Purple_Reign

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.

Bowling Green/Warren Central basketball is definitely up there for best in the state. It really hit it heights in the 2010-2011 years when the Chane Behanan vs. George Fant games drew 5-6k at Diddle both years for the region finals. Both programs have 5 region titles, 3 final fours, and a state runner-up A PIECE in the last decade alone with BG cutting down the nets in 2017. Just unreal basketball in the 14th district.

I think Central is probably a year away from that kind of run. Male should win by 10-15 pretty easily based on what I've seen. But, that's why they play the games!

Not an upset at all. BG is very very young this year. They feature 3 seniors but only 1 in Buttry really plays when the game is on the line. The rest of the team is sophomores, freshman, and an eighth grader who gets some clock. BG lacks a Junior class, that’s because they all left BGJHS and went to central as freshman. 3 of them start for the Dragons and they are pretty good. I thought BG played well tonight and looked the better team in stretches. Central just locked up on the defensive end in the 4th quarter and seemed to get every offensive rebound and 50/50 ball. I would venture to say that 90% of WC points in the 4th came off second chance opportunities. Both of these teams return a lot and will likely meet again in this game in a years time. Congrats to the dragons and good luck next week.

He most certainly did and completely embarrassed himself. Again, we are talking about letting a teenager push you to that point as an adult. Be the adult in the situation. Was just very disappointing and even more so disappointing to see the Greenwood school and team social media profiles pointing to "class" and "character" after the game when their own coach was the person in the gym with the least of it. Here is Will McCoy's lone quote in the newspaper after the game: “I’m proud of my kids for always representing the program with class". No congratulations, no humility, no respect for the opponent. He just came off as the sorest of losers, and he really set himself up for it. He was recorded on a post game interview a week ago stating he was going to save his goodbyes to his seniors for a locker room in Rupp arena. That video made the rounds and well, that's all the fuel teams like BG and WC need. BG dominated from the opening tip and he simply lost control. Like I said, I think he's a fine coach and hopefully has learned his lesson.

Very impressed with the poise and toughness of a very young Bowling Green team. The 3 headed monster of MJ Wardlow, Deuce Bailey, and Trevy Barber will be a nightmare for 4th region teams the next 3 years. The only blemish on the night was the post game antics of Greenwood coach Will McCoy. He's done a fine job with the Gators this season, but he let his emotions get the best of him last night. Pulling his hand away from Buttry in the handshake line and talking trash to him throughout the game - just not what you want to see from a grown man. You can't dog cuss a 17 year old kid and then preach about class in the news paper, just doesn't fly. Seeing as this was his only real shot to make a state tournament, I can understand why he would be disappointed to lose in the first round with 7 seniors against a team that plays 3 sophomores, a freshman, and an 8th grader a lot of minutes. But he's a young coach that still has many tough lessons to learn and hopefully he will learn from this one.