Smallhoops

Trinity moves past the Atherton Rebels, securing its spot in the Seventh Region tournament. The Rocks will play either Waggener or Seneca in the district championship game.

Final. Eastern advances to the district championship game against Ballard and to the Seventh Region tournament. CAL's disappointing season comes to an end.

Final. Ballard will face Eastern in the district championship game and advances to next week's Seventh Region tournament.

Final. Male will play St. X in the district championship game and also advances to the Seventh Region tournament. Collegiate's outstanding season ends.

Final. Tigers advance to district championship game, where they will face the Male Bulldogs, and the Seventh Region tournament.

Wow. Go Eagles.

Final. Shawnee advances to play Central Thursday night in a semi-final game.

Good shooting by Sayre. Frederick Douglass had beaten Sayre twice in the regular season, each time by at least 20 points.

Success means different things to different teams in the Seventh Region. For example, a successful season for the Trinity Shamrocks is measured differently than for the Walden Wolverines, even though the two schools are within walking distance of each other. Most teams in the Seventh Region achieved some level of success during the regular season, and they should celebrate those successes. There weren’t many major surprises in the regular season, although there were a few. The Collegiate Titans’ 23-win season, easily the best in school history, was not expected by many. Teams like the Waggener Wildcats and Male Bulldogs may have been a little better than some expected. St. Francis beating much larger schools such as Hancock County and Fleming County probably surprised some people. But Trinity’s and Ballard’s successes were expected, and they did not disappoint. And no one will be surprised if those successes continue into the post-season. Before moving on from the regular season, I want to mention how impressed I was with the coaching in the Seventh Region this year. I saw every team in the Seventh Region on multiple occasions, including at least one home game for each team. I was consistently impressed with how hard each coach was working every game. High school basketball coaches are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. Thank you, coaches, for making it a fun year in the Seventh Region. And congratulations to first-year coach Zach Settembre of the Collegiate Titans, the KABC Seventh Region Coach of the Year. The final rankings: 1. Trinity Shamrocks (25-3) Trinity showed itself in the regular season to be what everyone thought it would be, the team most likely to win the Seventh Region and advance to the State Tournament. Its three losses were all to quality teams, and two of them came with at least partial explanations; it lost to Fern Creek in the championship game of the King of the Bluegrass when Jay Scrubb’s minutes were limited due to foul trouble, and it lost to Madison Central when Justin Powell did not play because of illness. Perhaps the lesson to be learned from those games is to somehow make Trinity use its bench, because the back-ups are not as strong as the starters. Of course, how could they be, since the starters include three outstanding players in senior Jay Scrubb, junior David Johnson, and sophomore Justin Powell. Trinity also has gotten crucial shooting from junior Stan Turnier in several wins this season. Strong inside, the Rocks also shoot 42% from 3-point range as a team. As the no. 1 seed in the 27th district, Trinity opens play against the Atherton Rebels. Those teams played on January 30, with Trinity winning 70-43. 2. Ballard Bruins (23-6) Ballard won 20 games for the 20th straight season and showed it is the most (and perhaps only) serious challenger to Trinity from within the Seventh Region. In this last week of the regular season, the Bruins beat Manual 86-62 and Central 70-60 but lost to Jeffersonville (IN) 64-62. Ballard plays extremely tough defense, is very balanced offensively, and can beat anyone when it is playing well. But it also is the case that Ballard has on occasion gone through stretches when it does not shoot the ball very well. While Trinity rightfully is ranked ahead of Ballard, the Bruins have heard before about how Trinity is the best team in the region; similar things were being said last year. And what happened last year? Ballard went out and beat Trinity 57-41 in the regional semi-finals. As the no. 1 seed, Ballard starts play in the 28th district tournament against Kentucky Country Day, who the Bruins beat 76-59 on January 30. 3. Waggener Wildcats (18-9) The Waggener Wildcats have been a fun team to watch this year – they play a lot of players and always bring a lot of energy. With wins this week over Shawnee (70-30) and Manual (68-58), Waggener finished with 18 wins in the regular season, including two wins over the St. X Tigers. The Wildcats still have a shot at a 20-win season, a feat Waggener has not achieved since the 2007-08 season. While many Wildcats contribute to the team’s success, junior J. J. Kalakon is particularly fun to watch. Averaging 13.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg, Kalakon holds several Division I offers. Waggener is the no. 2 seed in the 27th district and plays Seneca in a semi-final game. Waggener beat Seneca 71-62 on February 2. 4. St. Xavier Tigers (17-10) St. Xavier had won six games in a row until it lost its last regular season game 45-43 to a very good Floyd Central team from Southern Indiana (Floyd Central had beaten Ballard 65-60 earlier in the season). Even with that loss, St. X won eight of its last ten games. One of the wins during that streak was an impressive 67-65 win over Fern Creek, and its only loss during that stretch before the loss to Floyd Central was to Ballard (although it was by a rather large margin, 75-49). As expected, senior Pierce Kiesler has led the Tigers this season in both scoring (18.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). Sophomore point guard James Taylor, one of the top sophomores in the region, contributes 11.9 ppg, and junior Sam Boarman is a 40% 3-point shooter. St. X is the top seed in the 26th district and plays the Brown Bears in a semi-final match-up. The Tigers beat the Bears 84-46 on December 19. 5. Male Bulldogs (16-12) Male perhaps faced the most uncertainty in the Seventh Region heading into this season. The Bulldogs lost five of last year’s top six scorers to graduation, and the leading returning scorer ended up not playing this season. Male resolved that uncertainty quite well, winning 16 games in the regular season to eclipse last year’s 15-win total. Twice during the regular season the Bulldogs put together 5-game win streaks. Bulldog fans like to talk about Male’s sophomore class, and that class includes the Bulldogs’ top two scorers, Tyren Moore (11.5 ppg) and Howard Fleming (11.3 ppg), and the leading rebounder, Noah Coutrney (6.4 rpg). As the no. 2 seed in the 26th district, Male plays Louisville Collegiate in a semi-final game. Male beat Collegiate 83-45 on January 5. 6. Manual Crimsons (13-15) Manual’s 13 regular season wins almost doubled its regular season wins from last year (7). And one of the losses suffered by the Crimsons this season was a tough double overtime loss to the Butler Bears from the Sixth Region. Of course, last year Manual went on to win the 25th district tournament and advance to the semi-finals of the Seventh Region tournament. Whether the Crimsons can do so again will depend largely on their four players who all average in double figures according to the latest statistics filed with the KHSAA: senior Kenyan Jacob (12.7 ppg), senior Noah Hawkins (12 ppg), sophomore Eli Roberts (10.7 ppg), and senior Jordan McClendon (10.2 ppg). The Crimsons are also a strong rebounding team, with three players (Jacob, McClendon and Hawkins) averaging at least 5 rebounds a game. The no. 2 seed in the 25th district, the Crimsons face the St. Francis Wyverns in their semi-final game. Manual beat St. Francis 87-49 on February 6. 7. Seneca Redhawks (10-17) Seneca had an interesting regular season. Its early season schedule was brutal and the Redhawks lost nine of their first ten games. But then Seneca won six games in a row. In their next game against Manual, leading scorer Carl Parker was injured and Seneca started a six-game losing streak. Parker has not returned from the injury and Seneca went 3-2 in its last five games. Its most impressive victories this season came against St. X and Adair County. Parker was averaging 16.8 ppg and 11 rpg when he was injured. Even prior to Parker getting hurt, junior Richard Ninamou was putting up good numbers, and is now averaging 17.5 ppg according to the most recent statistics filed with the KHSAA. Seneca is the no. 3 seed in the 27th district tournament and plays Waggener in a semi-final game. Waggener beat Seneca 71-62 on February 2. 8. Central Yellow Jackets (7-15) Central took a step back in number of wins this season (7, as opposed to last year’s 13), but one of those wins was an impressive 77-74 double overtime win against the Manual Crimsons on December 15. Central also had competitive games against some of the other highly regarded teams in the Seventh Region, such as a 69-65 overtime loss to Male on December 8, a 60-49 loss to Trinity this week, and a 70-60 loss to Ballard this week. Central’s win over Manual and the other members of the 25th district (St. Francis, Portland Christian, and Shawnee) allowed Central to claim the no. 1 seed in this week’s 25th district tournament. It will play the winner of the Portland Christian-Shawnee first-round game. 9. Louisville Collegiate Titans (23-7) Coached by recently-named Seventh Region Coach of the Year Zach Settembre, Collegiate’s 2017-18 season has been its best ever by any measure. The 23 wins this season easily eclipsed the Titans’ prior record of 18 wins set last year. Collegiate won the Seventh Region All A tournament and won a game at the All A state tournament before falling in the quarter-finals. Sophomore Chez Moore (19.2 ppg, 10 rpg) has been a force inside, while senior Eli Allen (11.6 ppg) has been the most prolific of several Titans who can shoot from outside. The challenge facing the Titans is that they must face the Male Bulldogs in their first game in the 26th district tournament. Those teams played each other on January 5, with the Bulldogs prevailing 83-45. It would be a tall task for Collegiate to reverse that result this week, but I have little doubt Coach Zettembre will have the Titans ready to play and believing they can win. 10. Eastern Eagles (10-18) Eastern had a nice 71-63 win over Seneca and a one-sided 63-23 win over Shawnee this week. Eastern’s 10-win total for the season is not what you typically see from the Eagles. Yet one of those wins was a solid 69-66 win over Newport Central Catholic from the Ninth Region and another was a most impressive 73-71 win against the Owensboro Red Devils from the Third Region. Eastern went 2-1 in the 28th district, beating Christian Academy and Kentucky Country Day while losing to Ballard. As the no. 2 seed, the Eagles play no. 3 seed Christian Academy in a 28th district tournament semi-final. Eastern beat CAL 70-51 on January 30. 11. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (11-11) Kentucky Country Day won two of its three games this week, beating Brown (67-62) and Fort Knox (61-54) while losing to Christian Academy of New Albany (64-41). KCD’s offense is centered around senior Solomon Mathis, who is averaging 21.2 ppg according to the most recent statistics filed with the KHSAA. At times, KCD has had trouble finding others to contribute offensively in a significant way; sophomore Michael Collis is second on the team in scoring with a 7.3 ppg average. The Bearcats also are not a great rebounding team, with senior Wilder Brice, a tough competitor, leading the Bearcats at 4.3 rpg. The realities of being one of the smaller schools in the Seventh Region is that you usually face a really good team in the first round of the district tournament, and KCD faces the Ballard Bruins in the opening game of the 28th district tournament. KCD lost to Ballard 76-59 on January 30. 12. Atherton Rebels (9-15) The Rebels won their last game of the regular season, beating the Brown Bears 70-54. That win left Atherton one victory short of the 10-win mark, a mark Atherton has achieved two of the previous three years. Perhaps its best win of the season was its 67-65 win over Iroquois the first week of the season. Senior Jacob Pulford leads the Rebels in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg), although Atherton’s statistics have not been updated on the KHSAA website for the past several games. Atherton was 0-3 against the other three teams in the 27th district (Trinity, Waggener, and Seneca), leaving the Rebels as the no. 4 seed in the 27th district tournament. Unfortunately for the Rebels, that means its semi-final match-up is with the Trinity Shamrocks. Trinity beat Atherton 70-43 on January 30. 13. Christian Academy Centurions (6-20) After going 24-11 and advancing to the championship game of the Seventh Region tournament last year, Christian Academy has had a tough season this year. Its head coach, Chad Carr, took a leave of absence in late January and has not returned. Coach Carr’s son, Austin, who was a starter, is not currently with the team. CAL’s six wins this year include only three wins against Kentucky teams (Shelby County, Kentucky Country Day, and Whitefield Academy), and it finished the season with a 11-game losing streak, including losses this week to Bullitt Central (72-54) and Collins (73-40). Christian Academy is the no. 3 seed in the 28th district tournament and plays Eastern in the first round. Eastern beat CAL 70-51 on January 30. 14. St. Francis Wyverns (13-15) St. Francis had a 78-67 overtime loss to Western and a 74-54 loss to Lexington Sayre this week before beating Frederick Fraize on Saturday 72-36. Its 13 wins this season represent only the third time in school history the Wyverns won 10 games or more in a season. Its wins included games against larger schools such as Hancock County and Fleming County, and it achieved lopsided wins against some of the other small schools it traditionally plays. Senior Jomar Sullivan has had an outstanding year, averaging 18.1 ppg according to the most recent statistics posted with the KHSAA. He also is a ferocious rebounder. Junior Ahmad Moore contributes 11.4 ppg. The Wyverns’ wins over Portland Christian and Shawnee earned it the no. 3 seed in the 25th district tournament, where it will face Manual in the semi-finals. Manual beat the Wyverns 87-49 on January 30. 15. Shawnee Golden Eagles (5-22) Shawnee lost this week to Waggener (70-30), Eastern (63-23), and Seneca (58-55) to finish the season 5-22. While it would be easy to look at that record and conclude that Shawnee had a bad year, I look at it and see the improvement Shawnee made from last year, when it won only one game. Its five wins included a win over the 23-win Collegiate Titans, a game the Golden Eagles won with a 75-foot shot at the end of the second overtime. Those wins also include two wins over Portland Christian (48-47 on January 6 and 59-55 on January 16), who the Golden Eagles will play in the first round of the 25th district tournament. One of the benefits of a five team district is that the 4th and 5th seeds have a legitimate shot at some post-season success, and either Shawnee or Portland Christian will have a post-season victory this season. 16. Portland Christian Eagles (13-14) Portland Christian lost to Whitefield Academy (76-60) and Collegiate (70-61) before playing in the Kentucky Christian Conference tournament this weekend, which it won for the second year in a row with victories over Heritage Academy (81-49) and Christian Fellowship (57-43). Portland Christian’s 13 wins make this season the fourth straight in which the Eagles have reached double digits in victories, the first time Portland Christian has had such a streak in its 60-year history. In junior Quincy Dye, Portland Christian has a player who may end up being both the leading scorer and leading rebounder in the Seventh Region. Portland Christian is in the five-team 25th district and faces the Shawnee Golden Eagles in the 4 v. 5 game in the 25th. While Shawnee beat Portland Christian twice in the regular season, both games were close (48-47 and 59-55) and suggest that the opening game of the 25th district tournament should be a good one. 17. Brown Bears (11-17) The Brown Bears had an interesting season. After losing 13 of its first 17 games, Brown won five games in a row, including a 63-61 win over Trimble County. It ended the regular season with 11 wins, the most for a Brown Bears team since the 1999-2000 season. That is tremendous success for the Bears, and they should be proud. Junior Jai’Rus Bibb is perhaps the quickest player in the region and fun to watch. Brown faces St. X in the semi-finals of the 26th district tournament. St. X beat the Bears 84-46 on December 19. 18. Walden Wolverines (2-16) Walden finished the season with a 74-63 loss to Eminence. As it has done in the past, Walden has chosen not to participate in the post-season, so its season is over. Was it a successful season? I hope Walden believes it was. After not fielding a varsity team last year, this season gave seniors such as Jack Pitchford the chance to play competitive high school basketball in their senior year, and that is a success. While the wins were few, the Wolverines experienced victory on a couple occasions, and that is a success. Walden’s roster had plenty of underclassmen and it fielded a solid junior varsity team, so hopefully Walden will move forward in terms of wins in the years to come. Top Ten Players 1. Jay Scrubb, Trinity, 6’5” senior Scrubb had a monster year, leading the region’s best team in both scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg). Louisville Invitational Tournament MVP. KABC Seventh Region player of the year. Would be a worthy Mr. Basketball. 2. David Johnson, Trinity, 6’5” junior High Division I recruit had a very solid year, averaging 14.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg. A tremendous athlete who will be one of the leading contenders for Mr. Basketball next year. 3. Justin Powell, Trinity, 6’5” sophomore Teamed with Scrubb and Johnson to form Trinity’s version of the Three Amigos. Contributed 11.5 ppg and 4.2 rpg. Getting a lot of attention from high Division 1 schools. 4. Jaago “J.J.” Kalakon, Waggener, 6’4” junior Best athlete on a team that plays a lot of players. Averaged 13.1 ppg and 5.2 rpg. Holds several Division I offers. 5. Pierce Kiesler, St. Xavier, 6’7” senior Led the Tigers in scoring and was one of the leading scorers in the region at 18.6 ppg. Shot 61.3% from the field. Also collected 7.8 rebounds per game. 6. Solomon Mathis, Kentucky Country Day, 6’0” senior Upped his scoring average from last year’s 16.9 ppg last season to 21.2 ppg. May end up being the top scorer in the region. As defenses were usually focused on him, his offensive production was impressive. 7. James Taylor, St. Xavier, 5’11” sophomore Solid point guard who averaged 11.9 ppg. An assist machine. 8. Chez Moore, Collegiate, 6’4” sophomore A big reason Collegiate had its best season ever this year. Averaged 19.2 ppg and 10 rpg. 9. Quincy Dye, Portland Christian, 6’2” junior Averaged 20.9 ppg in the regular season while shooting 64.3% from the field. Also averaging 10.1 rpg. Depending how things play out this week, Dye may end up leading the Seventh Region in both scoring and rebounding. 10. Richard Ninamou, Seneca, 6’2” junior Teamed with senior Carl Parker to form a dynamic duo until Parker went down with an injury. Ended up averaging 17.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg. 10a-c. Dorian Tisby, Ballard, 6’3” senior, Marshon Ford, Ballard, 6’2” senior, Delonta Wimberly, Ballard, 6’3” senior OK, so maybe this is cheating, but I couldn’t make this list without someone from Ballard being on the list, and I concluded it wouldn’t be fair to include one or two but not all three of these fine players. All three have been outstanding this year for the Bruins, each averaging over 10 ppg and 5 rpg. The District Tournaments This week’s district tournaments are unlikely to bring many surprises as to who advances to the Seventh Region tournament. The better teams within the Seventh Region are spread out among the districts, and so most of the districts are pretty predictable. It all gets started tonight with the Shawnee-Portland Christian game in the 25th district. 25th District The 25th is the only five-team district in the Seventh Region, meaning the no. 4 and no. 5 seeds play for the right to face the no. 1 seed. Portland Christian and Shawnee have played twice this season, with Portland Christian winning both times. But both were close, and I anticipate another close game in this one. The winner of that game will advance to play the no. 1 seed, the Central Yellow Jackets. Central had double digit wins over Portland Christian and Shawnee during the regular season, and I suspect Central will again prevail over whoever it faces. The other semi-final pits the Manual Crimsons and the St. Francis Wyverns. St. Francis has had a good year, one of the best in its history, but Manual handled the Wyverns rather easily in the regular season and is likely to do so again. Central and Manual in the 25th district championship has the potential to be a really good game. Central prevailed in the regular season match-up 77-74 in double overtime. Regardless of how it turns out, of course, both will advance to the Seventh Region tournament. 26th District The 2 v. 3 match-up in the 26th pits the Male Bulldogs against the Collegiate Titans. Collegiate had had its best year ever, but it would take a tremendous effort to reverse the outcome of the regular season game between the two teams, a 83-45 Male victory. I suspect this game will be much closer, but anticipate that Male will prevail once again. The St. X Tigers play the Brown Bears in the other semi-final. The Bears have had a successful season, but it is hard to see its season lasting beyond this game. So, it looks like Male and St. X will play in the district championship and advance to the Seventh Region tournament. St. X beat Male 63-54 in the regular season. 27th District The Waggener-Seneca semi-final match-up in the 27th district has the potential to be a good game, although Seneca’s chances would be greatly improved if Carl Parker were available to play. This should be an up-tempo game, with both teams playing extremely hard. Waggener prevailed in the regular season 71-62, and I anticipate Waggener will prevail again in this game. The Trinity-Atherton match-up in the other semi-final likely will not be as close. Trinity won in the regular season 70-43. Trinity beat Waggener 62-45 in the regular season, and is likely to prevail in the district tournament championship. 28th District The Eastern Eagles face the Christian Academy Centurions in one of the 28th district semi-final match-ups. Eastern won in the regular season 70-51. I think Eastern will advance from this game. Ballard matches up with Kentucky Country Day in the other semi-final. The regular season game between these two was closer than expected, with Ballard winning 76-59. Ballard should be able to take care of business in this one. Ballard beat Eastern 77-48 in the regular season. I suspect that Ballard will emerge as the district champion.

Wow. Congratulations to the Williamstown Demons.

That was a good Eastern team. They made it to the state tournament semi-finals.

The last time the Seventh Region was won by someone other than Trinity or Ballard was 2011, when Eastern beat Jeffersontown in the Seventh Region final.

As we enter the last week of the regular season, most people are looking ahead to the post-season; the district tournament match-ups are set and the Seventh Region tournament promises to once again produce some outstanding basketball. But in addition to getting ready for the post-season, several teams have goals they are still chasing. Some have 20-win seasons within reach; some have 10-win seasons within reach; some have winning seasons on the line. Unfortunately, some seem ready for the season to be over. In addition to team goals, there are individual goals and honors in play. Portland Christian’s Quincy Dye (21.5 ppg) holds a narrow lead over Kentucky Country Day’s Solomon Mathis (21.2 ppg) for this year’s Seventh Region scoring title. Dye also leads the Region in rebounding at 10.7 rpg, followed by Shawnee’s Jermon Boyd at 10.2 rpg. But the season is not over yet! This week’s rankings: 1. Trinity Shamrocks (24-2) Trinity flexed its muscles with two easy wins this week. The Rocks went to Taylor County on Tuesday and returned home with a 51-33 win. On Friday, the Rocks traveled to Lexington and beat Lafayette by a 75-50 margin. Justin Powell, who had an unofficial visit to Louisville this week, is back from being sick, David Johnson is playing as expected, and Jay Scrubb has turned into a monster. Trinity finishes the regular season this week with home games against Central on Thursday and Lexington Christian on Friday. 2. Ballard Bruins (21-5) Ballard went 3-0 for the week. The Bruins had no trouble coasting past Seneca 97-47 to start the week. On Wednesday, the Bruins played Waggener for the 70th time and beat Waggener for the 70th time, this time by a 73-62 margin. It was the Bruins’ 20th win this season, the 20th straight season in which the Bruins have won at least 20 games. On Friday, Ballard dispatched the Male Bulldogs 71-55. Ballard has won 10 of its last 11 games. The Bruins still have four games to play in the regular season, with games against Doss on Monday, Manual on Tuesday, Jeffersonville (IN) on Thursday, and Central on Friday. 3. Waggener Wildcats (16-9) Waggener lost to Ballard 73-62 on Wednesday to go 0-70 all-time against the Bruins. But I think next year might be the year they get it done. Waggener won the other game it played this week, beating Eastern 88-60 on Friday. A 20-win season is within reach for the Wildcats, which would only be the third time in school history Waggener has won 20 games in a season. It will try to move toward that achievement with games this week against Shawnee and Manual. 4. St. Xavier Tigers (16-9) The St. Xavier Tigers had a great week. First, St. X led Fern Creek throughout and held off a late Fern Creek rally to beat the Sixth Region power by a 67-65 margin, giving the Tigers their most impressive win this season. Pierce Kiesler led the way with 24 points and 7 rebounds. St. X followed that up with a 75-63 win over Manual. The Tigers have won five straight and seven of their last eight. The Tigers have two games this week, playing at Holy Cross on Tuesday and hosting Floyd Central (IN) on Friday. 5. Male Bulldogs (14-12) Male had no trouble with Brown early in the week, beating the Bears 94-44. The Bulldogs played Ballard on Friday without second-leading scorer Howard Fleming (11.1 ppg) and third-leading scorer and leading rebounder Noah Courtney (8.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg) and lost to the Bruins 71-55. Apparently it was injuries that kept both Fleming and Courtney out of the game. Getting those two back will be important for Male’s post-season chances. Before that, however, Male plays Atherton and Shawnee this week to finish up the regular season. 6. Manual Crimsons (13-13) In a preview of its upcoming semi-final match-up in the 25th district tournament, Manual beat the St. Francis Wyverns 87-49 on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Crimsons fell to the St. X Tigers 75-63. Manual’s balance is evidenced by four Crimson players averaging between 9.8 and 12.8 ppg for the season: Jordan McClendon (9.8), Eli Roberts (10.7), Noah Hawkins (12.0), and Kenyan Jacob (12.8). Manual has two opportunities this week to show it is ready for the post-season, with games against Ballard and Waggener. 7. Seneca Redhawks (9-15) Seneca continues to be without Carl Parker and was not competitive against Ballard early in the week, losing to the Bruins 97-47, its sixth loss in a row. But the Redhawks beat Central 67-61 on Thursday and then earned one of their best wins of the season on Saturday by beating Adair County and Zion Harmon (who scored 37 points) by a 81-77 margin. Richard Ninamou had a big game against Adair County, including four straight free throws in the last thirty seconds to seal the win after Adair County had tied the game in the last minute. Seneca still has three regular season games, against Male, Shawnee, and Waggener. 8. Central Yellow Jackets (7-13) Central beat Shawnee 67-29 on Tuesday to extend its winning streak to three games before falling to Seneca on Thursday by a 67-61 count. The Yellow Jackets are finishing the regular season with two challenging games, playing Trinity on Thursday and Ballard on Friday. 9. Louisville Collegiate Titans (21-6) Collegiate continued to build on the best season in school history with a 75-50 win over Beth Haven on Saturday, the only game it played this week. Sophomore Chez Moore has put together a tremendous year, averaging 19.4 ppg and 9.7 rpg. The Titans finish the regular season with games against Carroll County and Portland Christian before facing the Male Bulldogs in the semi-finals of the 26th district tournament. 10. Eastern Eagles (8-18) Waggener got the best of Eastern 88-60 on Friday. The Eagles followed that game with a 62-52 loss to Atherton on Saturday. Eastern has now lost its last 4 games and 10 of its last 12. The Eagles will look to end that losing streak with games this week against Seneca and Shawnee. 11. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (9-10) KCD played a single game this week, a 62-46 loss to North Hardin on Tuesday. Solomon Mathis is currently averaging 21.2 ppg, and recently went over 1000 points for his career. The Bearcats finish the regular season this week with three games over the course of four days, hosting Brown on Tuesday and Fort Knox on Thursday before playing at Christian Academy of New Albany, Indiana on Friday. 12. Atherton Rebels (8-14) After losing its prior six games, Atherton won both games it played this week. It first easily outdistanced Whitefield Academy 90-46 and then beat Eastern 62-52, the first time the Rebels won back-to-back games this season. Atherton has games this week against Male and Brown. 13. Christian Academy Centurions (6-18) Christian Academy’s tough season continued this week with losses to Iroquois (71-43) and Oldham County (72-54). Those losses extended CAL’s losing streak to 9. The regular season ends this week for CAL with games against Bullitt Central and Collins. 14. St. Francis Wyverns (12-13) St. Francis lost 87-49 to Manual, who the Wyverns will play in their first game in the 25th district tournament. The Wyverns rebounded to beat Beth Haven 70-37 and Christian Fellowship 53-39. St. Francis has now won four of its last five games. The Wyverns finish the regular season this week by playing Western, Sayre, and Frederick Fraize. 15. Shawnee Golden Eagles (5-19) The Golden Eagles suffered two one-sided losses this week, losing to Central 67-29 and 78-31 to Pleasure Ridge Park. Shawnee has lost its last six games. The last week of the regular season includes three games for Shawnee, against Waggener, Eastern, and Seneca. 16. Portland Christian Eagles (11-12) Portland Christian had a very successful week, going 3-0 with wins over Evangel Christian (62-45), Burgin (53-50), and Covington Latin (74-28). The Eagles play Whitefield Academy on Tuesday and Collegiate on Thursday. 17. Brown Bears (10-15) Brown lost to Male 94-44 on Tuesday but bounced back to beat Walden 66-50 on Saturday for its 10th win on the season, a two win improvement over last year’s 8 win total. And the season is not over, with Brown playing Kentucky Country Day, Thomas Nelson, and Atherton this week. 18. Walden Wolverines (2-15) With a game against Heritage Academy on Tuesday cancelled because of weather, Walden was left with three games this week, two of which were against Evangel Christian. While both games were close, Evangel Christian won both games, by scores of 75-65 and 65-60. On Saturday, Walden lost 66-50 to Brown. The Wolverines will end their season Wednesday against Eminence. Walden will not play in the post-season this year.

No, he did not play and was not on the bench.

Seneca got a big game from Richard Ninamou and overcame a huge second half from Zion Harmon. Seneca led most of the game, but Adair County tied it with about 30 seconds left. Ninamou made 4 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Final

Thanks. The KHSAA scoreboard initially reported the score as a Waggener win, which would have been big since it would have been Waggener's first win against Ballardin 70 tries. With the win, Ballard has now won at least 20 games in each of the past 20 years.

The scoreboard is reporting this as the score but it appears that it is wrong and that Ballard actually won.. Can a moderator remove this thread?

Wow. Did not see that coming. Congratulations to Western.

Thanks for the correction.

The calendar has flipped over to February, meaning district tournaments can’t be too far away. In fact, a mere two weeks are left in the regular season. With several district games having been played this week, the pairings for the district tournaments have come into focus. But we still have the regular season to complete. This week presents us with plenty of good games, none more interesting than the Ballard-Waggener match-up. Ballard and Waggener are about 3.5 miles from each other. Since Ballard opened in the early 1970’s, Ballard and Waggener have played each other 69 times, and Ballard has won 69 times. That’s a 69-0 record. But it was extremely close last season, with Ballard winning 61-59, and this season might present Waggener with an even better chance of winning. The game is Wednesday night. I am not sure I am going to make it. But I am going to try. Now, for this week’s rankings: 1. Trinity Shamrocks (22-2) Trinity opened the week with a comfortable 70-43 win over Atherton in what likely was a preview of a first round match-up in the upcoming 27th district tournament. Trinity closed the week with a 56-41 win over the Male Bulldogs. Justin Powell is back from his illness, Jay Scrubb’s averages are up to 19 ppg and 7.7 rpg, and David Johnson contributes 15.1 ppg. The Rocks appear ready to head down the stretch. Trinity plays at Taylor County Tuesday night and at Lexington Lafayette on Friday. 2. Ballard Bruins (18-5) Ballard beat Kentucky Country Day 76-59 to go 3-0 in the 28th district and secured the top seed in the upcoming district tournament. The Bruins beat Shawnee 87-38 on Friday to extend its winning streak to seven games before heading to Madison Central on Saturday. The Indians from Madison Central dominated Ballard throughout, beating the Bruins by a final score of 76-50. It seems that Madison Central challenged Ballard to beat them from the outside and Ballard couldn’t do it. Coach Renner tweeted it was the worst Ballard loss to a Kentucky team in his 20 years at Ballard. The Bruins will be busy this week with three games in four days, playing at home against Seneca on Tuesday, at home for the big match-up against Waggener on Wednesday, and on the road at Male on Friday. 3. Waggener Wildcats (15-8) Waggener lost early in the week to a good Oldham County team from the Eighth Region 72-58 with J. J. Kalakon being limited to 4 points. Playing without Kalakon and with Coach O’Neill also being absent on Friday, Waggener beat Seneca (who was playing without its leading scorer, Carl Parker) 54-46. On Saturday, the Wildcats traveled to Indianapolis without Kalakon and fell to Crispus Attucks 65-61. Waggener seeks its first ever win against Ballard on Wednesday night and then hosts Eastern on Friday night. 4. St. Xavier Tigers (14-9) St. X secured the top seed in the 26th district tournament with a 67-40 win over Louisville Collegiate on Tuesday. The Tigers then easily outdistanced the Moore Mustangs 73-43 on Wednesday. On Friday, St. X got perhaps its best win of the season with a 66-58 win on the road at Collins. With Pierce Kiesler leading the way with 18.1 ppg and 7.7 rpg for the season, St. X has now won five of its last six games. The Tigers have two home games this week, hosting Fern Creek on Tuesday and Manual on Thursday. 5. Male Bulldogs (13-11) Male fell to Collins from the Eighth Region 54-51 early in the week, its fourth loss in a row, before beating Eastern 63-52 on Friday. On Saturday, the Bulldogs lost to the top dog in the Region, Trinity, 56-41. Howard Fleming (11.7 ppg) and Tyren Moore (11.6 ppg) lead the Bulldogs in scoring for the year. Male plays the Brown Bears on Tuesday and then hosts Ballard on Friday. 6. Manual Crimsons (12-12) Manual easily bested fellow 25th district member Portland Christian 72-36 before hosting Sixth Region power Butler on Wednesday night. Perhaps indicating that it is gearing up for the post-season like it did last year, the Crimsons played well before falling to the Bears 90-80 in double overtime. But then the Crimsons lost 81-74 to South Oldham on Friday. Manual hosts St. Francis in a district game on Tuesday (a preview of their semi-final match-up in the upcoming 25th district tournament) and then plays at St. X on Thursday. 7. Seneca Redhawks (7-14) Seneca has been playing without its leading scorer, Carl Parker, since he suffered a leg injury against Manual on January 23. Seneca is a different team without Parker, and lost all three of its games this week, falling to Jeffersontown 56-51, Waggener 54-46, and Boone County 65-46. After winning six games in a row, the Redhawks have now lost five in a row. Seneca plays at Ballard on Tuesday and at home against Central on Thursday. 8. Eastern Eagles (8-16) With Nick Sparks tallying 17 points, including hitting 5 3-pointers, and Jacob Robinson adding 16 points, Eastern started the week with a 70-51 win over Christian Academy. The Eagles dropped its other two games this week, losing to Male 63-52 and then losing a tough one to Frankfort 46-44 on Saturday as part of the Gary Moore Classic. Eastern is on the road this week with games at Waggener on Friday and at Atherton on Saturday. 9. Central Yellow Jackets (6-12) The Yellow Jackets won both of the games they played this week, starting with a comfortable 78-49 win over 25th district foe St. Francis on Tuesday. With wins against both Manual and St. Francis, Central appears to have earned the top seed for the upcoming 25th district tournament. On Friday, Central beat Atherton 73-63. Central hosts Shawnee on Tuesday and then plays at Seneca on Thursday. 10. Louisville Collegiate Titans (20-6) Collegiate fell early in the week to St. X 67-40. The Titans added a game against Frankfort Christian on Thursday and prevailed 79-51. With that win, Collegiate set a new school record with 19 wins in a season, besting the previous record of 18 wins set last year. On Friday, Collegiate renewed its rivalry with Kentucky Country Day, which it had beaten 58-43 two weeks earlier in the All A Seventh Region championship game, and beat the Bearcats again, this time by a 55-52 margin for its 20th win of the season. The Titans play on Saturday at Beth Haven. 11. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (9-9) Country Day lost to Ballard 76-59 on Tuesday, not a bad margin when you consider how well Ballard has been playing this season. The Bearcats fell to Collegiate 55-52 on Friday, a much closer game than when those teams previously met in the All A Seventh Region final. KCD bounced back on Saturday to beat Portland Christian 67-54. The Bearcats play at North Hardin on Tuesday and at home against Moore on Thursday. 12. Atherton Rebels (6-14) Atherton went 0-3 for the week. The Rebels started the week with a 70-43 loss to Trinity and followed that with a 73-63 loss to Central and a 64-43 loss to North Oldham. The Rebels have now lost six games in a row and eight out of their last nine games. Atherton hosts Whitefield Academy on Thursday and Eastern on Saturday. 13. Christian Academy Centurions (6-16) As reported in last week’s thread, Christian Academy coach Chad Carr has taken a leave of absence and his son, Austin, currently is not with the team. On the court, CAL lost this week 70-51 to Eastern and 90-61 to Bullitt East to extend its losing streak to 7 games. After winning 24 games and making it to the Seventh Region championship game last year, this has certainly turned into a challenging season for the Centurions. CAL has games against Iroquois and Oldham County on its schedule this week. 14. St. Francis Wyverns (10-12) The Wyverns came out playing hard and led the Central Yellow Jackets 15-9 after the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Wyverns, Central cranked up the pressure and pulled away to win 78-49. The next night St. Francis went on the road and lost to Eminence 76-69. The Wyverns got back to winning on Friday night with an easy 84-13 win over Covington Latin and followed that game with a 68-33 win against Walden on Saturday. That win was the Wyverns’ tenth of the season, giving St. Francis at least 10 wins for the second season in a row. St. Francis plays Manual Tuesday night in a preview of a 25th district semi-final game. St. Francis also plays Beth Haven and Christian Fellowship this week. 15. Shawnee Golden Eagles (5-17) Shawnee dropped its game against Southern on Tuesday by a 58-51 margin. The Golden Eagles then ran into the Ballard Bruins Friday night and fell 87-38. It may be a challenge for Shawnee to win any more games in the regular season with the games it has remaining, which this week include games against Central on Tuesday and Pleasure Ridge Park on Saturday. 16. Portland Christian Eagles (8-12) The Eagles went 1-2 this week, falling to Manual 72-36 and to KCD 67-54. Portland Christian’s win this week came on Saturday, a 69-62 victory over the Brown Bears, who had won five straight going into that game. Junior Quincy Dye continues to lead the Seventh Region in both scoring (21.8 ppg) and rebounding (11 rpg). The Eagles have two games this week, playing at Burgin Friday night and hosting Covington Latin on Saturday. 17. Brown Bears (9-14) Brown continued its late season surge with a convincing 72-37 win over Burgin on Tuesday. Brown then extended its win streak to five with a 83-76 win over Eminence on Thursday. Alas, the Bears’ winning streak ended there when they fell to Portland Christian 69-62 Friday night. Brown plays at Male on Tuesday and hosts Walden on Saturday. 18. Walden Wolverines (2-12) Walden played once this week, a rescheduled game against St. Francis in which the Wolverines fell to the Wyverns 68-33. Walden has a busy week this week with four games on its schedule. Walden plays Evangel Christian twice (at home on Monday and at Evangel Christian on Friday) and also hosts Heritage Academy on Tuesday and plays at Brown on Saturday.

Kentucky School for the Deaf 48 Georgia School for the Deaf 23, per the scoreboard. Congratulations, Colonels.

"Low attendance and financial struggles." I think it has become increasing difficult to get the players they want to play in the game and also to get a game sponsor.

The Kentucky Derby Festival Committee has announced that the Derby Classic basketball game will not be played this year. The Committee is not ruling out its return in future years, but there will be no game this year. This is disappointing. I have been going to the Derby Classic since its earliest days in the mid-70's. I'm afraid it will never return.

Oops. Apparently the KHSAA scoreboard initially reported the score incorrectly and in fact the actual score was Frankfort Christian 59 KSD 25. So never mind.