fieldhousekrayzie21

Who else?? They have Downing, Setty (Treg), Barner, Pawsat, and Hamm. If you don't know them, trust me, you will when they play. Downing was a starter last year and is one of the best defenders in the state. Setty is tall and has loads of promise. Barner is a double-double machine and can guard players of different sizes. Pawsat is a beast and is quickly becoming a valuable scoring weapon, and Hamm is a great game manager, shooter, and defender. They have MUCH more than just Middleton.

I highly doubt it will be a blowout.

I don't see how Campbell Co. can still be #3 when they just got blown out by Mason County in the Finals of the MCIT, when Mason County was missing one of their best players who is their best defender. Is the rest of the Region just that bad? I haven't seen teams outside of Campbell, Mason, Harrison, St. Pat, and Scott, but if Campbell is the third best team, the region must be down. I haven't seen Clark Co. play yet, so I am not sure who the best team is. I would say Clark and Mason are easily the best two teams though.

That's not true. He has a sprained foot.

Depends on if Downing plays and is 100%.

Finals of MCIT

Keith Downing is out with a sprained foot that occured in last nights win against Harrison Co. This should play a major factor in the outcome of this game.

Winton Woods

All of this back and forth talk between Mason County fans and Clark County fans is embarassing. I am a Mason County fan and all of this trash talking is getting a little bit out of control. Mason County and Clark County both have good teams this year and I would love to see them play for the Regional Championship. But at the same time, there are tons of other good teams in the region who will be looking to knock both of them off. Both teams have their flaws, but will continue to improve as the season goes on. As for Mason County's team, sure they don't have Darius Miller, Trevor Setty, or Ethan King anymore, but they do still have alot of talent, including two starters who returned from last year. Saying that they will win region just because they won state last year is ignorant, just like saying you have to ignore everything that happened last year is ignorant. Last year showed us what some of the players on this team can do and if you combine that experience with some of our young talent, the Royals could be a contender. No matter what, it should be fun to watch come March.

This was a GREAT win for the Royals. The UFCA was a very big team and the Royals put it to them. Mason County came out with great intensity and were able to sustain it the entire game. The Royals were hitting shots in the first quarter, which helped them build the lead, along with great defense. Russ scored well, as usual, but other Royals contributed as well. This was a great team effort that led to a great win against a highly-rated team. Phil Barner played an amazing game, once again. He had a double-double, and made several athletic plays and played some great defense. He will continue to get better as the year goes on and is vital to the Royals success this year. Neal Pawsat's break-away dunk set the tone for the rest of the game. It seemed like UFCA came in and saw how small Mason County was compared to them and thought they could overpower them. Pawsat's slam showed that the Royals were ready to play and were'nt going to back down. Treg Setty and Keith Downing both played good games as well. Treg was on the wrong end of some close calls that kind of kept him from getting into a rhythm offensively, but he still hit some shots and got some key rebounds, even though he was in foul trouble. Downing simply locked down UFCA's (PG #30 who I think is going to Florida State). He guarded him the majority of the game and he and the Royals held him to 8 pts. Jordan Gilbert was a factor in this game as well. He came off the bench and hit two big shots to help the Royals jump out to their big lead, and they never looked back. This was a great win for the Royals. UFCA was a very big and athletic team, but they didn't really play as a team and the Royals took advantage of it. They tried to take our players one-on-one and it did not work well for them. Its good to see that the Royals can play with a team of this size and playing games like this can only help their confidence come tournament time. This is still a very young team who is learning to play with one another and they will continue to improve as the year goes on. Great Job Royals, bring home the trophy tomorrow.

I'm at the game. The Royals are shooting the ball really well. The Falcons are having trouble with the Royals speed and don't appear to be very good shooters. The two 7 foot freshman have been non-factors and really don't play that much. I'm not impressed with them at the moment, but maybe they just had an off half. They are not living up the the hype at the moment.

A little early to start this thread? Wow ignotus, I'm not even at the gym yet!

This was a really crazy game. I am lucky enough to have seen it first-hand. After watching the first quarter, it looked like it could be a long game for the Royals. They just couldn't get a shot to fall. Then, they went on a 15-0 run to start the second quarter and got themselves into the locker room with a lead at halftime. It really shows alot about the Royals that they clawed back into the game when they could've easily given up. Russ Middleton took over in the second half. He was pretty much scoring at will and was penetrating with ease. They really didn't have an answer for him. Phil Barner and Keith Downing played some great defense, they both took turns guarding one of their best players and both did a pretty good job. It was great to see Phil show that he has the ability to guard a smaller, faster player. Not alot of big men can do that and it will be great to have that asset come tournament time. He did a great job rebounding as well. Neal Pawsat had a rough game. He just couldn't catch a break. It just wasn't his day. He seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time a few times, and generally it wasn't his fault. He just plays hard and is strong and other players don't like playing against guys that strong. The guy fell on top of him when they called the double foul and there was just some talking going on back and forth when he was sent out of the game along with a Harrison player. I had never seen anything like that in my life. Neal will keep his head up though. He is a great player and an even better kid, and the Royals need him if they are going to be successful. All in all, the Royals are happy to get out of there with a W. It will be interesting to see how they attack the size of the United Faith Christian Academy, as they have not faced a team that big in awhile. The Royals will enjoy their day off and then get back to work Monday at Noon.

Im at the game. Neal was allowed back in the game. The ref made him and a guy from Harrison go out for a play. Never seen that before. Good win for the royals

This is a really tough question, because everyone has their own definition of a great defender. Some players can only guard players their own size, while others can guard people that are much bigger or smaller (and quicker) than them. I would say that Keith Downing is a great all-around defender for the Royals. He can guard almost anyone and is usually assigned to the other team's best offensive player, even last year when Mason County had Darius. He is much stronger than he looks and is very long, which gives opposing players fits. I would say he is one of the top defenders in the state.

Which is one reason why Highlands won...

Downing is listed as a guard, but he usually defends the other teams best player. He plays in the post alot and is one of the best defenders in the state. This should be a good test for the Royals. Franklin Co. is a good team.

I think that that is really pretty close for these teams.

Mason County is a top 20 team.

I'm at the game. Number 5 for X is killing the Royals. It really hurts that Downing is in foul trouble.

I am at the game and it seems like the refs just like the sound of their whistles. It's crazy for both teams. Russ is back in.

The fouls in this game are crazy. 15 combined fouls in the first quarter alone.

Who has scored?

I don't know much about Holy Cross, but if Mason County plays anything like they did on Friday at Cov Cath, they will be very tough to beat.

WRONG! Its LITZINGER and he was 6-2 MAX and thats a fact. And even if Grutza did play bigger than he was listed, he was still listed at 6-2. The 2003 Royals weren't a big team at all.