Basketball Jones

Yeah, kinda like juxtapositioning. Who knew a parking thread could be so hot.

Shouldn't you guys be watching the Newport-Lloyd game...

Get back to me on that one, too...

6th Region Week 14 Review and Tournament Final Preview REGIONAL TOURNAMENT AT VARIOUS SITES, FERN CREEK AND VALLEY HIGH SCHOOLS FIRST ROUND AT VARIOUS SITES Butler def. Fairdale, 55-47, at Butler Jeffersontown def. Moore, 74-36, at Jeffersontown Evangel Christian def. Fern Creek, 79-53, at Evangel Christian DeSales def. Pleasure Ridge Park, 62-58, at Pleasure Ridge Park SEMIFINALS AT FERN CREEK Jeffersontown def. Butler, 52-49 DeSales def. Evangel Christian, 52-48 FIRST-ROUND HIGHLIGHTS: Jaron Sullivan's efficient double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds helped Butler overcome a spotty shooting performance against Fairdale. Sullivan missed one shot of any kind all game, going 7-for-8 from the field. The rest of the team shot 16-for-45. Evangel Christian received 24 points from both Christian Doerr and Cyr Malonga against Fern Creek. Malonga added 12 rebounds. DeSales upset Pleasure Ridge Park with three scorers in double figures: Crew Gibson (21), Tyler Klein (18) and Brady Cummins (14). Klein led with eight rebounds. DeSales shot 64 percent from the field AND from 3-point range (9-for-14). Klein was 4-for-4 on 3s. Cummins was 3-for-4. Looks like the difference between DeSales and Butler was shooting and that showed in the outcomes, although both teams challenged themselves with tough schedules throughout the season. DeSales was the only first-round road winner. PRP bowed out early, so what have we learned. SEMIFINAL HIGHLIGHTS: The two scores were nearly identical, 52-49 and 52-48. What are the odds of that happening in the final? Well, DeSales and JTown have combined to score or give up 52 points six times this season. They have combined to score or give up 48 or 49 points eight times. That's 14 hits in 120 outcomes, about 11.6 percent. How 'bout that for your unexpected stat of the week? DeSales, No. 5 in the final regional rankings, survived with two double-digit scorers, Julian Bunton and Tyler Klein, both of whom bucketed 13, ending top-ranked Evangel's seven-game winning streak and its season. Johnny Djema led Evangel with 15 points and Ben Mukadi added 10 points and 13 rebounds. But leading scorer Christian Doerr was held to seven points. Second-leading scorer Cyr Malonga was held to four. Together they scored 11, fully one-third their combined season average of 34.6 ppg. No. 10 Jeffersontown's win over No. 4 Butler seems almost as stunning. But the Chargers lost by just five to Butler on Valentine's Day. So, it wasn't like Butler showed it was clearly, ahem excuse me, the heartier team. Either way, I'm sure they are seeing red in Butler. MONDAY FINAL AT VALLEY DeSales (21-11) vs. Jeffersontown (16-12), 7 pm OUTLOOK: After waxing poetic about the region having a different tournament winner each of the last four years and six different winners in 10 years, bracket-busting Jeffersontown is here to say: "We're still champs until we're not, Jonesy. And stop referring to yourself in the third person." But I did say, not to myself, that Jeffersontown had a viable path to the semifinals. The Chargers beat Moore by four during the season, so I also said to expect a competitive game between them in the first round. JTown wound up doubling the score on Moore, and more. So, the region isn't through giving your friendly regional reviewer some headaches. I did say DeSales was capable of running the table. The Colts have lost just two games to regional teams all season. But I did not expect JTown to plow through to the final again. Just couldn't see the Chargers beating Butler. Now that they are here, anything can happen. DeSales and JTown haven't met since 2014. A lot of players on JTown have been here before so this is nothing new. The Chargers have been in the regional final three of the last four years and four of six (2023, 2022, 2020, 2018). This is uncharted territory for DeSales, which hasn't played in a regional final since 2015 in a loss to Doss. DeSales last made the semifinals in 2021, so not a lot of players are still around to manifest that experience into game-day intangibles. However, DeSales just shut down, and I do mean SHUT DOWN Evangel's two best players in the semis. What do the Colts have in store for JTown, which doesn't have any big-time scorers? Camron McDaniels leads JTown with 12.4 ppg although there are six players averaging 8.5 or better. DeSales, for its part, has five scorers averaging better than 9 ppg, led by Crew Gibson's 16.1. Both teams have similar shooting percentages across the board with DeSales having a slight edge from 3-point range and JTown from the line. Both squads are shooting around 53 percent from the field. It looks like DeSales can do it, but it also looks like JTown can withstand. It's No. 5 vs. No. 10 but I really have no idea who is going to win this tilt. I'm just not smarter than fate. Fate is undefeated and still champion. Whose side is fate on Monday. Get your popcorn. FINAL REGULAR SEASON REGIONAL RANKINGS (unchanged): 1. Evangel Christian 2. Western 3. Pleasure Ridge Park 4. Butler 5. DeSales 6. Fairdale 7. Iroquois 8. Holy Cross 9. Fern Creek 10. Jeffersontown 11. Beth Haven 12. Bullitt East 13. Moore 14. Doss 15. Southern 16. North Bullitt 17. Bullitt Central 18. Valley 19. Whitefield Academy

I just scrolled through some KHSAA past schedules for your men. DeSales and JTown haven't played since 2014!

You must be feelin' pretty good for a true diehard. Congrats. Let's see what they can do now with this opportunity.

Yessir, I've been saying similar things all season in the regional reviews. DeSales and Butler really challenged themselves this season, probably more than any other teams in the region. It paid off for DeSales, but didn't for Butler. And here I thought it would be the other way around with Butler going farther than DeSales. A real big thumbs up for DeSales and its coaching staff, who obviously believe in their players or they wouldn't throw so many good teams at them. A bigger thumbs up for Jeffersontown. Few outside JTown thought the Chargers would get this far in defense of their crown.

Looks like somebody doing the weekly regional reviews was over-estimating Great Crossing a little bit this season. Hmm...

I'm rootin' for Mayfield. Can it happen?

Mayfield beat Murray. How 'bout Mayfield, the little school that could. The Cardinals get to the Class 2A football final and are still alive in the basketball regional final so soon after picking up the pieces from the deadliest tornado outbreak in Kentucky's history. An EF-4 tornado brought 190-mph winds to Mayfield and damaged or destroyed more than 60 businesses and killed eight people inside the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory. That any kid at Mayfield would have the pluck to persevere this well after such a life-changing event is truly amazing.

Can I get some lottery numbers from ya this week? DeSales was in a rebuilding mode this season after a 14-14 record in 2021-22. Western returned all five starters from a 23-5 squad so DeSales wasn't even a favorite to win the 22nd District much less the region. Your prediction would have been very bold.

2nd Region Week 14 Review and Tournament Semifinals Preview REGIONAL TOURNAMENT AT MADISONVILLE-NORTH HOPKINS FIRST ROUND SCORES Christian County def. Webster County, 64-52 Lyon County def. Hopkins County Central, 109-75 Henderson County def. Trigg County, 50-40 Hopkinsville def. Madisonville-North Hopkins, 51-49. Highlights: Travis Perry scored 32 points in defending champion Lyon County's rout of Hopkins County Central, helping the Lions make the semifinals for the second straight year and third time in four years. Perry needs 95 points to become the state's all-time scoring leader. He enters the semifinals with 4,243 career points. Leader Kelly Coleman scored 4,337 for Wayland from 1953-56. Gerard Thomas paced Henderson County with 20 points and seven rebounds against Trigg County. The Colonels' Cooper Davenport made all four of his free throws and hit a pair of 3-pointers for 10 points. Henderson County advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three years and fifth time in seven years (2023, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017). Hopkinsville is in the semifinals for the third year in a row. Christian County is in for the second time in four years and fifth time in eight years (2023, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016). MONDAY SEMIFINALS Christian County (19-12) vs. Lyon County (28-5), 6 pm Henderson County (22-8) vs. Hopkinsville (14-16), 7:30 pm TUESDAY FINAL Christian County-Lyon County winner vs. Henderson County-Hopkinsville winner, 6 pm Outlook: Regional No. 1 Lyon County has won 14 straight games and has lost just one contest against a regional opponent this season. The Lions beat No. 5 Christian County 85-72 in December with 41 points from Travis Perry and torrid team shooting: 54% FG, 50% 3FG, 87% FT. The Lyons are shooting 49% overall from the field, 38% on 3FG and 70% on FT for the season. Christian County has won seven of its last nine games. The Colonels shot 61% from the field against Lyon County last time out and still lost by 13. Christian County is shooting 47% FG on the season but lag behind the Lyons in 3FG (32%) and FT (57%). The fact the Colonels couldn't beat Lyon County previously with a good shooting night doesn't bode well for their chances here on a bigger stage. Plus, the Lyons are scoring in bunches of late with two 100-point efforts the last four games and an average of 101 ppg in that span. The Lyons are averaging 90 ppg over the last 11 games. Christian County, averaging 68 ppg over its last 11, just doesn't seem to have enough firepower. No. 6 Hopkinsville upset a hot No. 4 Madisonville-North Hopkins squad that had won eight of its last 10 games on its home floor. But the Tigers lost to No. 3 Henderson County by 10 on January 3. Henderson County has won 10 of its last 12 games. The Colonels beat Hopkinsville in January with free throws and balanced scoring as five players scored eight or more points led by Gerard Thomas' 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Colonels shot 22-for-28 on free throws. Hopkinsville made just 3-of-6 from the line. The Tigers actually have slightly better shooting percentages than Henderson County on the season but they need to get to the line more often if they want to entertain any chance of beating Henderson County this time. FINAL REGULAR SEASON REGIONAL RANKINGS (unchanged) 1. Lyon County 2. University Heights 3. Henderson County 4. Madisonville-North Hopkins 5. Christian County 6. Hopkinsville 7. Webster County 8. Hopkins County Central 9. Crittenden County 10. Trigg County 11. Union County 12. Livingston Central 13. Dawson Springs 14. Caldwell County 15. Fort Campbell

32 points for Travis Perry with Indiana assistant coach Brian Walsh in attendance.

UPDATE: Perry scored 32 points tonight in Lyon County's 109-75 win over Hopkins County Central in the first round of the 2nd Region Tournament at Madisonville-North Hopkins. He needs 95 points to become the state's new all-time scoring leader. KENTUCKY'S ALL-TIME SCORING LIST 1. 4,337 Kelly Coleman (Wayland) 1953-56 2. 4,243 Travis Perry (Lyon County) 2018-present PERRY'S 2022-23 GAME-BY-GAME POINT TOTALS Game total/Opponent/Career total 24 Ohio County........................3,213 36 South Warren......................3,249 28 Mason County.....................3,277 24 Livingston Central..............3,301 27 Crittenden County.............3,328 41 Christian County.................3,369 38 Trigg County.......................3,407 26 Hopkins County Central....3,433 29 Harlan County....................3,462 34 Larue County......................3,496 25 Great Crossing...................3,521 28 North Oldham.....................3,549 25 Cov. Holy Cross..................3,574 passed Harry Todd for 4th all-time 37 Ballard..................................3,611 passed Cameron Justice for 3rd all-time 27 Lexington Catholic..............3,638 31 Mason County.....................3,669 passed Charlie Osborne for 2nd all-time 30 Livingston Central 45 North Laurel 21 University Heights 33 Webster County 31 Trigg County 30 Hopkinsville 29 Crittenden County 37 Caldwell County 33 Madisonville-North Hopkins 32 John Hardin 32 Bracken County....................reached 4,000 in his career (4,022) 34 University Heights 43 Trinity (Whitesville) 61 Dawson Springs.....................971 season total 31 Crittenden County.................1,002 season, 4,191 career 20 Trigg County..........................1,022 season, 4,211 career, needs 127 for new record 32 Hopkins County Central.......1,054 season, 4,243 career, needs 95 for new record --- Christian County March 6 --- Regional final March 7 --- State tournament first round March 16

It took them too long to hire him. He should have been back at Bellevue years ago.

TRAVIS PERRY'S PURSUIT OF KENTUCKY'S ALL-TIME SCORING RECORD Travis Perry, a Lyon County junior, needs 127 points to break Kelly Coleman's all-time state scoring record. Perry's team could be eliminated at any time in the postseason, forcing the chase into 2023-24. But it's possible that Perry plays at least another four games this season, which means he would need to average 31.75 ppg in those four games to break the record as a junior. He's averaging 31.9 ppg this season for the 5th District champion Lyons (27-5). Below is a breakdown of Perry's season to date. This will be updated after each game. KENTUCKY'S ALL-TIME SCORING LIST 1. 4,337 Kelly Coleman (Wayland) 1953-56 2. 4,211 Travis Perry (Lyon County) 2018-present PERRY'S 2022-23 GAME-BY-GAME POINT TOTALS Game total/Opponent/Career total 24 Ohio County........................3,213 36 South Warren......................3,249 28 Mason County.....................3,277 24 Livingston Central..............3,301 27 Crittenden County.............3,328 41 Christian County.................3,369 38 Trigg County.......................3,407 26 Hopkins County Central....3,433 29 Harlan County....................3,462 34 Larue County......................3,496 25 Great Crossing...................3,521 28 North Oldham.....................3,549 25 Cov. Holy Cross..................3,574 passed Harry Todd for 4th all-time 37 Ballard..................................3,611 passed Cameron Justice for 3rd all-time 27 Lexington Catholic..............3,638 31 Mason County.....................3,669 passed Charlie Osborne for 2nd all-time 30 Livingston Central 45 North Laurel 21 University Heights 33 Webster County 31 Trigg County 30 Hopkinsville 29 Crittenden County 37 Caldwell County 33 Madisonville-North Hopkins 32 John Hardin 32 Bracken County....................reached 4,000 in his career (4,022) 34 University Heights 43 Trinity (Whitesville) 61 Dawson Springs.....................971 season total 31 Crittenden County.................1,002 season, 4,191 career 20 Trigg County..........................1,022 season, 4211 career, needs 127 for new record --- Hopkins County Central (2nd Region) --- Christian Co. or Webster Co. (2nd Region) --- Regional final --- State tournament first round PLAYERS PERRY HAS PASSED THIS SEASON ON THE ALL-TIME LIST 3. 3,647 Charlie Osborne (Flat Gap) 1953-57 4. 3,587 Cameron Justice (Knott County Central) 2010-15 5. 3,567 Harry Todd (Earlington) 1955-58 6. 3,542 Chris Harrison (Tollesboro) 1987-91 7. 3,377 Jonathan Ferguson (Elliott County) 2003-09 8. 3,365 Charles Thomas (Harlan) 1990-95 9. 3,325 Clem Haskins (Taylor County) 10. 3,300 Ty Rogers (Lyon County) 1998-04 11. 3,255 Dontaie Allen (Pendleton County) 2014-19 12. 3,233 Fred Hale (Williamstown) 1969-73 13. 3,228 Ervin Stepp (Phelps) 1977-80 14. 3,226 Manual Forrest (Moore) 1977-81 15. 3,202 Todd Conley (Elkhorn City) 1991-94 16. 3,219 Nelson White (Powell County) 1951-55 17. 3,211 Tim Stephens (McCreary County) 1973-76 18. 3,192 Austin Crawford (Bracken County) 2013-17 *All names and numbers from the KHSAA. https://khsaa.org/records/basketball/bbk-recordbook_indivteams.pdf NOTES: The 6-foot-2 guard scored his 1,000th point of the season in Lyon County's district tournament win over Crittenden County, becoming the 28th Kentucky high school boys basketball player to reach the milestone. Perry is the 37th player in American high school basketball history to reach 4,000 career points. He ranked No. 33 on the national career scoring list with four regular season games remaining. He's on pace to become the 10th player in U.S. history to score 5,000 points. Perry has played varsity basketball at Lyon County since seventh grade and led the team in scoring every season, averaging 20.6 points (seventh grade), 26.6 (eighth grade), 27.3 (freshman), 27.5 (sophomore) and 31.9 (junior). Perry scored a season and career-high 61 points versus Dawson Springs with Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari in attendance. The 61 points are the most in a game in Kentucky this season and also set a Lyon County single-game record. Perry recently set the Kentucky high school record for most career 3-pointers made. This season, Perry's shooting percentages are 52.8 percent from the field, 46.2 percent on 3-pointers and 87.7 percent on free throws. Perry holds nearly 20 college offers including Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio State, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wake Forest. Perry is the Nations Elite 2022-23 Kentucky Boys High School Player of the Year. The Nations Elite Kentucky Boys Basketball All 2nd-Region First Team: Travis Perry, Lyon County Gerard Thomas, Henderson County Marcus Eaves, Madisonville-North Hopkins Brady Shoulders, Lyon County Travis Champion, Crittenden County (In the name of accuracy, please let me know if you see any errors or math issues. Thanks.)

Sam Elsbernd contributes to what's good about basketball. Aside from coaching with class, against Paris on Senior Night, he put senior team manager Rylee Spence in to start the game and Spence scored his first varsity points and wound up with five. We hear about these kinds of gestures all the time but they never get old. Imagine the thrill that kid got because his coach was thoughtful and kind. That's a priceless memory. It will stay with that kid the rest of his life and his coach will always be a hero to him. And why not? Elsbernd served in the U.S. Navy. He knows what it's like to give of himself to others on a level most of us don't. Maybe he can find his way back to Holmes. He was on staff for the 2009 state championship team under David Henley. Elsbernd can coach. He needs to find a decent program with some patience.

Dang, dude... I feel mighty informed.

Voluminous! You're on top of the Crazy Eighth, my man.

6th Region Week 13 Review and Tournament Preview Here are the key scores from last week. 21st District Tournament final: Pleasure Ridge Park def. Fairdale, 65-60 22nd District Tournament final: Butler def. DeSales, 59-51 23rd District Tournament final: Evangel Christian def. Moore; 85-58. 24th District Tournament final: Jeffersontown def. Fern Creek, 76-70 All eight teams qualified for the regional tournament. HIGHLIGHTS: Pleasure Ridge Park captured its 13th consecutive 21st District championship behind Keith Robinson's 25 points in the tournament final. The Panthers needed every one of them as Fairdale proved stubborn with 20 points from Dalton Hicks. In the 22nd District final, Dontre Russell's 25 points propelled Butler past DeSales for its first district title since 2020. In the 23rd, Evangel Christian repeated as champion by crushing Moore behind Cyr Malonga's 29 points and 15 rebounds. Brandon Gatewood's 18 points led four scorers in double figures as Jeffersontown took down Fern Creek in the 24th District final for a repeat. REGIONAL TOURNAMENT AT VARIOUS SITES AND VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL TUESDAY FIRST ROUND AT VARIOUS SITES Fairdale (22-9) at Butler (22-8), 7 pm Moore (13-18) at Jeffersontown (14-12), 7 pm Fern Creek (12-16) at Evangel Christian (28-4), 7 pm DeSales (19-11) at Pleasure Ridge Park (23-5), 7 pm SATURDAY SEMIFINALS AT VALLEY Fairdale-Butler winner vs. Moore-Jeffersontown winner, Noon Fern Creek-Evangel Christian winner vs. DeSales-Pleasure Ridge Park, 1:30 pm MARCH 7 FINAL 7 PM AT VALLEY OUTLOOK: Turnover at the very top keeps toppling the champion as the region annually demonstrates a penchant for spreading the love when it comes to handing out championship hardware. The region has had a different tournament winner each of the last four years and six different winners in 10 years. There hasn't been a back-to-back champion since Fern Creek in 2017 and 2018. Parity among the perennials is the problem for dynasty wannabes as everybody keeps knocking off each other, making it difficult to repeat. Every champion but one since 2016 is back again this year. Jeffersontown is defending champ but the Chargers have struggled to a 14-12 record. They are 8-6 over the last seven weeks and the Jeffersontown-Moore winner gets either Butler or Fairdale in the semifinals, so it's very likely a changing of the guard is once again in store at the regional summit. Even so, Jeffersontown should count itself lucky to be in this spot. Last season's runner-up Doss and four teams from this season with 20 wins, Western, Holy Cross, Beth Haven and Iroquois, aren't even here as the perils of parity claimed high-profile victims. For the opening round, Jeffersontown drew a Moore squad that's lost 11 of its last 17 games. In a rugged district tournament, it looks like Jeffersontown has a viable path to the semifinals. The Chargers beat Moore by four during the season, so expect a competitive game. Butler beat Fairdale by eight during the season. But Fairdale has won 12 of its last 15 games with those three losses coming to Butler and twice to Pleasure Ridge Park. Butler has won four straight games and 10 of 13 and plays Fairdale at home for the advantage. The bottom bracket is loaded with solid teams and dripping with intrigue. Three potential winners are ready to duke it out as top-ranked Evangel Christian, No. 3 Pleasure Ridge Park and No. 5 DeSales are all capable of running the table. Evangel hasn't lost to a regional team this season. DeSales and PRP suffered just two regional losses each. DeSales ended No. 2 Western's season in the districts, so don't sleep on the Colts. However, there is some mystery involved. Evangel and Fern Creek did not meet during the season. Neither did DeSales and Pleasure Ridge Park. DeSales and Evangel did not meet. There is some recent history for some. Evangel beat PRP by three during the season. PRP hasn't lost to DeSales since 2016. Favorites: Evangel Christian and Pleasure Ridge Park. Sleeper: Butler. Darkhorse: DeSales. FINAL REGULAR SEASON REGIONAL RANKINGS (unchanged): 1. Evangel Christian 2. Western 3. Pleasure Ridge Park 4. Butler 5. DeSales 6. Fairdale 7. Iroquois 8. Holy Cross 9. Fern Creek 10. Jeffersontown 11. Beth Haven 12. Bullitt East 13. Moore 14. Doss 15. Southern 16. North Bullitt 17. Bullitt Central 18. Valley 19. Whitefield Academy

You mean punny. You mean punny. Hoot!

Thanks for catching my oversight. Not sure how I left him out.

11th Region Week 13 Review and Tournament Preview Here are the key scores from the recently completed week of basketball. 41st District Tournament final: Great Crossing def. Western Hills, 78-73 42nd District Tournament final: Frederick Douglass def. Scott County, 69-39 43rd District Tournament final: Lexington Catholic def. Lexington Christian, 61-39 44th District Tournament final: Madison Central def. Madison Southern, 57-47 All eight teams qualified for the regional tournament. HIGHLIGHTS: Central overcame shooting woes (31.6% FG, 17.4% 3FG) and escaped Southern in a battle of the Madisons in the 44th District with 27 points and 13 rebounds from Jaylen Davis. Madison Central won the district for the fifth time in six years. Robby Todd added a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds and Jayden West had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Indians. Mad Central has won seven of its last nine games and is 13-8 since the 5-6 start. The Indians last won the region in 2021. NOTEWORTHY: Not a lot of competitive championship games with some very hot teams involved, although Western Hills pushed repeat champion Great Crossing in the 41st District. Great Crossing has won 14 of its last 16 games. In the 43rd, Lexington Catholic won the district for the second year in a row. The Knights are riding an 11-game winning streak and did not lose to a regional team this season. Frederick Douglass won the 42nd for the fourth straight year while extending its winning streak to 25 games. The Broncos haven't lost since Dec. 10 vs. Great Crossing. Their only other loss was to LexCath in the season opener. REGIONAL TOURNAMENT AT VARIOUS SITES AND EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY TUESDAY FIRST ROUND AT VARIOUS SITES Western Hills (17-11) at Madison Central (18-14), 7 pm Lexington Christian (23-9) at Frederick Douglass (28-2), 7 pm Scott County (11-21) at Great Crossing (27-5), 7 pm Madison Southern (19-13) at Lexington Catholic (30-2), 7 pm SATURDAY SEMIFINALS AT EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Western Hills-Madison Central winner vs. Lexington Christian-Frederick Douglass winner, 1 pm Scott County-Great Crossing winner vs. Madison Southern-Lexington Catholic winner, 3 pm MARCH 6 FINAL 7 PM AT EKU OUTLOOK: There will be a new champion as Henry Clay didn't make it back to the tournament. Lexington Catholic is favored but the upset-prone Knights have a recent history of being on the receiving end of first-round knockouts, losing early each of the last two years to the eventual tournament champion. The last time the Knights made it to the final in 2020, they finished the season 31-3 but were upset by 19-16 Scott County. LexCath's last regional crown came in . . . 2015. If a similar early-round fate befalls the Knights once again and the regional drought continues, Great Crossing could possibly benefit while sitting on the other side of the bottom half of the bracket. In the top half, everybody has a lot to prove. Mad Central has been on a mission while circling the wagons in the aftermath of a major mid-season lineup change. Western Hills, 13-3 since a dreadful 4-8 start, has an opportunity to show its mettle after losing six of its 11 games by margins of 5, 4, 6, 3, 4 and 6. Lexington Christian is 0-3 vs. LexCath this season and 12-1 vs. everybody else in the region, 23-6 overall. That's bad news for Frederick Douglass which cannot claim Lexington Christian as a victim this season because the Broncos and Eagles did not meet. The Broncos would love to show that even though they aren't as battle-tested as LexCath and Great Crossing doesn't mean they can't wind up in the final against one of them in a revenge match, and win. Favorite: Lexington Catholic. Sleeper: Frederick Douglass. Darkhorse: Madison Central. FINAL REGULAR SEASON REGIONAL RANKINGS (unchanged): 1. Lexington Catholic 2. Great Crossing 3. Frederick Douglass 4. Lexington Christian 5. Madison Central 6. Madison Southern 7. Sayre 8. Henry Clay 9. Western Hills 10. Scott County 11. Paul Laurence Dunbar 12. Tates Creek 13. Bryan Station 14. Lafayette 15. Franklin County 16. Frankfort 17. Model 18. Frankfort Christian 19. Berea

16th Region Week 13 Review and Tournament Preview Here are the key scores from the recently completed week of basketball. 61st District Tournament final: Fleming County def. Bath County, 76-61 62nd District Tournament final: Morgan County def. East Carter, 81-48 63rd District Tournament final: Lewis County def. Russell, 66-50 64th District Tournament final: Boyd County def. Ashland Blazer, 74-67 All eight teams qualified for the regional tournament. HIGHLIGHTS: Boyd County ended Ashland Blazer's three-year reign as 64th District tournament champion with a seven-point win in the final at Boyd County Middle School. Boyd last won the crown in 2019. Boyd destroyed Fairview 108-69 in the semifinals for its sixth 100-point game of the season. The Lions have played 30 games which means they have scored 100 points 20 percent of the time or once every five games. Boyd beat Ashland with balanced scoring as five players reached double figures led by Cole Hicks' 16. Jason Ellis had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Six players were in double digits vs. Fairview, led by Hicks' 22. Ellis had 20 points and 11 rebounds in that one. You know it's a good team when leading scorer Jacob Spurlock doesn't make the top of the highlights. All he did was post a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds vs. Fairview followed by 14 points and six rebounds against Ashland. NOTEWORTHY: Lewis County, ranked No. 13 in the final regional rankings, shocked No. 4 Russell in the 63rd District championship game with a 16-point win as Xavier Prater recorded a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds and Caden Box scored 17. Lewis County's late-season turnaround enabled it to come away with a fourth district title in five years. The Lions have won six of their last eight games. They were 3-13 on Jan. 14. Over in the 62nd, Morgan County won the district for the first time since 2018 with a rout of East Carter thanks in part to a 22-point effort from Cameron Adams. Morgan County has won nine of its last 10 games. Fleming County put its winning streak into double figures while winning the 61st District tournament for the first time in nine years. Rowan County had won the last eight crowns. REGIONAL TOURNAMENT AT MOREHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY WEDNESDAY FIRST ROUND Ashland Blazer (19-11) vs. Morgan County (22-7), 6:30 pm Russell (25-6) vs. Fleming County (22-8), 8 pm THURSDAY FIRST ROUND Bath County (16-13) vs. Lewis County (11-18), 6:30 pm East Carter (19-10) vs. Boyd County (25-5), 8 pm MARCH 6 SEMIFINALS Ashland Blazer-Morgan County winner vs. Russell-Fleming County winner, 6:30 pm Bath County-Lewis County winner vs. East Carter-Boyd County winner, 8 pm MARCH 7 FINAL 7 PM OUTLOOK: Most everybody is expecting yet another clash between defending champion Ashland Blazer and returning runner-up Boyd County in the championship game. Ashland won last year's final between the city archrivals, 84-52 for a 4-0 sweep of the Lions with an average winning margin of 24 points. This season has been a different story. Boyd has won the last two times out against Ashland after losing the season's first meeting, so confidence is running high. Boyd has won 14 of its last 15 games. Ashland is 7-5 over its last 12. There could be some intrigue along the way. How will Boyd County match up against Bath County should both win first-round games and meet in the semis. They haven't met since 2018. It's worth noting that Bath County pushed Ashland in last year's regional semifinals before losing by just five. However, balance would be an issue. Bath County gives up too many points and gets most of them from its only double-digit scorer, Zack Otis, while Boyd scores points in bunches and gets them from a bunch of different players. There is something similar in the upper bracket. Ashland has not played Morgan County this season. Ashland and Russell could meet in the semis (if Russell beats Fleming County in the first round) after not meeting this season. Russell beat Ashland in their last meeting in 2022. It's been more than two years since Ashland beat Russell. It's a longshot encounter. Russell lost to first-round opponent Fleming County by 21 earlier this season and Fleming is riding a 10-game winning streak. Russell has gone 4-3 since its 16-game winning streak. Co-favorites: Boyd County, Ashland Blazer. Sleeper: Fleming County. Darkhorse: Bath County FINAL REGULAR SEASON REGIONAL RANKINGS (unchanged) 1. Ashland Blazer 1. Boyd County 3. Fleming County 4. Russell 5. Morgan County 6. Rowan County 7. Bath County 8. East Carter 9. Greenup County 10. Raceland 11. Menifee County 12. Fairview 13. Lewis County 14. West Carter 15. Elliott County 16. Rose Hill Christian

I appreciate all the hard work and thoughtfulness that went into this. It should be getting more than just one reaction. Thank you. Nice job.