There isn't a whole lot of movement in the rankings this week, although we did have plenty of exciting games. The region is starting to reach that point where I think we can clearly divide it into tiers and even rank within those tiers pretty clearly. However, it is important to note that the difference between teams 1 and 8 and everyone in between is not vast. It is an incredibly equal region. And even when you get to teams 9 through 13, all of them are capable of an "any given night" kind of win over anyone else. 

So when you view these rankings, you can view them as: the contenders (1 through 5/6); the potential contenders (5/6 through 8); the darkhorses (9 through 13); and everyone else.

Rankings:

1. Danville Christian Academy (5-1) - DCA took care of business at Bracken County as they defeated both the hosting Polar Bears (by a wide margin) and squeaked out a 3 point win over Dixie Heights. That Dixie team is a good and solid 9th region team but definitely not state contender level by any means. DCA got a low scoring 3 point win on the second day of a classic on the road. It is interesting to me that even though DCA has been able to reach the 70s and 80s, their two most competitive games against solid competition have been in the 40s. As we know, that has been their recipe for success over the last few years but also leaves a team vulnerable to an upset more than most. The Warriors play in the Henry County Invitational starting Saturday.

2. Pulaski County (7-2) - The Maroons defeated Rockcastle and Somerset, each by 10. The Maroons don't have a lot of depth but they do feature a balancing scoring attack. For example, in the win over the Rockets only 5 players scored. However, four of them had double figures and the fifth had 8. (Also a fun scoring note from that game - Blake Fraley went 5 of 7 from 3 and Tanner Absher went 4 of 5, meaning the two of them combined to go 9 of 12 from deep.) Pulaski has two games this week at Somerset in the Jeremy A. Bartley Winter Classic, playing Powell County Monday and Bullitt East on Tuesday. 

3. West Jessamine (5-1) - The Colts defeated Lincoln County and Garrard County this past week, though that win over the Golden Lions was a little too close for comfort. Luk Tut had 19 points in the 4 point win as well as 10 rebounds. Gavin Murphy was held to just 5 points. The Colts host Southwestern in the in-region game of the week before taking a break. They resume play this weekend in the White, Greer, & Maggard at Lexington Catholic where they start with Bryan Station.

4. Southwestern (7-1) - The Warriors defeated Somerset Christian and McCreary Central, each by 10. Zachary Hutchinson is averaging 21.8 points per game. Jarrett Simpson and Wyatt Stevenson join him with double digit scoring averages. Simpson also averages 9 rebounds per game. They play in the Redmond Auto Holiday Classic in Bell County after Christmas but have to deal with the number four Colts of West Jessamine before they step away for the holidays.

5. Lincoln County (4-3) - The Patriots have a near .500 record but have shown they can compete at a top level in the region and aren't afraid of stellar teams from across the state. Cash Baird has been out with injury, meaning that 5 point win over Collins behind Sawyer Robbins' 29 points is that much more impressive. They are off until the weekend when they play in the Richmond Car and Truck Center Holiday Classic, starting with host Madison Central. It is nice to see the Patriots get a win without Baird but they are going to need him back if they went any kind of sustained success.

6. Boyle County (6-2) - It was a fine trip to Berea for the Rebels as they return home with 3 wins, including an overtime win against Russell County. Even more impressive, they were dealing with sickness throughout the event. That included Seneca Driver who was able to return and perform in the finale against Magoffin where he scored 12 alongside Harper Webb's 14. They are now off until January 3rd.

7. Wayne County (5-4) - The Cardinals finish up at the Republic Bank - Sayre School Lankster Classic at Sayre on Monday against Lafayette. They lost in a rockfight to host Sayre in the opening round before recovering with a blowout win over Kentucky Country Day. Earlier in the week they had a 7 point win at South Laurel behind Kendall Phillips' 25 points and Seth Farmer's 21. They play in Madison Central's post-Christmas event after the mid-week break.

8. Somerset (3-3) - The Briar Jumpers blew out Casey County and showed their potential in a close loss to Pulaski County. Kole Grundy had 17 points in the loss and Aedyn Absher was held to 8. They host the Jeremy A. Bartley Winter Classic before breaking for the holidays. 

9. Rockcastle County (4-4) - It is Walker Craig's senior year, the return trip after being off a year with injury. It has not been a storybook start to it as the Rockets strive to reach consistency. But the effort is there. The growth is there. They are putting in the work. They finish up at South Laurel on Monday where they have defeated Harlan and lost to Russell over the weekend. They are then off until January 2nd where they have the second game against Somerset. That will be a huge measuring stick in terms of growth and the trajectory of this squad.

10. Somerset Christian (6-3) - The Cougars fell to Southwestern by 10 before splitting their two games in Owensboro. Baker, Marcum, and Hensley are the nexus for almost all scoring for SCS and are all three seniors. This Cougar team will take a serious step backwards next year, as is the cycle for small schools. Why bring this up now? Because they are about to embark on a part of the schedule they have the momentary luxury of competing in as they take Elizabethtown and Muhlenberg County in the Bethlehem Holiday Classic this weekend. It might be a while before they are back in an event of this caliber. The All A is looming in the distance, quickly approaching. DCA is obviously the most likely team to win but, as we discussed earlier, anything can happen in a rock fight in the 40s. The Cougars are definitely testing themselves now in preparation for that chance.

11. Garrard County (4-5) - The Golden Lions have Montgomery, Caldwell and Grubbs all averaging double figure points. Ryan Noe and Mason Agee were big contributors on Saturday with a road win over Estill County as they both scored 11. Garrard hosts Nelson County Monday and hosts the 4 Banks Classic this weekend.

12. McCreary Central (4-5) - The Raiders fell in their most recent game by 10 to Pulaski County. Peyton Higginbotham is averaging over 20 points per game. McCreary plays in East Jessamine's holiday tournament this weekend where they open up with Madisonville-North Hopkins. They have a chance at winning this event given the field.

13. Danville (4-5) - The Ads picked up a win over Western Hills in the Capital City Classic. Landon Reed went 6 of 10 from 3 and finished with 25 points. Danville is now off until January 2nd when they play rival DCA.

14. East Jessamine (4-5) - East picked up their best win of the year so far, an overtime victory against Mason County at South Laurel. No, it isn't a Mason County team of old that will compete for their region, but they are a solid program nonetheless and the type of team that East has not defeated recently. They finish at South Laurel Monday against Harlan and host their own tournament after the short holiday break.

15. Mercer County (1-7) - The Titans not only went winless in Berea over 3 games, they really never competed. It has been a brutal December for Mercer. They play in Madison Central's event after Christmas so it doesn't get any easier. 

16. Burgin (2-4) - Burgin was unable to get the district win over East Jessamine. They are also off this week altogether.

17. Casey County (4-5) - Owen Willoughby is up over 17 points per game. Casey has one game this week, a Monday night home game against Model. 

18. Trinity Christian (0-7) - The winless Titans have one game left in December, a home game Monday night against Whitefield Academy from the 6th region.

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf (0-2) - The Colonels fell to the Wellspring Guardians. Dakota Cox had 15. They are off until January 6th.

I’m really looking forward to the Southwest &  West game. To me, those are the second and third best teams. I’m just not sure in which order. I think Hutchinson may be the best player in the region, definitely top 3. And Simpson is a very good big man.

I really like this Boyle team. It is Boyle’s best start in 4 years with a squad that most felt would be down in talent compared to that 3-year stint. I feel like right now they are playing as well as anyone and they’ve only had a game or two where they’ve had all of their rotation. And given that only 2 returnees have meaningful varsity experience, I think they’ll only get better. Could be a 20 win season for the Rebels!

Pulaski County got by Powell County 73-62, and Somerset came from behind to defeat Bullitt East 70-68 in the Jeremy A. Bartley Winter Classic at Somerset last night.  Pulaski was in control most of the 2nd half.  Powell County cut it to 6, and had the ball but could get no closer.  The Powell County coach didn't use a timeout all night, even when the Maroons made a couple of big runs that ultimately decided the game. Somerset found itself down 21-11 after the first quarter, but got things going after that.  They outscored Bullitt East 59-47 the rest of the way.  Josh Lewis really got it going from deep, and Abshear was huge down the stretch.  The matchups switch today as Pulaski will play Bullitt East at noon, with Somerset taking on Powell County at 245pm.

1 hour ago, Carl Spackler said:

Pulaski County got by Powell County 73-62, and Somerset came from behind to defeat Bullitt East 70-68 in the Jeremy A. Bartley Winter Classic at Somerset last night.  Pulaski was in control most of the 2nd half.  Powell County cut it to 6, and had the ball but could get no closer.  The Powell County coach didn't use a timeout all night, even when the Maroons made a couple of big runs that ultimately decided the game. Somerset found itself down 21-11 after the first quarter, but got things going after that.  They outscored Bullitt East 59-47 the rest of the way.  Josh Lewis really got it going from deep, and Abshear was huge down the stretch.  The matchups switch today as Pulaski will play Bullitt East at noon, with Somerset taking on Powell County at 245pm.

It will be interesting to see what those results are today. Another good measuring stick for the region. 

Results from Somerset's JAB Winter Classic Today:

Pulaski Co. 64-58 over Bullitt East

Somerset 78-77 over Powell Co. in Overtime

This was a really competitive classic, with the 12th region going 4-0. 

Aedyn Absher led Somerset with 34 PTs today.  

9 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Aedyn Absher led Somerset with 34 PTs today.  

He played a great game especially considering they played most of the 2nd half and overtime without Josh Lewis and almost the whole overtime without Brock Stevens.  Being down 2 ball handlers put a lot of pressure on him, and he handled it like a senior.  Freshman Xavier Wooldridge had a huge steal and three point play to put Somerset on top inside of 30 seconds to play. Somerset then played great defense on the last Powell Country possession, and didn't allow the Pirates to get a shot off.  Those were 4 fun games to watch.  Hopefully I can retire from doing the PA after today. It was fun though.