DearToday

WOW! South Laurel steals the inbounds. Mabe barely misses the 3 to take the lead. HC grabs the board and gets the timeout with 4 seconds left. HC set to inbound. 

Mabe drills a longggg 3 to give SL life. 36-34 HC with 12 seconds left. HC set to inbound. 

35-30 HC with 58.8 left. SL ball. HC tied for their biggest lead of the game. 

34-30 1:54 left. HC ball and HC leads. 

32-30 2:47 left. HC leads and HC ball. 

Final media timeout. 32-30 HC leads with 3:26 left. 

31-30 HC leads. 4:44 left SL ball. Jordan Mabe for the Cards just picked up his fourth foul. 

South Laurel 27 Harlan County 26 at the end of 3. 

Harlan County currently leads in the third quarter with 3:56 left 21-19. South Laurel has taken the air out of the ball. You can find the stream on WYMT. 

Zero reason why Boyle should be 30-31 the last two seasons. You also have a 6’6 freshman in the stands watching who was sixth man as an 8th grader last year. 

1 hour ago, Statsdontlie said:

Well that athleticism came to an end tonight because I was told Demauriah Brown and Montavin Quisenberry will not be playing basketball next year and will enroll in college once Football is over.

Wouldn’t be surprised to see Brock Driver added to this list as well. I know he isn’t the level of those two but nonetheless. 

Region Tournament:
Here’s a breakdown of each region tournament game along with a ranking of the remaining teams. All games will be held at Appalachian Wireless Arena. Good luck and injury free ball to each team!

I’m going to break this down into the games that are left. The 15th has adapted into a super regional format so a lot of games have been played so far. Things started Feb 29th. Paintsville beat East Ridge and Prestonsburg beat Phelps in play in games. From there, Lawrence County beat Paintsville, Besty Lane beat Belfry, Magoffin County beat Prestonsburg, and Johnson Central beat Shelby Valley. So what we have left is the final 8. 

Game 1: Pikeville (21-4) vs. Lawrence County (24-7) March 6th 6:30
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Pikeville leads the series 11-3. 

RPI wise, this is the 1 and 2 seed in the 15th in a first round game. Pikeville has been rolling and only lost one game this calendar year and that was in the All ‘A’ to Evangel Christian. Pikeville is led by Charlie Fitzer with 14.4 a game and Eli Johnson with 11.0 per game. Pikeville is the region favorite and has been playing the best ball so it’s hard for me to see a situation where they lose. Lawrence will get the first crack at Pikeville to knock them off. They were upset in the 58th district championship by Floyd Central, but won their play-in game with Paintsville after. The Bulldogs are led on the year by Andrew Bloomfield (15.9), Hayden Perry (13.1), Blake Marcum (11.4), and Gunnar Woods (10.8). Lawrence will have to play much better than they did in their district championship game if they plan to knock off the mighty Panthers, but I don’t think that happens. I’ll take Pikeville by 10+. 

Game 2: Martin County (21-9) vs. Betsy Lane (17-15) March 6th 7:45
Series in 2023-24: Martin County 94 Betsy Lane 72 on Jan 18th
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Martin County leads the series 4-1. 

The Cardinals have won 11 of their last 12. They’re one of the hotter teams in the 15th region right now. Luke Hale has been Mr. Consistent for them as he puts up 23.8 per game and Brayden McKenzie puts up 14.8 per game. Martin County beat Paintsville by 19 and Magoffin County by 10 to win the district. Now they’ll face Betsy Lane. They knocked off Betsy Lane by 22 on Jan 18th where Brayden McKenzie led the way with 28 and Luke Hale added 22. Betsy Lane has their work cut out for them. They were defeated in the first round of district by Floyd Central by 6, but with the way the new Super Region is set up in the 15th they were given life by being able to play back into the region. They knocked off Belfry by 38 and now are in the final 8. They’re led on the year by Andrew Kidd (16.4) and Carter Parsons (13.4). I believe Martin County gets the win again by 15+. 

Game 3: Floyd Central (16-13) vs. Magoffin County (18-13) March 7th 6:30
Series in 2023-24: Magoffin County 61 Floyd Central 47 on Jan 22nd.
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Magoffin leads the series 7-4

Floyd Central has won 9 of their last 11. The Jaguars won the 58th district championship with a 6 point win over Betsy Lane, then a 14 point win over Lawrence County. Thanks to the new super regional, the 58th district has 3 teams in the final 8. The Jaguars are led on the year by Braden Moore (20.0) and Ronnie Sammons (18.1). They’ve been playing really good ball as of late, but unfortunately they will be playing Magoffin County. Magoffin knocked the Jaguars off Jan. 22nd by 14. Aden Barnett led the way with 29. That’s right on par with his season average. He is currently putting up 29 a game shooting 56.6%. Magoffin won their first game of the district over JC in OT, but then dropped their game with Martin in the district finals by 10. They beat Prestonsburg by 23 to earn their way to Appalachian Wireless. I think this will be one of the better first round games of the region and could go either way. Give me Magoffin in a tight one. 

Game 4: Pike County Central (20-8) vs. Johnson Central (14-13) March 7th 7:45
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Johnson Central leads the series 23-9

The Hawks may pose the best threat to knock off Pikeville. They are currently winners of 14 of their last 15. PCC won the district championship by 68 over Belfry. Jaylan Rigdon led the way with 34, Jaden Stewart with 22, and Jacob Slone with 20. Rigdon and Stewart have led the Hawks on scoring this year with 25.8 and 21.4 points per game respectfully. PCC played Pikeville within 5 earlier in the year. I think they’ll end up making their way back for a rematch. To get there they’re going to have to knock off the Johnson Central Golden Eagles. JC has made it this far by losing their first district game by 6 to Magoffin in OT, but then beating Shelby Valley on the road by 3. JC is very up and down though as they have been 6-6 their last 12 games. JC is led on the year in scoring by Austin Slone (26.3) and Brayden Shepherd (16.9). I think Pike County Central wins this one in dominating fashion. 

Predictions:
Semi Final 1: March 9th 7:00. Pikeville vs. Martin County
Semi Final 2: March 9th 8:45. Magoffin County vs. Pike County Central
Finals: March 11th 7:00
 

Rankings:

1. Pikeville (21-4)
 

2. Pike County Central (20-8)
 

3. Floyd Central (16-13)
 

4. Lawrence County (24-7)
 

5. Martin County (21-9)
 

6. Magoffin County  (18-13)
 

7. Betsy Lane (17-15)
 

8. Johnson Central (14-13)

6 minutes ago, Polar Bearcat said:

Thanks for the information.  The region site is Henry County not Henry Clay.

Thank you! Just fixed it. 

Region Tournament:
Here’s a breakdown of each region tournament game along with a ranking of the remaining teams. All games will be held at Henry County High School. Good luck and injury free ball to each team!

Game 1: Simon Kenton (16-15) vs. Woodford County (24-6) March 6th 6:30
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Simon Kenton has won the only matchup in 2020. 

The Pioneers are playing their best basketball of the year having won 6 of their last 7 games and 9 of their last 12. They beat Williamstown by 15 in the first round of district then beat Walton-Verona by 16 to win the district championship after previously losing by 11. Simon Kenton is led on the year in scoring by Travis Krohman (17.2) and Jay Bilton (11.9). Unfortunately, they had a tough draw by drawing Woodford County. Woodford is 24 and 6 on the year and has won 11 of their last 13. Unfortunately, they lost in the district championship by 3 to Spencer County after having previously beat them by 10. The Yellow Jackets are led on the year by Santonio Waide (17.2), Layton Starks (14.7), Omari Jointer (11.9), and Jaunte Jenkins (11.2). They have big wins on the year over DCA, Frederick Douglass, and Henry Clay. They can’t afford to have a let down when it matters. I think that Woodford is going to be a really tough out for anyone come region time. So give me the Yellow Jackets by 7. 

Game 2: North Oldham (25-5) vs. Gallatin County (20-12) March 6th 8:00
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting since 2014.
Series Overall (since 1997/98): North Oldham leads the series 7-1. Gallatin’s only win was in 2008. 

North Oldham has hit somewhat of a hiccup at the end of the season going 2-2 in their last four games, but they were still able to win the district by 12 over South Oldham. Grant Neal led the way with 27 and Jack Fischer followed with 19. Grant Neal has led NO on the season with 21.3 per game and Jack Fischer has been the Batman to his Robin with 13.0 per game. The Mustangs have some signature wins on the year over Spencer County, Evangel Christian, and CAL. Gallatin County comes into the tournament as runners ups in the 31st after falling to Owen County by 4. They are led by the trio of Matthew Griffin (18.8), Kellen Dossett (15.2), and Andrew Brinker (10.8). Gallatin has no real signature win to hang their hat on, but they have played good ball in spurts all throughout this season. They were on a four game win streak before dropping the district final. I think this game has the capability to get away quick, and for that give me North Oldham by 20+. 

Game 3: Owen County (19-13) vs. Walton-Verona (22-10) March 7th 6:30
Series in 2023-24:Walton-Verona 86 Owen County 59 on Feb 2nd.
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Walton-Verona leads the series 29-28

These two teams have met 57 times since 1997 with Walton-Verona leading the series by one game. Owen County enters the region as winners of the 31st after beating Gallatin County by 4. Brax Ward led the way with 16 points and 14 rebounds and Micah Shelton followed him up with 12. Owen is led on the year by the duo of Brax Ward (19.2) and Micah Shelton (16.8). Owen has been very streaky throughout the year but is currently riding a 3 game win streak. Walton-Verona enters the region as runnerups in the 32nd after a 16 point loss to Simon Kenton. WV is led by the trio of Aaron Gutman (21.6), Julian Dixon (15.0), and Zach Smith (13.1). The Bearcats have won 7 of their last 10 contests. When these two teams played the first time Walton-Verona walked away with a 27 point victory on the back of a 33 and 8 performance from Aaron Gutman. This game happened just over a month ago, and for that reason I don’t think much will change in this game. I’ll take Walton-Verona by double digits. 

Game 4: Spencer County (22-9) vs. South Oldham (17-13) March 7th 8:00
Series in 2023-24: Spencer Co 78 South Oldham 61 on Jan 30th
Series Overall (since 1997/98): South Oldham leads 19-8. Spencer Co has won the last 4. 

Spencer County comes into the region tournament hot. They’ve won 15 of their last 16, and knocked off Woodford in double OT for the district championship. They had a huge game from the big three of Keaton Baird, Luke Erhardt, and Camden Cox all scoring 20+. They’ve also been led on the year by those three with Luke Erhardt scoring 20.7 per, Camden Cox with 15.3, and Keaton Baird with 13.5 per game. Spencer has a nice road set up to go on a run and compete for the 8th region title. To do so though, they’ll first have to get through South Oldham. South Oldham lost in the 29th district title to North Oldham by 12. Julian Miles led the way in the loss with 29. To get there, they had a huge win over Oldham County to knock the colonels out of the region. The Dragons got good scoring on the season from four players with Julian Miles (20.3), Christian Veirs (14.6), William Burnside (12.7), and Jake Fithian (12.7). Spencer won the regular season matchup a month ago by 17 with Luke Erhardt leading the way with 29 and 3. I think Spencer County will roll in this one too by double digits. 

Rankings:
1. North Oldham (25-5)
 

2. Spencer County (22-9)
 

3. Woodford County (24-6)
 

4. Simon Kenton (16-15)
 

5. Walton-Verona (22-10)
 

6. South Oldham (17-13)
 

7. Owen County (19-13)
 

8. Gallatin County (20-12)

Region Tournament:
Here’s a breakdown of each region tournament game along with a ranking of the remaining teams. All games will be held at the Corbin Arena. Good luck and injury free ball to each team!

Game 1: Knox Central (21-9) vs. North Laurel (17-15) March 6th 6:00
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting
Series Overall (since 1997/98): North Laurel leads 19-14. North Laurel has won the three. 

After going to four straight region championships and winning three of them, Knox Central had a tough year last year going 4-26. This year they brought in Mitchell Madden to lead the way, big man Gavin Chadwell returned, and now the Panthers are 51st district champs and are looking to continue a solid year in which they’ve gone 21-9. Gavin Chadwell leads the way for the Panthers this year with a solid 21 points per game and 15 boards. Grayson Burton is the second leading scorer with 14.6 per game. Knox doesn’t really have a signature win per se this season, but they’ve been playing much better and improved basketball. Now, enter North Laurel. Fresh off a region championship last season, the Jaguars have played a brutal schedule this season going 17-15. The Jaguars are led by a balanced scoring attack with Reece Davidson averaging 15.6, Brody Brock 13.0, Kole Jervis 10.5, and Jordan Rawlings 10.5. They had won 7 of their last 8 before facing Clay in the district final. They ran into a buzz saw after splitting their season series with the Tigers and were defeated 42-79. North’s big wins this year have been over Taylor County, Clay County, Corbin, and Pulaski County. North has shown they can play really good ball, but they have to have consistency and can’t have a let down like they did in the 49th district championship game. I think this has the potential to be a very competitive game. Normally teams struggle to shoot at The Arena, and with Knox having the advantage in the paint with Gavin Chadwell this could pay dividends for them. I also think that North Laurel has played a more challenging schedule to this point to prepare them for a region run. Give me the Jaguars here by 5-10. 

Game 2: Corbin (21-8) vs. Bell County (25-7) March 6th 7:30
Series in 2023-24: Corbin won Feb 22nd 52-39
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Corbin leads 25-13. Corbin has won the last three. 

The Redhounds enter the region as winners of the 50th district for the first time since 2018. They knocked off South Laurel 61-59. Corbin is led through a balanced scoring attack of Eli Pietrowski (12.3), Zander Curry (11.7), and Trey Worley (10.7). Zander Curry also leads the Hounds on the boards with 7.5 per game. Corbin is 14-4 in the region, including a 13 point win over Bell at home a few weeks ago. Their signature wins this season include wins over DCA, Ashland Blazer, and Madison Southern. Many people believe Corbin can make a run from the top part of the bracket. The Bobcats enter region play as runner ups in the 52nd district after losing by 23 to Harlan County. They’re 3-3 in their last 6 games. Bell is a very young team and is led in scoring by Cameron Hall (17.4), Blake Burnett (16.8), and Ethan Buell (14.5). Bell, like Knox, lacks really a signature win on the season. They have played much improved ball under Coach Brad Sizemore, but they need to right the ship quickly going into a tough first round matchup with Corbin. Give me the Redhounds by double digits.
 

Game 3: Harlan County (28-4) vs. South Laurel (19-10) March 7th 6:00
Series in 2023-24: First Meeting
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Harlan County leads 12-6. HC has won the last five. 

Anything less than a region championship will be a disappointment for the black bears. First year Coach Kyle Jones has Harlan Co playing great basketball with losses this year to only Bowling Green, Kell GA, Pikeville, and Douglass. Harlan Co is 15-0 in the region and not many of those games have been close. The Black Bears are led by a two headed monster in Trent Noah (30.1) and Maddox Huff (17.8). South Carolina commit Trent Noah is the 13th region player of the year and one of the top players in the state. Harlan County likely has its eyes on goals bigger than the region, with big time wins this year over Ashland, Desales, Butler Co, Male, and Woodford. Unfortunately for them though, they’re going to have to earn their path as they have the toughest draw in the tournament. They’re going up against 50th district runner up South Laurel. The Cardinals have been a tale of two teams. Since Jordan Mabe has been back, they’ve been dangerous. However, they did drop their district championship to Corbin by 2. This is the first time since 2018 they’ve lost the district. South is led by Jordan Mabe (16.0) and Colton Rawlings (14.5). Mabe is the motor that keeps the cards running. The Cardinals have signature wins this year over CAL and GRC. It’s going to be a tough task to knock off the Black Bears, but Jordan Mabe may be one of the only players in the region who can hang with Trent Noah from a size standpoint. Nevertheless, give me the Black Bears by double digits. 

Game 4: Clay County (23-8) vs. (20-10) March 7th 7:30
Series in 2023-24: Clay won Nov. 28th 85-68
Series Overall (since 1997/98): Clay County leads 10-3. Clay has won the last 2. 

Nobody enters region play with a win streak as high as Clays. Clay has won 14 straight and thrashed North Laurel in the district final by 37. First year Coach Michael Jones has the Tigers playing as good a ball as anybody in the 13th. Hayden Harris is leading the way with 17 per game, Elijah Bundy puts up 11 per, and Jerrod Roark is coming it with 11 per game as well. Clay’s biggest wins this year have been over North Laurel, Hazard twice, and Corbin at home. Pineville enters region play on another note having lost 4 of their last 7. After barely squeaking by Lynn Camp by 2 to make the region, Pineville pushed Knox Central to the wire and only lost by 1. Pineville has been up and down for a lot of the season. What has remained constant for the Mountain Lions has been Sawyer Thompson (24.0) and Ashton Moser (20.4). Will these two have enough star power to knock off Clay? I wouldn’t expect so. Clay won the first game of the year against Pineville by 17. Clay is playing much better ball since then. I think this game will be a blowout. I’ll take Clay by 20+. 

Predictions:
Semi Final 1: March 9th 1:00. North Laurel vs. Corbin
Semi Final 2: March 9th 2:30. Harlan County vs. Clay County
Finals: March 11th 7:00. Corbin vs. Harlan County
13th Region Champion: Harlan County

1. Harlan County (28-4)
 

2. Clay County (23-8)
 

3. Corbin (21-8)
 

4. South Laurel (19-10)
 

5. North Laurel (17-15)
 

6. Bell County (25-7)
 

7. Knox Central (21-9)
 

8. Pineville (20-10)

The 45th district champs football/basketball players worked out this past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 6:45. They were also up with their team at 6:45 Thursday and Friday stretching then getting shots up while their teammates lifted. And they also beat Lincoln 60-46 and upset the region favorite DCA 52-45. The four Boyle players who made the all district team and the MVP of the district tournament were also football players. Just a fun fact! 

8 hours ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

I still don't understand why they still do Sunday they are the only region in the state that does not have their draw on Saturday.

Creates the dramatic effect I reckon. Lol

12th will be broadcasted by Maroon Sports Network on YouTube is what I saw earlier on X. 

1 hour ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

Hey @DearTodaydoes the 8th region still wait and have their region draw on Sunday afternoon? I have not heard or seen anything about it.

Yes. I read earlier there’s will be tomorrow! 

I can’t really explain it.. but nevertheless here you go. Lol

Bottom is loaded. Harlan County has the toughest draw and will have to earn it. Corbin should make it from the top IMO but you never know what could happen. Could see a scenario where any of the four make it from the top. 

All games are at the Corbin Arena. 
 

Wednesday, March 6
Knox Central vs. North Laurel, 6 p.m.
Corbin vs. Bell County, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 7
Harlan County vs. South Laurel, 6 p.m.
Clay County vs. Pineville, 7:30 p.m.

Games at Pulaski. 

Boyle played bully ball. Hit some big shots, drove straight at them. Seneca Driver was a man tonight. The freshman has grown leaps and bounds all year. 

Tavi and Demauriah dominated. Stone cold.