4th Region: Week 7

1) Warren Central (14-1) - 1/13 74-64 W at Central Hardin, 1/16 85-56 W at #6 Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 1/20 vs. #5 Glasgow, 1/23 at #7 Bowling Green    
    
2) Clinton County (17-2) - 1/13 58-43 W at #15 Cumberland County, 1/16 67-53 W at #4 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 1/22 vs. Evangel Christian (at Owensboro Sportscenter)    
    
3) South Warren (13-4) - 1/13 59-58 W #5 Glasgow, 1/16 50-47 W at #8 Bowling Green, 1/17 57-59 L at Breckinridge County    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 1/23 vs. #6 Greenwood    
    
4) Monroe County (10-6) - 1/12 48-42 W #7 Barren County, 1/13 65-69 L Adair County, 1/16 53-67 L #2 Clinton County    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 1/19 at #15 Metcalfe County, 1/23 at #14 Cumberland County    
    
5) Glasgow (10-7) - 1/13 58-59 L at #3 South Warren, 1/14 82-54 W #18 Warren East, 1/16 81-63 W Johnson Central (at Owensboro Sportscenter), 1/17 49-78 L Christian Academy-Louisville (at Owensboro Sportscenter)    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 1/20 at #1 Warren Central, 1/23 vs. #9 Barren County    
    
6) Greenwood (14-4) - 1/13 81-61 W #16 Todd County Central, 1/16 56-85 L #1 Warren Central, 1/17 92-65 W Springfield (TN)    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 1/20 vs. #12 Franklin-Simpson, 1/23 at #3 South Warren    
    
7) Bowling Green (10-9) - 1/13 69-53 W #7 Barren County, 1/16 47-50 L #3 South Warren, 1/17 81-44 W at #12 Russellville  
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 1/23 vs. #1 Warren Central    
    
8. Russell County (10-8) - 1/13 78-70 W Campbellsville, 1/16 81-63 W at Southwestern    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 1/23 vs. East Jessamine    
    
9) Barren County (9-8) - 1/12 42-48 L at #4 Monroe County, 1/13 53-69 L at #8 Bowling Green, 1/17 53-60 L Portland (TN) (at Greenwood)    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 1/19 at Campbellsville, 1/23 at #5 Glasgow    
    
10) Logan County (10-8) - 1/12 56-62 L Jo Byrns (TN), 1/13 60-56 W at #13 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/16 69-50 W #16 Todd County Central    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 1/20 vs. Ohio County, 1/23 at #12 Franklin-Simpson, 1/24 vs. Christian Fellowship (at Trigg County)    
    
11) Russellville (12-6) - 1/13 55-52 W at Fort Campbell, 1/16 61-51 W #10 Franklin-Simpson, 1/17 44-81 L #8 Bowling Green  
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 1/20 vs. Hart County, 1/23 at #16 Todd County Central    
    
12) Franklin-Simpson (6-8) - 1/16 51-61 L at #12 Russellville    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 1/20 at #6 Greenwood, 1/23 vs. #10 Logan County    
    
13) Allen County-Scottsville (6-9) - 1/13 56-60 L #11 Logan County    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 1/20 at Macon County (TN), 1/23 at #18 Warren East    
    
14) Cumberland County (5-11) - 1/13 43-58 L #2 Clinton County, 1/16 66-60 W #14 Metcalfe County    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 1/20 vs. #18 Warren East, 1/23 vs. #4 Monroe County, 1/24 vs. Berea    
    
15) Metcalfe County (8-10) - 1/12 70-60 W Bluegrass Blazers, 1/16 60-66 L at #15 Cumberland County    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 1/19 vs. #4 Monroe County, 1/24 vs. Adair County    
    
16) Todd County Central (3-14) - 1/13 61-81 L at #6 Greenwood, 1/16 50-69 L at #11 Logan County    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 1/20 vs. Hopkinsville, 1/23 vs. #11 Russellville, 1/24 at Trigg County    
    
17) Foundation Christian Academy (10-5) - 1/13 64-77 L at Trinity (Whitesville), 1/15 34-77 L Bowling Green Home School, 1/16 60-52 W at Community Christian    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: 1/20 vs. Metro Christian Academy (TN), 1/22 vs. Stem Prep Academy (TN), 1/23 vs. Jonathan Edwards Classical Academy (TN)    
    
18) Warren East (1-17) - 1/12 69-83 L at Trinity (Whitesville), 1/14 54-82 L at #5 Glasgow, 1/17 48-85 L Green County    
Previous Rank: 18    
This Week: 1/20 at #14 Cumberland County, 1/23 vs. #13 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/24 vs. Breckinridge County (at Daviess County)    

Notes:

-The KHSAA held their regular board meeting this month, and realignment was on the docket.  Foundation Christian was placed in the 14th District when they joined the KHSAA during the 2022/23 season.  That was widely viewed as a death sentence, with the expectation being that they'd never really compete with that district.  In the four years they've competed, they have yet to play a single game against 14th District competition.  And now it appears they never will, as they will move to the 13th District for the 2026/27 season and beyond. That will place them with Franklin-Simpson, Todd County Central, Russellville, and Logan County.  They'll remain sizable underdogs should they play any - for instance they lost at home to Todd County Central by 16 this year, the largest win by the Rebels and the most points the Rebels have scored against any Kentucky team - but there is certainly a much greater chance of advancement against that competition.  It will end just over 30 years of consistency in the district, as they have not had a change since Franklin-Simpson moved over for the 1994-95 season, also coming in from the 14th.  That is by far the longest period of stability in the region.  Even if you discount the changes prior to the 2022/23 season when the 14th, 15th, and 16th all had changes, each of the other three districts had at least one change from 05/06 and on.  The 13th District used to have more than four teams, as they had an all Logan County configuration prior to the consolidation of Logan County High School, featuring 6 teams from 1951-1982.  They will now have their most teams since then.  We'll see if they join in the postseason process right away.  

-It is well known by now that South Warren entered this season having never beaten Bowling Green.  The Purples held a 37-0 advantage in all meetings that had taken place since South Warren opened play in the 2010/11 season.  The large majority of the time, those games were not close.  Only 10 of the 37 contests were decided by single digits, and only five decided by a margin of five or fewer.  The outlook was even more dire when playing at Bowling Green, where the Purples had won 18 contests between the two by an average of 19.33 PPG.  Only four of those single digit decisions came at Bowling Green, and none in the last seven years.  That was the stage set when those two played on Friday.  We've known since before the year that the opportunity was there for South, but could they take advantage? Like their game against Greenwood, Bowling Green started solidly and seemed to give the impression they were not going to give up a long streak.  Braylon Anderson came out on fire, hitting three straight threes, each from college range, to put the Purples up 9-5. That lead grew as large as seven, at 15-8, and they led 17-14 after one.  The second quarter belonged to South.  The Spartans opened with a 7-0 run to take the lead, and in fact, would never trail again. South led 28-21 at the half, and gained their largest lead at 30-21 less than a minute into the third quarter, duplicating that margin a couple of times in the quarter.  Bowling Green showed their fighting spirit, narrowing it to as few as three during the quarter.  It was 45-38 South with 6:00 remaining when Bowling Green made their move.  A 9-2 run by the Purples tied the game at 47 all at the 3:30 mark, punctuated by an Anthony Davis floater from the baseline.  It would prove to be the final points for Bowling Green.  Decker put South back up at 49-47 less than 20 seconds later to put them in the lead for good.  Perkins would make it 50-47 with 2:25 remaining.  Bowling Green would bleed nearly a minute of clock on their next possession, but turned it over on a pass into the lane.  South Warren survived some risky passes and fouls over the minute, and finally Decker would go to the line with 17 seconds left to try to salt the game away for South Warren.  His first attempt went off the back iron, as did the second, setting the stage for the Purples.  They'd elect not to call a timeout, and Tre Thomas's attempt from the wing with just over two seconds remaining was short, caroming off the side of the rim harmlessly.  And thus, the streak was dead.  The implications of the game go beyond a simple streak.  South Warren is now 2-1 in the district, with both of their wins coming on the road against Greenwood and Bowling Green.  That's put them in the driver's seat to claim the second seed in the district, virtually certain to avoid a first round matchup with Warren Central.  In fact, should they find a way to win out, they'd do no worse than a tie for the top spot.  These are the critical steps on the way to the postseason that can help them claim their first berth in the fourth region tournament.  And it has come much more possible they won't have to go through either Warren Central or Bowling Green to do it.  The Purples drop to 0-3 in district play, and the battle has become much more difficult for them.  Two of their three losses were at home, and the one that wasn't, was against Warren Central, who are extremely likely to beat them this coming Friday. The Purples will need help to climb out of the 4 seed, with their most likely path requiring beating both Greenwood and South and having Greenwood lose out.  Bowling Green has made a record 12 straight region championship games, and that streak is on life support.

-It's getting hard to remember the worry that surrounded Clinton County back in the opening days of the season, when they started 1-2 and dropped a district contest to Monroe County.  They haven't lost since, now running their win streak to 16.  This week brought a pair of district contests on the road, and the chance to all but clinch the top seed in the district.  Firrst was a trip to Cumberland County, the appetizer to Friday's main event.  Contests between the two tend to be low scoring affairs, ones that you might call a rock fight.  The two traded baskets for much of the first quarter, with Cumberland County holding a brief 12-11 lead before Clinton County settled in for an 18-14 advantage after one.  It was 31-24 at the half, but the Panthers cut it to 37-33 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third when Clinton County had their decisive moment.  Jaxson Mason drilled a three from near the top of the key with 20 seconds left to extend the lead, and a walk gave the Bulldogs possession again with 7 seconds remaining.  Mason put up an off balance three from the wing over two defenders as time expired, and the awkward shot was nothing but net, giving Clinton County their largest lead of the game to that point, at 43-33.  That proved to be unrecoverable, and Clinton County settled in for a 58-43 vicory.  Jaxson Mason led the Bulldogs with 19 points, with Carter Gibson adding 11.  The major negative from the game was tha the Bulldogs were atrocious from the foul line, going just 10/24 from the stripe. As a team, they're shooting just 58.4% from the line, which is always dangerous.  They are, at least, getting to the line, attempting nearly 21 a game. That led into the critical rematch with Monroe County on Friday.  A Falcon win would put Monroe into position to clinch the district, but a Clinton County win meant the Bulldogs would need only to beat Russell County on February 10th to clinch.  I wish I had more details about the game, but no stats have been posted and Monroe County pulled their livestream down almost instantly after the game.  But Clinton County emerged victorious to the tune of a 67-53 win.  The Bulldogs are one win away from the #1 seed in the district.  They will be looking to make even more noise this week as they open the All A Classic state tournament against Evangel Christian.  

-In the 13th, Franklin-Simpson's big start to the year has given way to very dark days.  They opened the year 3-1, with the marquee win on the road over Bowling Green coming during that stretch.  But a four game losing streak followed, and if scraping by against Todd County Central was the warning, their game against Russellville was a direct hit.  Russellville, for their part, is having their best season in years, as we've detailed in previous weeks.  A back and forth first quarter ended with homestanding Russellville holding a 16-13 advantage, and after falling behind during the next quarter, closed the half with a 7-0 run to hold a 29-25 lead at the break.  Momentum took things the other way again in the third, as the Wildcats started the quarter on a 12-2 run to gain a six point lead, and Franklin held a 39-34 advantage going into the final quarter, with the margin still five just over a minute into the fourth.  And then, the levee broke.  The Panthers blitzed Franklin for a 16-3 run, to take a lead they'd never relinquish, winning 61-51.  Jerius Coleman and Labryan Nourse both had 19 points for Russellville, with two very different methods of reaching those totals.  Nourse did all his damage inside, knocking down 9/10 from the field, none attempted from three.  Coleman only attempted one two pointer, but was deadeye from three, going 6/12 from outside.  Franklin got 16 from Sharer and 15 from Partinger, but simply could not withstand the onslaught in the fourth.  It's still anyone's game in the 13th District, with Logan County on top currently at 2-0, while Russellville and Franklin-Simpson sit at 1-1 with Todd County Central coming in at 0-2.  But a lot of games still to be played.  

Games to Watch
-#2 Clinton County vs. Evangel Christian (1/22) - Clinton County will carry the banner for the 4th Region into the All A again, and they start with a very difficult matchup against a statewide ranked Evangel Christian team. 

-#6 Greenwood at #3 South Warren (1/23) - With a win here, South Warren would basically lock up no worse than 3rd in the district, as it would only need Warren Central to also beat Bowling Green on the same night.  Should Greenwood win, then things get a bit more intriguing in terms of where the dust might settle.  South won the first matchup 69-59.  While Greenwood's record is stellar at 14-4, they have taken some poundings against the top teams in the region.  This is another chance to change the narrative.

-#9 Barren County at #5 Glasgow (1/23) - Glasgow can realistically wrap up the top seed in the district with a win here.  The Scotties have not swept the season series since the 2018/19 season.  The first matchup went to overtime, and these rivals always make it interesting.  

-#10 Logan County at #12 Franklin-Simpson (1/23) - Logan County has the chance to really put themselves in the driver's seat in the district, with a chance to move to 3-0 in district play and sweep the initial matchups with the other teams.  If Franklin has any designs on the top spot, this is must-win.  

District Matchups:
--13th District - 1/23 #10 Logan County at #12 Franklin-Simpson, 1/23 #11 Russellville at #16 Todd County Central
--14th District - 1/23 #1 Warren Central at #7 Bowling Green, 1/23 #6 Greenwood at #3 South Warren
--15th District - 1/23 #9 Barren County at #5 Glasgow, 1/23 #13 Allen County-Scottsville at #18 Warren East
--16th District - 1/19 #4 Monroe County at #15 Metcalfe County, 1/23 #4 Monroe County at #14 Cumberland County