Bluegrass Hoops Report

Josh Sewell leads Trinity with 12 points. Tyren Robinson leading Fern Creek with 9 points.

Halftime: Fern Creek 26, Trinity 22

Male 73, Iroquois 71 - VERY closely contested game throughout. Male led by two after the first, four at half, and eight going into the fourth, but the Raiders, led by Sam Tolliver and Donovan Gibbs, made a strong comeback in the final period. The Bulldogs were able to hold them off to seal the victory however, thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting by Kevin Glenn and Solomon Logan in the final minute. Tony Horne led Male with 15 points. Tolliver finished with a game-high 27 points for Iroquois. Male advances to face the winner of tomorrow nights Seneca/Butler game in Friday's 8:15 quarterfinal match. Moore 69, Fairdale 55 - Game was close for the first three periods until the Mustangs started the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run and never looked back. Tim Harrison and Reginald Breeden led Moore with 27 and 20 points, respectively. Quintrel Morris was one bright spot for Fairdale, scoring a game-high 34 points. Moore advances to Friday's 6:15 quarterfinal to face the winner of tomorrow night's Eastern/Christian Academy game. Playing Now: Trinity vs. Fern Creek - 2nd Quarter: Trinity struggling a bit as Fern Creek leads 17-15. Tyren Robinson leading the Tigers with 9 points, Josh Sewell pacing the Rocks with 10. Playing Next (8:15): Pleasure Ridge Park vs. Bullitt East Check out http://bluegrasshoops.blogspot.com and http://www.twitter.com/bluegrasshoops for more updates

We've posted an article on the blog about the teams and players competing in Lexington this weekend. Defending National Champs Findlay Prep (NV) will be facing Mountain State (WV) in a game at Lexington Christian which will feature a ton of D-I talent. Also, CJ Leslie's Word of God Academy will face a tough Roger Bacon (OH) squad tonight at LexCath. Here are today's schedules for the Central Bank Classic at LCA and the Dunkin Donuts Shootout at LexCath... Central Bank Classic at LCA Scott County (KY) vs Louisville Male (KY), 5 p.m. Lexington Christian (KY) vs Clark County (KY), 6:30 p.m. Findlay Prep. (NV) vs. Mountain State Acad. (WV), 8 p.m. Dunkin Donuts National Shootout at LexCath 2:30 South Laurel vs Walnut Hills Ohio (Boys) 4:00 Beech Tennesse vs PRP (Boys) 5:30 Lexington Catholic vs Beech Tennessee (Girls) 7:00 Lexington Catholic vs North Oldham (Boys) 8:30 Word of God Christian Academy vs Roger Bacon Ohio (Boys) I'm going to the UK/Georgia game at 4 today but I'm not sure where to go after that. What would you suggest, LCA or LexCath? Both are sure to have some great games.

You guys think we're crazy putting Shelby Valley at fifth? The Courier-Journal has them at No. 1!!! http://bluegrasshoops.blogspot.com/2010/01/litkenhous-ratings-released.html

As much as I like Zollo, I don't know if I want him playing for the Cats. I'd rather see him go somewhere he'd get to play early and often. Heck, he could probably go play right away for Pelphrey at Arkansas!

Much like Shelby Valley, BG was a tough call for us because the Purples seem to have the talent but as Westsider mentioned, no signature win. But Bowling Green also hasn't done anything to knock themselves out of the rankings. And despite playing a weaker schedule, they are still 13-1 which is pretty impressive no matter who you're playing. I'm not totally sold on the Purples either, however, so I can certainly understand the debate.

"Them" meaning Shelby Valley

True but most people had them in the top 5 or 10 to start the season (including us) and they haven't done anything to hurt their ranking either.

I agree to some extent about Shelby Valley, Walter, but we were going off a combination of the team's body of work so far and their talent and potential. SV is yet to lose against a Kentucky team, the win over Miller Grove was impressive, and Elisha Justice is one of the best players in the state that does not get enough credit. If he did play in the 7th, win or lose, he would be getting a much larger push for Mr. Basketball. But certainly there is no perfect formula and I posted this thread to start a debate and see what everyone else thinks. Scott County would have been higher until they lost to LCA. I know they were coming off of six games in eight days or whatever, but a team that talented shouldn't lose to a team like LCA IMHO. However, even with that bad loss the Cards still made the top ten on our list because of the talent on their bench and some quality wins in the Beach Ball Classic amongst other things.

We just released our first edition of the BHR Fab 15 for the 09-10 season. Here's a look at our top 5: 1. Ballard (11-2) Key Wins: 12/3 vs. Scott County, 84-81 12/15 at Trinity, 56-53 12/21 vs. Holmes (@ KOB), 60-52 Losses: 12/18 vs. Memphis Central (@ KOB), 63-67 12/31 vs. Liberty Tech (TN)(@Poplar Bluff), 62-68 2. Jeffersontown (12-1) Key Wins: 12/8 vs. Franklin County, 75-66 12/22 vs. Male (@Bryan Station), 65-46 Losses: 12/30 vs. Woodward (OH), 50-53 3. Trinity (11-2) Key Wins: 12/21 vs. Clark County (@KOB), 70-64 12/22 vs. Seneca (@KOB), 59-42 12/30 at Lexington Catholic (Republic Bank), 60-57 Losses: 12/4 vs. Shelby County, 56-57 12/15 vs. Ballard, 53-56 4. Holmes (10-3) Key Wins: 12/12 vs. Memphis Central(@KY-TN Shootout), 45-40 1/2 at Mason County, 53-47 Losses: 12/5 vs. Bowman Academy (IN)(@Marshall Co. Hoopfest),58-60 12/18 vs. McEachern (GA)(@KOB), 51-59 12/21 vs. Ballard (@KOB), 52-60 5. Shelby Valley (6-2) Key Wins: 12/12 vs. Miller Grove (GA)(@KY Farm Bureau Classic), 82-75 12/29 vs. Thomasville (GA)(@ Ocala, FL), 66-54 Losses: 12/28 vs. Rock School (FL)(@Ocala, FL), 45-50 12/30 vs. Meadow Creek (GA)(@Ocala, FL), 76-86

You're right, my bad. The point I was trying to make, though, was that Ballard has been playing well too, not just Trinity, in response to the comment that "Trinity has to be the favorite in the 7th region right now"

After an impressive win over a Wheeler (GA) team with several D-I prospects, the Scott County Cardinals gave up an early lead in the semi-finals of the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, falling to Bishop Gorman (NV). Still a very strong showing for the Cards in a loaded national tournament. They should head back into in-state play with a renewed confidence. Check out the game summary here:

I can't say enough about how well this Trinity team has played so far, especially their defense. To hold LexCath to 14 points in the first half is pretty amazing, and then to pull it out in OT shows a lot of team chemistry and resolve. As far as them being the favorites, I dont know if you can say any team in the 7th is a favorite. Ballard beat Trinity already and just defeated Warren Central pretty handily in the Poplar Bluff Showdown, and the Rocks are yet to play Jtown. Either way, the Rocks are definitely one of the top 3 in the region right now, and being the first to win both holiday classics in the same year is a great accomplishment!

Wow, big win for Scott County. Great to see them playing to their potential and representing the state well in a big national tournament. Not only did this team have Kendrick, but their leading scorer is committed to play for Isaiah Thomas at FIU.

Sophomore guard Charles Foster came up HUGE down the stretch, making two huge drives to the basket resulting in a five-point swing which got the Rocks rolling on their comeback at the end of the third. Not sure what his line was last night, but he played great and he had a double-double in the previous game against Highlands. While he is not quite on LexCath soph. Jaylen Beckham's level, Foster may be one of the best in the state in that '11 class.

Because Trinity is coming off a King of the Bluegrass championship and Male had some struggles early on losing their first three games. Let's look at the bodies of work so far: Trinity is 8-2 with a KOB title. They're 2 losses came to Shelby County and Ballard by a combined four points. They're biggest wins are over Seneca and Clark County. They're currently 2-1 in the 7th region. Male is 6-4 with losses to Clark County by nine, Covington Scott by nine, Moore by seven, and J-town by 19. Despite some bad losses they have looked better of late, beating West Jessamine and Clark County so far in the Republic Bank and defeated Bryan Station at their place in the Defenders of the Station....but they still havent played as well as Trinity recently so until they win this game, I'm taking T.

The consolation final and the championship game will also be televised live tomorrow night (5 & 7 pm)

Should be a good game. I'm taking Trinity in this one but Male's D'Carlo Hayes and Kevin Glenn could easily pull off another upset if they get hot. Remember, Male was preseason No. 25 per the Courier Journal before stumbling a bit early on. They still have the talent and the senior leadership to surprise people just like Trinity did in the KOB. By the way, both semi's will be televised tonight on Insight channel 524 in Louisville and Lexington by Wazoo Sports. http://bluegrasshoops.blogspot.com

You can check out our Re-cap of all the Republic Bank Holiday Classic games so far here. Looks to me like Trinity/Clark Co and Seneca/LexCath are pretty sure bets for the semi-finals matchups. That Trinity/Clark re-match from the KOB semi's should be a great one. Clark also knocked off Trinity in the Republic Bank semi's last season. Here is the Quarterfinals schedule for tonight: Trinity (7-2) vs. Highlands (5-2) - 3:30 pm Seneca (9-1) vs. McCreary Central (8-3) - 5:00 pm Lexington Catholic (7-1) vs. Grayson County (6-4) - 6:30 pm Clark County (9-2) vs. Male (5-4) - 8:00 pm

Here's the rest of Trinity's schedule: Sat 2009/12/26 Republic Bank Holiday Tournament Lexington Catholic 12:00AM Sat 2010/01/02 @ Newport Central Catholic 7:30PM Wed 2010/01/06 Holy Cross 7:30PM Fri 2010/01/08 @ Desales 7:30PM Tue 2010/01/12 LIT Louisville Gardens 12:00AM Tue 2010/01/19 @ Christian Academy 7:30PM Fri 2010/01/22 St. X - Freedom Hall 7:30PM Tue 2010/01/26 Boyle County 7:30PM Fri 2010/01/29 @ Daviess County 7:30PM Tue 2010/02/02 Seneca 7:30PM Fri 2010/02/05 @ North Laurel 8:00PM Sat 2010/02/06 @ Clay County 7:30PM Tue 2010/02/09 @ J'town 7:30PM Fri 2010/02/12 Male 7:30PM Tue 2010/02/16 Eastern 7:30PM Thu 2010/02/18 Fort Knox 7:30PM Possible semi-finals rematch with Clark County in the Republic Bank Classic is interesting. Then home games against Seneca, Male, and Eastern and a trip to Jeffersontown are going to be tough as well. Can the Rocks continue their strong play and finish in the top 3 of the 7th region, or have they peaked too early?

Trinity has established itself as one of the best teams in the state. Mike Szabo becomes the first Kentucky coach to win a LIT, 5/3 Bank Classic, and King of the Bluegrass. Josh Sewell scores 23 and wins tournament MVP, solidifies himself as a Mr. Basketball candidate. Check out our game re-cap here

J-town is undefeated and playing well but they are not the second best team in the region.

Trinity by 10+ Seneca won't be able to handle the Rocks' halfcourt defense and slow tempo.

If we beat Louisville, I think we go undefeated in the regular season. Write it down.