4th Region: Week 11

1) Warren Central (19-3) - 2/9 102-57 W at #8 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/10 46-41 W Grayson County, 2/13 59-65 L North Hardin    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 2/17 at LaRue County, 2/20 vs. Evangel Christian    
    
2) Clinton County (20-4) - 2/10 70-63 W #11 Russell County, 2/12 51-53 L Somerset, 2/13 59-49 W at #9 Barren County   
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 2/16 at McCreary Central, 2/17 vs. Edmonson County, 2/19 vs. #12 Allen County-Scottsville    
    
3) Greenwood (21-6) - 2/10 53-48 W at #14 Cumberland County, 2/13 82-58 W at #8 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/14 79-72 W #15 Metcalfe County    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 2/16 at #9 Barren County, 2/17 at Somerset Christian, 2/19 at #18 Warren East    
    
4) Bowling Green (17-10) - 2/9 71-52 W #16 Todd County Central, 2/12 72-68 W Apollo    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 2/16 at #12 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/18 at North Hardin, 2/20 at Muhlenberg County    
    
5) South Warren (14-9) - 2/9 46-73 L at Ohio County, 2/13 59-74 L Grayson County, 2/14 62-53 W at Meade County    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 2/17 vs. #12 Allen County-Scottsville    
    
6) Logan County (16-10) - 2/9 63-46 W at University Heights, 2/13 65-54 W #13 Franklin-Simpson, 2/14 51-78 L at Daviess County    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 2/16 at #7 Monroe County, 2/19 vs. Christian County    
    
7) Monroe County (16-9) - 2/9 73-32 W at Red Boiling Springs (TN), 2/10 46-45 W #6 Glasgow, 2/12 58-63 L at Campbellsville, 2/13 72-41 W at #18 Warren East    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 2/16 vs. #6 Logan County, 2/19 vs. Pulaski County    
    
8. Glasgow (13-12) - 2/9 74-52 W John Hardin, 2/10 45-46 L at #10 Monroe County, 2/13 54-53 W at LaRue County    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 2/16 vs. #11 Russellville, 2/17 at #14 Cumberland County, 2/19 at #13 Franklin-Simpson    
    
9) Barren County (15-11) - 2/10 66-53 W at #15 Metcalfe County, 2/13 49-59 L #2 Clinton County    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 2/16 vs. #3 Greenwood, 2/17 vs. Taylor County, 2/19 at #10 Russell County    
    
10) Russell County (15-10) - 2/9 54-51 W #14 Cumberland County, 2/10 63-70 OT L at #2 Clinton County, 2/13 70-65 W Adair County    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 2/17 vs. Danville, 2/19 vs. #9 Barren County, 2/21 at Butler County, 2/22 vs. #15 Metcalfe County (at Clinton County)    
    
11) Russellville (17-8) - 2/10 661-61 W #8 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/13 73-48 W #16 Todd County Central    
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 2/16 at #8 Glasgow, 2/19 vs. Ohio County    
    
12) Allen County-Scottsville (11-13) - 2/9 57-102 L #1 Warren Central, 2/10 61-66 L at #12 Russellville, 2/13 58-82 L #3 Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 2/16 vs. #4 Bowling Green, 2/17 vs. #5 South Warren, 2/19 vs. #2 Clinton County    
    
13) Franklin-Simpson (7-13) - 2/10 71-49 W #16 Todd County Central, 2/13 54-65 L at #7 Logan County    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 2/17 at #18 Warren East, 2/19 vs. #8 Glasgow    
    
14) Cumberland County (10-15) - 2/9 51-54 L at #11 Russell County, 2/10 48-53 L #3 Greenwood, 2/12 77-73 W Clay County (TN), 2/13 68-52 W Marion County    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 2/17 vs. #8 Glasgow, 2/19 vs. Green County    
    
15) Metcalfe County (9-15) - 2/10 53-66 L #9 Barren County, 2/12 57-67 L Hart County, 2/14 72-79 L at #3 Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 2/17 vs. Somerset, 2/19 at Caverna, 2/22 vs. #x Russell County (at Clinton County)    
    
16) Todd County Central (7-20) - 2/9 52-71 L at #4 Bowling Green, 2/10 49-71 L at #13 Franklin-Simpson, 2/13 48-73 L at #12 Russellville, 2/14 57-72 L University Heights    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 2/16 at Dawson Springs, 2/17 at Christian County, 2/20 vs. Bluegrass Blazers    
    
17) Foundation Christian Academy (15-8) - 2/12 55-71 L Whitesville Trinity, 2/13 95-59 W Fort Campbell    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: No Games    
    
18) Warren East (1-23) - 2/13 41-72 L #10 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 18    
This Week: 2/17 vs. #13 Franklin-Simpson, 2/19 vs. #3 Greenwood    

Notes:
-The dust finally settled on the 16th District, and though I know the results, I still don't know the process.  Had Cumberland County beaten Russell County on Monday night, then things would have been simple (and the exact same that they ended up.  The Panthers had fallen at home to Russell County back in December, so the Lakers seemed to be the favorite going in with homecourt.  It was not a beautiful game, particularly early on, as neither team scored for the first three minutes of the game, before Cumberland County got things going with a layup. The two combined for just 15 points in the first quarter, and it was 8-7 Cumberland County after one. A pair of free throws just over a minute into the second staked the Lakers to their first lead of the game, the first of six lead changes in the quarter.  Cumberland County led the most, by as many as five, but it was just a 23-21 lead for Cumberland County going into halftime.  In the third, the Lakers started to assert themselves, hitting four triples in the quarter to go with an old fashioned three point play, leading by as many as six, settling for a 39-37 lead going into the final quarter. Cumberland County would open the fourth with a pair of threes as part of an 8-0 run to lead 45-39 with under 5 to go. Russell County fought back, taking advantage of Cumberland County going 1-4 from the line during a stretch that saw the Lakers hit three from distance and a pair of free throws to pull back in front 50-46 as the clock moved under 2:15. It was 52-51 Russell County following a Cumberland County three point play with 32.3 left, and the end game was set up following a pair of Laker free throws. A drive by Gavin Craft resulted in a foul during a layup attempt that was good, but despite a late whistle that was clearly while in the act, it was ruled the foul was on the floor before the attempt. Cumberland County was not yet in the bonus, so took it out underneath their basket.  Inbound came up top to Craft again, whose drive was cut off, kicking it to the corner for a game tying three attempt that was no good.  Russell County went to the line with 7.3 left, but Shearer missed both free throws to keep it a three point game. Following a timeout, Russell County elected to foul to send Branham to the line with 4.1 left.  His first attempt hit the back iron. His second attempt was an attempted intentional miss, but was high off the backboard, missing the rim entirely. Shearer was fouled again, with no time coming off the clock, and again, missed both free throws.  The Panthers rebounded, and threw it to midcourt for an attempted game tying three, but it not only missed, it was waved off as late, sending Russell County to a 54-51 victory.  Those four missed free throws may or may not have mattered, which we'll get to.  Three seniors accounted for all but 10 points of the scoring for Russell County - Maddox Shearer (17), Dylan Stanelle (17), and Bryson Irvin (10). The Lakers did not shoot well at all in the contest, just 35.3% from the floor, with half of their makes coming from three.  But it was enough. The Panthers were led by Noah Wood's 12 points, but their 11/20 performance from the foul line cost them the game. 

That put Russell County in a position to clinch the 2 seed if they could upset Clinton County on the road the following night.  That would have been daunting under the best of circumstances - not only is Clinton County the #2 team in the region, Russell County had not won at Clinton County since 2018. But they also were having to contend with the return of Cade Button, appearing in his first game for the Bulldogs.  The first quarter seemed to reflect a superior team contending with a team playing its second game in two nights.  Clinton County jumped out to a 9-0 lead, and it grew as high as 19-5 in the first before settling in to 19-8 after one.  An 8-0 run started the second quarter for Clinton County, and they had their largest lead of the game at 27-8.  The game appeared to be a foregone conclusion, but the Lakers slowly chipped away, using a 14-2 run to close the half and draw within 29-23 at the break. Beaty had 12 points in the first half, but foul trouble limited his damage in the second quarter, helping create the circumstances to where the Lakers could come back and make it a game. The third opened up with five straight for the Lakers to draw it to 29-28 early, and the game was truly on, though the Lakers could not get in front.  Clinton County used a 5-0 mini run to close the quarter to push their lead to 7 at 40-33 going into the final quarter of regulation. Clinton County got the lead as high as nine in the fourth, but Russell County continued to battle back, utilizing the three ball to close the score to 51-49 with less than 30 seconds left.  Clinton County had possession, but committed a turnover on an offensive foul as Jaxson Mason connected with an elbow to Shearer's face while attempting to do a ball fake, giving Russell County the opportunity for the tie or lead. Inbounding in front of Clinton County's bench, the ball came into Stanelle, who slowly worked it up across the timeline as the clock ticked under 10 seconds.  He drove off the right side of the lane, and finished through contact on a layup that bounced around and dropped - somewhat surprising no call for either direction as both Laker and Bulldog hit the deck.  The shot tied it at 51 all and sent it to overtime.  It was clear (at least to me) that the design was to go for the tie, as it never looked like Stanelle looked to pass.  Russell County had never led, and it was the first tie since 0-0. Despite the momentum on their side, Russell County never seriously threatened in overtime.  Clinton County scored the first eight of the period, and the lead never dropped under four afterwards.  Cade Button's most significant contribution by far came in OT, as he repeatedly got to the foul line and helped Clinton County close out a 70-63 win. Russell County shot 51.2% from the field, including 10/25 from three in the loss, led by Maddox Shearer's 21 points on 8/15 shooting. Despite those numbers, the Lakers never led, and only had the one tie at the end of regulation. In hindsight, perhaps it might have been smart to look for the three to end regulation, and try to steal a game they really had no business winning. Beaty led all scorers with 27 for Clinton County - the senior averages 18.6 PPG on the season. Button had no field goals, going 10/12 from the foul line.

At that point, Cumberland County, Monroe County, and Russell County were all tied at 4-4 in district play.  The tiebreakers listed on the KHSAA site call for a random draw, but also reference an "after a) and b)" applied.  There is no a) or b) listed on the site.  Presumably, a) is head to head, but there was no team ahead on that in the draw, as Russell County swept Cumberland County, who swept Monroe County, who swept Russell County.  That pushed it to a mystery second tiebreaker, of which I have no knowledge.  But the end result was Cumberland County in the 2 spot, Monroe County in the 3, and Russell County in the 4. An agonizing result for Russell County, that was so very close to being in a 2/3 matchup with a Cumberland County team they did not lose to this season.  Instead, they'll face Metcalfe County on Sunday at Clinton County, with a chance to move into a rematch on the road with the Bulldogs on that following Tuesday.

-A minor note leading into that Sunday game, Russell County is currently scheduled to play the night before against Butler County.  Butler County is terrible, but playing a game the night before your district tournament opener would certainly be.... a choice.  I'm interested to see if that really happens.  It would create a situation where the Metcalfe County game would be their third in four days.  I know I certainly wouldn't do it. 

-Last week I laid out the extensive scenarios in the 13th District, but it went pretty much how one would expect in terms of what actually happened.  First came Todd County Central visiting Franklin-Simpson on Tuesday.  The first quarter was back and forth, with six lead changes, with Franklin-Simpson holding the 15-13 advantage after one.  An 11-2 run in the second half of the second quarter gave Franklin some distance, and they led 28-22 at the break, ahead, but not necessarily comfortably.  The Wildcats would take full control in the third quarter, scoring seemingly at will.  Todd County Central simply could not get stops, and a 16-2 run to close the quarter staked Franklin-Simpson to a 52-32 lead, and they coasted to a 71-49 win. Cole Sharer led Franklin with 19 points, with Partinger adding 16. That put the onus on the Rebels to try to salvage a split for the week in district play, traveling to Russellville needing a win to have any shot at staying out of the four spot.  The Rebels held an 11-7 lead after one quarter and trailed just 24-23 at the half thanks to a Gardner basket for Russellville.  But the second half was all Russellville, as they more than doubled their halftime score in the third quarter, pouring in 27 en route to a 51-38 lead, and settled in for a 73-48 victory.  Garnder led Russellville with 21 points while Glass led the Rebels with 16.  That made the Franklin-Simpson/Logan County game irrelevant.  Still, Logan County finished off what proved to be the only unbeaten district slate in the entire region, moving to 6-0 in district play with a 65-54 win over the Wildcats.  That locked in the matchups - Logan County will meet Todd County Central while Russellville will face off against Franklin-Simpson.  Logan County will play host to the tournament, just further cementing their advantage.

-Greenwood has been in the shadow of the higher performing Warren Central and Clinton County - two teams that beat them by a combined 86 points in three meetings - but they find themselves leading the region in wins with 21, heading into the season's final week. They reached the 20 win plateau along with Clinton County on Friday night, the first two teams in the region to do so.  The Gators have just two 20+ win seasons since the 2011/12 season ended a span of four in six seasons, but both of those have come under coach Will McCoy.  There's a pretty strong chance that as long as he's there next season, he'll get the Gators to their 600th win for the program and also move into the all-time lead for wins among coaches for Greenwood.  If they sweep their three games this week as they're favored to do, they'll enter the postseason with 24 wins, and a chance to equal the 2006/07 season for the most wins in 30 years when they meet South Warren.

-For a "down" year, Bowling Green sure is playing well.  Since the buzzer beater loss to Greenwood, the Purples have reeled off six wins in a row, moving their record to 17-10.  They've clinched a winning record, and have at least given themselves a chance to keep their streak of 20+ win seasons alive, with 12 in a row currently.  They won their fourth in a row over Apollo, one of the few teams to play them more than a handful of times and have a winning record.  They still struggled from the line in closeout mode, going 4-8, but also had a layup and then Anthony Davis dunk to help close out it out. That closed out their home slate, as all three games they play this week are on the road, preparing for their road district tournament game at Warren Central.

Some quick hitters:
--South Warren finally got off the mat with a 62-53 win over Meade County.  That ended a six game losing streak. Somewhat surprisingly, they haven't gotten any additional games scheduled other than their game at home against Allen County-Scottsville this week.  This is a team that has frankly played some very poor basketball for more than a month, I'd have thought they'd want to get some more prep in. They'll have a week off heading into their district semi.
--Glasgow is another team that has really gone the other direction, including a stretch where they lost six of eight games.  They grabbed one of their best wins of the year, winning on the road at LaRue County by a 54-53 score. The Scotties didn't shoot well from deep (3/9) but hammered it inside the arc, shooting 57.1% from the field overall. Jaylen Bradley had 19 in the win. 
--Monroe County has settled in for a nice stretch of five wins in six games to stabilize a season that was going very bad during January.  They won their third in a row in their series with Glasgow, taking a 46-45 decision in Tompkinsville on Tuesday.  Three of the past four games for the Falcons have seen Monroe hold their opponent to 45 points or fewer.

Upcoming Games to Watch:
-2/18 Bowling Green at North Hardin - North Hardin just took a game at Warren Central, and it will be interesting to see how the Purples perform by comparison.
-2/16 #6 Logan County at #7 Monroe County - The most significant in-region game as far as rankings go. 
-2/16 #3 Greenwood at #9 Barren County - Barren County has won three in a row against Greenwood, and 9 of the last 12.