article 12th Region Final Rankings and Postseason Preview

1) Pulaski County (23 – 5) – The Maroons continued their hot streak with a blowout win over Boyle County 71 – 39, led by Colton Fraley with 19 points and 8 rebounds and Zach Travis with 17 points.

2) Lincoln County (22-6) – Lincoln County fell for the first time this month in their game against Lexington Catholic. They bounced back to crush Casey County 80 -38, led by Baylor Mattingly with 23 and Bryston Alcorn with 21.

3) Somerset (23-5) – The Briar Jumpers defeated both Garrard County and Danville to finish off their impressive regular season run.

4) West Jessamine (16-11) – The Colts fell in a 3 point loss to Dunbar on the road before continuing their road trip down to Lancaster where they defeated the Garrard County Golden Lions by 6, led by DeAjuan Stepp with 26 and Nate Breeden with 18.

5) Danville (19 – 11) – Danville cruised past Russell County before losing in their rematch against Somerset 82 – 59. They finished the regular season with a solid win over East Jessamine.

6) East Jessamine (18– 10) – The Jaguars started the week with a 4 point win over Rockcastle County before losing at Marion County and Danville.

7) Southwestern (16 – 13) – Southwestern put up the points in their wins against Perry County Central and Cordia, combining in the two for 175 points total, led by Cole Dysinger who had 19 in each contest.

8) Boyle County (12– 13) – The Rebels lost in a blowout to Pulaski County but bounced back to get wins against Wayne County and Clay County.

9) Wayne County (17 – 12) – The Cardinals dropped games to Boyle County and Lexington Catholic to end the regular season.

10) Mercer County (15 – 13) – The Titans fell to Western Hills on the road on Monday and took the remainder of the week to rest.

11) Garrard County (9-18) – The Golden Lions defeated Bluegrass United and took two regional contenders in Somerset and West Jessamine into competitive fourth quarters in what turned out to be losing efforts.

12) McCreary County Central (9-19) – The Raiders split the week, defeating Casey County but falling to Barbourville by 6.

13) Rockcastle County (8-20) – The Rockets lost at East Jessamine and South Laurel before returning home against Russell County where they pulled out a two point win in overtime.

14) Casey County (3-27) – The Rebels fell to McCreary Central and Lincoln County to end the regular season.

15) Danville Christian (16-13) – Danville Christian defeated Burgin and won their first game in the KCAC Tournament before bowing out with a loss to Portland Christian.

16) Burgin (4 – 26) – The Bulldogs took Danville Christian to the wire but could not pull out the win. They also lost to Robertson County.

17) Kentucky School for the Deaf (0-15) – The Colonels lost their final two games of the regular season to L.I.G.H.T. and Frankfort Christian.

45th District Tournament – The reigning regional champion Lincoln County Patriots host the largest of the district tournaments in the region in terms of field size. The action kicks off tonight, the 24th, with Garrard County and Danville Christian, a rematch of the February 1st contest in which the Golden Lions won by forty. Danville takes on the winless Kentucky School for the Deaf squad on the 25th. The Garrard – DCA winner plays Lincoln County and the other first round winner will take on Boyle County. The Patriots have lost only one district match so far this year, a nine point defeat at Danville in overtime back on January 10th. The most interesting game most likely will be the semifinals between Danville and Boyle County. Each team has won their home game against their rival and now get to see who will do it on a neutral court with the season on the line (pending of course the Admirals win over KSD). The district features some of the best players in the region with Garrard County’s Brayden Sebastian, Lincoln County’s Jaxon Smith, Baylor Mattingly, Elijah Frye, Riley Bodner, and Bryston Alcorn, Boyle County’s Luke Imfeld, Luke Sheperson, Owen Barnes, and Grant Hotchkiss, and Danville’s Dante Hayden, Darrian Bell, Trey Dawson, and Aiden Slone.

46th District Tournament – The East Jessamine Jaguars host this year’s event and they are one of the two teams competing in the most intriguing matchup. The Jaguars play the Mercer County Titans with the season on the line tomorrow, the 25th. The two teams have each won the road game in the 2 game regular season series. Tonight, the 24th, the West Jessamine Colts take on Burgin. The district’s top players to watch going into the post season include West Jessamine’s DeAjuan Stepp, Clayton Winter, and Nate Breeden, East Jessamine’s Ben McNew, Keegan Lockhart, and Zion Thomas, and Mercer County’s Kaelin Drakeford and Jamisen Lewis.

47th District Tournament – The Rockcastle County Rockets host the tournament and open up with regional contender Pulaski County. The winner of that semifinal will play the winner of Somerset and Casey County. Somerset and Pulaski have dominated the district and I expect to see both in the title game Thursday. Each team has defeated the other by double digits on the road so this should be a fantastic championship game. Pulaski County’s Colton Fraley, KJ Combs, and Zach Travis, Somerset’s Kade Grundy, Dylan Burton, and Gavin Stevens, Rockcastle County’s Daniel Mullins and Will Bishop, and Casey County’s Spencer Baird lead the list of players to watch.

48th District Tournament – The Southwestern Warriors host the 3 team district tournament and have to play the McCreary Central Raiders in the lone semifinal game. Wayne County awaits the winner. McCreary Central has lost both games to the Warriors but made the last one a little more interesting, losing 47 – 40 at home on January 23rd. The Cardinals of Wayne County split their series with Southwestern this year, losing in December at home in overtime but defeating them on the road on January 31st by 5. Wayne County’s Thomas Spencer and Kameron Gehring, Southwestern’s Cole Dysinger and Brayden Sims, and McCreary Central’s Alex Heath makeup my list of the 5 players to watch for in the tournament.

It all comes down to the top 4 in the 45th. I look for Sebastian to come out swinging but the Pats are just really good defensively and just a tough matchup for the Lions. Tomorrow night give me the Pats 58-42

The Ads cruised in tonight’s matchup easily with KSD. Boyle has been up and down all year along with Danville. Title town matchups are always fun. Give me the Rebels early on with Slone, Bell & company pulling it out late 73-70 OT!!!

Danville seems to have lost some momentum near the end of the year. I hope they turn it around against Boyle in the semis.

Danville seems to have lost some momentum near the end of the year. I hope they turn it around against Boyle in the semis.

Agreed. But their schedule over the last month has been pretty tough, too. District games with Garrard, Boyle, and Lincoln; road games at Pulaski and Somerset; home game with a good East Jessamine team. The Ads haven't shied away from good competition of late.

gchs_uk9 your exactly right E Jess is a dangerous 12th region team. Both East & West will present dangerous challenges in the tourney?

Does it still hold true that since the region started rotating between Lincoln and Pulaski, that neither has won a Region on their home court?

gchs_uk9 your exactly right E Jess is a dangerous 12th region team. Both East & West will present dangerous challenges in the tourney?

East is a solid team. Nothing flashy and they don't have anybody that you look at and say we can't guard this guy. They play as a team and play good defense. Winters and Stepp for West can be a tough matchup for teams but they split during the regular season and anything can happen post season.

Lincoln just won the 12th last season on their home court.

Lincoln just won the 12th last season on their home court.

That's right, didn't that break the streak that I was talking about.

That's right, didn't that break the streak that I was talking about.

Correct. Lincoln had previously won in 2007 on their home court.

Bump.