? Headlines ?

? | The King of the Bluegrass tournament dominates the region's landscape, with three of the top four teams in the poll jousting for the crown.

? | Top ranked St. X is back in the KOTB championship game with a shot to repeat. Josh Lindsay scored 23 in an opening round win over Region 4 favorite Warren Central. Jeremiah Jackson posted 17 & 10 to help the Tigers advance past 8th Region favorite North Oldham, despite a poor shooting performance from behind the arc (2/15). X returned to form in the semifinals against Madison Central, splashing twelve threes to topple the previously unbeaten Indians

? | Male's Jordan Mitchell has two of the top individual performances of the tournament, beginning with 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in a comeback win over #3 Covington Catholic after the Dawgs trailed by double digits in the first half. Male closed the show with a thirty point outburst in the fourth quarter. Mitchell followed that up with 27 points and 10 boards to put away 11th Region #1 Frederick Douglass in the semis, setting up a 7th Region #1 vs. #2 final with St. X.

☘️ | Trinity didn't fare as well as its Jefferson County peers, dropping the first two games of the KOTB by double figures to Madison Central and LaRue County. The Shamrocks struggled offensively, shooting a combined 29% across both games and just 24% from behind the arc. They did salvage the week with a win over Grayson County to conclude the tournament.

? | Still without the services of Cole Edelen, Ballard crossed the river to drop two games in Cincinnati. The young Bruins got touched up by Ohio's St. Xavier, losing by 22 to the Bombers before surrendering a fourth quarter lead to unbeaten Highlands the following day. There's separation between Ballard and the region's top two teams, but the growth potential is there to challenge X and Male by season's end if it all comes together.
 
?? | Seneca continues to emerge as a contender following a 74-66 win over Top 10 ranked Bryan Station. Prestyn Wheatley paced the Redhawks with 19 points, while 6’7” Noah Stephens did work on the interior with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

♈ | Manual blistered the nets in its three games last week, shooting 71% from the floor against W.E.B. DuBois, Lawrence County, and Kettering Alter (OH). Ahmad Shelton ran his double-double streak to seven games to start the season.

? 〰️ | Eastern and Atherton each tallied  four wins across a busy week. The Eagles won all four of their games by an average of 26 ppg while relying less on Damian Jung to carry them. The Ravens suffered their first loss of the season - to sneaky good Clinton County - sandwiched between their four wins. 

? | Central finally got in the win column with a 23 point blowout of Magoffin County. Tae’ren Pryor had one of the best games of his career with 30 points & 10 rebounds.

Rankings and Weekly Results

1. Saint Xavier ? (7-1) 
• Louisville Collegiate W 99-25
• Warren Central W 62-54
• North Oldham W 57-47
• Madison Central W 70-59

2. Male ? (8-1)
• Brown W 97-42
• Greenville (TN) W 71-46
• Covington Catholic W 77-69
• Frederick Douglass W 62-59

3. Ballard ? (5-3)
• Portland Christian W 94-43
• St. Xavier (OH) L 42-62
• Highlands L 64-70

4. Trinity ☘️ (3-3)
• Madison Central L 51-61
• LaRue County L 42-54
• Grayson County W 76-63

4. Manual ♈ (4-3)
• W.E.B. DuBois L 65-67
• Lawrence County W 78-73
• Archbishop Alter (OH) W 93-66

6. Seneca ?? (5-1)
• Bryan Station W 74-66
• Moore W 80-72

7. Eastern ? (7-1)
• Fern Creek W 51-41
• KCD W 79-33
• Franklin-Simpson W 75-42
• Franklin County W 66-40

8. Christian Academy of Louisville ⚔️ (3-2)
• South Oldham W 66-57
• Bardstown W 61-43

9. Atherton 〰️ (8-1)
• Valley W 68-39
• Moore W 70-69
• Clinton County L 40-56
• Boone County W 77-25
• Madisonville W 79-50

10. Waggener ?? (3-4)
• DeSales L 74-81
• LKY (Home School) W 82-44
• Bullitt East L 43-60

11. Kentucky Country Day ?? (2-4)
• Bullitt Central L 42-82
• Eastern L 33-79
• Martin County L 64-92
• Wayne County L 29-72

12. Louisville Collegiate ⚔️ (3-4)
• St. Xavier L 25-99
• Doss L 60-67

13. Shawnee ? (2-7)
• Valley L 43-53
• Fern Creek W 50-36
• PRP L 40-66 

14. Central ? (1-7)
• W.E.B. DuBois L 51-79
• Fern Creek L 54-62
• Magoffin County W 71-48
• Adair County L 62-67

15. Francis Parker ?? (2-2)
• Williamstown W 51-36

16. Brown ? (2-7)
• Male L 42-97
• Fort Knox W 61-50
• Valley L 58-60
• River City Jags (IN) W 54-46

17. Highlands Latin ??????? (5-3)
• Whitefield Academy L 55-74
• Bluegrass Academy W 63-55

18. Portland Christian ? (3-6)
• Southern W 40-39
• Ballard L 43-94
• River City Jags W 82-40
• Valley L 58-60

Games Of Note (12/22-12/28)
St. Xavier vs. Male  (12/22) - Winner take all… KOTB ? and #1 in Louisville 

Seneca vs. McCracken County (12/22) - The Mustangs are the top ranked team in Region 1

Eastern vs. Taylor County (12/22) - Taylor is a one point loss to Warren Central from being undefeated 

Manual vs. PRP (12/22) - Rematch of a good scrap on 12/9, won by the Crimsons behind DeShawn McGee's 32 points