3rd Region Tournament Preview

[ApolloFan98]

With no key upsets in the opening round of district, the 3^rd Region Tournament has the strongest field possible.  Daviess County enters postseason play as the slight favorite, but Grayson County is the team to watch.  They have won 6 straight, including a statement victory over Butler County in the district championship.  The Cougars hold late season wins over Daviess and Breck County as well.  Owensboro Catholic enters tournament play with Luke Beickman nursing a wrist injury.  He was slowed by it in the district tournament, but his teammates picked him up to give him another week to heal up.  Butler County will look to defend their 3^rd Region crown but will need to find more consistency in the 3 games.  That will not be an easy task, drawing Daviess County out of the gate.  Breck and Muhlenberg enter the tournament as capable programs to be considered dark horses to win the whole tournament.  It should be a fun week and a half at the Owensboro Sportscenter.

 

1.Daviess County Panthers (22-6) – 9^th District Champions

2-0 (W 72-62) Owensboro & (W 55-49) Owensboro Catholic

               Key Players - Jonathan Moss (19.6), DeAaron Watkins (16.8/10.6) & Jaxson Brown (12.9)

 

2. Grayson County Cougars (24-6) – 12^th District Champions

2-0 (W 78-32) Whitesville Trinity & (W 70-61) Butler County

               Key Players – Jack Logsdon (20.5/6.7), Brody Armstrong (16.2) & Spencer Langdon (14.8)

 

3. Owensboro Catholic Aces (19-10) – 9^th District Runner-Up

1-1 (W 51-50) Apollo & (L 55-49) Daviess County

               Key Players – Luke Beickman (19.8), Waryn Ebelhar (12) & Solly Smith (11.7)

 

4. Butler County Bears (17-14) – 12^th District Runner-Up

1-1 (W 78-68) Edmonson County & (L 70-61) Grayson County

              Key Players – Ty Price (28.6), Justin Castlen (15.7/7.1), Briar Griffin (12.3) & Trever Deweese (10.4/9.1)

 

5. Breckinridge County Tigers (18-8) – 11^th District Runner-Up

1-1 (W 96-11) Cloverport & (L 72-65) Meade County

               Key Players – Mercer Rogers (20.8) & Jonah Miller (10.5), Brayden Carmen (8.2/7.7)

 

6. Muhlenberg County Mustangs (16-10) – 10^th District Champions

1-0 (W 56-54) Mclean County

               Key Players – Gunnar Revlett (19.4), Jace Sommers (13.7) & Kason Morris (11.7)

 

7. Meade County Greenwave (17-9) – 11^th District Champions

2-0 (W 67-60) Hancock County & (W 72-65) Breck County

               Key Players – Hayden Shouse (22.3/8.7), Ayden Medley (13.8), Cam House (11.7) & Cade Scott (11.1)

 

8. Mclean County Cougars (16-11) – 10^th District Runner-Up

1-1 (W 48-45) Ohio County & (L 56-54) Muhlenberg County

               Key Players – Jax Lee (13.9). Camden Baird (10) & Jaelin Groves (8.2/5)

 

 

FIRST ROUND GAMES – Owensboro Sportscenter

               

Butler County vs Daviess County – Many thought this rematch would take place in the championship game but for the second straight year, the Bears and Panthers will open the tournament.  Last season it was Daviess County who came into this game as the district runner up.  This season, it’s Butler County.  The Bears have been searching for the right formula down the stretch, but consistency has eluded them.  For Daviess County, it’s more about putting together complete games.  Since Christmas, the Panthers found themselves in control of all 3 games they lost but could not put the games away.  This game will feature 2 of the best players in Western Kentucky in Ty Price and Jonathan Moss.  They wowed the crowd at the Sportscenter last postseason.  Daviess defeated Butler back on January 14^th in a game that was never very close.  Butler dominated the 2^nd half to advance in last seasons tournament game.  This one should be an instant classic.  Daviess County is looking for its first regional title since 2003 while Butler is trying to win back to back.

 

Breck County vs Muhlenberg County – The Tigers enter the regional tournament having won 10 of 13, including a win over this Muhlenberg County team.  The Mustangs have been up and down in the back half of their schedule, only winning 4 of their last 10 games.  Mercer Rogers had a monster game in the first meeting, scoring 27.  Coach LaGrange has one of the deepest benches in the region, and will look to use that to his advantage in the postseason.  On the other side, Gunnar Revelett and Jace Sommers have led the way all season for Coach Morris.  Scoring has not been an issue for Muhlenberg. This game could come down to the Mustangs effort on the boards and on the defensive end, which has been a strength for Breck County.  Which team will rise to the occasion on Wednesday night?

 

Mclean County vs Meade County – This is the only first round game in which the two teams did not meet during the regular season.  Meade County has quietly won 6 of their last 7 games and 9 of their last 12.  Hayden Shouse has proven to be one of the most complete players in the region, as a top scorer and rebounder.  Ayden Medley broke out in the back half of the season.  He scored 30 in the district title game.  On the other side, Mclean rallied out of a late season slump to win 3 straight games before falling in the district title game.  They are getting increased production from their role players like Jaelin Groves, Layden Bozarth and Zane Decker.  Jax Lee is a deadly shooter beyond the arc, shooting it at almost 40%.  It will be interesting to see if Mclean can keep the Wave off the glass as Meade is averaging around 8 rebounds more than Mclean.

 

Owensboro Catholic vs Grayson County – Nobody in the region comes into the tournament playing better than Grayson County.  The Cougars scored wins over Butler County and Daviess County down the stretch.  Jack Logsdon has been tremendous all year, but a little extra tough in the district tournament.  It looks like Jack is playing with a chip on his shoulder.  Brody Armstrong and Spencer Langdon are perfect compliments to Logsdon.  They will look to keep it going against an Owensboro Catholic team that enters the tournament banged up.  Luke Beickman injured his wrist late in the season and it looked to give him some trouble in the district tournament last week.  Waryn Ebelhar, Solly Smith and Dre Carothers can step up for Coach Riley, who seems to do his best work in the postseason.  The Aces were probably the toughest draw Grayson could expect.  Catholic beat Grayson by 26 on January 14th.  While that was a long time ago, you have to wonder how Grayson County will handle the favorite role in the rematch.  Coach Riley is 8-1 in the first round of the regional tournament, meaning he has only had a losing postseason record once in his 9 seasons at Owensboro Catholic.

[ApolloFan98]

LEADING SCORERS at the 3^rd Region Tournament

1.Ty Price – Butler Co – 28.6 ppg

2.Hayden Shouse – Meade Co – 22.3 ppg

3.Mercer Rogers – Breck Co – 20.8 ppg

4.Jack Logsdon – Grayson Co – 20.5 ppg

5.Jonathan Moss – Daviess Co – 19.6 ppg

6.Gunar Revelett – Muhlenberg Co – 19.4

7.Luke Bieckman – Owensboro Catholic – 19.1 ppg

8.DeAaron Watkins – Daviess Co – 16.8

9.Brody Armstrong – Grayson Co – 16.2

10.Justin Castlen – Butler Co – 15.7

 

LEADING REBOUNDERS at the 3^rd Region Tournament

1.DeAaron Watkins – Daviess Co – 10.6 rpg

2.Trever Deweese – Butler Co – 9.2 rpg

3.Hayden Shouse – Meade Co – 8.7 rpg

5.Brayden Carmen – Breck Co – 7.7

[TheBallCoach]

Who is your pick to take home the 3rd region? @ApolloFan98

[jester270]

There will be some barn burners in round one. Ty Price and company will be difficult to stop!

[ApolloFan98]

On 3/3/2025 at 12:10 PM, TheBallCoach said:

Who is your pick to take home the 3rd region? @ApolloFan98

I am cheating here but I think the winner of Butler and Daviess wins the whole deal.  Its wide open for a dark horse to steal it but I just can't go against the two best players in Price and Moss.

[ApolloFan98]

On 3/3/2025 at 8:55 AM, ApolloFan98 said:

This game could come down to the Mustangs effort on the boards and on the defensive end, which has been a strength for Breck County.  

Breck dominated the boards in the 65-57 win over Muhlenberg.  Mercer Rogers was excellent, scoring 26 and had around double digit assists.  Lance Poole played a great game as well, scoring 13.  On the other side Gunnar Revelett went down swinging.  He looked unstoppable at times on his way to 31.  The Mustangs cut the Breck lead to 2 with around 4 minutes left but the Tigers put them away with an 8-0 run to close it.

In Game 1, it was Daviess County who jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never looked back.  Butler made several big pushes to make the game close but credit the Panthers for answering every single run.  Daviess got big time games from its role players.  Ayden Ayer, Jaxson Brown and Joe Varble combined for 36 points while Moss led the way with 20.  Ty Price closed his illustrious career with 24 points.  He is the All-Time leading scorer in 3rd Region history.  Speaking of history, there is nothing like watching a basketball game in the jam packed Owensboro Sportscenter.  Both schools brought a tremendous atmosphere.

[ApolloFan98]

Meade County rolled over Mclean in the opener of night 2.  Ayden Medley led the way with 19.  Cade Scott scored 14 and Hayden Shouse had 13.  Mclean ended their season 16-12.

Game 2 was a great one.  Grayson County was all over Catholic through 3 quarters, leading by as much as 18.  The Aces found a way to battle the game back to a one possession game late, but Grayson held on at the free throw line.  Jack Logsdon put together another monster game with 33. Early in the game Logsdon had a highlight reel dunk that should be all over social media today.  In 3 postseason games he has scored 31, 25 and 33.  Catholic ends their season at 19-11.  Bieckman led the Aces with 19.

[ApolloFan98]

Daviess County will represent the 3rd Region at Rupp Arena next week.  They defeated Grayson County 69-56 in the Championship on Tuesday.  The game was a lot closer than the final score indicated with Grayson County leading at the half.  Jonathan Moss was excellent through the postseason, but especially in the Championship, scoring 29.  Jaxson Brown scored 15.  

The Panthers head to Lexington with a 25-6 record and will face a tough test in Great Crossing.  The 3rd Region is looking to break a decade long losing streak in the state tournament.  Daviess County is strong 1-5 but do not go much deeper than that.  Butler County challenged Great Crossing earlier in the year, but their lack of depth hurt their legs late in the game.  It will be interesting to see if Daviess's lack of depth will play a factor.  The Panthers shoot it as well as anyone.  If they can carry that 51% field goal percentage and 38% 3 point percentage into Rupp, the Panthers will have a chance.  DeAaron Watkins has taken huge steps this season.  He should draw the assignment on Moreno.  The Panthers are no doubt the underdog, but they have to tools to compete.