Rez

7 Bell Co 5 Russell 3 Greenup Co 2 Owsley Co 1 Wolfe Co Russell

7 Madison Central 5 Walton-Verona 3 Covington Latin 2 Scott 1 Tate's Creek Madison Central

Rough draw for the Purples and Dragons. I would guess The rest of the region is pretty happy with the result.

7 Atherton 5 Walton-Verona 3 North Hardin 2 Gallatin Co 1 Iroquois North Hardin

Having only seen PCC and KCC, I'm curious about the gap between those two and the rest of the region. Based on their results last year and who they had back, I expected Breathitt Co to be right there with the top teams. Any chance they can compete for a region title or have they shown themselves to be too far behind?

Very true. I consider them the favorite in the 8th and a top 20 team in the state. If anything, I would say Harrison Co played them closer than I would have expected.

I wonder if Quan Taylor didn't play, or just didn't score?

For a school like Augusta with only 16 boys in their freshman class, I wouldn't be surprised if they need to play them just to field a full team. That is simply speculation, but I do think each school should make the decision based on what works best for their program as a whole.

Who are some freshmen that didn't play that might have had an impact on the championship?

I thought the Warren Central win over Henderson Co was a big win for the 4th. Apparently Russell Co says anything you can do I can do better.

Congrats to the Panthers! Do any of these kids contribute on the Varsity squad?

About 3 hours. I heard different numbers, but they ranged from 3500-4200. I would say 3500 is pretty close. Chair backs half way up on both sides and in both end zones. Th entire school is awesome. I doubt many will randomly be in the area, but it would be worth checking out.

Both teams had to deal with significant foul trouble. Prewitt picked up his third 2 minutes into the second quarter. Tyler Jones had 2 in the first quarter, Shelby Combs had 4 in the first quarter and Piersawl had 3 by halftime. Piersawl and Combs both fouled out. For the Black Bears, Sargent fouled out, Brewer played the last 10+ minutes with 4 fouls and Massingill finished with 4. Harlan Co led 41-40 at the half but they were worn out and couldn't quite keep up with Montgomery in the second half. I was very impressed with Brewer for Harlan Co. Very good player! He had a huge and one dunk over Prewitt. Best dunk I've seen this year. On a side note, Harlan Co has what might be the nicest high school gym, and overall facilities I've ever seen!

Montgomery Co Prewitt- 33 pts 6 reb Wallace - 28 pts 5 reb 5 stl D. Jones- 18 pts 7 reb 3 bl S. Combs - 5 pts, 3 reb Hodgson - 4 pts 3 reb Piersawl - 4 pts 5 reb T Jones - 2 pts 4 ast Harlan Co Brewer - 22 pts 6 ast 6 reb Miller - 19 pts 3 reb Caldwell - 16 pts 8 reb Massingill - 11 pts 5 reb Sargent - 6 pts 5 reb Bumgardner - 2 pts Z Caldwell - 1 pt 5 reb Chase hall did not play for the Indians

Final from Harlan Co

The KHSAA website lists this game as being in the Black Bear Classic, but their are no other games listed for the event. Is this part of an event with multiple games, or a stand alone regular season game?

I like Scott in a close one. I'm guessing the place will be rocking tonight?

I actually had him as my top guy not in the starting lineup, and mentioned I would consider finding him a starting spot. I intended to imply that he and McGovney were my 6th and 7th men, and the other 5 round out the 12 that mcraycraft was looking for. I apologize for my lack of clarity. I agree that he is a tremendous player. He is the third best player I've seen in the region behind Prewitt and Bach. I think he is clearly ahead of Darius Jones and Justin Saunders, but I think they both provide something that would be required to be competitive with the best regional all-star teams. Jones is the closest the region can offer to matching the athleticism of a Jordan Green or Kelan Martin, and from my one time watching Saunders, he strikes me as a guy who would battle with anyone around the basket and is the best hope for a region lacking a true post player. I also don't start Jackson at the point because I think he would have a tougher time dealing with the quickness and athleticism of a Snider or Bosley than Snoop would. Finally, I think he is a little below Prewitt and Bach, and thus, I didn't see an opportunity to start him.

Against the top regions (6,7,11) I would probably start: 1-Snoop Johnson - Bourbon Co. 2-Brent Bach - Augusta 3-Omar Prewitt - Montgomery Co. 4-Darius Jones - Montgomery Co. 5-Justin Saunders -Bishop Brossart By no means do I think these are the top 5 players in the region, but I think this gives the 10th the best chance to match up with their size and athleticism. I would also consider finding a spot in the lineup for Nick Jackson. I haven't seen McGovney this year, but from what I hear, he could be right there as well. My other 5 would be: Tyler Jones-Montgomery Co. Mason Monroe-Pendleton Co. Shawn Johnson-Mason Co. Ben Uebel-Bishop Brossart Dillon Pulliam-Harrison Co.

I think it is worth noting the impact that sub Lance Lockridge made on the game for the Indians. Scott had really controlled the pace of the game throughout, but when Lockridge came in during the fourth quarter he really sped up the Eagles and forced them into a pair of turnovers. The 5'6" (and that may be generous) guard also rebounded his own missed free throw to set up a bucket for Darius Jones. The last couple minutes may not have been as comfortable for the Indians if not for his contribution.

Prewitt had 31 and 8 and it felt like just another game for him. I'm very impressed with Nick Jackson. I think he's a top 3 player in the region. Scott handled Montgomery's pressure, and got a lot of layups in the first half. Mostly thanks to phenomenal court vision from Jackson. Tyler Jones had a huge dunk over Jackson in the fourth quarter!