Purple_Reign

Great recap as always @DragonFire. Very interested to see the next 3 (likely) iterations of this matchup as the season goes on with WC getting healthy and getting newly eligible transfers to gel.

Seemed like a game where just about everything went against BG and they still found a way to win. Winning at Central is hard to do as it is, when the whistle goes the way it did, it makes it almost impossible to pull out a win. I'm shocked DG didn't pick up a technical because I sure would have. Agree with Purple 88. While Unseld only played half the game on minutes restriction, Wardlow and Ritter were essentially taken out of the game by the officials. I still think the talent gap is wide enough that the remaining 3 contests will feature at least 2 double digit wins for the Purples, but stranger things have happened. Also, congratulations to DG Sherrill as he picked up his 400th career win tonight.

Final per KHSAA scoreboard from the Clash at the Swap shootout.

Final per KHSAA scoreboard.

Whitney and Walkup went to school in the BG city school district up until their freshman year. Played for BGJHS 7th and 8th grade teams. Moved over to Central as freshman. Wells moved over there after his sophomore year at BG I believe and a kid who started for BG last year and some of this year moved to Central mid-season this year - though he is ineligible. I think this is where a lot of that story is coming from. All just high school kids throwing stones for twitter beef.

Rejects is the complete opposite term I would use, but a lot of them did move over there.

Good stuff Red Devils! Coach Drake always has them in the mix.

Central has now tied BG for 4th region championships. 18 a piece.

Replay of the missed 3 that sends the Dragons to Rupp. FullSizeRender.MOV

Purples got an open look to win the game in OT with a 3 from Luke Idlett that just bounced off the front of the rim at the horn. Just a phenomenal game in the 4th region. BG has nothing to hang their heads about as they took the wire to wire #1 team in the state to the brink of elimination. Purples return their entire roster next season. Starting lineup of 1 freshman, 2 sophomores, and 2 juniors played their absolute hearts out tonight. Congrats to the Dragons for holding on. Will be massive favorites in Lexington.

Bowling Green/Warren Central feels inevitable as usual. The stats @DragonFire is able to dig up is truly remarkable and his previews are always top-notch work. Todd County took an early 5-2 lead but the Purples managed to get up 9 at the end of the first quarter. They would use a 10-0 run to stretch the lead to 26-9 in the second and never looked back. They would push the margin to 27 points in the fourth quarter before eventually running out to a 66-41 win. Four Purples got into double figures in scoring and shot 56% from the field which was a welcome sign. They will need balance of scoring to try and match Centrals prolific starting 5 in the final. If the rumors of Franklin being without a few players are true, tonight's game could get out of hand in a hurry.

The Warren East Raiders pulled off the big win last night taking down Glasgow 53-51. All district tournament championship games are now set for tomorrow night: Franklin Simpson vs. Todd County Central (7:00 pm @ Todd County Central) - 13th District Warren Central vs. Bowling Green (6:00 pm @ Greenwood) - 14th District Barren County vs. Warren East (6:00 pm @ Warren East) - 15th District Metcalfe County vs. Monroe County (7:00 pm @ Metcalfe County) - 16th District

The last district semifinal comes by way of the 15th district as #2 Warren East takes on #3 Glasgow at Warren East High School. Tip set for 6:00 pm. The Raiders are looking to advance to the 4th region tournament for the first time since 1997.

All is still pretty chalky in the 4th Region. Per KHSAA scoreboard from last night's action: Todd County Central 63 Russellville 41. Warren Central 76 Greenwood 45 Bowling Green 65 South Warren 50 Barren County 58 Allen County 33 Monroe County 65 Clinton County 54 A couple stats of note that I stole from @DragonFiretwitter handle. Bowling Green improves their record over South Warren to 32-0 and the Spartans are still yet to make a regional tournament. Last night's results also guarantee that either Bowling Green or Warren Central will win the 14th district tournament for the 27th consecutive season.

Per KHSAA scoreboard Franklin Simpson defeats Logan County 56-40 and Metcalfe County defeats Cumberland County 62-50. The Wildcats and the Hornets are the first 2 teams to punch their tickets to the 4th region tournament. 5 more teams will be in the field after tonight. #1 Warren Central vs #4 Greenwood (6:00 pm @ Greenwood High School) 14th District #1 Barren County vs #4 Allen County (6:00 pm @ Warren East High School) 15th District #2 Bowling Green vs #3 South Warren (7:30 pm @ Greenwood High School) 14th District #2 Todd County Central #3 Russellville (7:30 pm @ Todd County Central High School) 13th District #2 Monroe County vs #3 Clinton County (7:30 pm @ Metcalfe County High School) 16th District

Also the 4th region has the #1 and #19 teams. 18 of the top 20 teams competing for 7 spots.

Dragons knock off the Purples in overtime to clinch the #1 seed in the district tournament. BG had a great look at a buzzer beater to win it at the end of regulation that just rolled off. All Central in the OT period.

Agreed. I'd say the chances of a double digit loss for BG is far more likely than single digits. The Purples never seem to play well in that gym and the rim usually doubles in size for WC. I would like to think holding out to try and win the region final would be a smart decision, but with a young team it could be more of a benefit to win this game so that they truly believe they can compete. Going into a win or go home region final with no seniors and 0-3 season record vs your rival who has been there and done that would be very hard to overcome.

Purples used a 15-0 run at the start of the 4th to put the Spartans away to extend the all time series record to 31-0. BG will finish up district play on the road at Warren Central next Friday.

Purples put up 40 points in the second half and survive a 3 point barrage from Ohio Co to get the road win.

Will be a tough test for sure though I haven't been able to catch Ohio County this year. They've played some similar opponents and have done better than BG in those games. Always a tough place to play and can be a loud gym when their fans show up, which I have no doubt they will. Could be a big step in the right direction if the Purples can escape with a win.

I think they have just been unlucky and dealt with growing pains of having a young team. The football team advanced all the way to the state finals, so they were without a few at the start of the season (this happens most years). Briar Griffin started a few games early and gives them a 3 and D type of player, but as of last week he was still in a walking boot. Trevy Barber has been in and out of the team due to some disciplinary issues, but he is working his way back to playing more minutes. We know they've lost a starter/rotation player in Starks halfway through the year. In light of Starks departure, they have leaned havily on freshman Gavin Lightning to start as their other big. Backup big Drevan Bratton missed a game for an ejection. All they are really missing now is Griffin, but not sure on his timetable to return. I think they will just have to develop chemistry and get solid rotations down before the district tournament. Up to this point, they've played so many different lineups and players that it's been hard for them to really get in a good flow. This makes beating Central even more daunting when they've essentially played the same 6-7 guys more or less for 3 straight years. They know exactly who they are and who is going to play. Can BG figure all of that out in a month? My gut says no, but stranger things have happened. Still expect it to be these 2 in THAT game in Diddle come March.

Bowling Green has played a very tough schedule this year with a young team. As of today, 9 of their 30 games will be against BGP top 20 teams. They are 2-4 so far against the top 20 with Evangel Christan, Trinity, and Warren Central still to come with 2 of those 3 on the road. Will be interesting to see if that pays off at the end of the year, but my guess is it will be more of a benefit to next year's team. To my knowledge they still haven't played a single game this year with their full roster available, but time is running out to get everyone healthy to compete with the well-established chemistry of the Dragons.

Final per KHSAA scoreboard. Big BGP top 20 road win for the Purples.

Trevy Barber, Drevin Bratton, and Briar Griffin all did not feature in this game for BG. One for disciplinary reasons, one for suspension, and one through injury. This certainly hurt the Purples on the night and limited their bench options greatly. As for Elijah Starks, he transferred in season to Warren Central a week or so ago. He is ineligible to play until next year obviously, but it is a loss as he started every game for BG last year as a sophomore and started a bunch this season. That's 4 players who've all played somewhat significant minutes and 2 of those 4 started several games. What we saw last Friday night was Central at full strength. Not saying they can't improve because they obviously can, but for the most part they are what they are. BG has some pieces yet to return so their potential has yet to be reached. Will that result in them being able to take down WC when it matters? I don't think so. Central has the experience and the 7 seniors, BG has no seniors and not much experience winning those big games. But those roles should reverse after this season for a while.