tigers have a huge week as they look to avenge their last loss to Martin Co on Tuesday. They also play Johnson Central on Thursday who knocked off Martin Co this week. Both games could easily go either way. Could very well add to an already fun season. 

2. Johnson Central (10-7): The Golden Eagles had the biggest week within the region. They started it off with a 9 point win over Lawrence Co, then a 4 point win over Martin Co, then finished it up with a 10 point win over PCC. All three teams were ranked ahead of them. Their three big sophomores Austin Slone, Brayden Shepherd, and Kyle Rose had 29, 25, and 22 respectively against Martin Co. Kyle Rose also added 16 boards in the win. They have the opportunity to keep climbing this week as they play Powell County, Huntington Expression Prep, a rematch with Paintsville, and then Magoffin County on Saturday. 

3. Martin County (14-5): After winning a whole bunch of games, Martin Co has now lost three of their last five. This week was very average as they lost to Huntington Prep and Johnson Central. Their wins were less than spectacular also as they only beat Magoffin Co by 13 and Floyd Central by 3. Two of the worst teams in the 15th. Peyton Davis and Parker Watts led the way against Floyd Central with 29 and 27. This week they open Tuesday with Paintsville. Martin Co won the first go round, but both teams are trending in opposite directions. They also play Hurricane WV, and South Charleston WV to round out the week. 

4. Lawrence County (15-6): The Bulldogs went 2-1 this week. They had a tough loss to JC to start the week, but ended the week nicely with a 30 point win over Floyd Central and a 9 point over Lewis County. Kaiden Harris had 21 and Gunnar Woods added 16 in the win over Lewis County. LC has three games this week with Magoffin County on the road, Mingo Central Comprehensive WV on the road, and Betsy Lane at home. 

5. Pikeville (10-6): The Panthers are starting to shape up nicely as they went 3-0 this week. They thumped Shelby Valley by 25, beat Huntington Prep by 31, and then put it on Betsy Lane by 18. None of the stats are in for these games yet. Pikeville had been reeling, so a week like this is just what they needed. They have a big game with Boyd County on Tuesday that would be a huge win if they could knock them off. They play East Ridge, and Huntington Expression Prep to round out the week. 

6. Pike County Central (11-8): The Hawks had an okay week going 2-1. Their first win was over Phelps, which was a decisive win which saw them take it by 16. Jaden Stewart does what he does and had 32 in the win. Peyton Owens added 21 and Brad Biliter also had 13 in the win. They then won a nail biter over Belfry by 1, in a game which they’d have probably liked to have dominated. They dropped their last game to Johnson Central by 10. This week they play Grundy High VA, and Breathitt County on Saturday. 

7. Phelps (9-8): The Hornets got news at the beginning of the week that their head coach would be stepping down at the end of this season. They went 1-1 in their games this week. The first was a 16 point loss to Pike County Central. They then rebounded nicely with a 14 point win over Magoffin County. This week they look to take on Belfry for sure on Tuesday. There are also some games that may take place later in the week according to KHSAA. 

8. Shelby Valley (9-9): The bad news, Shelby Valley went 0-1 on the week with a 25 point loss to Pikeville. The good news, the stats are finally in! So let's give some of these guys some credit. Gavin Hamilton has led the way for SV so far on the year averaging 16.9 per game. Brady Johnson has added 13.5 per, Jonah Bartley 12.2, and Caden Johnson 12.9. Brady Johnson also grabs 12.2 boards per game. Best part? None of these guys are seniors. The Wildcats have a busy week with East Ridge, Betsy Lane, and Prestonsburg on the schedule for this week. 

9. Betsy Lane (11-8): The Bobcats went .500 on the week. They opened and closed the week with a 6 point loss to Paintsville, and an 18 point loss to Pikeville. They had two wins in the middle of the week with an 11 point win over Morgan County and a 19 point win over Prestonsburg. Cameron Pente almost led them to the upset win over Paintsville with 21 and 10. This week they attempt to climb the rankings with games against Shelby Valley and Lawrence County. If they can go 2-0 against them they’d undoubtedly climb. 

10. Prestonsburg (9-9): What looked like a week that was going to go 3-0, ultimately was finished with a sour taste as Pburg lost to Betsy Lane by 19. They did however knock off Belfry by 17 and East Ridge by 34. Sophomore phenom Braxton Keathely put up 45 in the Belfry win while also going 21/22 from the charity stripe. This week they face off against Floyd Central and Shelby Valley. 

11. Floyd Central (7-14): FC went 0-3 on the week with losses to Knott County Central, Lawrence County, and Martin County. This week they play Breathitt County and Prestonsburg. 

12. Belfry (7-13): Belfry went 1-3 on the week with a win over Mingo Central, but losses to Prestonsburg, PCC, and Pineville. This week they play Phelps, Calvary Baptist Christian Academy, and Tug Valley. 

13. Magoffin (5-13): Magoffin went 0-3 this week with losses to Martin Co, Paintsville, and Phelps. This week they play Menifee County, Morgan County, Lawrence County, and Johnson Central. 

14. East Ridge (5-13): East Ridge went 0-2 this week with losses to Prestonsburg and Ridge View. This week they play Twin Valley, Shelby Valley, and Pikeville.