4th Region: Week 6

1) Warren Central (12-1) - 1/6 87-55 W #5 Barren County, 1/9 69-55 W at #4 South Warren    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 1/13 at Central Hardin, 1/16 at #6 Greenwood    
    
2) Clinton County (15-2) - 1/5 88-40 W #16 Todd County Central, 1/8 82-50 W #13 Russellville (at Cumberland County), 1/9 53-40 W #15 Metcalfe County (at Cumberland County)    
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 1/13 at #15 Cumberland County, 1/16 at #4 Monroe County    
    
3) South Warren (11-3) - 1/6 52-42 W at #9 Franklin-Simpson, 1/9 55-69 L #1 Warren Central    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 1/13 vs. #5 Glasgow, 1/16 at #8 Bowling Green, 1/17 at Breckinridge County    
    
4) Monroe County (9-4) - 1/5 51-60 L #13 Russellville    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 1/12 vs. #7 Barren County, 1/13 vs. Adair County, 1/16 vs. #2 Clinton County    
    
5) Glasgow (8-5) - 1/5 69-68 OT W at Hart County, 1/6 56-62 L Adair County, 1/9 64-56 OT W at #5 Barren County    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 1/13 at #3 South Warren, 1/14 vs. #18 Warren East, 1/16 vs. Johnson Central (at Owensboro Sportscenter)    
    
6) Greenwood (12-3) - 1/6 74-39 W Butler County, 1/9 71-61 W at #6 Bowling Green, 1/10 77-75 W Muhlenberg County    
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 1/13 vs. #16 Todd County Central, 1/16 vs. #1 Warren Central, 1/17 vs. Springfield (TN)    
    
7) Barren County (9-5) - 1/6 55-87 L at #1 Warren Central, 1/9 56-64 OT L #7 Glasgow    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 1/12 at #4 Monroe County, 1/13 at #8 Bowling Green, 1/17 vs. Portland (TN) (at Greenwood)    
    
8. Bowling Green (8-8) - 1/6 45-61 L at Taylor County, 1/9 61-71 L #8 Greenwood, 1/10 61-83 L Madison Central (at Montgomery County)    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 1/13 vs. #7 Barren County, 1/16 vs. #3 South Warren, 1/17 at #12 Russellville    
    
9) Russell County (8-8) - 1/5 80-83 2OT L Adair County, 1/8 74-45 W Mercer County, 1/10 52-71 L at South Laurel    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 1/13 vs. Campbellsville, 1/16 at Southwestern    
    
10) Franklin-Simpson (6-7) - 1/6 42-52 L #4 South Warren, 1/9 64-63 W at #16 Todd County Central    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 1/16 at #12 Russellville    
    
11) Logan County (8-7) - 1/6 74-82 2OT L at Edmonson County, 1/9 68-46 W #13 Russellville    
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 1/12 vs. Jo Byrns (TN), 1/13 at #13 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/16 vs. #16 Todd County Central    
    
12) Russellville (10-5) - 1/5 60-51 W at #3 Monroe County, 1/8 50-82 L #2 Clinton County (at Cumberland County), 1/9 46-68 L at #12 Logan County    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 1/13 at Fort Campbell, 1/16 vs. #10 Franklin-Simpson, 1/17 vs. #8 Bowling Green    
    
13) Allen County-Scottsville (6-8) - 1/9 86-64 W #18 Warren East    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 1/13 vs. #11 Logan County    
    
14) Metcalfe County (7-9) - 1/5 68-55 W at #17 Foundation Christian Academy, 1/8 55-47 W at #14 Cumberland County, 1/9 40-53 L #2 Clinton County, 1/10 65-56 W at #18 Warren East    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 1/12 vs. Bluegrass Blazers, 1/16 at #15 Cumberland County    
    
15) Cumberland County (4-10) - 1/8 47-55 L #15 Metcalfe County    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 1/13 vs. #2 Clinton County, 1/16 vs. #14 Metcalfe County    
    
16) Todd County Central (3-12) - 1/5 40-88 L at #2 Clinton County, 1/9 63-64 L #9 Franklin-Simpson    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 1/13 at #6 Greenwood, 1/16 at #11 Logan County    
    
17) Foundation Christian Academy (9-3) - 1/5 55-68 L #15 Metcalfe County, 1/9 68-28 W at Jonathan Edwards Classical Academy (TN)    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: 1/13 at Trinity (Whitesville), 1/15 vs. Bluegrass United, 1/16 at Community Christian    
    
18) Warren East (1-14) - 1/9 64-86 L at #11 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/10 56-65 L #15 Metcalfe County    
Previous Rank: 18    
This Week: 1/12 at Trinity (Whitesville), 1/14 at #5 Glasgow, 1/17 vs. Green County    

Notes:

-Well, that Monroe County/Clinton County rematch didn't materialize like I thought it would.  Russellville has lurked on the periphery much of the year, entering their game against Monroe County having played only two region games.  One was a blowout of hapless Warren East, and a blowout loss at the hands of Barren County.  That didn't seem to get in the way as they controlled most of the game on the road at Monroe County, en route to a 60-51 victory in the All A quarterfinals.  The Panthers put on a shooting clinic in the contest, hitting 22/38 from the field including 6/12 from three, and went 10/11 from the line. Jamarion Gardner led the effort with 14 points, one of four Russellville players in double digits.  Of note, four of the six scorers for Russellville were not seniors - perhaps next year could take another step.  The win, their tenth, gave them their most that they've had in any season since 2016/17. 

-It is worth noting that the rest of the week was not very sunny for Russellville. As one would expect, Clinton County had their way with them in the All A semifinals on Thursday, dealing them an 82-50 beating.  I would have expected that since Russellville advanced that they would move their contest against Logan County from Friday, so that they would not play back to back in such an important game, but that contest proceeded as scheduled, and Logan County took full advantage on their homecourt, with a 68-46 win, dealing Russellville their worst losses of the year in back to back games.  Logan County has also been hard to place as they had only played three region games prior to the win over Russellville, which was their first win in the region, though they've been OK in those three losses.  They won their sixth consecutive game in the series between them and Russellville, and moved to 1-0 in the 13th District play.

-While Russellville's advance was unexpected, Clinton County's was anything but.  The Bulldogs have run their winning streak to 14 games as they dominated their competition en route to the All A region title.  They knocked off Todd County Central by 48, Russellville by 32, and grabbed their third victory over Metcalfe County with a 53-40 win in the final.  They've had onlyy one game in their win streak that was decided by single digits - that a 61-58 win at Edmonson County on December 31st - and have won those games by an average of 24.1 PPG.  They continue to be without the presence of Cade Button, the transfer from Metcalfe County, who will give them that much more of a boost.  But you'd hardly notice the absence with the results on the court.  This week they look to take the top spot in the district outright to this point, as they go on the road to tangle with Cumberland County on Monroe County.  If they sweep those, they haven't technically clinched #1 in the district, though they would be able to with a win over Russell County the following week.  But even without that, it would force Monroe County to win all the rest of their district games to tie, and send it to tiebreakers (likely a draw).

-Warren Central used the week to continue to demonstrate the distance between them and the rest of the region.  First came a "revenge" game against Barren County.  The Trojans, of course, jettisoned the Dragons from the region tournament last year.  While Coach Unseld downplayed the signficance of that, the players who remained acknowledged that was on their mind.  A decisive second quarter run blew the game open, and Central had their way en route to an 87-55 win, giving them their most points on the year.  Kash Carter dropped 26 in the contest, yet another scoring option developing for Central as the year goes along.  They followed that with a win over South Warren that was frankly not as close as the 14 point margin might indicate.  Central used a 17-3 run in the second quarter to take a 15 point halftime lead, trailed only early in the first quarter at 5-2 and 5-4, and mostly coasted from there.  That part was a topic of some consternation, that Central didn't close strong, but the lead never even reached single digits the entire second half.  The Dragons continue to get it done on defense, allowing just over 54 PPG.  The two games this week were right on target, allowing 55 in both.  They're the only unbeaten team left in District 14, with a chance to move to 3-0 (and 2-0 on the road) when they visit Greenwood later this week.

-Speaking of Greenwood, coming into this week, their season resembled last year's a great deal.  That team came out of the gate firing, starting 11-1, and appeared to be a serious threat.  They suffered a close setback to Bowling Green in their first meeting last year, and from that point on, nothing went right.  They closed 6-12 to finish just 17-13.  This year they entered the Bowling Green game at 10-3, losers of their last eight to the Purples, and their last NINETEEN at Bowling Green.  When the Purples started the game up 5-0, it began to feel like so many previous meetings.  But unlike last year, the Gators seized the initiative, scoring the next 13 points to take a lead they'd never relinquish.  Most of the second half the lead stayed between 10-14 points, and when the dust settled, Greenwood had taken a critical 71-61 decision from Bowling Green. Greenwood shot 21/43 from the floor and 7/16 from three.  They were less proficient at the line, going just 22/31, but then again, that's the point - they got to the line for 31 attempts.  Isaiah Summers was phenomenal, going 9/11 from the field and scoring 26 points, with Ethan York turning in 19. They followed with a 77-75 win over Muhlenberg County to complete a three win week, and they've won 9 of 10.

-From the Bowling Green perspective, this was an ominous loss.  After falling to Madison Central the followin gnight, they've now lost four of five to drop to .500. Coming into this season, the Purples were 116-12 at home against region competition since the start of the 2007/08 season.  They were 103-5 against teams other than Warren Central.  They're now just 1-2 against region competition at home this year.  They are 0-2 in district play for the first time since the 1995/96 season, and if they want to stay out of the 1/4 game where they'd almost certainly face Warren Central (at Warren Central), next week's game against South Warren takes on must-win status.  Most debates about Bowling Green's prospects have centered around whether South Warren would be able to stop them in the postseason, but suddenly there's a much more realistic possibility that it won't even be South that they'd play.  

-No less seismic was one of the other big cross town rivalries in the region, when Glasgow visited Barren County on Friday. As detailed last week, Glasgow has had a better year than they have in quite some time.  They were very competitive with their rival Barren County last year, taking them to overtime once and losing both regular season games by a combined four points.  This time, they didn't let it get away, scoring an impressive 64-56 victory in overtime at Barren County, gaining a crucial win, and on the road no less.  That moves them to 3-0 in district play, and likely with a chance to sew up the top seed in the district if they can repeat the win on the 23rd. The win did not come easy.  The Scotties held a 38-33 lead early in the fourth, but fell behind courtesy of a 9-0 surge by Barren County. The teams traded baskets until it was 46-42 Barren County with 2:30 left. Back to back baskets by Bradley and Martin tied it up, Barren went back in front when Hardy found Shelton under the basket, and Bradley then hit 1 of 2 free throws to draw it to 48-47 Barren County with less than a minute left.  Byrd split a pair of free throws to make it 49-47 Barren County.  As the clock ticked under 30 seconds, Glasgow called timeout to set up their tying attempt.  Martin found Minton, who drove the lane and put it off the backboard and in to tie it at 49.  The Trojans had difficulty inbounding out of a timeout, but threw up a contested corner three at the buzzer that was no good.  Barren County took the lead with 1 of 2 free throws to open overtime, but Minton gave Glasgow the lead for good immediately after, again in the paint, pushing ahead 51-50.  That was the start of an 8-0 run, and Glasgow closed it out from the foul line.  Glasgow will match with South Warren on the road this week, and play back to back with Warren East, on a Wednesday, which... tells you how much they're afraid of that game being competitive.  That game was moved up from Friday to clear the way for Glasgow's contest with Johnson Central in the 2A Classic.  For Barren County, they've now dropped three straight, albeit mostly against good competition.  They really struggled with Allen County-Scottsville when they met in December, and that would be a much tougher game to play in to advance to the region tournament down the line.  They'll need to get right and fast.

-The expected team ended up winning, but Franklin-Simpson's struggles with Todd County Central were rather shocking.  With the score at 64-63 Franklin with less than a minute remaining, Franklin turned the ball over, inbounding out of a timeout, giving the Rebels a chance to pull off the massive upset.  The Rebels inbounded from the baseline out of a timeout, swung it back up top, and found Rager underneath for an attempted go ahead basket, but it was blocked, and the rebound fumbled out of bounds to give Franklin the ball with less than 10 seconds remaining.  But even that wasn't the end of it, as Franklin missed both free throw attempts.  The Rebels rebounded, looking to push it up the floor, but Partinger intercepted the pass.  He drove for a layup, missed it, but the Wildcats corraled the rebound, and called timeout with .6 left.  The inbound went to Partinger, and Todd Central let it go, with the Rebels surviving for a 64-63 win. Partinger had a career high 23 points in the win. The Rebels led this game at the half, 35-34, but once Franklin went ahead, they never trailed again, though they were also never comfortable.  It's a sign that perhaps no one should be comfortable in this district, regardless of seed. 

Games to Watch
-#3 South Warren at #8 Bowling Green (1/16) - The Spartans and Purples have matched up on the hardwood 37 times.  37 times, Bowling Green has emerged victorious, rarely even challenged.  This game has been circled all year.  If the Spartans can win, Bowling Green is going to need a lot of help to get out of the 4 seed position. If Bowling Green wins, what does it do to the South Warren psyche? If not now, WHEN?

-#2 Clinton County at #4 Monroe County (1/16) - The game I thought we'd get last week before Monroe County tanked it against Russellville.  That one wouldn't have counted for the district standings, but this one will.  The stakes are high.  A Monroe County win would give them the season sweep over Clinton County, and make them extremely likely to be the #1 seed in the district, as the first tiebreaker is head to head, and they'd have a sweep over Clinton County.  That'd require Monroe County to lose twice.  If Clinton County wins, and presuming they'd already beaten Cumberland County earlier in the week, then the Bulldogs would have all but clinched the district's top seed, with only one game against Russell County left to go in district play.

-#10 Franklin-Simpson at #12 Russellville (1/16) - After the Todd County Central close call, I'm interested to see if there's a real problem with Franklin.  This is a game that expectations would give to Franklin, but despite Russellville losing to Logan County, we also saw them beat Monroe, so they're capable of punching above their weight.  If Russellville can take this down, then things could be VERY interesting in the 13th District.

-#5 Glasgow at #3 South Warren (1/13) - Glasgow will look to continue their momentum that they're building, while South Warren will be looking to tune up with a challenge before the Bowling Green contest. South Warren has won four in a row against Glasgow, but this is a more potent Scottie team than they've seen in a while.

District Matchups:
--13th District - 1/16 #10 Franklin-Simpson at #12 Russellville, 1/16 #16 Todd County Central at #11 Logan County
--14th District - 1/16 #1 Warren Central at #6 Greenwood, 1/16 #3 South Warren at #8 Bowling Green
--15th District - 1/14 #18 Warren East at #5 Glasgow
--16th District - 1/13 #2 Clinton County at #15 Cumberland County, 1/16 #2 Clinton County at #4 Monroe County, 1/16 #14 Metcalfe County at #15 Cumberland County