16th Region: Week 12 and District Preview

[DevilMayCare]

16th Region News and Notes

• Fleming County's offense continues to click, scoring 75 or more points in eight of their last nine games. The Panthers triumphed over Lewis County 77-68 behind - stop me if you've heard this before - Seth Hickerson and Bradley Robinson to put a bow on the regular season. The duo averages 42 ppg combined and just missed that mark against the Lions, landing on 43 (Hickerson 23 & Robinson 20). Lucas Jolly scored 11 points and grabbed 12 boards from his point position. 

Julian Puente paced Lewis County with 20 points, aided by five threes.

The Lions bounced back to handle Bath County by 18 a few nights later. Daylen Bivens (22 & 10) and Drew Noble (12 & 12) each logged a double-double. 

• Boyd County kept its boot on the throat of neighbor Greenup County, blasting the Musketeers 95-66 for their eleventh straight win in the series. The Lions have averaged 91 ppg over their last four against Greenup. Cole Hicks scored 24 with six threes, while Jacob Spurlock recorded a double-double of 21 & 11. 

The win secured Boyd's fourth straight twenty win season. They continued their trigger happy ways from behind the arc, attempting 43 threes. Statewide, only South Oldham makes and attempts more threes this season than the Lions.

Boyd stubbed its toe in London a few nights later to wrap up the regular season, losing by 19 to 13th Region contender South Laurel.

• Ashland's only game last week was a 24 point win over Huntington (WV) Expression Prep, giving the Tomcats a perfect 6-0 mark against the Mountain State this season and running their current win streak to six. After only leading by two at halftime, Ashland shifted to a higher gear to dominate the second half. They hit postseason play on a 16-2 run following a 3-5 start against a challenging schedule. 

• Raceland won a pair of tight games over Bath County (65-61) and Nicholas County (62-58) to conclude the regular season on a four game win streak and, consequently, overtook Lewis County for the one seed in the 63rd District. The Rams boast 20 wins for the first time in ten years.

KABC Superlatives 
Player Of the Year: Zander Carter of Ashland - The Liberty University commit averages 24 points and 7 boards a game, plus an untold litany of assists, blocks, and steals. Carter sits on the doorstep of 3,000 career points and is eyeing a fifth consecutive regional championship. This award was cut and dry.

Courtesy of X.

Coach of the Year: Greg Adkins of Elliott County - He endured an exodus of talent a few years ago and the subsequent lean years - 3 wins two years ago and 5 last year - but there are blue skies overhead and on the horizon. The Lions are currently 17-6, won the region All “A” championship, and are favored to win the 62nd District on their home floor without a senior to be found anywhere on the roster.

 

Regular Season Statistical Leaders

(Graphics courtesy of MyTownTV's X account) 

 

Ranking The Region

1. Boyd County (20-10) 🦁

2. Ashland (19-7) 🐾

3. Fleming County (19-10) 🐾

4. Lewis County (18-10) 🦁

5. Raceland (20-8) 🐏

6. Rowan County (14-13) 🇬🇫

7. Elliott County (17-6) 🦁

8. Russell (13-12) 🔱

9. Bath County (9-14) 🇵🇪

10. Greenup County (10-19) 🇯🇲

11. Morgan County (10-14) 🇺🇦

12. East Carter (8-16) 🇨🇵

13. West Carter (6-23) ☄️

14. Menifee County (4-23) 🇳🇬

15. Fairview (4-22) 🦅

 

District Tournaments Around The Corner...

61st at Bath County
Fleming County (1) vs. Menifee County (4) - They've met twice this season with Fleming rolling both times by margins of 58 and 41. Don't look for anything to change here.

Rowan County (2) vs. Bath County (3) - The Vikings and Wildcats split their two regular season games, with both being decided by single digits. Rowan had won eight straight postseason encounters before Bath bounced them in the first round of districts two years ago, a loss that denied the Vikings a spot in the region tournament for the first time in 23 years. Can the Wildcats do it again?

 

62nd at Elliott County 
Elliott County (1) vs. West Carter (4) - Elliott won all three regular season games by an average of 13 points with 9 being the slimmest margin. The Lions are definitely the favorites: best player on the court, coach of the year, and they're playing at home where they've only lost once this season, to Boyd County. But don't sleep on the Comets, who've won three of their last five following a thirteen game skid.

Morgan County (2) vs. East Carter (3) - Morgan beat the Raiders by 15 on February 3rd, their only meeting in the regular season. This is a sneaky good game on paper: the Cougars have lost four straight coming in and East has shown glimpses of what they're capable of with a win over Lewis County and four quarter battles with Rowan, Elliott, and Russell. Morgan's won the last six in the series.

 

63rd at Raceland 
Raceland (1) vs. Greenup County (4) - As previously mentioned, Raceland snatched the one seed from Lewis County in the eleventh hour. The Rams won both regular season meetings with the Musketeers, but this has been the most unpredictable district in the region for years - and it's a rivalry game - so no one in Ramland should be making plans for Morehead just yet.

Lewis County (2) vs. Russell (3) - The Lions and Devils have met three times this season, with Lewis sandwiching two competitive wins around a dismal shooting night and subsequent 25 point thumping at Russell's hand. This is a strong contender for top first round game in the region this year.

 

64th at Ashland 
The host Tomcats get a first round bye as Rose Hill is out of the mix for the second straight season.

Boyd County (2) vs. Fairview (3) - The most predictable of the first round games. Boyd hasn't lost to the Eagles since 2012 and the margin of victory for the Lions hasn't been less than 23 in six years.