While you can expect the top 2 teams in the 3rd to remain the same through the season, the race between the teams behind them should be fun to watch.  Muhlenberg County had put a good foot forward early in the season with 5 straight wins out of the gate.  Apollo, Ohio County and Owensboro Catholic will be jockeying for top 5 spots early on.  District races in the 10th and 11th will also be fun to watch all season.  Meanwhile, back at the top, Grayson County has a nice opportunity to show how they stack up against state competition in the King of the Bluegrass this week.  They will open with North Oldham and then face St X or Warren Central depending on how the first round goes.  Lastly, keep an eye on Jonathan Moss and his bid for Mr. Basketball.  Moss is off to a great start with big games against great competition in GRC, Spire Academy and ABQ Prep.

 

1. Daviess County Panthers (3-2) – SAME - Wins (Edmonson Co 89-56, Owensboro 72-42), Losses (Spire Academy OH 73-66)
    Daviess County have handled in state competition well, as their two defeats have come at the hands of highly touted prep schools.  They scored region wins over Edmonson and Owensboro this past week.  Jonathan Moss poured in 31 against Edmonson, 19 against Owensboro and 28 against Spire.  At 25.4 ppg he is showing he is a true Mr. Basketball candidate.  Michael Acton is at 16.4 ppg through the first 5, while DeAaron Watkins is scoring 15 and pulling 13 boards per contest.  The Panthers have 4 games this week against Trinity, Henderson, Somerset and Heritage Hills, IN.

 

2. Grayson County Cougars (2-1) – SAME -  Wins (Ohio Co 89-58 & Edmonson Co 85-64)
    The Cougars scored 2 region wins this week, including a 12 district win over Edmonson County.  Against Ohio, Jagger Mardis and Jack Logsdon each scored 24 while Brody Armstrong had 20.  In the win over Edmonson, Mardis led the way with 23.  Logsdon followed him with 21 points and 10 boards.  Armstrong again had 20.  There is word around Grayson County that the Gaither kids have moved in and will look to get eligible for the second semester.  Time will tell if that pans out, but if it does, it would give the Cougars another big time scorer.  It will be something to monitor to start the new year.  In the meantime, Grayson heads to the King of the Bluegrass this weekend.  They open play against North Oldham.  Before making the trip, they face Breck County on Tuesday.

 

3. Muhlenberg County Mustangs (5-0) – UP 3 - Wins (Warren East 89-58, Mclean Co 57-40 & Owensboro Catholic 82-72)
    The Mustangs have broke well out of the gate of the 25/26 season.  Not only are they 5-0 but their average margin of victory is 19 per game.  Kason Morris has led the Stangs early on.  He scored 21 against Warren East and put up a monster double-double against Owensboro Catholic Saturday, scoring 27 and pulling 14 boards.  Gavin Groves is scoring 15 per game though the first 5 while Ivan Sparks is right at a double-double average with 11 and 9.  Muhlenberg hosts Owensboro on Tuesday.

 

4. Apollo Eagles (4-0) – DOWN 1 - Wins (Whitesville Trinity 63-60 & Paducah Tilghman 74-65)
    Apollo stayed unbeaten this week, picking up wins over Trinity and Paducah Tilghman.  The Eagles have been very balanced to start the season.  Against Trinity they were led by Tate Powers 13 points.  Butterworth and Henning chipped in 12 each, while Kaiden Green scored 10.  Apollo hosts the Eagle Classic this weekend with games scheduled against Etown and Ballard Memorial.  Before that, they will face Butler County and Ohio County in regional action.

 

5. Ohio County Eagles (3-1) – UP 2 - Wins (Franklin Simpson 74-48 & Owensboro 58-34) & Losses (89-58 Grayson County)
    The Eagles have played one bad half of basketball so far thus season and it cost them against Grayson County on Tuesday.  They bounced back with 2 wins to close the week.  In the win over Franklin Simpson, they went 13-28 from beyond the arc.  Through the first 4 games, the Eagles are shooting it 44% from 3.  Ryan Durahm led the way against Franklin Simpson with 20.  He is at 22 ppg though the first 4 games.  Ohio has big regional games this week against Apollo and Mclean before facing Rock Creek Academy, IN on Friday.

 

6. Owensboro Catholic Aces (1-1) – DOWN 1 - Wins (Butler Co 91-41) & Losses (Muhlenberg Co 82-72)
    The Aces put 5 in double figures in their season opener at Butler County.  Jake Murphy led the way with 22.  Solly Smith had 18 and Gavin Brasher had 17.  Zander Reisz and Braylon Coots each had 10.  Saturday, The Aces got their football players back on the floor but fell just short against Muhlenberg.  Coots led the way with 21, while Dremail Carothers had a double-double with 15 and 10.  The Aces have Union County and South Warren scheduled this week.

 

7.Meade County Greenwave (2-1) -DOWN 3 - Wins (Lanesville, IN 74-44) & Losses (Breck Co 80-76)
    Hayden Shouse is off to a great start for the Waves, as he is scoring 24 per game and pulling 9 boards through the first 3 games.  Ayden Medley is right at 16 ppg to open the season.  Meade suffered a tough district setback to Breck County on Friday but will look to get back in the win column with games against Bullitt East and Beech Senior, TN this week.

 

8. Breckinridge County Tigers (2-3) – UP 3 - Wins (Meade Co 80-76), Losses (Nelson Co 82-75)
    The Tigers up and down start took a nice turn on Friday with a district win over Meade County.  The 11^th is wide open and the Tigers struck first with the big win.  Jake Flood led the way with 29 while Benjamin Grimes and Jonah Miller scored 21 and 19.  Breck will look to build on that momentum with regional games against Grayson County, Hancock County and Ohio County this week.

 

9. Edmonson County Wildcats (2-3) – DOWN 1 - Losses (Daviess Co 89-56, Grayson Co 85-64 & Barren Co 75-56)
    It was a tough week for the Cats against a very tough schedule.  They lost leading scorer Tyler Wilson in the game against Daviess County with an ankle injury.  They will look to bounce back this week with road games against Ft Knox and Barren County.

 

10. Hancock County Hornets (5-0) – UP 3 - Wins (John Hardin 69-62 & Ft Knox 66-33)
    Hancock stayed hot this week with a nice road win over John Hardin.  Keegan Wilson scored 32 on 64% shooting.  Wilson leads the Hornets with 19 ppg.  Taylor Payne and Seth Hunt are also scoring in double figures through the first 5 games.  Hancock has 11^th district road games against Cloverport and Breck County this week.

 

11. Mclean County Cougars (3-2) – DOWN 2 - Wins (Dawson Springs 51-45 & Evansville Day 61-34) & Losses (Webster Co 87-84 Double OT & Muhlenberg Co 57-40)
    Mclean Co has had an up and down start to the season, splitting 4 games this past week.  Camden Baird led the Cougars with 24 in the win over Dawson Springs.  In the tough double overtime loss against Webster, Mclean placed 4 in double figures.  Layden Bozarth had 27, Baird 21 and Braxton Floyd 20.  Jaelin Groves had a double-double with 15 and 11.  The Cougars look to avoid an 0-2 start in district play with a home game against Ohio on Tuesday before playing Butler Co and Owensboro at the Sportscenter this weekend.

 

12. Whitesville Trinity Raiders (4-2) – UP 2 -  Wins (Butler Co 80-57), Losses (Apollo 63-50)
    The Raiders split a pair of games this week.  In the big district win over Butler County, Ian Roby poured in 23 points to lead the way.  Harrison Barnett had 21.  Mason Smith and Thomas Payne were both in double figures against Butler and Apollo.  Trinity has games against Daviess County and Dawson Springs this week.

 

13 .Owensboro Red Devils (0-2) – DOWN 3 - Losses (Daviess Co 72-42 & Ohio Co 58-34)
    The Devils had several questions around the roster entering the season and through their first week, there are still several questions.  They were not very competitive in their regional games this week.  Expect the football kids to return to the floor this week in games against Muhlenberg County, Greenwood and Mclean County.

 

14. Butler County Bears (0-4) – DOWN 2 - Losses (Owensboro Catholic 91-41, Logan County 74-64 & Whitesville Trinity 80-57)
    After losing the strongest core of seniors in Butler County history, the Bears are off to an expected slow start.  Curtis Murphy is the only player returning with much varsity experience.  He leads the team with 17 ppg.  Junior Cainan Vincent is scoring in double figures as well, at 11 ppg.  The Bears seek their first win this week with games against Russellville, Apollo, Mclean and Somerset Christian.

 

15. Cloverport Aces (0-1) - Losses (95-21 Breck County)
    The Aces seek their first win of the season with games against Hancock and Hopkinsville Heritage this week.

EDIT: Let's move Breck to 7 and Meade to 8 after the Tigers head to head victory over them this past week.

Bump.