15th Region Boys Basketball Week 11:

12th week in the 15th in the books, let's look at it. Don’t forget, the 15th operates by a super regional so everything this week is all seeding for that tournament. Lose, and you just make it tougher on yourself, but you’re not out!

1. Johnson Central (23-5) - The Golden Eagles had a great week going 5-0 and are blazing. They’ve won their last 8. They beat Betsy Lane, David School, Shelby Valley, East Ridge, and Huntington Expression Prep. The only game that was close was Shelby Valley and that was a 12 point win. JC finished the regular season 11-1 in the region, and 5-1 in the district. They are the two seed in the district, so they will take on Paintsville Tuesday night at 8:15. They host the district tourney this year. 

2. Martin County (19-8) - The Cardinals went 3-0 on the week, with a 13 point win over Hazard, a 27 point win over Pike County Central, and a 10 point win over Shelby Valley. The Cardinals have been up and down all year, so it’s good to see them enter postseason play hot. They finished 11-1 in the region, and 6-1 in the district. They are the one seed in the 57th and will take on Magoffin County at JC Tuesday night at 6:30. 

3. Floyd Central (22-5) - The Jaguars went 2-0 this past week and have now won 5 straight and 9 of their last 10. They’ve gotten hot at the right time. They beat Pikeville by 3, and Shelby Valley by 4. They are 13-4 in the region, and finished at the top of the 58th going 6-0. They open up post season play at home against Prestonsburg on Tuesday at 6. 

4. Pikeville (19-4) - The Panthers went 1-1 this past week with a 3 point loss on the road to Floyd Central, and a 4 point win at home against Perry County Central. That puts them at 7-3 in the region, and 6-0 with the one seed in the 59th. They have a three team district, so they are waiting for the winner of Shelby Valley and East Ridge in the finals on Thursday. 

5. Lawrence County (17-10) - The Bulldogs went 3-0 this past week with a 33 point win over Letcher County Central, a 18 point win over Paintsville, and 1 point win over Ashland. I’m pretty sure this was my preseason top pick. Are they turning it on, with hopes to repeat? They finished the season 7-5 in the region and 4-2 in the 58th. They are the two seed and will take on the three seed Betsy Lane, at 7:30 at Floyd Central Tuesday night. 

6. Phelps (15-12) - The Hornets went 3-1 this week. They beat Magoffin by 9, Buckhorn by 16, and East Ridge by 35. They did lose to Pike County Central by 11. A head scratching loss to take at home after how well they had been playing. Phelps finished region play at 12-8, and district play at 2-2. They’re the two seed in the 60th. They take on Pike County Central in a rematch Monday night at 8 at Belfry. 

7. Paintsville (14-13) - The Tigers had a bland week going 1-1. They got beat by Lawrence County by 18, and beat Betsy Layne by 17. Paintsville finished district play at 2-5 and are the three seed in the 57th. They also finished region play at 8-7. They are rewarded with a trip to Johnson Central on Tuesday, to take on the host team at 8:15. 

8. Belfry (20-10) - The Pirates went 3-1 this past week. They’re now at 20 wins on the season. What a year for second year coach Brent Perry. They’re in a three team district, so they are already in the 60th district championship. They finished the regular season 12-3 in the region, and 3-1 in the district. We will see if they can keep it rolling. 

9. Pike County Central (18-10) - The Hawks went 3-1 on the week with wins over Prestonsburg, Phelps, and Lee County. They did have a 27 point loss to Martin County. They finished as the three seed in the 60th, and will take on Phelps in a rematch Monday night at Belfry at 8. They split the regular season series with a 13 point loss and an 11 point win. So this game is truly a toss up. 

10. Shelby Valley (17-13) - The Wildcats went 1-3 this past week and have lost 5 of their last six. They were beaten by the top three teams in the region; JC, Martin County, and Floyd Central. They did beat Mountain Mission School VA by 20. They open up the district tournament with East Ridge on the road Monday night at 7:30. 

11. Magoffin County (8-21) - The Hornets went 2-1 this past week. They beat Prestonsburg and West Carter. They lost to Phelps. They open up the 57th against Martin County at JC Tuesday night at 6:30. 

12. Betsy Layne (7-19) - The Bobcats went 1-2 on the week with a win over East Ridge, and losses to Paintsville and Belfry. Betsy Layne opens up district play in the 58th with Lawrence County at Floyd Central Tuesday night at 7:30. 

13. East Ridge (11-18) - The Warriors went 1-3 this past week with a win over Jenkins, and losses to Betsy Lane, Johnson Central, and Phelps. They open up district play with Shelby Valley at home Monday night at 7:30.  

14. Prestonsburg (3-24) - The Blackcats went 0-3 on the week with losses to Pike County Central, Magoffin County, and Morgan County. They open up the 58th district Tuesday night at Floyd Central against Floyd Central.

The super regional. Put out by D&D. 
 

Prestonsburg and East Ridge has already lost and been eliminated. Remember they go off of a super regional format where everyone gets in. 
 

I love it, which all regions would go to this.

Paintsville 81 Lawrence County 57. 
Paintsville against Pikeville at the expo will be poppin. 

Phelps 84 Shelby Valley 61. 
 

Weddington took over. 

15th Region Boys Basketball POSTSEASON:

Regular season play, district play, and a few region games are already in the book! Let’s look at how we expect the region to play out, as well as a rankings of the teams remaining. There will be a new 15th region champion as Lawrence County has already been bounced. 

57th District:
Martin County won the first game in dominating fashion by 20 over Magoffin. Johnson Central beat Paintsville for a third time this year, this time by 13. The championship was electric with the regions top two teams IMO facing off. Johnson Central came out on top by a final score of 93-79. 

58th District:
Floyd Central started it off with a bang knocking off Prestonsburg by 32. Lawrence County won the next game against Betsy Layne by 28. In a Floyd Central vs Lawrence County final, the FC Jags prevailed by a final score of 83-80. Dylan Boyd went for 22, Brayden Turner had 18, and Chris Spriggs had 13 in the big win. 

59th District:
The small three team district went fast. Shelby Valley opened up with a 41 point win over East Ridge. Pikeville then knocked off Shelby Valley by 7 in the district final. Since then, Shelby Valley and East Ridge have both been eliminated in the region. Pikeville stands as the lone representative of the 59th. 

60th District:
Another small three team district. Pike County Central opened up with a 14 point win over Phelps. They had just knocked off Phelps, but got them again. Belfry then knocked off PCC by 11 at home to win the 60th. The 60th is putting on a great showing as all three teams are still left standing. 

 

1. Johnson Central (25-5) - The Golden Eagles face Phelps, Wednesday at 6:30. Barring a win, they have the winner of Floyd Central and Pike County Central. 

2. Martin County (21-9) - The Cardinals fell in the finals of the district championship by 14 to region favorite Johnson Central. They’ve already won their first round of region over Betsy Layne by 21. Now they have a quarterfinal game with Belfry at 6:30 on Thursday. Barring a win, they will face off against the Pikeville vs Paintsville winner. 

3. Floyd Central (24-5) - The Jaguars will square off against Pike County Central on Wednesday at 8:15. Barring a win, they would get the JC vs Phelps winner in the semi’s. 

4. Pikeville (20-4) - The Panthers play Paintsville in their first region game. This should be an electric matchup between 1A forces. Paintsville is one of Pikeville’s only four losses this year. 

5. Paintsville (15-14) - Paintsville got to travel to Lawrence County for losing in the first round of district. They knocked off the Bulldogs on the road in dominating fashion by 24. They square up with Pikeville in what appears to be a classic on Thursday at 8:15. They would play the winner of Belfry and Martin County. 

6. Belfry (21-10) - The Pirates are much improved in year 2 of Brent Perry’s time there. They look to keep the magical season going as they play Martin County Thursday at 6:30. They managed to keep it within a 3 point OT loss earlier in the season. They would play the winner of Pikeville and Paintsville. 

7. Pike County Central (20-11) - The Hawks lost in the district finals but did knock off Magoffin County by 14 to keep their season alive. They will play Floyd Central on Wednesday night at 8:15. 

8. Phelps (16-13) - Phelps played Shelby Valley in the play-in game and won by 23. A dominating win and a big game by Weddington. They now take on the region favorite, Johnson Central. 

9. Lawrence County (17-10) - Eliminated

10. Shelby Valley (18-15) - Eliminated

11. Magoffin County (9-23) - Eliminated

12. Betsy Layne (8-21) - Eliminated

13. East Ridge (11-20) - Eliminated

14. Prestonsburg (3-26) - Eliminated

Bump.

Region semifinals will be Floyd Central vs Johnson Central and Martin County vs Pikeville. Played out pretty much like chalk, as these were my top four teams in the region. 

JC won the first. Pikeville currently leads Martin Co by 4 at the half. Keathley has 3 fouls. Here’s a live stream. 
 

 

Pikeville will knock off Martin Co. 

Pikeville v JC in the finals.  

Bump.