Boys Top 5

 

1. Pineville (20-3 overall, 13-0 vs. 13th Region foes)

What’s the scoop: For the first time in a month, there is a team that has retained the No. 1 spot for consecutive weeks.

J.D. Strange’s Pineville Mountain Lions remain unbeaten against 13th Region opponents and will have a nice little showdown with No. 2 Corbin today on the road.

Should be interesting.

 

Surprise, surprise: Pineville came away with a 45-40 road win at home in overtime and that was huge.

The Mountain Lions have shown they are a solid team by not only defeating Clay County, but recording another impressive overtime win a couple of weeks back against Cumberland.

As long as Dustin Day and James Strange continue to give solid efforts along with their teammates, Pineville will be mentioned as one of the top teams in the region.

 

What’s ahead: As I said before, the Mountain Lions will be back in action today against Corbin. A win today by either team will solidify their status in the 13th Region. Pineville will be back in action Friday against Williamsburg before squaring off in another big game against Knox Central Feb. 11.

 

2. Corbin (18-6, 12-1)

What’s the scoop: It looks as if Tony Pietrowski’s Redhounds have righted their ship.

Corbin has reeled off five straight wins and has a chance to regain the No. 1 spot with a win over Pineville at home today.

 

Surprise, surprise: The Redhounds continue to get solid efforts from Josh Smith, Isaac Wilson, Madison Johnson, Deke Barley, Josh Crawford and company.

Crawford looks as if he is beginning to look like his old self lately and he really played well against Bell County.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: the 26-point loss to South Laurel could be a blessing in disguise for Corbin.

 

What’s ahead: The Redhounds will host Pineville today before traveling to play Rockcastle County Feb. 15.

 

3. South Laurel (18-6, 10-2)

What’s the scoop: Steve Wright’s squad saw their season-best six-game win streak come to an end Tuesday on the road against Boyle County.

Some good news that came out of the loss is the fact Matt Gilbert is back from an injury he suffered more than a month ago and he managed to score six points.

 

Surprise, surprise: The loss to Boyle County was a bit surprising to me. The Rebels jumped out to a 22-6 lead in the first quarter and never looked back against South Laurel.

Billy Jones scored a season-best 27 points in the loss, while Matt St. John added 20.

 

What’s ahead: The Cardinals will get a chance to get back on track Friday at home against Clay County. South Laurel will host Clinton County Feb. 12 and Knox Central Feb. 14.

 

4. Cumberland (16-3, 11-1)

What’s the scoop: The Redskins move up two spaces after picking up wins over Middlesboro and Cawood.

Get used to me moving teams up and down for the remainder of the season. I see this as a repetitive thing.

 

Surprise, surprise: Cawood is always a tough place to play, but Cumberland managed to get past the Trojans.

The Redskins only led 48-47 with 6:57 remaining in the game before Brock Leisge and Desmond Johnson ignited a 7-0 run that put the game away.

Leisge turned in a solid effort and finished the game with 22 points, while hitting 10-of-12 attempts from the free-throw line.

Johnson has a monster of a game. He scored 18 points, recorded 17 rebounds and blocked seven shots.

When these two players are playing like this, Cumberland will be a dangerous team.

 

What’s ahead: The Redskins will travel to Bell County and play the Bobcats Friday before squaring off against Breathitt County Saturday.

 

5. Clay County (14-7, 7-2)

What’s the scoop: The Tigers move up a couple of notches after picking up some impressive wins this past week.

Clay County is another team that could do damage come post-season time. The key will be the 49th District draw. The Tigers could draw either Jackson County or North Laurel in the first round.

Yikes!

 

Surprise, surprise: Clay County traveled to rival Jackson County last week and handed the Generals a 53-51 loss and almost pulled off an upset at Pineville before losing to the Mountain Lions in overtime, 45-40.

 

What’s ahead: Clay County will be battle-tested once this week is over.

The Tigers will travel to South Laurel Friday and play the Cardinals before playing at Cumberland on Feb. 12.

Kevin Spurlock’s team isn’t finished with the tough schedule.

After the date with the Redskins, rival Corbin will make a trip to Manchester Feb. 15.

 

The Best of the Rest

 

No. 6 Knox Central (15-6, 9-2)

What’s the scoop: The Panthers are struggling and this is the lowest Knox Central has been the entire season.

 

No. 7 Jackson County (17-6, 6-4)

What’s the scoop: A home loss to Clay County dropped the Generals two spots. This doesn’t mean Jackson County won’t win the region, though.

 

No. 8 North Laurel (14-9, 3-7)

What’s the scoop: Seven losses against 13th Region teams isn’t a good thing for Jim Conway’s squad.

 

No. 9 Bell County (14-9, 8-5)

What’s the scoop: Bell County is a whole lot better than I thought.

 

No. 10 Middlesboro (10-13, 5-9)

What’s the scoop: A loss to Barbourville today will move Middlesboro out of the ratings.

Bump

Corbin beats Pineville by two

I wonder what upsets will happen in the district tournaments? Rankings looks good to me.

bump

I can't really argue much with these.........maybe South Laurel at #1 with Pineville #2 and then Corbin #3. We should find out more about Clay Co. and South Laurel Friday night.

bump

Both Pineville and Cumberland will be moving down in da ratings.

1. Corbin

2. South

3. Pineville

4. Knox

5. Clay

6. Jackson

7. Bell

8. Cumberland

9. North

10. B-ville

1. Corbin

2. South

3. Pineville

4. Clay Co

5. Jackson Co

6. Knox

7. Bell Co

8. Cumberland

9. North Laurel

10. Bville or Middlesboro

bump

1. Corbin

2. Pineville

3. South

4. Clay Co

5. Jackson Co

6. Knox

7. Bell Co

8. Cumberland

9. North Laurel

10. Middlesboro/Red Bird- I think Middlesboro should be here, but if you are just tossing up names I think Red Bird has looked very good in the past couple of weeks.

1. Corbin

2. South

3. Pineville

4. Knox

5. Clay

6. Jackson

7. Bell

8. Cumberland

9. North

10. B-ville

Let's see, Cumberland beats Bell by 23 at home then loses by two in overtime at Bell without their leading scorer, on one very ridiculous call, not to mention other questionable calls and all of a sudden Bell is better than Cumberland?????????? I dont think so fella's that doesnt even come close to adding up. Why dont you and the other fella that agreed with you on that GET A CLUE!! Also, what has Jackson, Clay or Knox done to show they are better than da Skins or even what has Corbin, South or Pineville done for that matter. Cumberland has lost 3 games to Kentucky teams all of which they held 4th quarter leads before falling and that is supposed to make someone believe there are 6 or 7 teams better than them in the Region????

1. Corbin

2. Knox Central

3. South

4. Cumberland

5. Pineville

6. Clay

7. Jackson

8. Bell

9. North

10-12 Middlesboro or Barbourville or Cawood

13. Whitley

14. Lynn Camp

15. Harlan

16. Red Bird

17. Williamsburg

18. Evarts

19. OBI

Does anyone know what happened to the Harrison kid at Harlan? Is he injured or something else. I noticed he was not in the boxscore against Cawood.