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1. John Hardin (27-2): Staying on top, John Hardin beat both Bardstown and Nelson County. One of the state's top players, Alex Matthews is averaging a double-double of 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs. Matthews has been named the 5th Region Player of the Year. 2. Elizabethtown (21-2): Remaining in the win column, Elizabethtown outlasted Taylor County in overtime and pulled away to beat Bardstown convincingly. Jaquais Franklin is averaging a team-high 21.7 points er game for the Panthers. 3. Bardstown (19-8): In a tough late-season stretch, Bardstown dropped games to both John Hardin and Elizabethtown. The Tigers pushed John Hardin but suffered a double digit loss to Elizabethtown in another matchup. JJ Traynor is averaging 19.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game for the Tigers. 4. LaRue County (18-6): The Hawks recorded convincing wins over Nelson County and Taylor County. LaRue County has won 11 of its last 13 games. Mark Goode scored his 2,000th point for the Hawks in the victory over Nelson County. Goode is averaging 23.3 points per game for the LaRue County boys' basketball team. 5. Marion County (18-7): The Knights are on a six-game winning streak after defeating North Hardin and Taylor County. Continuing to lead Marion County, Jamison Epps is averaging a double-double of 18.6 points and 14 rebounds per game. 6. Central Hardin (12-13): Nearing the .500 mark, Central Hardin added wins over Owensboro Catholic and Green County. Currently, Central Hardin is on a five-game winning streak. Gavin George (13.3 ppg) and Deonco Wilkerson (12.2 ppg) are combining to lead the Bruins. 7. Campbellsville (12-13): Under the direction of head coach Anthony Epps, Campbellsville reeled off wins over Caverna, Washington County and Bethlehem. Malachi Corley is averaging a team-high 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the Eagles. 8. North Hardin (10-16): The Trojans won back-to-back games over Hart County and Meade County before falling to Marion County. Naasir Johnson is leading North Hardin with a 15 points per game scoring average. 9. Taylor County (13-14): The Cardinals dropped three consecutive games, falling to Elizabethtown, LaRue County and Marion County. Prior to its current skid, Taylor County had won 9-of-11 games. Kybrin Smith is leading Taylor County in both scoring and rebounding. 10. Adair County (12-15): The Indians notched a win over Green County but fell to Russell County. Productive Russell County snapped Adair County's four-game winning streak, defeating the Indians 61-45. Lucas Pooler is leading Adair County, averaging a team-high 12.3 points per game. 11. Nelson County (11-17): The Cardinals dropped back-to-back games to LaRue County and John Hardin. Currently, Nelson County is on a three-game losing skid. 12. Hart County (11-14): In between losses to North Hardin and Fort Knox, Hart County notched a win over Thomas Nelson. Hart County has won five of its last nine games. 13. Thomas Nelson (9-17): After reeling off three straight wins, Thomas Nelson dropped back-to-back games to Hart County and Iroquois. The Generals suffered a double digit loss in each of the two games. 14. Fort Knox (7-16): Showing improvement, Fort Knox notched back-to-back wins over Bethlehem and Hart County before falling to Western, an opponent from Louisville. The Eagles won back-to-back games for only the second time in the 2019-20 season. 15. Bethlehem (10-17): The Eagles dropped games to Mercer County, Fort Knox and Campbellsville before beating Brown 56-42. Bethlehem's victory over Brown halted a six-game losing skid. 16. Green County (5-17): The Dragons opened February with losses to Adair County, Central Hardin and Somerset. Green County returned to the loss column after ending January with back-to-back wins. 17. Caverna (5-19): Remaining in the loss column, Caverna dropped games to Edmonson County, Campbellsville and Glasgow. The Colonels are currently on a five-game losing skid. 18. Washington County (3-24): After pushing Campbellsville, Washington County notched a win over Whitefield Academy. Washington County has won two of its last six games.

Preface (too short to be a 'Prelude'): Well the final week of the season is upon us. There will be some very competitive games and some not-so competitive games. Next week's article is a little different because we combine our rankings with a district tournament preview. Regional Rankings 1. Covington Catholic (23-5): Cov-Cath lost to Male last week. They play Madison Central on the 21st. The Colonels will play Holy Cross in the first round of the district tournament. 2. Conner (18-5): Conner has not lost since January 4th. The Cougars finish the regular season with a pair of away games against Holmes and New Cath. I believe they are hosting the 33rd district tournament. 3. Beechwood (19-9): The Tigers may have had the best week overall. A win at St. Henry was probably their most significant win of the year (Paintsville has turned out to be really good too) and by defeating the Indians, they grabbed the #2 seed. Draud and Downton each had double-doubles in the Holy Cross game and Cole Busald scored 11 points. Brandon Hughes also played a huge game with Mitchell Riley nursing a sprained ankle. Beechwood travels to Lloyd before hosting Highlands to finish the regular season. 4. Highlands (23-2): The Bluebirds play the Tigers and Crusaders this week; both are away games. Highlands did end the season being undefeated at home during the regular season. They should play the winner of Dayton and Bellevue in the 1st round of their district tournament. 5. St. Henry (20-4): The loss to Beechwood drops the Cru a little bit. This is not an insult because all of these top teams are very good. St. Henry hosts Highlands on Wednesday, I will be in attendance. Drop by and say “Hello.” 6. Newport Central Catholic (16-8): The Breds are on a 5-game winning streak and face Conner to end the season. I assume they play Newport High in the 1st round of their district tournament, but I have not seen a bracket yet. 7. Cooper (9-14): The Jags played Highlands very tough last week. Cooper has improved every week this season. Coach Sullivan is a fine coach. 8. Lloyd Memorial (14-11): The Jugs beat two 8th Region teams before losing to Highlands by 26. Lloyd will host Beechwood before traveling to Trimble County. Lloyd is not a member of the Northern Ky Athletic Conference as they joined the NCKC a few years ago. Thus the reason for more games against 8th Region teams. 9. Holmes (11-14): The Dawgs are playing a little better. They have won 3 of their last 5 including victories over Campbell County and Holy Cross as well as a 10-point loss to St. Henry. Coach Carr’s crew face two tough opponents in Conner and Simon Kenton. 10. Dixie Heights (7-19): The Colonels beat the Indians to move up a few spots. They should get one more win before facing Lloyd in the district tournament. 11. Ryle (12-14): Ryle beat the Bearcats last week. They play Cooper in the 33rd district. The Raiders could win. 12. Holy Cross (13-11): Dick Vitale would call the Indians a bunch of “Dow Jonesers” as they continue to play like the stock market. It’s hard to predict what they will do. Recent losses to Holmes and Beechwood result in a district semi-final match-up against Covington Catholic. The entire state of Kentucky is rooting for the Indians in their district match-up next week. 13. Newport (13-13): Newport played the Breds very close last week. They travel to Breathitt County for their last game. It should be a fun bus ride. 14. Boone County (5-12): I am flipping Boone back on top of Ludlow. They played close with some decent teams in Grant County, Ryle, and Holmes. 15. Ludlow (17-9): I am surprised that Ludlow lost to Gallatin by 18. I thought it would be a closer score. 16. Dayton (9-19): The Devils should get double-digit wins this year. They play Latin and Buchanan. 17. Villa Madonna (6-21): Villa beat Augusta in overtime. Augusta is a fun place to watch a competitive game. 18. Heritage Academy (6-16): Heritage ends the season with three small schools before playing Boone County in the District Tournament. 19. Bellevue (3-21): Its been a while since the Tigers were in a close game. If they don’t beat Trimble this week, I do not see any chance for another “W.” 20. Covington Latin (0-14): Nothing new to report. No Stats posted all year.

Week Eleven Review: Some clarity took place this week, and some thing became more murky. McCracken County will be the team to beat going into the region tournament. Marshall seemed like they had number two locked up, however Calloway tripped them up this week, and then Murray is still playing strong. Paducah Tilghman took a step back and did not look like a team that could compete against those top three, or even Calloway. Here are the week 11 rankings : 1. McCracken County – BGP #10 Season Record: 24-5 McCracken spent this week trying to put away any doubt they are the number one team in Region 1. They have had some close games lately and really made a statement this week. They defeated Calloway County by 19 points, St. Mary by 36 points, and Paducah Tilghman by 29 points. They have proven their case and have one more game to erase all doubt as they face off with Murray in their last regular season game. 2. Marshall County Season Record: 18-10 Marshall had their 10 game winning streak snapped in a loss to Calloway County 72-71, even though Zion Harmon dropped 50 points in the game. However they did defeat both Murray and Christian County, which were also tough games for the Marshalls. They will play Mayfield this week before heading out the Las Vegas for a end of season tournament. 3. Murray Season Record: 22-5 The Tigers have been playing great basketball this season but the game against Marshall County shows they are just shy of being considered in the top tier. They will have a chance again to prove themselves against McCracken County before heading to Carlisle County to end the season. 4. Paducah Tilghman Season Record: 18-9 The Blue Tornado were easily victorious against both Community Christian and Meridian (IL), however they were soundly defeated in the most important game of the week at McCracken County. However they were without their best player Micheal Laster, who was out sick. Not sure if he would have made that much of a difference though. They can’t dwell too long on it as they will go to Calloway County and Hopkinsville to end the season. 5. Calloway County Season Record: 16-11 The Lakers had a up and down week. They were handed a 19 point loss at home versus McCracken County, but they rebounded nicely with their biggest win of the season, as 72-71 win over Marshall County. This makes things interesting, as 3 of the top 5 teams are from the 4th district, and so 1 of them won’t make the region tournament. 6. Graves County Season Record:11-17 The Eagles record doesn’t seem like it should be ranked 6th, but they have been playing much better basketball of late. They haven’t been able to win a game against the top teams, but they are in the games. They are also taking care of teams in the middle and bottom, including a big win at Mayfield this week. They end the year at Carlisle and at home versus Fulton County. 7. Mayfield Season Record:16-8 Mayfield defeated Fulton County 82-63, but lost to an improved Graves County team 59-52. They will finish the season against Fulton County, Marshall County, and Hickman County. 8. Carlisle County Season Record: 17-9 The Comets find themselves in the midst of a seven game winning streak, feasting on the lower tier teams in the region, this week was no exception easily defeating Livingston Central and Ballard Memorial. The last two games will be much more difficult and will threaten the streak. They will host both Graves County and Murray. 9. St. Mary Season Record: 12-17 The Vikings is in a downward spiral, losing 10 in a row and 12 of 13. At one point this season, St. Mary was 11-5, and looking good. That has all changed since the All A Region Classic. They have only won one game since. They will play Lyon County to end the season, but they are playing great, and will be a tough game to win. 10. Fulton County Season Record: 12-12 The Pilots lost to Mayfield, but won against their crosstown rivals Fulton City, avenging a 4 point loss earlier in the season. They will play Mayfield, Ballard Memorial, and Graves County to finish out the year. 11. Fulton City Season Record: 10-12 Fulton City defeated Dresden (TN), but lost the rematch to Fulton County and to Graves County. They will play Community Christian and Christian Fellowship to end the year. 12. Hickman County Season Record: 9-15 The Falcons won against Christian Fellowship and Lake County (TN), but lost to South Fulton (TN). They play Livingston Central and Mayfield to finish up. 13. Ballard Memorial Season Record: 3-24 The Bombers have now lost 11 games after playing Graves, Carlisle, and Murray. They have upcoming games versus Trigg, Fulton County, and Calloway. 14. Community Christian Season Record: 1-27 The Warriors do have one win this season, but haven’t been in very many games. They will try for win number two in their last two games against Fulton City and Fort Campbell. Christian Fellowship* Season Record: 16-10 The Eagles split their games this week, beating Beth Haven, but losing to Hickman County. They finish against two Illinois teams and Fulton City. They do not play in the Region 1 tournament, but in a private school state tournament. *Does not compete in the Region 1 tournament.

8th Region Week 11 Review: Oldham County Firms Up Its Claim By Colonelmike Week 11 is in the books – only one week remains in the 2019 – 2020 regular season. The 8th Region rankings are settling down; the number one ranked Oldham County Colonels solidified their claim to the top spot this past week by upending #9 ranked Collins, the second-ranked team in the region (per this ranking) by eleven points at Collins. And – after there was no movement at all in the rankings last week – there was just minimal movement this week, with all of the movement occurring in the bottom half of the rankings. Besides Oldham’s “top gun” showdown victory over Collins, the week’s big win belonged to Anderson County – ironically, it at the expense of Oldham County, just days after the Colonels defeated Collins. The big upset win ended Oldham County’s 15-game winning streak, but more importantly, it gained some respect for an Anderson County program that was struggling to earn some. At the end of the day, though, Oldham remains on top of the region rankings. The Colonels have some warts, and there are several teams that appear more than capable of knocking Oldham out in the post-season, but the Colonels’ body of work so far still looks the best. Two teams have eclipsed the twenty win mark so far – Oldham County and Collins. South Oldham, Spencer County, and Grant County all appear likely to cross the twenty win threshold this week. Simon Kenton needs two wins and has just two games left, with one against a dangerous Woodford County squad. But the Pioneers also have an excellent chance to get their 20th win this week. The region is wrapping up a year of tremendous shooting. Four of the region’s top 5 shooting teams from the floor are hitting over 50%: 1 – Simon Kenton 51.3% 2 – North Oldham 51.2% 3 – Collins 50.9^% 4 – South Oldham 50.6% (an amazing figure, especially considering 48.3% of all of South’s field goal attempts come from beyond the arc.) 5 – Oldham County 48.5% It’s also been a year of impressive free throw shooting. Just a few of years ago, we were bemoaning the “lost art” of free throw shooting and the mediocre shooting percentages at the line that were pervasive in the 8th Region. This year, a whopping eight teams in the region are hitting 70% or better at the line: 1 – Simon Kenton 75.1% 2 – Walton-Verona 74.8% 3 – Collins 74.2% 4 – Oldham County 72.9% 5 – South Oldham 72.4% 6 – Spencer County 71.8% 7 – Grant County 70.3% 8 – Williamstown 70.0% Beyond the arc, nine teams – half the region - are hitting over 34%, led by South Oldham (285 of 696) and Walton-Verona (257 of 629), both hitting 40.9%. Woodford County actually is hitting threes at a higher percentage than those two teams, but the Yellowjackets haven’t shot nearly as many. Woodford sits at 43.7% beyond the arc, and the Jackets have made 145 of 332. The Jackets are the only team shooting a better percentage than South and Walton. On to this week’s rankings…. 1 – Oldham County (24-3) Last week: #1 Bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #11 Oldham had quite the up-and-down roller coaster week. But the Colonels took care of business on Tuesday, when they travelled to Shelbyville to face the #2 ranked team in the region, the Collins Titans. It was the highest-ranked team Oldham had faced all season, whereas the Titans were already veterans of several high-profile clashes with ranked teams. In a wildly entertaining game, Oldham raced out to a 12-0 lead over Collins, ultimately fell behind, 27-20 late in the second period, then pulled to within 27-25 at the half on a crazy half-court three-pointer banked in by backup point guard Grant Gibson just before the halftime buzzer. Oldham came out of the locker room on a mission to pound the ball inside. Tyler Slone, in particular, benefitted from this strategy, as he delivered 13 second-half points, and 15 for the ballgame. Deaton Oak led Oldham with 16 points, and the Colonels pulled away in the fourth quarter by hitting their free throws for the victory. The Colonels hit the downhill side of the roller coaster as the week came to a close, travelling to Lawrenceburg to face the Anderson County Bearcats. Playing without starting guard Sam Campbell, the Colonels struggled to score against Anderson’s stingy defense, and Oldham dropped a 51-46 decision. It was the second-fewest points Oldham had scored all season. Oldham County, despite the loss to Anderson, stays at number one this week. The Colonels have now defeated each of the teams ranked 2 through 7 in the region, and the Colonels defeated all but one of those teams by double digits. Only South Oldham, which fell to Oldham in Crestwood by five points, kept the final margin under 11 points. This week: 2/18/2020 vs. Bullitt Central (The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN) 2/20/2020 at Great Crossing 2 – Collins (20-7) Last week: #2 bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #9 The Titans hold fast at #2 this week, dropping a tough 55-44 decision to Oldham County at home, before bouncing back with a hard-fought 71-66 win over a red-hot Grant County team. The win over the Braves gives Collins their fourth consecutive 20+ win season. Against Oldham County, the Titans struggled to find a go-to player late, especially after star guards Dayvion McKnight and Marcellus Vail both fouled out of the ballgame. McKnight still finished with 15 points, despite fouling out with over five minutes to play; Vail finished with 14 points. No other Titans scored more than four points. Needing a bounceback victory, Collins got one against arguably the hottest team in the 8th Region right now, the Grant County Braves, 71-66. Collins hit 53.1% from the floor and four different Titans reached double figures, led by Vail’s 20 points. McKnight added 19, Tyson Turner 12, and Aaron Thompson 10 for Collins in the win. Collins’ record is deceiving; despite the fact the Titans are only 4-4 in their last 8 games, their schedule has been absolutely brutal. The four losses were all to good teams in reasonably close ballgames: Simon Kenton (by 4), #2 Male (by 4), DeSales (by 12), and #11 Oldham County (by 11). During that stretch, Collins defeated top 10 McCracken County, adding McCracken to a list of defeated ranked opponents this year that includes Bourbon County, Madisonville-North Hopkins and South Oldham, plus two teams that were previously ranked – Beechwood and North Laurel. Collins’ rivals would do well to recall the 2016-17 season, when Collins finished the regular season by losing their last four games, then stumbled to a runner-up finish in the 30th district tournament. The Titans then ripped off three straight victories to win the 8th Region tournament and advance to the Sweet 16. This week: 2/18 – vs. North Oldham 2/21/2020 – at Christian Academy of Louisville 3 – South Oldham (19-8) Last week: #3 Bluegrasspreps.com state ranking: #17 The high-scoring Dragons came down to earth a little bit last week, scoring only 59 points in a 67-59 loss to DeSales, the Dragons’ only game of the week. Luke Morrison had 19 points and Ben Michel 12 in the loss as DeSales’ big center served as a big deterrent to South’s dribble-drive attack, leaving South to take 33 of 53 shots (62.3%) from beyond the arc. The Dragons did a credible job shooting the three – as they usually do – hitting 11 of 33 shots. But South’s #2 scorer – Seth Johnson – was largely shut down, finishing with just 4 points, over 14 points below his average. And – although South is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the state – the Dragons weren’t able to bring that advantage to bear, as South took just four free throws the entire game (making two). The 59 points matches the lowest point total scored by South in a game this season, tying their points scored against Spencer County and Oldham County. Notes: The region’s top three point shooting team is on pace for well over 300 made threes on the season, having made 285 of 696 (40.9%) so far this season, 28 more made threes than Walton-Verona and 81 more made threes than Simon Kenton, the only other teams in the region to have made 200 or more threes to date. Five South Oldham players – including four starters – who have taken a significant number of three pointers are hitting between 42.6% and 47%. Senior Luke Morrison is tied for first in the 8th Region in free throw percentage at 84% (tied with Oldham County’s Sam Campbell and North Oldham’s Dallas Roberts). He is third in region 8 with 75 made three pointers. With all the attention being paid to Oldham County and Collins, fans would be unwise to count South Oldham out in the upcoming tournaments. In the last 7 seasons, South Oldham has made it to the 8th Region championship game four times, winning three titles, more than any other school during that span. That’s an amazing record over that long of a time period. This week: South will be favored to join Oldham County and Collins as teams with 20+ wins this week. 2/18/2020 at Walton-Verona 2/20/2020 at Henry County 4 – Simon Kenton (18-9) Last week: #4 The Pioneers are hitting their stride at the right time. The team appears healthy and the offense is clicking. The Pioneers have won 10 of their last 13 games, and have scored 60 points or more in 12 of those contests. During that stretch, SK has a win over #9 Collins, and their only losses have been to #1 Covington Catholic, #11 Oldham County, and a four-point squeaker to district 32 rival Grant County, an 18-win team. Last week, the Pioneers extended their current winning streak to three by going 2-0. A 64-43 win over Campbell County to start the week was impressive; Campbell’s record is hardly remarkable, but the Camels had started to make some serious noise of late, including an upset win over #15 Bourbon County. The 21 point margin tied Campbell’s worst defeat of the season. Kelly Niece had 22 on a sharp-shooting performance; the junior was 7 of 11 from the field, 2 of 4 beyond the arc, and 2 of 2 at the line. SK wrapped up the week with an 87-56 drubbing of Scott High in which the Pioneers hit 54.8% from the floor. The team was a collective 13 of 27 beyond the arc for 48.1%, and Jeremy Davis led the scoring parade with 25 points, including 7 of 10 from three point land. The top scorers for SK seem to be at their peak right now. Niece appears to be fully healthy; his numbers have steadily climbed and he’s now averaging 18.3 ppg to lead SK. Niece has taken more shots than anyone on the team, and he shoots a lot of jumpers, yet his overall field goal percentage is a lofty 59.4%. Davis is the top three point shooter in the region, hitting 49.0% from beyond the arc. Davis has hit also hit more threes than anyone else in Region 8, making 101 of 206 threes. His total number of makes ranked first in KY; the 49.0% figure ranks second in the state. This week: SK goes for 20 wins, trying to become the first 20+ win team at SK since the 2011-12 team went 23-8. 2/18/2020 vs. Woodford County 2/20/2020 vs. Holmes In the Hunt… The differences between the four teams in Tier Two are razor-thin. All four have question marks that must be answered – but if those questions are resolved, these teams can make big runs, perhaps all the way to Rupp Arena. I’ve seen the four teams in this group a lot this year – in particular, I’ve seen Spencer five times and North Oldham eight times. And yet the questions remain as to the order of these four. Woodford is a different team with Penn back. And Grant is hot – really hot. A good argument could probably be made to reverse the order. Or just scramble it. 5 – North Oldham (15-11) Last week: #5 Few teams ever manage to re-invent themselves twice in a year, and can make it work. North seems to have achieved that. As previously noted, David Levitch had quite the task after losing Mr. Basketball candidate Justin Powell right after Christmas. You just don’t look to the bench and find that kind of production. The first try involved slowing things down. That really never worked. So Levitch tried to speed things up, and the result seems be positive. North has won 5 of their last 7, with their only losses during that span to a powerful Waggener team and #3 ranked Ballard. A large part of the resurgence has to do with the fact that Levitch found a budding star hiding on his bench. Sophomore reserve guard “Rico” Carr-Cole had been a role player until Powell went down. In the 8 games started by Powell, Carr-Cole played in 7. The only time he scored in double figures in those eight games came against Frederick Douglass – the game in which Powell was injured. Rico scored 12 that night. Fast forward to today. Carr-Cole broke into the starting lineup a couple of weeks ago, and his scoring has surged. In the Mustangs’ most recent game, the sophomore erupted for a season-high 31 points on 10 of 16 shooting (6 of 10 beyond the arc) and 5 of 6 at the line. His scoring average has risen and he now is the third-leading scorer on the team at 11.3 ppg. In the last 11 games, Carr-Cole has averaged 16.1 ppg and has scored in double figures nine times. He’s been the Mustangs’ leading scorer in three of the last six games. Even more impressive, his big games seem to come against some of the Mustangs’ better opponents: 25 points against #15 South Oldham, 21 points against Waggener. Keyed by the team’s rejuvenated offense, North ripped off two wins last week, beating Central, 55-53, behind 25 points from Dallas Roberts, and then besting Meade County, 88-76 behind Carr-Cole’s 31 points. Dallas Roberts added 24 points in the win, and Tyler Higdon contributed 16. North is now #2 in the region in shooting percentage at 51.2%, and #4 in scoring average at 69.0 ppg. Quite a renewal after losing the 22 ppg provided by Justin Powell. This week: The Mustangs have probably the most challenging final week of any team in the region. They start off on the road against top 10 Collins, then travel to play 18-win Montgomery County. They wrap up with Sixth Region power DeSales, who has already knocked off 8th Region contenders Collins and South Oldham. 2/18/2020 at #9 Collins 2/20/20 at Montgomery County (18-11) 2/21/2020 vs. DeSales 6 – Spencer County (19-7) Last week: #6 The Bears have reached the lighter part of their schedule, but they are showing no signs of letting off the gas, as Spencer won three straight last week to extend their region-best winning streak to 8 games. The first game of the week was the strangest. Spencer gave star guard Sam Conley some time to rest before the post-season, yet still figured to win handily against the Shelby County Rockets. The Rockets, however, had other ideas, and the game went to a dramatic three overtimes before the Bears were able to put away the underdogs, 78-71. The Bears struggled to hit the basket, hitting just 35.3%. Gage Mabry led the way with 28 and Jake Whitlock had 17 to lead Spencer. It was the Bears second straight overtime game, coming four days after a double-overtime win over Anderson County. The Bears righted the ship pretty quickly, winning their last two games of the week easily, 65-49, over Bullitt Central (Lucas Hornback with 28 points / 10 rebounds) and 73-48 over Henry County. This week: The Bears will be heavy favorites to win out, pushing them over the 20 win plateau for the fourth straight season, and propelling them into the playoffs on a 10 game winning streak. 2/18/2020 vs. Bethlehem 2/21/2020 vs. Thomas Nelson 7 – Grant County (18-9) Last week: #7 Last week was oh-so-close to being a perfect week for the Braves. Grant County won 2 of 3 games last week, as they continued to be one of the hottest teams in the region, with 9 victories in their last 11 games. But it was the one that got away at the end of the week that was the “big fish” that “got away.” Grant began the week with a 68-56 win over District 31 favorite Gallatin County. Four Braves reached double figures, with Ben Vickers scoring 20, freshman Dylan Hammonds scoring 15, Jack Epperson adding 14, and Luke Dawalt contriubing a double-double with 12 points / 10 rebounds. The Braves followed that with a 76-64 win over Boone County behind Hammonds 21 and Vickers’ 20. Another freshman – Mason Guffey – added 12. It all set the stage for a big showdown with #9 Collins to close out the week. In a game that came down to the proverbial wire, the Titans edged the Braves, 71-66, despite another balanced night of scoring from Grant. Epperson led the team with 17 against Collins; Blake Robinson had 13, Vickers 12, and Hammonds 10. Dawalt added 8 points and 8 rebounds. Despite the loss to Collins, the week was a good one for Grant. The Braves averaged 32 rebounds in the three games, never shot below 46% from the floor, and six different players scored in double figures in at least one of the three games. Over the last six games, five different Braves have been the leading scorer at least once. The Braves are now the #2 team in Region 8 in scoring, averaging 70.6 points per game. This Week: Grant County will be heavily favored in their final two games of the season, which would be the first time the Braves have won 20+ games since the 2012-13 squad went 24-6. 2/17/2020 vs. Owen County 2/20/2020 at Bracken County 8 – Woodford County (15-11) Last week: #8 Maybe I spoke too soon. When Hunter Penn went down with an injury on 1/20/2020 against Walton-Verona, the Yellowjackets were everybody’s darling and the hottest thing in the region. Woodford had won 11 of 12 games, and was starting to show the potential that many thought they had in the pre-season. But after Penn went down, the wheels came off. The region’s best shooting team suddenly was hitting barely a third of their shots. Scoring went down with the shooting percentages. And Woodford County dropped four of their next six games, including blowout defeats at the hands of South Oldham, Collins, and Trinity. Now Penn is back – but last week was still a rough week for the Yellowjackets as they dropped two of three games against a very, very tough schedule. Woodford started off the week with a 76-72 victory over a solid West Jessamine team. The Jackets seemed to have reclaimed their shooting eye, especially from the outside, where they hit 9 of 18 threes. Free throws almost cost them, though, as Woodford made just 17 of 31 free throws (54.8%) in what turned out to be a very close game. Ashton Myles -Devore led the way with 25 points, and Penn had a double-double – his second straight in his first two games back in the lineup - with 13 points and 10 boards. The Yellowjackets then faced two of the toughest teams on their schedule, falling to #14-ranked Henry Clay, 76-51, and to 7th Region powerhouse St. X, 77-37. The loss to X was a head-turner; there was no shame in losing to the Tigers, they had played and defeated countless top-notch teams in Kentucky already. However, the 37 points scored was somewhat shocking; only Brown (36 points) had scored fewer points against St. X. I still think Woodford is an outside threat to win the region, if they can get out of the 30th District. However, for the Jackets to do so, I think Woodford will have to re-discover their offense, which has eclipsed 60 points only 3 times in the last 10 games. The Jackets have another tough assignment to wrap up the season as they face Simon Kenton on Tuesday. This week: 2/18/2020 at Simon Kenton The Third Tier – At least two of the below should make it to the Region 8 Tournament: Let’s see….Gallatin beat Anderson County…Anderson beat Walton-Verona…Walton-Verona beat Henry County….Henry County beat…Gallatin County(!)…and around and around and around we go. 9 – Anderson County (17-8) Last week: #10 Call it a hunch. I know a thousand people will call me out for moving the Bearcats up a notch this week, moving them ahead of Gallatin County. The criticism is fair; I’ve always been a believer in using head-to-head as my first, and most important, arbitrator in terms of ranking teams. And Gallatin did defeat Anderson County – in Lawrenceburg – by eight points in mid-January. But I’m a bit more impressed by what Anderson’s done since. Last week, the Bearcats finally righted the ship, ending a six game losing streak against some seriously good competition, and beginning a late season winning streak with three consecutive victories. The first two wins last week were expected – a 58-43 win over Carroll County and a 60-40 victory over Owen County – but the Bearcats looked solid in both victories. Hunter Rutherford had 19 in the win over Carroll, and Sam Harrod had 21 against Owen. The 60 points in the Owen win was just the 7th time this season Anderson has scored 60 points or more. The Cats saved the best for last, however, as they knocked off the region’s top-ranked team. Catching Oldham County immediately after the 11th – ranked Colonels had upset #9 Collins, the Bearcats raced out to a 15 point lead over Oldham County and held on for a 51-46 victory. The win matched the region’s top two scoring defenses in a game where points were at a premium. (Ironically, Oldham’s only two losses this year to Kentucky teams have come to 30th District teams – Anderson County and Woodford County - emphasizing the point that this region tournament will be WIDE OPEN.) Head coach Bryan Hyatt said that the Oldham win may help his team believe. “We have been right there (in) basically every game except the North Oldham game,” he said after the upset win. “Not only right there, most of the time in the lead.” “I have a unique bunch of kids; regardless if we win or lose they show up the next day ready to work. I would say finally getting over the hump in a marquee game is important for the mental approach for the guys. My guys never really have doubted we could beat anyone but hopefully the Oldham win reassures what they believe.” “This should tell people that AC is a solid club, that has lost some tough games in the end,” he continued. “My team is smart, tough, and together. Through the ups and down my guys always stay together and continue to fight.” Knowing the Bearcats face a tough road in the district tournament – needing two wins to reach the region - Hyatt took a moment to look ahead: “The district tournament is gonna be a war,” he said. “Shelby County can give us problems. We will have to play really well to even get to Tuesday night. We will approach district week like we do every day here. We will play every play tough, smart, and together. At the end of the night hopefully that’s good enough.” Anderson still leads the state and the region as the top scoring defense, allowing just 44.3 ppg. This week: 2/17/2020 at Lexington Christian 2/21/2020 at Franklin County 10 – Gallatin County (15-13) Last week: #9 On the scoreboard, Gallatin County had a successful week last week, winning three of four games. The Wildcats are trending upward, winning four of their last five, since emerging from a five game losing streak. The Wildcats started the week off on a down note, falling to Grant County, 68-56. Jarin Rassman – who has been a scoring demon all year – led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Hayden Dickerson, who recently came back from an injury, had 15 points, including 4 of 8 threes. Rassman had a double-double in all three Gallatin games last week. We have not seen a point guard in the region who can run point / score / rebound like Rassman in many, many years. The Wildcats bounced back with a come-from-behind win over upstart Trimble County. The Raiders led nearly the entire game, but Gallatin hung around and rallied for the 79-76 victory behind 31 points / 13 rebounds from Rassman. The Wildcats, who have been an average to below average free throw shooting team all season, won this one at the line. On a night when they hit only 40.6% from the field, the Wildcats were a terrific 18 of 23 at the line to seal the deal. Gallatin then wrapped up the week with wins over Owen County (62-41) and Ludlow (72-57). Rassman had 21 points / 12 rebounds in the Owen win. Stats were not available for the Ludlow contest. Hayden Dickerson is clearly back to form after his injury; Dickerson hit 10 of 21 from beyond the arc in the Grant / Trimble / Owen games. This week: 2/21/2020 at Shelby County 11 – Walton-Verona (12-16) Last week: #11 It was a tough week for the Bearcats, who dropped both games and now are sitting in the middle of a four game losing streak. Despite a terrific game from sophomore Brant Smithers (27 points, 5 of 12 threes), the Bearcats fell to Lloyd Memorial, who has had a strong year against Region 8 NCKC teams, going 6-1. The Cats hit 13 of 27 threes, but only 8 of 22 inside the arc in the loss. It was Jack Watson’s turn in the next game to step up; Watson, averaging 10.1 ppg on the season, erupted for 29 points against Ryle, but the Bearcats – who had just 15 total rebounds on the night – fell by 14. On the road at Madison Central to close out the week, Walton-Verona hit 51.3% from the floor, but managed to get off only 39 total shots as they fell to the Indians, 70-58. Smithers had 23 points, but he was the only Bearcat to reach double figures in the loss. On the bright side, Smithers continues to put together quite a stat line for the season. The sophomore is averaging a team-high 19.2 ppg, is shooting 50.7% from the floor overall, 47.9% from beyond the arc, and 92.4% from the free throw line (73 of 79). He’s number two in region 8 in made threes (80) and kicks in 4.4 rebounds per game. Offensively, Walton is a solid unit, with four players averaging in double figures. The Bearcats have made 257 threes at just under 41%, second only to South Oldham’s 285 made threes. On the other hand, the Bearcats are struggling against bigger, more physical teams. They are averaging just 22.7 rebounds per game; in three of the last four contests, the Bearcats have had 17 boards or less. Still, first year coach Mike Hester is thrilled with how quickly his team has settled into his system. “Our kids have bought into our system,” he said, when asked how he thought this re-building project was moving along. “We struggled early with guys fully committing themselves and now we fill like they’re married to our style of play. Our biggest surprise is our ability to shoot the ball on a consistent basis each and every night, especially for guys who had never played varsity basketball. “For the post-season, we always tell our guys to just give us a chance and that will be our mindset going forward. We have that chance next Tuesday, so hopefully we play our best basketball Feb 25th - 28th.” This week: 2/18/2020 vs. #17 South Oldham 2/20/20 at Carroll County 12 – Henry County (15-12) Last week: #12 Henry County has won 11 of their last 14 games to push their record 3 games above .500 for the first time this season. The Cats edged Shelby County to start last week, 53-52, behind Ethan Lankford’s 23 points and Trevor Hardin’s double-double (16 points / 12 rebounds). Spencer County bounced Henry hard to end the week, though, as the Wildcats fell, 73-48. Hardin had 20 points and 9 rebounds, but the Wildcats hit just 39.6% from the floor, and only 2 of 14 three pointers. The 48 points scored was the fewest Henry had scored since scoring 45 against Collegiate in December. Hardin (18.7 ppg / 8.7 rebounds) has flourished in the paint this year, but may need a little more outside help to be even more effective. Lankford (18.9 ppg) is the region’s #3 shooter from beyond the arc, in terms of made threes (70), but nobody else has made more than 14 for the Wildcats. Henry County heads into the 31st district tournament as a legitimate threat to Gallatin County’s reign; Henry is the only 31st district team to defeat Gallatin this year, and could potentially meet the Warsaw Wildcats in the district finals. This week: 2/17/2020 vs. Walden 2/18/2020 at Trimble County 13 – Carroll County (10-17) Last week: #13 The Panthers finally look to be 100% healthy; it couldn’t come at a better time – Carroll has dropped 7 of their last 8 games heading into the final week of the regular season. Head coach Jonathan Moore is just happy to finally be at full strength: “Heading into the district tournament we look to be fully healthy for the first time in about a month between concussions, flu, and minor bumps and bruises along the way,” he said. “As far as results not being what we want lately we’ve really been struggling from the FT line in big spots.” “Also, our schedule has been rough lately between playing good teams both in and out of region....Grant County, South Oldham, Anderson County, East Jessamine, Trinity, and Louisville Collegiate. We’ve also spent the majority of the last month on the road. We’ve played 10 of our last 12 games on the road. Hopefully the tough competition and the road environments have helped to prepare us for our game in the district tournament. We haven’t made the region since 2006 and haven’t won the district since 2000. Our focus is breaking those trends!” The Panthers had a rough week this past week, dropping a 15 point decision to Anderson County and a 13 point game to Collegiate. In both games, the Panthers got solid scoring from the “Big 2” – Wyatt Supplee and Keishaun Mumphrey – but not a lot of support. Mumphrey had (yet another) double-double against Anderson, with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Supplee had 15 points – but nobody else had more than 4. Against Collegiate, Supplee scored a team-high 29 points and Mumphrey had 9 – but again, nobody else had more than four points. Free throws – or rather, missed free throws – were big in the two losses as Carroll went just 12 of 30 at the line last week for 40%. Supplee continues to be the top scorer in the 8th Region, averaging 24.4 ppg. Mumphrey is the region’s top rebounder, averaing 10.2 rebounds per contest. This week: 2/20/2020 vs. Walton-Verona The Longshots… 14 – Shelby County (5-21) Last week: #16 Shelby County moves up two this week, despite losing 2 of 3 games last week. Maybe the Rockets dug down deep and found the spark of the Shelby County Rocket basketball tradition. Maybe it was memories of Charlie Hurt, Mike Casey, Norris Beckley, A. J. Slaughter, etc. Whatever it was, the Rockets put up three spirited performances last week. First up was a district battle with Spencer County, and the Rockets took the Bears to three overtimes before falling, 78-71. Shelby hit 50.9% from the floor against one of the region’s better defenses. Austin Griffin led the way with 13 points. Isaac Clark (7 of 12 shooting) had 15, JaShon Marshall (6 of 7) 15 points, and Kaden Dugle (5 of 7) 10 points and 9 rebounds. Only a 9 of 18 night at the line perhaps stood in the way of a Rocket upset win. Shelby then bounced back to knock off Western Hills, 67-65, ending a ten-game losing streak. Trenton Burchfield had 16, Clark 14, Griffin 13, and Marshall 11 as again Shelby had four players in double digits. This time, the Rockets hit 20 of 24 clutch free throws to earn the win. The Rockets just missed making it two in a row as they fell to Henry County, 53-52, to close out the week. This week: 2/20/2020 vs. Frankfort 2/21/2020 vs. Gallatin County 15 - Williamstown (11-15) Last Week: #15 Last year, Williamstown went 9-22; this year, the Demons have already eclipsed that win total by two games, and they will likely expand on it. Williamstown beat Bellevue last week to earn win number eleven, 55-38. Bryant Henson had 16 points in the victory and Cole Kightlinger 10. The Demons didn’t shoot all that well (39.1%), but they were brilliant at the line, where they made 12 of 14 shots. A solid Lloyd Memorial team defeated the Demons, 84-62, to close out the week. This week: Williamstown has a whopping four games to play in their final week of the regular season. They should be considered favorites in three of those games and the fourth is a toss-up. The Demons could realistically finish the regular season with a 15-15 record. 2/17/2020 vs. Powell County 2/18/2020 at Owen County 2//20/20 vs. Frankfort Christian 2/21/2020 at Eminence 16 – Trimble County (6-19) Last Week: #17 First off, congratulation to senior guard Reece Webster! Webster didn’t just cross a 1,000 or 1,500 point threshold last week in a narrow loss to Gallatin County. He became the all-time leading scorer at Trimble County HS. This is a remarkable achievement. Trimble hasn’t been a powerhouse program in a while, but people forget that this is a very old school. They’ve fielded a lot of basketball teams – including a lot of great ones that today’s kids don’t remember. I remember the great Trimble County Raiders teams from the 1970s – they had some tremendous players. And there were a lot of good teams in Bedford way before I can remember. And Webster just passed them all up on the scoring list. Congratulations, young man – and best of luck to you after high school! Trimble almost was able to celebrate Reece Webster’s accomplishment with an upset victory last week. The Raiders led by double digits for much of the game at Gallatin County, but the Wildcats rallied late for a 79-76 win. The Raiders shot 52.5% in the game, but only 11 of 19 at the line (57.9%), which may have ultimately cost them. Ryan Long had 16 points and Webster 14 to lead the Raiders, along with Dylan Jennings’ 14 and Beau Turner’s 11. Trimble ended the week on an uptick, however, knocking off the Owen County Rebels, 60-57, behind 22 points from Webster and 12 from Long. Over the last four games, the Trimble County offense has shown new life. The team is averaging 575 ppg, but over the last four contests, the Raiders have averaged 66.8 ppg, during which time they’ve gone 2-2. As a result, Trimble County moves up one spot this week. This week: 2/17/2020 at Bellevue 2/18/2020 vs. Henry County 17 – Owen County (6-21) Last week: #14 With leading scorer Teagan Moore out with injuries, the Rebels are struggling late in the season. As a result, the Wounded Warriors from Owenton fall three notches to #17 this week. Owen started last week right, with a 59-56 win over Dayton, but even that game was probably more of a struggle than it would have been with Moore in the lineup. Owen got a season high from Jack Spurgeon, who scored 21 points in his first time as the team’s leading scorer this year. Spurgeon averages 5.5 ppg. Isaac Wash had 13, and 8th grader Brax Ward had 7 points / 7 rebounds. Owen shot 52.5% from the floor, but hit just 8 of 14 free throws and managed just 17 rebounds. The Rebels then ended the week with three straight losses, 60-40 to Anderson County, 62-41 to Gallatin County, and 60-57 to Trimble County. This week: 2/17/2020 at Grant County 2/18/2020 vs. Williamstown 18 – Eminence (4-24) Last week: #18 This has been a tough assignment for head coach Gary Tuell. The Warriors started the year expecting to be at or near the bottom of the region, and I think Tuell has had to work to battle that internal perception as much as anything else. Still, this is a coach who has thrived on major rebuilding efforts. If anyone has the background to resurrect a once-proud Warrior program, it’s likely to be Tuell. And – though he recognizes this will take a major revival, Tuell’s proud of the progress made this year. “This program did not need a facelift or a tummy tuck. It needed a total makeover,” he told me. “The results don’t show it, but we made progress this year. As Leonard Hamilton once told me, it isn't the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. We are one of the smaller schools in Kentucky and have limited numbers to work with.” “But numbers are only part of the challenge. Changing the culture, developing a positive mindset and of course developing skills of guys who have never played basketball and have zero experience have all been challenges. Our guys have learned a lot and grown a lot. We do have a foundation to build on. We will continue to work to develop skills and understanding of the game as we move forward.” “We have some young guys who are committed to the future and have a chance to get better.” The Warriors are mired in a region-worst 9 game losing streak heading into the final week of the regular season after dropping two games last week. The Warriors fell, 62-43, to Collegiate last week, before closing with a 72-55 loss to Kentucky Country Day. But – as Tuell has pointed out – the team has improved. On January 7th, Eminence lost to Williamstown, 66-40. Barely three weeks later, the Warriors again lost to the Demons – but by just 8 points. Eminence will close out its season this week against that same Williamstown team. A win on Friday against the Demons would be a nice ending to a challenging regular season. This week: 2/21/2020 vs. Williamstown I’ve had a great opportunity to watch a lot of 8th Region basketball this season. I’ve seen 13 of the 18 teams in the region play. I’ve seen every team ranked in the top 9 play at least once; I’ve 7 of those "top 9" teams multiple times, including all of the top 6. The only teams I have not seen in person this year are: Eminence, Williamstown, Owen County, Carroll County, and Gallatin County, and I've seen video of Gallatin and Carroll. I hate that I’ve missed those teams, but there’s only been so much time. Best of luck to everyone this week! NEXT WEEK: District Tournament Previews

Week Eleven Review: Madisonville-North Hopkins is a monster and they seem to be clicking on all cylinders. They are without a doubt a top 10 team in the state with a legit shot at winning it all. Henderson County has overtaken Webster as the number 2 team and Lyon County is making a case for being the number 3 team, but they are not quite there yet. Here are the week 11 rankings: 1. Madisonville North Hopkins – BGP #7 Season record: 24-3 Madisonville-North Hopkins had a very convincing win over University Heights, winning 73-58. They have two more games left in the regular season, both at home. First versus Apollo and then Ohio County. The Maroons have consistently stayed in the top 10 in the BGP rankings all season and have shown they are a legit contender for the state title. Kenny White won the region 2 Player of the Year award and will have an opportunity to win Mr. Basketball, although he isn’t a favorite. 2. Henderson County Season Record: 17-10 Henderson County has definitely found their groove and they have overtaken Webster County for the #2 ranking in the region. They defeated Webster for a second time in two weeks. This time they won 73-65. They also defeated Apollo. The Colonels have three games left in the regular season, at home versus Hancock County and Hopkinsville, and then at Owensboro. 3. Webster County Season Record: 19-5 Webster County lost their only game they played this week, but it was a big loss. The Trojans lost to Henderson County for the second time this season and in the process forfeited the second place ranking in the region. This was a spot they have held onto for quite some time. They will have a chance to rebound as they finish the season against Trinity (Whitesville), University Heights, and Union County. 4. University Heights Season Record:13-10 The Blazers won 2 of 3 this week, defeating Christian County in a close game and Fort Campbell in an easy game. They were overmatched once again in their game against Madisonville-North Hopkins. The Blazers still have four games on their schedule, all away: Owensboro Catholic, Caldwell County, Webster County, and Fort Campbell. 5. Lyon County Season Record: 18-9 The Lyons are on a tear to end the season. They have won 8 of 9 including games against Hopkins County Central and Union County this week. They will finish the season against St. Mary, Hopkins County Central, and Livingston Central. 6. Christian County Season Record: 9-18 Christian County was able to defeat Fort Campbell, but they lost to University Heights by 3 points and Marshall County by 6 point. They finish the season with a game at Union County. 7. Hopkinsville Season Record: 12-15 Hopkinsville had their first winning week in quite sometime as they defeated both Muhlenberg County and Union County. They will finish the season at Bowling Green, at Henderson County, and Paducah Tilghman at home. Tough way to close out the season. 8. Caldwell County Season Record: 13-14 The Tigers are on a nice little 4 game winning streak right now, including wins over Hopkins County Central, Crittenden County, Dawson Springs, and Trigg County. They finish out the year against University Heights and Livingston Central. 9. Crittenden County Season Record: 13-14 Crittenden split games with Caldwell County and St. Mary this week. Caldwell County defeated the Rockets 62-48. They will finish the season against Dawson Springs, Hopkins County Central, and McLean County. All 3 are games they can win. 10. Hopkins County Central Season Record: 7-18 The Storm momentum seems to have shifted as they have lost 3 in a row including losses to Caldwell County and Lyon County this week. The last 3 games are versus Todd County Central, Crittenden County, and Lyon County. 11. Union County Season Record: 9-18 Union County had a tough week this week and now own a 5 game losing streak. They lost to Webster, Owensboro Catholic, Lyon, and Hopkinsville. They have 3 games to finish out the season, will be underdogs in all 3. 12. Dawson Springs Season Record: 12-16 The Panthers defeated both Community Christian and Trigg County, however lost to McLean County and Caldwell County in a busy week. They finish with Crittenden County and Todd County Central. 13. Trigg County Season Record: 10-17 The Wildcats took losses to both Dawson Springs and Caldwell County and that puts their losing streak at 5 games heading into their last 2 games of the season. 14. Fort Campbell Season Record: 7-19 Fort Campbell lost to Christian County and University Heights this week. They will play Russellville, Trigg, and Community Christian to end the season. 15. Livingston Central Season Record: 3-24 The Cardinals couldn’t hang with either Carlisle County and Webster County this week, losing both. They finish with Hickman and Caldwell.

This weeks run down will be brief. I am out of town on business, I will keep it short and sweet. Next week however, I will provide an in depth district tournament preview along with my final 3rd Region Rankings and scoring leaders. 1. Ohio County Eagles (22-5) 7 wins in a row. 2-0 this week vs Whitesville Trinity by 26 and Edmonson County by 8. Close the season against Logan County and Madisonville. 2. Owensboro Red Devils (16-10) Loss to Bowling Green by 1. Win against Owensboro Catholic by 22. Close the season vs Henderson. 3. Muhlenberg County Mustangs (16-11) Defeated Breckenridge County in double overtime and lost to Hoptown. Close the season with Todd County Central and Owensboro Catholic. 4. Breckenridge County Tigers (17-8) Lost to Muhlenberg in double OT and defeated Hancock County by 15. Close the season with Central Hardin and Whitesville Trinity. 5. Owensboro Catholic Aces (17-10) Losses to Central Hardin and Owensboro. Won against Union County by 23. Close the season with UHA, Castle, IN and Muhlenberg. 6. Mclean County Cougars(17-10) 3-0 this week against Daviess County, Butler County and Dawson Springs. Close with Crittenden, Faith and Apollo. 7. Butler County Bears (18-8) Win against Franklin Simpson. Loss against Mclean County. Close with Cloverport and South Warren. 8. Edmonson County Wildcats (11-12) Wins against Caverna and Russellville. Loss against Ohio County. Close with Hart County, Grayson County and Greenwood. 9. Grayson County Cougars (7-19) 2-0 this week with wins over Whitesville Trinity and St Mary. Close with Daviess County, Edmonson County and Hancock County. 10. Daviess County Panthers (7-19) Lost to Mclean County. Won against Apollo. Close with Grayson and Union County. 11. Apollo Eagles (5-22) Won against Hancock. Lost to Henderson and Daviess County. Close with Madisonville and Mclean County. 12. Hancock County Hornets (9-14) 0-2 this week against Apollo and Breckenridge County. Close with Henderson, Cannelton and Grayson County. 13. Meade County Greenwave (8-14) 0-2 this week to North Hardin and North Oldham. Close with N Bullitt and Central Hardin. 14. Whitesville Trinity Raiders (9-19) 0-2 this week against Grayson County and Ohio County. Close with Webster County and Breckenridge County. 15. Cloverport Aces (3-21) Lost to Ky Country Day. Close with Ft Knox, Butler County and St Francis.

As we enter the final week of the season in the 11th Region the top contenders for the region crown have risen to the top. Once again who really knows where or who to rank after the top 2 but thats why they play the games! District seeding is set in 3 of the 4 districts but the 42nd remains unfinished. Lets check out whats happened this past week in the 11th Region. TEAM RANKINGS 1. Lexington Catholic (25-2) - The Knights continue their dominance over 11th Region teams this past week as they went 2-0 on the road with wins over Lexington Christian Academy and Franklin County. Lexington Catholic is now 13-0 in 11th region games this season. Ben Johnson continues to lead the Knights while others have been solid contributors all season including Jack Gohman and Luke Wedding. This week Lexington Catholic finishes up regular season play with 12th region opponents Lincoln County and Wayne County. Some nice tests to end the season. 2. Henry Clay (21-5) - The Blue Devils just roll right along this week and extend their winning streak to 15 games! Henry Clay hasnt lost since the calendar turned to 2020 and this week was quite an impressive week! The Blue Devils finished the week 3-0 with a HUGE overtime win over Ballard then knocked off Paul Laurence Dunbar and Woodford County. Henry Clay seems to be destined for a showdown with Lexington Catholic at some point this season and very well might be the only team who can challenge the Knights. This week the Blue Devils finish the regular season with 3 home games against Scott County, Lafayette, and Taylor County. 3. Frederick Douglass (17-9) - The Broncos finished the week 2-1 with wins over Sayre and Tates Creek and a loss to an improving Paul Laurence Dunbar team. Douglass has a huge week ahead with a showdown with Bryan Station and a visit from Lafayette. A win over Station would ensure the Broncos the 2 seed in the 42nd District, a loss would leave them needing some help from other district teams. Also, congrats to junior DeShawn Jackson on scoring the 1,000th point of his career this past week! 4. Tates Creek (15-11) - The Commodores had a rough week going 1-2 with a win over Paul Laurence Dunbar and losses to Frederick Douglass and Lexington Christian Academy. Tates Creek is locked in as the 2 seed in the 43rd District tournament and will face LCA in the 2/3 game. Having lost to LCA this past week the Commodores cant feel too comfortable heading into that game but expect them to be favored. This week Tates Creek hosts Great Crossing in its only game. 5. Lexington Christian Academy (16-10) - The Eagles finished the week 1-1 in 43rd District games picking up a win over Tates Creek and falling to rival Lexington Catholic. The Eagles will face Tates Creek again in a weeks time in the first round of the 43rd District tournament. This week to finish the season LCA hosts Anderson County before heading to Bryan Station and Trinity. 6. Scott County (14-13) - The Cardinals had a fantastic week going 3-0 with 20 point wins over Franklin County, Great Crossing, and Johnson Central. Scott County currently sets as the 3 seed in the 42nd District but faces off with Sayre and Henry Clay this week to determine exactly where they will end up. They finish the season at home against Paul Laurence Dunbar. 7. Madison Central (12-15) - The Indians split their games this past week falling in a close one to Lexington Catholic in overtime and picking up a nice win over Walton Verona. The 44th District does not seed their district tournament and this week was the draw. Madison Central drew Madison Southern in the first round which should prove to be an exciting game. This week Madison Central finishes the season with a trip to South Laurel and hosts Covington Catholic. 8. Paul Laurence Dunbar (10-17) - The Bulldogs have been playing much better this last couple of weeks and finished this past week at 1-2 with a win over Frederick Douglass and losses to Henry Clay and Tates Creek. The Bulldogs unfortunately are the 4 seed in the 43rd District and will have a tough road to reach the region tournament. This week the Bulldogs host West Jessamine and head to Scott County to finish the regular season. 9. Franklin County (15-12) - The Flyers have locked themselves in as the 2 seed in the 41st District tournament. This past week they picked up a big win over Berea and fell to Scott County and Lexington Catholic. This week is a tough one for the Flyers as they head to Madison Southern and host Anderson County. 10. Madison Southern (14-13) - The Eagles finished the week 2-1 with an overtime loss at George Rogers Clark and blow out wins over Harlan County and Nicholas County. As mentioned above the Eagles drew Madison Central in the 44th District tournament. This week Madison Southern ends the season with home games against Franklin County and Corbin. 11. Great Crossing (13-15) - The Warhawks have been struggling recently but are locked in as the 1 seed in the 41st District tournament. This past week they picked up a win over Frankfort Christian Academy and lost to Frankfort and Scott County. More then likely the Warhawks will face Frankfort in the 41st District tournament. This week Great Crossing faces tough foes in a trip to Tates Creek and a home game against 8th region favorite Oldham County. 12. Frankfort (15-14) - The Panthers picked up 2 nice wins over Paris and Great Crossing this week. The Panthers lost the coin flip with Western Hills for the 3 seed this past week but might end up being a better option for Frankfort as they just beat Great Crossing this week. Up next for Frankfort is a trip to Shelby County to end the season. 13. Lafayette (9-19) - The Generals went 2-0 this week with two nice wins over Bryan Station and Trinity. Unfortunately for the Generals they are locked in at the 5 seed in the 43rd District tournament and will face a tough road to reach the regional tournament. This week Lafayette heads to Frederick Douglass and Henry Clay. 14. Bryan Station (11-15) - The Defenders split their games this past week falling to Lafayette and beating Boyle County. Up next the Defenders host Frederick Douglass and Lexington Christian. With a win over Douglass and some help from other teams the Defenders could end up as the 3 seed but need a lot of help. 15. Western Hills (13-14) - The Wolverines went 1-2 last week with losses to Shelby County and Estill County and a win over Nicholas County. Also, the Wolverines won the coin flip with Frankfort and will be the 3 seed and face Franklin County in the 41st District tournament first round. This week Western Hills heads to Mercer County then host Berea and Paris to finish the season. 16. Berea (18-7) - The Pirates finished the week 1-2 with losses to Corbin and Franklin County and picked up a win over Danville Christian. The biggest win of the week for the Pirates was the draw as they avoided both Madison Central and Madison Southern and will play Model in the first round of the 44th District tournament. This week Berea hosts Heritage Academy and Frankfort Christian and travels to Western Hills. 17. Sayre (14-13) - The Spartans picked up 2 wins this week over St. Francis and Fleming County both on the road. Locked in at the 5 seed in the 42nd District their opponent in the district tournament is yet to be determined. This week Sayre faces Scott County, Wolfe County, and Kentucky Country Day. 18. Model (9-19) - The Patriots went 1-2 this week with a loss to Danville and a win over Harlan County and Wellspring Guardians. Also, The Patriots avoided Madison Central and Madison Southern in the 44th District tournament and will face Berea. This week they face Jackson County and Powell County. 19. Frankfort Christian Academy (1-23) - The Royals went 0-3 with losses to Highlands Latin, Danville Christian, and June Buchanan. This week FCA ends the season with Heritage Academy, Williamstown, Berea, and Kentucky School for the Deaf.

Week 11 was a busy week in the 16th region as the rescheduling from “flu games” came into play. The Tomcats kept winning and is 26-0. Rowan and Boyd County both have shown they are on the top tier as well and look for the change to be the one that gives Ashland it’s first loss. Bath County continues to rise, playing very well as of late. Everyone is just looking forward to getting to the tournaments and playing the real season very soon. 1) Ashland (Season: 26-0 This week: 3-0) A new week but more of the same results for the Tomcats this week. Ashland was 3-0 for the week with wins over Rowan County, Bath County, and Russell. Something to watch for Ashland is in recent games, the Tomcats have just looked tired. There is always the possibility that illness and such is coming into play and will correct itself but certainly something to watch for. 2) Rowan County (Season: 21-7 This week: 2-1) Rowan County was 2-1 for week 11. The loss in the anticipated battle with AP #1 Ashland. Rowan battled but ended up with a 6-point loss. Mason Moore has been playing lights out. This week, Moore averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds a game, including a 31/10 games against Ashland. 3) Boyd County (Season: 16-11 This week: 2-0) Boyd County was 2-0 for the week with wins over East Carter and Huntington Prep Regional team. Blake led in scoring for the week with Gibbs leading the team in rebounding this week. 4) Raceland (Season: 17-7 This week: 2-1) Raceland started the week with a chance to end with a tie for the District #1 seed. However, Lewis County came to Ramland and got the win which put Raceland in a tie with Russell for the #2 seed. Raceland then finished the week with close contests with East Carter and Rose Hill. Raceland’s leading scorer, Kirk Pence has been sidelined the last couple of games with an ankle injury. Indications are that he is healing and they anticipate him being ready to go in time for the tournament. 5) Greenup County (Season: 18-9 This week: 2-1) Greenup County was 2-1 for the week with wins at Rose Hill and with Symmes Valley (OH). Greenup also had a road loss to Elliott County this week. Dryden has been the rebound king this week with 18, 15, and 16 rebounds in the games this week. 6) Bath County (Season: 15-12 This week: 2-1) Bath County was 2-1 for the week this week. Bath had wins over West Carter and Fairview. The Wildcats only loss was to AP #1 Ashland. Williams, Otis and Patton continue to show that each is capable of a big night anytime the Wildcats step on the court. 7) West Carter (Season: 14-10 This week: 1-2) West Carter was 1-2 this week. West has a home win against Lewis County this week and road losses to Russell and Bath County. Leadingham led the Comets this week with 16 points and 8 rebounds for the week. 8) East Carter (Season: 9-13 This week: 0-3) East Carter had a rough week this week, finishing at 0-3. East had losses to Raceland, Boyd County, and Rowan County. The Raiders are currently on a 7 game losing streak. But worthy of note, the Raiders are in a very difficult stretch on their schedule, playing the top teams in the region. 9) Russell (Season: 9-14 This week: 1-2) Russell went 1-2 for the week. Russell had a home win against West Carter and losses to Ashland and WV large division top 5 Cabell Midland. The encouraging thing for the Devils is that they seem to be coming together and playing better basketball at the right time. A 5 point loss to Ashland was certainly better than the 40 point pounding the Tomcats game them a month ago. 10) Lewis County (Season: 12-15 This week: 1-1) Lewis County had a very busy week 11. They went 3-1 for the week with wins at Raceland, at Fleming and home with Fairview. The Lions also lost at home to West Carter. A little accolade this week, as Lewis County’s Sam O’Keefe was named the 16th Region Mr Basketball Finalist by the KABC. O’ Keefe is a solid player and a solid young man. Congrats to him. 11) Fleming County (Season: 9-19 This week: 1-2) Fleming County was 1-2 for the week. They had home losses to Lewis County and Sayre this week. However, what the Panthers will focus on is the breaking of the 21 games losing streak to rival Mason County. That was a big win by Fleming against a very good Mason County team. 12) Elliott County (Season: 7-12 This week: 1-1) Elliott County was 1-1 for week 11. Elliott lost to Menifee County and then followed that up with a win against a very good Greenup County team. Whitley had quite the week scoring 30+ points in both of these games. 13) Menifee County (Season: 10-17 This week: 1-1) Menifee County went 1-1 for the week. A home win against Elliott County and a home loss to Prestonsburg. 14) Morgan County (Season: 8-16 This week: 1-2) Morgan County went 1-2 for the week. A win at Powell County and losses to Magoffin and Rowan County. Jake Helton led the offense for the Cougars this week, averaging 22 points a game. 15) Fairview (Season: 7-16 This week: 1-2) Fairview was 1-2 for the week this week. The Eagles had a home win against St Patrick from Maysville. They also has losses to Lewis County and Bath County. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 4-20 This week: 1-2) Rose Hill was 1-2 on the Week. The Royals had a win against Portsmouth Notre Dame. Their two losses were to Raceland and Greenup County. The Royals showed some good play this week. Their loss to Raceland was a 2-point loss in which the Royals put up a shot at the buzzer in an attempt to tie. In the Greenup County game, the Royals gave Greenup all they wanted for the first half until Greenup started pulling away late.

1) Lincoln County (22-6) – Lincoln County has not lost since being beaten by Bardstown on January 25th. They made easy work of both Danville Christian and Mercer County this week and defeated the last regional team to beat them, Danville, by 14. Baylor Mattingly knocked down six threes against Danville Christian. The Patriots travel to Lexington Catholic this week before ending the regular season with a home game against Casey County. 2) Pulaski County (22 – 5) – Pulaski County is unblemished since losing on the first day of February against East Jessamine. Last week they served up revenge to Somerset in the form of a fifteen point win, narrowly defeated city rival Southwestern for the second time this year, and convincingly defeated Danville on the rare Sunday affair. They look to finish the regular season hot with a win over Boyle County, their lone opponent this week. 3) Somerset (21-5) – The Briar Jumpers had an action packed week with a double overtime win over Wayne County, a loss at the hands of Pulaski County who they had defeated by 20 just weeks ago, and a blowout win over Green County. They travel to Garrard County this week before an end of the year spectacular against Danville in a rematch of the All A Regionals finals. 4) West Jessamine (15-10) – The Colts led off the week with a difficult 4 point loss to Woodford but won the one that really mattered as they took down district and city rival East Jessamine in overtime to lock up the 1 seed in the district tournament. Nate Breeden, DeAjuan Stepp, and Clayton Winter were the leading scorers in the win with 18, 17, and 15 respectively. West ends the regular season with trips to Dunbar and Garrard County. 5) East Jessamine (17 – 8) – The Jaguars lost the district seeding game to West but managed wins against McCreary Central and Bluegrass United. They take on Rockcastle County, Marion County, and Danville to end the year. 6) Danville (17 – 10) – Danville defeated Model last week before dropping two losses against the two hottest teams in the region, Lincoln County and Pulaski County. They end the year by facing Russell County, Somerset, and East Jessamine. The last time they saw the Briar Jumpers was in the All A Regional finals, losing 72 – 70. 7) Wayne County (17 – 10) – The Cardinals played one game last week and it was a dandy. They fell in double overtime to the Briar Jumpers of Somerset, 68 – 64. Kameron Gehring led the way with 25. They face Boyle County and Lexington Catholic this week. 8) Southwestern (14 – 13) – Southwestern had two extremely competitive games this past week, one going in their favor, the other not. They defeated Boyle County by 2 in overtime before dropping a 2 point loss to Pulaski County at home. Brayden Sims put in a magnificent performance against the Maroons, going for 14 points and 15 rebounds. The Warriors finish their regular season with games against Perry County Central and Cordia. 9) Boyle County (10– 12) – Boyle County fell to regional foe Southwestern in overtime to start the week, followed by a win over Casey County by 6 and a 12 point loss to Bryan Station. Luke Imfeld scored 29 against Southwestern but was limited to 10 against Casey County and 5 against Bryan station. Luke Sheperson scored 20 against the Defenders and against the Rebels of Casey County Karson Thompson scored 22 and Owen Barnes had 18. Boyle finishes the year with a trip to Pulaski County followed by two home games against Wayne County and Clay County. 10) Mercer County (15 – 12) – Mercer County defeated Bethlehem and Casey County but lost in a blowout to Lincoln County. They host Western Hills Monday, February 17, in their final game of the regular season. Also, I did not catch it in the moment but Kaelin Drakeford eclipsed a thousand points several games back. He will definitely be leaving his mark on the Titan program. 11) Garrard County (8-16) – The Golden Lions picked up a pair of wins over Casey County and Central Kentucky HomeSchool. They play Bluegrass United before two tough regional games as they host Somerset and West Jessamine. Brayden Sebsatian was also named as the KABC 12th Region player of the year and a finalist for Mr. Basketball. By my unofficial count, he is also at 1,694 points for his career at the moment. 12) McCreary County Central (8-18) – McCreary Central fell to Clinton County, Williamsburg, and East Jessamine. They face Casey County and Barbourville to conclude the regular season. Alex Heath, sitting at 333 points scored for the year, should surpass his total from last year (336) this week as he nears the conclusion of his Raider career. 13) Rockcastle County (7-19) – The Rockets split the week, defeating Jackson County before losing to Bell County. They will play three more times before the district tournament, taking on East Jessamine, South Laurel, and Russell County. 14) Casey County (3-25) – The Rebels failed to get a win last week, dropping games to Garrard County, Boyle County, and Mercer County. They will try to snap the losing streak as they had to McCreary County Central before ending the regular season at Lincoln County. 15) Danville Christian (14-12) – Danville Christian lost to Lincoln County and Berea but managed wins over Frankfort Christian and Covington Latin, both in convincing fashion. They face Burgin before making their run in the KCAC Tournament at Portland Christian. 16) Burgin (4 – 24) – The Bulldogs fell to Powell County and Jackson City before defeating Walden by 11. They finish up their regular season with home games against Danville Christian and Robertson County. 17) Kentucky School for the Deaf (0-13) – The Colonels had an off week and return to action for their final two games, a home match with L.I.G.H.T. and a trip to Frankfort Christian.

Overview: Martin County reaches the top spot, becoming the third team this year to attain the ranking. Prestonsburg and Betsy Layne see two players hit the 1,000-point mark while Johnson Central continues with their up and down season. Magoffin County and Floyd Central pick up surprise district wins on the road despite being the #4 seeds in their respective districts. The district tournaments are set as the teams go into the final week of the regular season. Listed below are the rankings and recap’s after eleven weeks of play. Rankings (overall record): 1. (Up 3) Martin County (14-12) – The Cardinals are playing the best basketball in the region and deserving of the top overall spot. They have won five in a row and seven of their last eight, are undefeated at home and knocked off both Paintsville and Shelby Valley in week eleven. Martin County’s rise up the ranks marks the third team this season to hold the top overall spot as they are peaking at the perfect time led by Wake Forest commit Trey James. In week twelve, the Cardinals will look to keep rolling as they travel to Betsy Layne before closing out the season with Prestonsburg and Pikeville at home. Martin County is the top overall seed in the 57th District Tournament and will play Magoffin County. 2. (Down 1) Shelby Valley (20-6) – The Wildcats went 1-1 in week eleven with a road loss to Martin County 48-53 and a dominating win over Floyd Central 73-42. The two games were polar opposites for Mr. Basketball candidate Cody Potter (recently named 15th Region POY) as he went 8/27 against Martin County while battling the flu, then dropped 39 points and grabbed 18 rebounds against Floyd Central in three quarters of play. Shelby Valley is the only 20-win team in the regular season and has only played one game all year that is not on a 15th region court. They are the top seed in the 59th District and will play Jenkins in the opening round, but prior to that close the season with Huntington Prep Regional and Magoffin County at home, then Johnson Central on the road. 3. (Down 1) Johnson Central (14-10) – The Golden Eagles had a tough week eleven losing to district rival Magoffin County 58-57 on a last second lay-up and then getting blown out at Scott County 61-88 in a game where they did not win a single quarter. The Magoffin County loss put JC at 2-4 in the 57th District and bought them a ticket with Paintsville in the opening round next week. It is the first time Johnson Central has had a losing record in the 57th District since the 2007-2008 season when they finished 14-19 overall (JC was 3-5 in 57th District regular season that year). This team is extremely talented but seems to lack an identity despite having what will likely be two 2,000 point scorers in junior standout’s Isaiah May and Cory VanHoose. Make no mistake, however, as this team is more than capable of winning the regional title. They will look to get back on track in week twelve with four games. They travel to Prestonsburg, Floyd Central and Lawrence County and host Shelby Valley in what will be Flat Gap throw-back night where the team will wear jerseys of one of the schools consolidated into them in 1968-69. 4. (Down 1) Paintsville (13-11) – After opening the season 4-0 in district play, the Tigers lost their last two district contests on the road at both Johnson Central and Martin County and find themselves in the two seed. This means they will face Johnson Central in the opening round of the 57th at Martin County. In week eleven, Paintsville went 1-1 with a blowout win at home against Floyd Central and a double digit loss at Martin County. They will close the season on the road at Pikeville and at Raceland in preparation for the tournament. In order for them to reach their full potential, they will need to get higher level play from someone not named Colby Fugate, Nick Keeton or Braxton Tharp as those three have been carrying the team in every statistical category by a lot. 5. (-) Pikeville (14-9) – The Panthers are quietly playing very well down the stretch despite losing their starting backcourt to injury earlier in the season. In week eleven they knocked off East Ridge on the road in a preview of their 59th District matchup and then beat a stout Lawrence County team on the road 59-57 in a tightly contested game. Rylee Sammons and Grayson Harrison have stepped up their game and this team plays a controlled style that makes it difficult to speed them up. In week twelve they will close the regular season at home versus Paintsville and on the road at Martin County. Two very difficult games to get them ready for a post season run. 6. (-) Lawrence County (18-10) – The Bulldogs went 1-1 in week ten with a win at home over Prestonsburg and a loss at home to Pikeville. They have the second most wins in the region behind Shelby Valley, have locked up the top overall seed in the 58th and a date with Floyd Central in the opening round and in his first year, have the 15th Region COY in Chandler Thompson. Lawrence County has been and will continue to be the best dark horse to win the region as they have a talented starting five. They will look to sharpen their skills with only one game in the final week and that is a home contest against Johnson Central. 7. (-) Phelps (17-10) – The Hornets keep on rolling and have now won seven in a row. They destroyed both Letcher Central 60-28 and Belfry 72-48 in week eleven and have earned the top spot in the 60th District. With Piarist cancelling their season, this means Phelps is the first team in the regional tournament. The Hornets will face Pike Central, Prestonsburg and Betsy Layne to close out the season as they look to continue their magical run. Can Trey Francis get them to 20 wins for the first time in over thirty years? We will see. 8. (-) Magoffin County (15-12) – The Hornets went 3-1 in week eleven to include a surprise win over their biggest rival Johnson Central 58-57 on a Randy Bailey lay-up with 2.4s to play. It was the first win in district competition for the Hornets as they are locked into the four seed and will face Martin County at Martin County in the opening round. Magoffin parlayed the JC win into wins over Morgan County and Jenkins, but dropped a road game at East Ridge in another head scratcher. This team is very balanced and has a very good backcourt to compliment functional post play. They will be a tough out in the tournament. The Hornets close the season with Shelby Valley and Pike Central on the road. 9. (-) Betsy Layne (16-9) – Betsy Layne saw high flying dunker Jordan Frazier reach the 1,000-point mark in his junior season as they went 2-1 on the week. Betsy Layne was able to beat Letcher Central and Knott Central (4OT), but also lost to a scrappy Belfry team at home. The quadruple overtime game was not only rare in that we don’t see them that often, but in that Betsy Layne did not have a player with more than five rebounds despite all the missed shots from both teams. The win over a solid Knott Central team is a good sign moving into the tournament as Betsy Layne will close out the season with Martin County, East Ridge and Phelps. 10. (-) Belfry (9-13) – Belfry had a good week, going 2-1 with wins over Pike Central and Betsy Layne and a loss at home to Phelps. The Phelps loss was by 24-points and was the second loss to the Hornets in a three game span. This is after years and years of Belfry beating Phelps and you have to wonder if some built up frustration was let out. Belfry is locked into the 2/3 game in the 60th District and will face Pike Central in the opening round. The Pirates close out the season with four games to include Pike Central, East Ridge, Floyd Central and Russell. 11. (-) East Ridge (9-14) – The Warriors went 2-1 in week eleven with wins over Pike Central and hot Magoffin County team and a loss to Pikeville in a preview of the opening round of the 59th District tournament. This teams shoots a lot of three’s and if they are hot are capable of competing with the better teams in the region. East Ridge closes out the regular season with Belfry and Betsy Layne. 12. (-) Prestonsburg (8-14) – The Black Cats broke their 12 game losing streak in week eleven with a win over Menifee County on the road as they went 2-2 the past seven days. Prestonsburg was also able to pick up as win at home against Powell County, but had a head scratching loss to rival Floyd Central at home thus putting them in a tie for the #3 seed in the 58th. They had defeated Floyd Central on the road by double digits earlier in the season. One bright note is that senior guard Adam Slone reached the 1,000-point mark during the week. Prestonsburg will close out the regular season with Johnson Central, Martin County and Phelps. Three tough games and they will not be favored in any. 13. (-) Pike Central (6-19) – The Hawks went 0-2 in week eleven with losses against Belfry and East Ridge. They are locked into the 2/3 game in the district as Phelps is the top overall seed. They will face Belfry in the opening round of the 60th District tournament and host them for the final time this week in what should be a heated rivalry game despite the records. Pike Central will also have Phelps and Magoffin County at home as they close out the regular season. 14. (-) Floyd Central (5-20) – The Jaguars picked up a shocking win on the road at Prestonsburg in week eleven, winning 66-57 over their biggest rival. Braden Moore scored 17 points in the win as Floyd Central put four players in double figures. The Jags finished in a tie for 3rd place in the 58th District with Prestonsburg and will await the tie breaker scenario to play out before finding out if they will get Betsy Layne or Lawrence County in the opening round. They have Jenkins, Johnson Central and Belfry in the final week. 15. (-) Jenkins (1-20) – Jenkins went 0-3 in week eleven with losses to Rye Cove, VA (a game that was winable), Letcher Central and Magoffin County. They have three games on the schedule for week twelve and could potentially get a win at home against Lee County (lost by one point on the road earlier in the year). They are the 59th District host and will face Shelby Valley in the opening round. 16. (-) Piarist (0-1) – No season, no games played. Piarist has forfeited the entire season to include the opening round of the 60th District Tournament against Phelps. Agree or Disagree?

1. South Laurel (23-4 overall, 16-2 vs. 13th Region opponents) The Cardinals are winners of 12 straight. Just look who they have beaten during the 12-game run: Wayne County, Harlan (twice), Bell County, Corbin, Williamsburg Harlan County, North Laurel, Pikeville and Knox Central. Also senior Matt Cromer was named a finalist for Mr. Basketball and was also named KABC 13th Region Player of the Year this past week. 2. Clay County (19-8, 13-2) The Tigers rebounded from their loss to Bell County and have now won three games in a row after beating Knox Central (88-76), Jackson County (84-70) and Red Bird (81-59). 3. North Laurel (19-8, 9-4) The Jaguars seem to have turned things around and have now won six out of their last seven games. North Laurel picked up an impressive 85-77 road win over Corbin before beating 14th Region’s Hazard Bulldogs at home on Saturday, 63-60. 4. Harlan County (19-9, 9-4) I didn’t drop the Black Bears in the rankings, but they sure aren’t playing good. Harlan County saw its three-game win streak come to an end after a 74-60 loss to Madison Southern before falling to Richmond Model 55-51. 5. Williamsburg (15-11, 8-8) The only team hotter than Williamsburg currently is South Laurel. Nick Napier’s squad are winners of four straight, which includes victories over Corbin, Whitley County and Bell County. Senior Slaht Hunter averaged 21.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg this past week. He knocked down the game winning 4-point play with under a minute left down one to beat Bell County. 6. Knox Central (18-7, 6-2) The defending 13th Region champion is struggling at the wrong time. The Panthers are 5-5 during their last 10 games and suffered regional losses at home to both Clay County and South Laurel last week. 7. Middlesboro (18-9, 11-6) The Yellow Jackets are 9-2 during their past 11 games but did suffer a 61-60 setback at home this past week to OBI. 8. Corbin (14-11, 6-7) The Redhounds are now 7-7 since Christmas Break with losses against Knox Central, Harlan County, South Laurel, Williamsburg and North Laurel during the stretch. 9. Bell County (10-15, 6-8) A win over Clay County last week had me thinking the Bobcats have finally gotten over the hump, but they proceeded to two of their next three games which included losses to both Middlesboro and Williamsburg. 10. Harlan (12-14, 7-8) The Green Dragons’ inconsistent play carried over into this past week. They are 2-4 during their last six games. 11. Oneida Baptist (11-15, 9-10) The Mountaineers are getting healthy at the right time. They’ve won three of their last four games which lincluded wins over Middlesboro and Lynn Camp. 12. Lynn Camp (13-12, 5-7) Dinky Phipps’ Wildcats continue to be inconsistent. After putting together a three-game win streak last week, they’ve now lost two in a row. Senior Max Burd has played well, though. He had a great week, scoring 21 points against OBI then following with a 34-point effort against Harlan and 24 points against OBI as he averaged 26.3 points this past week. 13. Barbourville (10-13, 6-9) The Tigers are another team that has been tough to figure out. They’re losers of four straight, but have received consistent play from senior Shawn Vaughn, who is averaging 16.5 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game — both are team beats. 14. Jackson County (12-15, 6-11) Logan Rose seems to be at 100 percent now and is a threat to score 20 any time he steps on the court. Jackson County is still struggling. The Generals are 1-4 during their past five games. 15. Whitley County (11-17, 3-8) The Colonels are struggling at the wrong time. They’ve three in a row and eight of their last 10 games. 16. Pineville (9-15, 1-12) The Mountain Lions are 3-7 in their last 10 games but Sean Phipps has been outstanding. In four games this past week, he averaged 20.8 points, 9 rebounds & 4.8 blocks. 17. Red Bird (6-19, 1-14) The Cardinals are limping into the final week of regular season play. They’ve lost four in a row and 10 of their last 13 games.

1) Hazard (22-5): The Bulldogs had they're 5 game win streak snapped last week when they fell to North Laurel 63-60 in overtime. The Bulldogs will have two games left in the regular season this coming week as they will host both Letcher County Central on Tuesday and Estill County on Friday. 2) Perry County Central (11-14): After having a rough start to the season, the Commodores have been really hot as of late winning 2 in a row and 7 of they're last 8 games. Can they keep the momentum going the last week of the regular season? Monday at Clay County, Tuesday vs. Southwestern and Friday at Bell County. 3) Knott County Central (17-8): The Patriots have hit a snag at the wrong time, losing 3 in a row and 4 of they're last 5 games. They had played great most of the season up until here lately. Can the Patriots get things turned around pretty quickly? Region tournament is in about 3 weeks. The Patriots will be home on Tuesday night hosting Knox Central in the final regular season game. 4) Wolfe County (17-8): The Wolves have dropped two of they're last 3 games. The win came in blowout fashion against Powell County 71-44. Before that, the Wolves had won 3 in a row. The Wolves will be at home for the final week in the regular season, hosting both Oneida Baptist Institute on Tuesday and Sayre on Friday. 5) Buckhorn (14-14): Since they're big upset win over Estill County back at the end of January, the Wildcats have won 2 in a row and 5 of they're last 7 games. The Wildcats will travel to Leslie County on Monday. Buckhorn defeated Leslie County 81-72 in overtime earlier in the season. Buckhorn will end the season at home on Tuesday, hosting Owsley County. Buckhorn edged out Owsley County 65-64 in overtime just a few days ago. 6) Estill County (18-9): The Engineers hit a snag at the end of January and it carried over part of February but the Engineers have won 2 straight and 3 of they're last 4 games. Estill County will be on the road to finish out the regular season. Monday at Lee County, Tuesday at Menifee County and Friday at Hazard. 7) Breathitt County (10-14): The Bobcats dropped they're only game last week, 65-63 to Leslie County. That loss makes 2 in a row. Breathitt County will be at Cordia on Monday and at home the rest of the week, hosting Wellspring Guardians Home School on Tuesday and Newport on Friday. 8) Cordia (10-14): The struggles continue for Cordia. The Lions have now lost 4 of they're last 6 games. That could continue with this week's schedule. Monday vs. Breathitt County, Tuesday vs. Harlan County and Friday at Southwestern. 9) Leslie County (11-15): The Eagles are another team that is having to deal with struggles. Leslie County has lost 3 of they're last 5 games. Some of those losses could have been wins as they have played several region opponents very closely including the top team in the region, Hazard. Leslie County will travel to Buckhorn on Monday and host Williamsburg on Friday. 10) Letcher County Central (5-18): Letcher County Central is now losers of 6 of they're last 7 games. This week doesn't appear to be any easier but I do expect them to get atleast one more win this season. Tuesday at Hazard, Wednesday at Jenkins. 11) Owsley County (10-13): Owsley County has now lost 7 of they're last 9 games. They have only won 1 game in February. That's not good if your Owsley County nor an Owl fan. 12) Jackson City (13-13): The Tigers are now winners of 4 straight. Can they add to that this week? Thursday at Owsley County and Friday at home vs. Nicholas County. 13) Powell County (5-18): The reining defending 56th district champions have fallen off completely this season having only won 5 games. They have currently lost 3 straight and 5 of they're last 6 games. 14) Lee County (6-20): With they're loss to Estill County last week, that snapped a two game win streak for the Bobcats. With that loss, the Bobcats have now lost 5 of they're last 7 games. 15) June Buchanan (2-18): June Buchanan defeated Frankfort Christian last week to snap a 10 game losing streak.

The Male Bulldogs certainly took care of business Saturday night when they beat the visiting Covington Catholic Colonels 79-63. Led by the recently named Seventh Region Player of the Year Tyron Moore, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early double digit lead and led from wire-to-wire. What may be most impressive about the Bulldogs' win was that they looked so good without getting much offensive contributions form Cam Pope (0 points) and Kaleb Glenn (4 points), both of whom are always capable of big scoring games. As anticipated, Male is looking like a team that is going to be hard to beat in the post season. Congratulations to Tyren Moore on the well-deserved Player of the Year recognition. And congratulations also to Ballard's Chris Renner, who once again was named Seventh Region Coach of the Year. Another accolade in what has been a tremendous coaching career. TEAM RANKINGS 1. Male Bulldogs (25-4) Male showed this week why it was the preseason top pick in the Seventh Region and why it has been in the top spot for most of the season. The week started with Harold Fleming scoring 24 points in leading the Bulldogs to a 69-62 win over DeSales. Male followed that up with a 88-52 win over rival Manual. But the Bulldogs saved the best for last, a 79-63 win over the Covington Catholic Colonels. Tyren Moore started hot for Male, scoring 12 points in the game’s first five minutes, but multiple Bulldogs played well in the impressive win. Male looks ready for the post season. The Bulldogs finish up the regular season this week with a single game against the Central Yellowjackets. 2. Ballard Bruins (23-4) The Bruins suffered their fourth loss of the season this week when they played Henry Clay, falling to the Blue Devils by a 85-72 margin in overtime. Rashad Bishop, who is rounding into form since returning from injury, led Ballard in both scoring (17) and rebounding (9). Ballard bounced back from that loss to beat Central by a 96-57 margin. The Bruins end the regular season this upcoming week with games against Seneca, Jeffersonville (IN), and Bowling Green. 3. Seneca Redhawks (18-8) Seneca played just once this week, beating the Atherton Rebels by a closer than expected 50-46 margin. Byron Cox and Nijuel Williams each scored 12 points for the Redhawks. Nijuel Williams also had 9 rebounds. Seneca wraps up the regular season with games this week against Ballard and Valley. 4. Eastern Eagles (18-9) Eastern went 2-0 this week and seems to be gearing up for the post season. After beating Kentucky Country Day 95-70, the Eagles got the best of Waggener by a 64-52 margin. With this week’s two wins, Eastern has won 5 of its last 6 games. The regular season ends for Eastern this week with games against Doss and Manual. 5. Waggener Wildcats (15-10) With Dallas Rufus scoring 27 points and Richard White adding 23, Waggener scored a nice 77-60 win over the Trinity this week. The Wildcats did not fare as well in the other game they played this week, falling to the Eastern Eagles 64-52. The last week for the regular season for the Wildcats includes games against the Brown Bears and the St. X Tigers. 6. Trinity Shamrocks (14-14) Trinity lost to Waggener (77-60) and Lexington Lafayette (63-56) this week, and all of a sudden Trinity has lost four games in a row and sits at 14-14 for the season. The Rocks’ streak of winning seasons, which dates back to the 2008-09 season, may be in jeopardy. Trinity ends the regular season this week with home games against Central and Lexington Christian. 7. St. Xavier Tigers (16-9) The good news for the Tigers this week was the return to the lineup of sophomore Mekhi Smith, who has missed most of the season because of injury. The bad news for the Tigers was that Nick Mosley was sick early in the week, and the Tigers fell to J’Town 57-54. Mosley was back against Woodford County, and St. X easily dispatched the Yellowjackets by a 77-37 margin. That is an impressive win. The Tigers host the Moore Mustangs before finishing the regular season at Waggener on Friday night. 8. Dupont Manual Crimsons (13-10) Manual went 1-1 this week. The Crimsons bested Christian Academy 72-59 in a hard-fought contest before falling to the Male Bulldogs 88-52. The Crimsons will spend the last week of the regular season on the road, with away games against PRP and Eastern. 9. Louisville Collegiate Titans (18-6) Collegiate won both of the games it played this week, beating Eminence (62-43) and Carroll County (59-46). The Titans have won six of their last seven games. The Titans face Valley and Fairdale in the upcoming last week of the regular season before taking on the St. X Tigers in the first round of the 26th district tournament. 10. Christian Academy of Louisville Centurions (10-15) CAL did not have a good week, going 0-3. The Centurions started the week with a 72-59 loss to Manual, continued with a 78-69 loss to Bullitt Central, and ended with a 68-58 loss to DeSales. The Centurions will look to turn things around when they face Christian Academy of New Albany (IN) to start the final week of the regular season, and then will end the week and regular season with games against Atherton and Collins. 11. Central Yellowjackets (8-18) The Yellowjackets lost a close one to North Oldham by a 55-53 margin before falling to the Ballard Bruins 96-57. Central, which has lost seven of its last eight games, has two more challenging games to finish the regular season, taking on Trinity and Male this week. 12. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (14-11) The Bearcats had a good week, going 2-1. After falling 95-70 to the Eastern Eagles, KCD got the best of Eminence (72-55) and Frederick Fraize (80-66). The Bearcats finish the regular season this week with road games against Frederick Fraize and Sayre. 13. Atherton Rebels (10-14) The Rebels split the two games they played this week, with both games being decided by small margins. The Rebels came up just short against Seneca, falling to the Redhawks 50-46, before beating Whitefield by a 71-65 margin. Atherton has three games to finish up the regular season this week, taking on Brown, Iroquois, and Christian Academy. 14. Shawnee Golden Eagles (13-11) The Golden Eagles dispatched the St. Francis Wyverns by a 81-50 margin in their only game this week. The regular season’s last week presents the Eagles with games against Evangel Christian and Valley. 15. Walden Wolverines (18-9) The Wolverines won a couple but also lost a couple this week. The wins came against Brown (73-57) and L.I.G.H.T., a home school team from Danville (71-56). The losses were to Portland Christian (93-84) and Burgin (63-52). Walden completes regular season play this week with games against Henry County and Evangel Christian. 16. St. Francis Wyverns (6-17) St. Francis split the four games it played this week. The Wyverns lost to Sayre (66-58) and Shawnee (81-50), but then won two games in a row over Community Christian (66-51) and Bellevue (78-55). Darian Wade had a double-double against Sayre, with 21 points and 14 rebounds. The Wyverns wrap up the regular season this week with three games, taking on Evangel Christian, Brown, and Frederick Fraize. 17. Portland Christian Eagles (8-16) Portland Christian got a nice 93-84 win over Walden to start the week, and then beat Community Christian by a 79-63 margin. The Eagles have now won three in a row. Portland Christian finishes the regular season against Whitefield Academy on Tuesday. 18. Brown Bears (4-21) Brown went 0-3 this week with losses to Doss (68-37), Walden (73-57), and Bardstown Bethlehem (56-43). The Bears will have an extremely busy last week of the regular season, with games scheduled this week against Atherton, Waggener, North Bullitt, and St. Francis.

The much anticipated Fern Creek-Butler match up was played this week, and Fern Creek looked good in beating the Bears 79-63. Butler fans will be quick to point out that the Bears were without the services of their leading scorer and recently named Sixth Region Player of the Year Trey Minter, and that is a valid point. But Fern Creek can only play the team put on the floor against them, and the Tigers dispatched the team put on the floor against them by 16 points. Fern Creek, and in particular Jaden Rogers, looked good in doing so. Let's hope Trey is back on the court quickly. I would love to see these teams face off again in the Sixth Region tournament. In addition to Trey Minter being named Player of the Year, North Bullitt's Alex Young was named the region's Coach of the Year. Congratulations to them both. TEAM RANKINGS 1. Fern Creek Tigers (21-6) The Fern Creek Tigers served notice this week that they should be top-ranked and considered the favorite going into the Sixth Region tournament. After dispatching Great Crossing 64-43 earlier in the week, the Tigers bested the Butler Bears 63-54 Thursday night. That game was a grinding, physical battle between two good teams. While some may try to diminish the win in light of Butler’s Trey Minter not playing, it is worth noting that the Tigers’ Zek Montgomery’s minutes were limited by foul trouble. Guard Jaden Rogers continues to be impressive, this week scoring 17 against Great Crossing and 24 against Butler. The Tigers, who now have won 8 straight and 14 of their last 15, finish the regular season this week with games against Valley and Doss. 2. Butler Bears (16-8) The Bears’ 63-54 loss to Fern Creek perhaps comes with an asterisk. Trey Minter, Butler’s leading scorer on the season who was voted the Sixth Region Player of the Year this week, did not play due to a groin injury. Whether his presence would have made a difference in the game’s outcome is one of those things that fans can debate all day long. Jadon Lamb, who had scored 28 points in Butler’s 71-54 win over Iroquois earlier in the week, scored 18 against Fern Creek. The Bears wrap up the regular season this week with games against Southern and Jeffersontown. 3. Jeffersontown Chargers (17-6) The Chargers had a nice 3-0 week, which started with a 88-43 win over Whitefield Academy. Trevis Oglesvy led the way in that one with 17 points and 9 rebounds. With Quinton Anderson scoring 20 points and Trevis Oglesvy adding 15, J’Town then scored a nice 57-54 win over the St. X Tigers from the Seventh Region. The Chargers finished the week with a 84-49 win over the Valley Vikings. The regular season’s last week presents the Chargers with games against Fairdale and Butler. 4. Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers (15-9) The Panthers ended their 5-game losing streak this week with a 93-86 win over the Western Warriors. To be sure, the five losses were all to good teams, but it is nice when such a streak comes to an end. PRP finishes up the regular season this week with three games, facing Manual, Beth Haven, and Pekin (IN) Eastern. 5. DeSales Colts (16-9) DeSales had a great week, going 3-1 and looking like they are ready for the post season. The week started with a nice 67-59 win over South Oldham. The Colts then competed well against the Male Bulldogs but ended up on the wrong side of a 69-62 score before beating Iroquois 60-56 and Christian Academy 68-58. The regular season wraps up this week for the Colts with a single game against North Oldham. 6. Doss Dragons (17-9) The Dragons went 2-1 this week. Doss easily handled Brown (68-37) and Southern (91-64) but suffered a disappointing loss to the Western Warriors by a 70-65 margin. The Dragons face two good teams during this last week of the regular season, facing the Eastern Eagles and the Fern Creek Tigers. 7. Bullitt East Chargers (12-14) The Chargers won both of the games they played this week. Zak Perdew scored 17 in the Chargers’ 59-44 defeat of Grayson County. Bullitt East followed up that win with a 87-76 win over Southern. The Chargers complete the regular season this week with games against Nelson County and Elizabethtown. 8. North Bullitt Eagles (20-8) Congratulations to Head Coach Alex Young on being named Sixth Region Coach of the Year. The Eagles celebrated by going 2-0 and reaching the 20-win mark this week with wins over Holy Cross (67-56) and Fairdale (95-93, in overtime). Logan Steinmacher led North Bullitt in scoring in both games, scoring 21 points against Holy Cross and 24 against Fairdale. The Eagles finish the regular season with games this week against Meade County and Brown. 9. Holy Cross Cougars (15-10) Holy Cross split the two games they played this week, taking care of business against Beth Haven by a 83-57 margin but then falling to North Bullitt 67-56. The Cougars wrap up the regular season this week against Western and Bardstown Bethlehem. 10. Fairdale Bulldogs (12-12) Hunter McCutcheon, who had been declared eligible to play the week before, showed how much of a difference maker he could be, scoring 37 points in the Bulldogs’ 85-57 win over the Valley Vikings. Fairdale then played North Bullitt tough, but ended up falling to the Eagles 95-93 in overtime. The Bulldogs have three games during the upcoming last week of the regular season, facing J’Town, Collegiate, and Bullitt Central. 11. Iroquois Raiders (15-13) The Raiders lost to two of the higher ranked Sixth Region teams this week, falling to Butler 71-54 and to DeSales 60-56. Iroquois bounced back from those losses to beat Thomas Nelson 69-51. The Raiders wrap up the regular season with games in the upcoming week against Atherton and Southern. 12. Western Warriors (13-13) Western started the week with a really nice 70-65 win over Doss. The Warriors followed that up with an understandable 93-86 loss to PRP, but then finished the week with a 74-64 win against Fort Knox. The Warriors, who have not had a winning season since the 2015-16 season, face Holy Cross and Moore in the upcoming final week of the regular season. 13. Moore Mustangs (9-14) The Mustangs played just once this week, beating Bullitt Central 72-58. Junior E.J. Waller lit up the scoreboard against the Cougars, scoring 27 points. Moore ends the regular season this week with games against St. X and Western. 14. Bullitt Central Cougars (9-18) The Cougars went 1-2 this week, falling to the Moore Mustangs (72-58) and the Spencer County Bears (65-49) but beating Christian Academy 78-69. Bullitt Central will finish the regular season this week with games against Oldham County and Fairdale. 15. Valley Vikings (5-17) The Vikings lost both of the games they played this week, falling to Fairdale (85-57) and Jeffersontown (84-49). Valley will be busy in the upcoming final week of the regular season, playing Collegiate, Fern Creek, Shawnee, and Seneca. 16. Southern Trojans (5-16) The Trojans lost both of the games they played this week, falling to Doss (91-64) and Bullitt East (87-76). Southern faces Butler on Tuesday before finishing the regular season on Friday night against the Iroquois Raiders. 17. Whitefield Academy Wildcats (13-12) The Wildcats went 0-3 this week, losing to J’Town (88-43), Atherton (71-65), and Washington County (76-67). Whitefield will look to get back over the .500 mark in the regular season’s last week with games against Portland Christian and Fort Knox. 18. Beth Haven Bearcats (9-15) Despite Luke Easley’s 27 points, Beth Haven lost to Holy Cross by a 83-57 margin. The Bearcats also lost this week to Christian Fellowship, falling 78-65. The regular season ends for the Bearcats this week with games against PRP and Fort Knox. 19. Evangel Christian Eagles (3-15) The Eagles did not play this week, but have three games in the upcoming week to finish off the regular season, playing Shawnee, St. Francis, and Walden.

1. Bourbon County (22-5) - The Colonels knocked off rival Paris (81-73) and had a big second half to defeated Calvary Christian (64-42). Amirion Joyce continues to lead the Colonels. He had 26 points in the win over Paris. I have Bourbon County ranked 14th in my state media rankings. The Colonels lost the coin-flip in the 40th district, so they must play the #3 seed Montgomery County Indians in the first round of the district. 2. George Rogers Clark (21-7) - The Cardinals opened their new arena with a closer than expected 72-70 double-overtime win over Madison Southern. Lincoln Bush finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. GRC then posted nice blowout wins over Knott County Central (70-50) and Bracken County (79-54). They won the coin-flip over Bourbon County and will play Paris in the first round of the 40th district. 3. Bishop Brossart (22-4) - The Mustangs defeated Villa Madonna (69-42), Calvary Christian (47-38) and Bracken County (81-61). Ethan Eilerman had a double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds) in the victory over Bracken County. If they can get past Mason County next week they will finish with a perfect record against 10th region competition. 4. Robertson County (20-5) - The Black Devils beat a couple of the low ranked 10th region teams last week and now have won 8 straight. They rolled past St. Patrick and Harrison County. Sophomore Justin Becker continues to be near the top of the state in scoring. He is pouring in 27 points per game. 5. Montgomery County (18-11) - The Indians have now won six in a row, thanks to last week's victories over Harrison County (70-49), Estill County (60-50), and Pendleton County (60-52). Rickey Lovette had a field day with 20 points and 17 rebounds in the win over Harrison County. 6. Mason County (15-10) - Great wins followed by baffling losses pretty much sums up the Royal's season so far. Two weeks ago they knocked off George Rogers Clark but last week they inexplicably lost to Fleming County (73-70). The Royals did pick up wins over Ryle (85-63) and Harrison County (84-63) to finish 1-2 on the week. The Royals certainly have talent, but may lack the consistency needed to put together a deep run in the 10th region tournament. 7. Campbell County (13-14) - The Camels had a rough week last week, falling to Simon Kenton (64-43) and Cooper (64-58) and defeating Pendleton County (78-49). The Camels were not able to continue their momentum gained from their February 6 win over Bourbon County. Freshman Aydan Hamilton scored 21 points in the win over the Wildcats. The Camels have some nice wins this season, but have not shown much consistency. 8. Paris (9-16) - The Greyhounds knocked off Augusta for the 2nd time this season, winning in overtime by a score of 61-57. They lost at Frankfort (52-45). Junior Ricqiece Washington is averaging 19 points per game. 9. Calvary Christian (12-14) - The Cougars continue to show signs of improvement. They lost competitive games to Covington Holy Cross (67-60) and Bishop Brossart (47-38). They hung around with Bourbon County for a half before falling 64-42. The Cougars look like they could give Campbell County a run for their money in the first round of the district tournament. Senior Noah Herald is averaging 13 boards a game. 10. Pendleton County (11-16) - The Wildcats lost all three games last week. Falling to Campbell County (78-49), Montgomery County (60-52), and Estill County (50-38). The tough schedule continues next week with Bourbon County and Paris. 11. Augusta (12-16) - The Panthers lost competitive home games to Paris (61-57 OT) and the struggling Scott Eagles (64-59). Augusta also suffered a surprising 72-65 loss to Villa Madonna. 12. Bracken County (10-17) - The Polar Bears had a rough schedule last week, and were blown out by Bishop Brossart and George Rogers Clark. Blake Reed continues to put up big numbers. He had 28 in the loss to the Mustangs. 13. Scott (5-20) - The Eagles picked up a big road victory (64-59) over Augusta, ending a 12 game losing streak. Scott does have a respectable 4-5 season record in 10th region games, including December wins over Mason County and Pendleton County. 14. Harrison County (4-23) - The Thoroughbreds were blown out by Montgomery County and Robertson County last week. They have been stuck in the 14th spot the last several weeks. 15. Nicholas County (4-23) - The Bluejackets have lost 5 straight and 12 of 13. Senior Morgan Planck is averaging 16 points and 6 rebounds. 16. St. Patrick (5-21) - The Saints have dropped 10 straight. They will be looking to pickup their first 10th region win at Nicholas County on February 20. Games of the Week: Feb 18 at 7:30 p.m. Mason County at Bishop Brossart Feb 20 at 8:00 p.m. North Oldham at Montgomery County

1) Warren Central (20-6) - 2/14 60-52 W #5 Greenwood Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 2/18 at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/21 at LaRue County 2) Bowling Green (22-5) - 2/11 62-61 W at Owensboro, 2/14 74-47 W #14 Warren East Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 2/18 vs. Hopkinsville, 2/21 at Ballard 3) Logan County (23-3) - 2/11 75-66 W #5 Greenwood, 2/15 77-49 W #10 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 2/18 at Ohio County, 2/20 at #15 Cumberland County 4) Barren County (19-8) - 2/11 70-63 W #11 Russell County, 2/14 93-61 W at #15 Cumberland County Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 2/18 vs. #13 Metcalfe County, 2/20 at #6 Clinton County 5) Greenwood (15-13) - 2/11 66-75 L at #3 Logan County, 2/14 52-60 L at #2 Warren Central Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 2/18 vs. #12 Monroe County, 2/21 vs. Edmonson County 6) Clinton County (20-6) - 2/11 54-48 W at McCreary Central, 2/14 59-53 W at #12 Monroe County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 2/17 vs. #8 South Warren, 2/20 vs. #4 Barren County 7) Franklin-Simpson (12-13) - 2/10 64-70 L at Butler County, 2/13 78-74 W at #6 South Warren Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 2/18 vs. #14 Warren East, 2/20 at #9 Glasgow 8) South Warren (14-13) - 2/11 76-50 W at #14 Warren East, 2/13 74-78 L #8 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 2/17 at #6 Clinton County, 2/21 vs. Butler County 9) Glasgow (12-13) - 2/10 64-65 OT L #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/11 71-49 W at #13 Metcalfe County, 2/14 66-52 W at Caverna Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 2/18 vs. #15 Cumberland County, 2/20 vs. #7 Franklin-Simpson 10) Allen County-Scottsville (13-13) - 2/10 65-64 OT W at #9 Glasgow, 2/13 89-78 2OT W Metcalfe County, 49-77 L at #3 Logan County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 2/18 vs. #1 Warren Central, 2/20 at #17 Russellville 11) Russell County (13-14) - 2/11 63-70 L at #4 Barren County, 2/14 61-45 W Adair County, 2/15 60-47 W Jackson County Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 2/18 at Danville, 2/21 at Rockcastle County 12) Monroe County (10-15) - 2/11 59-50 W #15 Cumberland County, 2/14 53-59 L #7 Clinton County Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 2/18 at #5 Greenwood, 2/20 at #14 Warren East 13) Metcalfe County (14-13) - 2/11 49-71 L #9 Glasgow, 2/13 78-89 2OT L at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/15 87-78 W #17 Russellville Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 2/18 at #4 Barren County, 2/21 at Caverna 14) Warren East (4-19) - 2/11 50-76 L #6 South Warren, 2/14 47-74 L at #1 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 2/17 at Caverna, 2/18 at #7 Franklin-Simpson, 2/20 vs. #12 Monroe County 15) Cumberland County (6-18) - 2/11 50-59 L at #12 Monroe County, 2/14 61-93 L #4 Barren County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 2/18 at #9 Glasgow, 2/20 vs. #3 Logan County 16) Todd County Central (6-18) - 2/14 80-78 2OT W at #17 Russellville Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 2/17 at Hopkins County Central, 2/18 vs. Muhlenberg County, 2/21 at Dawson Springs 17) Russellville (6-18) - 2/11 76-78 L Edmonson County, 2/14 78-80 2OT L #16 Todd County Central, 2/15 78-87 L at #13 Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 2/18 vs. Fort Campbell, 2/20 vs. #10 Allen County-Scottsville Notes -In a true rarity, all the district matchups are set without requiring tiebreakers - everything settled on the court. The only tie across all four districts was for the 2 seed in the 16th District - Russell County won the coin flip with Cumberland County for that - but that didn't alter the matchup. In the 13th at Russellville, it will be Logan County (6-0) vs. Russellville (0-6) and Franklin-Simpson (4-2) vs. Todd County Central (2-4). In the 14th at South Warren, South Warren (2-6) will open with Warren East (0-8), with the winner facing Warren Central (7-1) - Bowling Green (6-2) will face Greenwood (5-3) in the 2/3 game. In the 15th at Allen County-Scottsville, Barren County (5-1) will face Monroe County (0-6), while Glasgow (4-2) will take on Allen County-Scottsville (3-3). Finally, in the 16th at Russell County, Clinton County (6-0) will face Metcalfe County (0-6) with Russell County (3-3) hosting Cumberland County (3-3). It all makes life easier on the district tournament managers. -The highest drama of the week came in battles for the top seed in the 14th and 15th. Glasgow hosted Allen County-Scottsville on Monday, needing a win to tie Barren County to push that to a coin flip. The Scotties finally had the services of their full team, and jumped out to a five point halftime lead on AC/S. But they were unable to hold it as Mason Shirley began an assault that would see him score 32 of the final 45 points for ACS en route to a (then) career-high 35 points. The game would go to extra time tied at 56, and Shirley would draw a questionable foul with 2 seconds remaining, hitting a pair of free throws to give them a 65-64 OT win, pulling Glasgow into the 2/3 game with them. Meanwhile in the 14th District on Friday, Greenwood visited Warren Central, hoping to get a road win and force a three-way tie for #1 along with Bowling Green. The first half was not a pretty sight as both teams saw huge stretches of time with difficulty making shots. Central jumped out to a 14-4 lead with 1:45 left in the first, and then scored only four points in the next 12 minutes of game-time. Greenwood took a while to take advantage, before grabbing a 19-18 lead after scoring five straight to start the third quarter. A Dragon three ended the run and the Gators never led again, frequently trailing by between 8-12 points in the second half. They whittled it down to four at 52-48 with just over a minute remaining, but a pair of Tay Smith threes pushed it back to ten, and that was that. It gave Warren Central their first outright #1 seed in six years, and pushed them back to our #1 for the first time since December. Greenwood would have needed some luck plus the win over Warren Central to grab the #1 seed, but with that loss, Warren East in 2013 (beneficiaries of a three-way tie that broke for them) remains the only team besides Warren Central or Bowling Green to be the #1 seed since it began in the 14th District in 1999. -Mason Shirley had a career week in an overtime week for the Patriots. Following that thriller against Glasgow, they needed two overtimes to knock off Metcalfe County. Shirley posted a double double in that one, with a new career high of 39 points to go with 11 rebounds. His 39 was just three shy of the school record. It's not been quite as good a year from Shirley as was expected after his breakout sophomore campaign a season ago, but those two games this week raised his scoring average by two full points, and they'll look to build some momentum going into a home district tournament meeting with Glasgow. They had won four in a row prior to dropping a matchup at Logan County on Saturday. -Logan County moved to 23-3 by knocking off Greenwood on Tuesday 75-66 and AC/S 77-49 on Saturday. Though they still have a matchup with Cumberland County, realistically, the matchup with Greenwood was their last hurdle between them and a perfect region record. With wins over Barren County and Greenwood under their belt, it adds some legitimacy to that record, despite not playing Warren Central or Bowling Green this season. They're 13-0 in region play, 13-1 at home, and carry a 19 game winning streak. If they clear Ohio County on Tuesday, they will almost certainly enter the region tournament in a few weeks on a 23 game winning streak and with their best record overall since 1984. -Bowling Green pushed their winning streak against Warren East to 52 with a 74-47 win on Friday. The stat is so large it literally numbs you to how impressive it is. FIFTY-TWO. The Raiders haven't beaten Bowling Green in the entire seeded era of the 14th District. They haven't been within single digits of the Purples in six years, and haven't lost by less than five in eight. With the win, Bowling Green closed their regular season region slate at 11-2 in region play, 7-2 against District 14 teams (with an extra win over Greenwood coming in their Christmas tournament). They have a layup on Tuesday in hosting Hopkinsville, before a daunting trip to Ballard on Friday. -Not much else of note happened during the week, as we've touched on the games that decided postseason seeding. The region now has four teams with 20+ wins with a week to go. Barren County should join them as soon as Tuesday, but it will be a longshot for anyone else to be added. Greenwood is the next highest total at 15 - they will need multiple postseason wins to reach the threshold. They are seeking their first 20-win season since 2011/12. -Both Greenwood and South Warren have endured a difficult stretch against a challenging schedule. Greenwood is now just 3-6 in their last nine games, with four losses against the #1, #3, and #4 teams in our rankings. South Warren is 3-7 in their last ten games, dropping a pair of games against Warren Central, and falling to Bowling Green, Greenwood, and Franklin-Simpson in-region as well. Both teams remain dangerous, but both are also in serious need of some momentum going into tough postseason games. The Spartans have the tougher schedule this week, and will need to win both to guarantee themselves their second winning record in the past seven seasons, though in all likelihood a split would do it given they'll be favored over Warren East in their first postseason game. If they can reach 17 wins, it would be the second highest total in program history.

I went for a run last night and Cliff Nobles' THE HORSE came on. I can listen to that over and over again. That was a pep band classic for a HS football or basketball game in the early 70's. Still, every time I hear it, I think of that goalline stand our guys had at Paris in the 2nd round of the playoffs in November of 1994. We had a handful of really good players, but only dressed about 27 that night. Our opponent was a very good NewCath team coached by Bob Schneider. The day before, our practice stunk to the point that I thought our guys had given up on the season and saw little hope of winning. Thankfully, I could not have been more wrong. Our defensive coordinator was Phillip Burbage and our goalline defense had seven guys up front.... we struggled to even have seven big guys on our team! But, the good thing about it was that some of those big guys got a chance to get on the field. So, 4th and goal inside of the one yard line, Paris, KY, Blanton Collier Stadium, November playoff game, the Greyhound Band is playing "The Horse"...loud...our big guys play great! They don't allow any movement on the LOS. Our LB's are able to come over the top and stop the play. Our guys make the stop and celebrate. As soon as it happened, I was especially happy for our big guys. They didn't get the spotlight too often. But, here they were, on a tradition rich field, the band is playing "The Horse" the crowd is cheering.... this is their moment! Some of those big guys usually didn't get much recognition. Some didn't get a whole lot of playing time, even though they never missed a practice or a workout. But, in this moment, their hard work and dedication paid off. Most of the time, the guys that hang in there for all four years, they have their moment. Some will start and play a bunch. Some will just play a little, but usually, they all have their time. And, when they do, it is great to see it. Cliff Nobles- THE HORSE You can watch this play at : Black Shoes and White ShoeStrings: Cliff Nobles, The Horse and Earning that Moment on a HS Football Field

The 2019-20 5th Region Boys' Basketball Tournament is set to tip off at Taylor County High School in Campbellsville. The field for the 2019-20 5th Region Boys' Basketball Tournament is made up of the following teams: Bardstown, Campbellsville, Elizabethtown, Hart County, John Hardin, LaRue County, Marion County and Nelson County. Bardstown enters the region tournament as the 19th District champion. The Tigers are 23-8. Campbellsville finished runner-up in the 20th District. The Tigers are 15-14. Elizabethtown finished runner-up in the 17th District. The Panthers are 24-3 and boast the second-best region among 5th Region boys' basketball teams. Hart County finished runner-up in the 18th District. The Raiders are 14-14. John Hardin captured the 17th District title. The Bulldogs are 29-3 and enter the region tournament as the favorite. LaRue County won the 18th District. The Hawks are 20-8. Marion County, a contender for the 5th Region title, claimed the 20th District title. The Knights are 22-7. Nelson County finished runner-up in the 19th District. The Cardinals are 12-20. John Hardin, which features player of the year Alex Matthews (17.5 ppg, 10.7 rpg), is the reigning 5th Region champion. Reigning champion John Hardin among the state's top boys' high school basketball teams. The schedule for the 5th Region Boys' Basketball Tournament follows. 5th Region Boys' Basketball Tournament at Taylor County High School Wednesday, March 4 Quarterfinals LaRue County vs. Nelson County, 6 p.m. Marion County vs. Elizabethtown, 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5 Quarterfinals Bardstown vs. Hart County, 6 p.m. John Hardin vs. Campbellsville, 8 p.m. Sunday, March 8 Semifinals 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 Championship Game 7 p.m.

Regional Tournament Preview Hard to believe that the season is coming to a close. I hope to see some of you at NKU on Saturday. I wonder if the weeklong furlough will adversely impact the performance of some of these young men that have worked so hard to get to the regional tournament. Game 1: St. Henry vs. Cooper. Time: 12:00. Preview: I would assume that both Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Faust would have preferred to not play at 12:00 in the afternoon. Both squads must remain focused all week in order to perform at a time that, perhaps, they only have had only one opportunity to experience. Cooper is playing the best basketball that they have played all season and I predict a game that will be decided by 9 points or less. Game 2: Covington Catholic vs. Newport Time: 1:30 Preview: The Wildcats probably feel that almost all of NKY did not anticipate seeing them this week in Highland Heights. Newport’s fear of having to face the Colonels has come to fruition, but there are about eight other teams in the 9th Region that covet their position. I expect a tough-nosed game in the first quarter with Cov Cath methodically pulling away the final three quarters for a +20 victory. Game 3: Conner vs. Beechwood Time: 6:30 Preview: Both teams are playing good basketball right now, but it has been a long time since Conner lost. The Cougars did beat Beechwood in the regular season and the Tigers will be looking to avenge that loss. This has the potential to be a high scoring affair that will probably come down to the wire. I expect a close game that stays within 9 points or less from horn to horn. Game 4: Highlands vs. Dixie Heights Time: 8:00 Preview: On paper, it looks like a game that points all the way to the Bluebirds. On February 5th, Highlands did get the victory over the Red Colonels, but Dixie was able to put up 72 points. Highlands does come in favored and I believe only one Courageous Warrior, that will remain nameless, stuck his/her neck out there to predict a regional birth for Dixie Heights; however, the 34th District Championship was a close game and Coach Stainforth will work very hard to prep his boys for this one. I do see Highlands avoiding the upset and advancing to the semi-finals. Players to Watch: For the Crusaders Wyatt Beith Jude Bessler Cody Teeten For the Jaguars Gavin Rabe Kevin Centers Jacob Deere For the Colonels Grant Disken Neil Green Donovan Stocks For the Wildcats DaeShawn White KeAndre Nelson Kaleal Davis For the Tigers Scotty Draud Will Downton Mitchell Riley For the Cougars Jalen Scott Riley Osterbur Jared Hicks For the Dixie Height Colonels Ian Snelling Jay Flynn Jason Summe For the Bluebirds Sam Vinson Luke Muller Oliver Harris

The Seventh Region this season has largely belonged to the Male Bulldogs and the Ballard Bruins. But Seneca’s win over Ballard this week suggests that other teams may be involved in deciding who advances to the state tournament from the Seventh Region. The first step in deciding who that team will be occurs on Monday with the start of the 25th-28th district tournaments. Should be a lot of good basketball around town this week! FINAL TEAM RANKINGS 1. Male Bulldogs (26-4) Male started the season as the top-ranked team in the Seventh Region and here it is still in the top spot at the end of the regular season. The Bulldogs finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak, including a 81-52 win over Central this week, and have won 15 of their last 16 games. Everyone is now healthy for Male, which gives the Bulldogs a lot of options both offensively and defensively. The 26 wins are the most for a Male team since the 2006-07 season. And the season likely is far from over for the Bulldogs, with the post season starting with a game against the Brown Bears in the 26th district tournament on Tuesday. 2. Ballard Bruins (24-6) Ballard suffered its first 2-game losing streak of the year this week when the Bruins lost to both Seneca (83-80) and Jeffersonville (IN) 80-77. Ballard rebounded from those two close losses by beating Bowling Green 78-60 in the Bruins’ regular season finale. I am not that concerned about the recent losses; they were to good teams, and sometimes good teams lose to other good teams. Even with those losses, Ballard finished the regular season with a 24-6 record and will end up being the top scoring team in the state (82.3 ppg). Ballard will start the post season with a game in the 28th district tournament against the winner of the KCD-Walden match up. 3. Seneca Redhawks (20-8) Kudos to the Redhawks, who scored an attention-getting 83-80 win over the Ballard Bruins this week. Seneca also beat Valley 65-54 this week. I thought the Redhawks would take a step back this season with the departure of Carl Parker and Richard Ninamou from last year’s team, but I was absolutely wrong. Delshawn Simms, who had 31 points in the Redhawks’ big win over Ballard, has had a tremendous season, averaging 17.2 ppg and shooting 52.2% from 3-point range. Seneca opens the 27th district tournament against Atherton on Monday night. 4. Eastern Eagles (20-9) Eastern continued its winning ways the last week of the regular season with wins over Doss (63-49) and Manual (62-50). The Eagles won 7 of their last 8 games (the only loss in that stretch was to Ballard), and Eastern’s 20 wins are the most for an Eagle squad since the 2013-14 season. And they are young, so the next few years should be really good for the Eagles. Eastern faces CAL in a 28th district tournament semi-final game. 5. Waggener Wildcats (17-10) The Wildcats had a good last week of the regular season with wins over Brown (82-32) and St. X (76-65). The Wildcats’ 19 wins in the regular season were a fall off from last season’s 29 wins, but 19 wins is already tied for the 4th most in Waggener school history. And the season is not yet over for the Wildcats, who play the Trinity Shamrocks in the semi-finals of the 27th district tournament. 6. Trinity Shamrocks (16-14) Trinity’s two wins this week, over Central (62-49) and Lexington Christian (60-50), ensures that Trinity will have a winning record for the season. That is a nice achievement for a team that had a lot of unknowns coming into the season and who played a typically tough schedule. And it extends the Trinity’s streak of winning seasons, which goes back to the 2008-09 season. The Shamrocks play Waggener on Monday in the 27th district tournament. 7. St. Xavier Tigers (17-10) The Tigers went 1-1 in the regular season’s last week, beating Moore 74-58 (Ben Varga leading the way with 25 points) but losing the regular season finale to the Waggener Wildcats 76-65. After starting the season 12-2, the Tigers went 5-8 the rest of the way. St. X will look to refocus before opening play in the 26th district tournament against the Collegiate Titans on Tuesday. 8. Dupont Manual Crimsons (13-12) Manual lost the two games it played during the last week of the regular season, falling to Pleasure Ridge Park (63-60) and Eastern (62-50). Manual thus ends the season with three straight losses, albeit all to good teams (the third loss was to Male). The post season starts for the Crimsons on Wednesday with a semi-final match up with either Portland Christian or St. Francis in the 25th district tournament. 9. Louisville Collegiate Titans (20-6) The Titans capped off their 20-win regular season in exciting fashion, coming back from an 11 point deficit with 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter to beat Fairdale 69-66 in overtime. Joey Leachman hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, and then completed an old-fashioned 3-point play near of end of the overtime to seal the victory for Collegiate. The Titans, who earlier in the week beat Valley 62-41, have won 5 in a row and 8 out of their last 9 games. The only loss during that stretch was to the Male Bulldogs. The Titans will face St. X in the semi-finals of the 26th tournament on Tuesday. 10. Christian Academy of Louisville Centurions (10-18) CAL had a disappointing second half of the year, which included losses this week to New Albany, IN Christian Academy (80-78 in triple overtime), Atherton (51-46), and Collins (72-49). The Centurions lost their last 7 games of the regular season and 11 of their last 12. But the post season is a new season, and that new season has CAL taking on Eastern in the 28th district tournament on Tuesday. 11. Central Yellowjackets (8-20) Central faced a couple strong opponents in the last week of the regular season, losing to both Trinity (62-49) and Male (81-52). Heading into the post season, the Yellowjackets have lost their last 5 games and 9 of their last 10. Central jumps into the post season against Shawnee in a 25th district semi-final game on Wednesday. 12. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (14-12) The Bearcats ended the season with a disappointing 60-59 loss to Sayre. Even with the loss, KCD this season achieved its first winning record since the 2015-16 season. Four Bearcats ended up averaging in double figures, including 3 seniors (Michael Collis, Anthony O’Neal, and Jalen Mathis) plus freshman Will Crockett. KCD plays Walden to open the 28th district tournament on Monday. 13. Atherton Rebels (12-15) Atherton had a really nice last week of the regular season, bracketing wins over the Brown Bears (77-38) and the Christian Academy Centurions (51-46) around a 72-63 loss to Iroquois. The 12 wins is a nice improvement on the 5 wins for the Rebels in the 2018-19 season. And the top two scorers, Da Von Johnson and Jymaree Johnson, will be back next year for the Rebels. Atherton starts post season play against Seneca in a 27th district semi-final game. 14. Shawnee Golden Eagles (14-12) Coach Mucker has done a great job with Golden Eagles, leading them to the school’s first winning record since the 2008-09 season. Shawnee’s 77-32 win over Evangel Christian early in the last week of the regular season guaranteed a winning record for the Golden Eagles, even with the Golden Eagles losing 69-57 to Valley later in the week. The Golden Eagles face Central in a 25th district semi-final game. 15. Walden Wolverines (19-10) The Wolverines lost to Henry County 65-59 earlier in the week but then wrapped up the regular season with a 72-46 win over Evangel Christian. Walden’s 19 wins are the most in a single season in school history. Quite a year for the Wolverines, who play the KCD Bearcats in the first round of the 28th district tournament. 16. Brown Bears (5-24) Brown went 1-3 in the last week of the regular season, finishing the season with a 79-70 win over the St. Francis Wyverns. While the wins were not as numerous this season as the Bears had hoped for, Brown only loses one player. Among those returning is the high scoring Josiah Bibb, who has hovered around 20 ppg this season and should have a terrific senior year next year. The wins should be more plentiful for the Bears next year. But before then, Brown plays Male on Tuesday in the 26th district tournament. 17. Portland Christian Eagles (10-17) Congratulations to the Portland Christian Eagles, champions of the 2020 Kentucky Christian Athletic Conference tournament with wins this weekend against Heritage Academy (107-73) and Danville Christian (71-57). The Eagles have won 5 of their last 6 games, and have now reached double digits in wins for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Portland Christian will look to keep things going when they play St. Francis on Monday to open play in the 25th district tournament. 18. St. Francis Wyverns (7-19) After beating Evangel Christian 73-55 earlier in the week, the Wyverns lost their final two games of the regular season, falling to Brown (79-70) and Frederick Fraize (69-63, in double overtime). The double overtime loss at home to Frederick Fraize has to be disappointing for the Wyverns. St. Francis can try to get over that disappointment when they face Portland Christian on Monday in the opening round of the 25th district tournament. PLAYER RANKINGS 1. Tyren Moore, senior, Male The best player in the Seventh Region, maybe the best player in the state. Offensive machine who also plays tenacious defense. Averaging 18.5 ppg, shooting 46.5% from 3 and 83% on free throws. Going to Lincoln Memorial University. 2. Howard Fleming, senior, Male Injuries limited Fleming to just 8 games so far this season. Averaged 15.6 ppg in those 8 games. Going to Illinois State. 3. Rashad Bishop, senior, Ballard Another senior limited this season by injury. Has averaged 12.6 ppg in the 17 games he has played. Had 30 against the Male Bulldogs. 4. Kaleb Glenn, freshman, Male Perhaps the top freshman in the state. Averaging a double-double (13.5 ppg and 10 rpg). Leads the KHSAA in field goal percentage at 72.9%. 5. Maker Bar, sophomore, Ballard Tall sophomore has given Ballard a quality inside presence. Scores at a 10.4 clip while grabbing 7.1 rpg. Shoots 66.5% from the field. 6. Chez Moore, senior, Collegiate Strong senior year for Chez. A double-double machine, averaging 20 ppg and 10.6 rpg. 7. James Jewell, sophomore, Eastern Athletic sophomore averaging 13.4 ppg and 7 rpg for the Eagles. 8. Delshawn Simms, junior, Seneca Prolific outside scoring threat, shot 52% on 3’s for the season. Scored 31 in a late-season Seneca win over Ballard. 9. Lewis Richards, senior, Ballard Leading scorer for the Bruins at 12.9 ppg. 10. Nick Mosley, senior, St. Xavier Averaging 14.9 ppg for the Tigers, including a season-high 39 against rival Trinity. Shot 39% from beyond the 3-point line. DISTRICT TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS I usually don’t get too excited about the district tournaments. The top teams in the Seventh Region are pretty evenly distributed among the four districts, so most of the best teams will win a game in the district tournament and qualify for the Seventh Region tournament. But there are some interesting district tournament match ups that might result in some pretty good teams not making it to the Seventh Region tournament this year. In the 26th district, the Collegiate Titans will look to continue its outstanding season when they take on the St. X Tigers and advance to the Seventh Region like they did in the 2011 season. Of course, St. X will have a different idea. That should be a good one. The same can be said about the 27th district match up between the Trinity Shamrocks and the Waggener Wildcats. Waggener emerged victorious when they played earlier in the year, but Coach Szabo will have the Rocks ready to play. It’s a shame that one of those teams will not advance to the Seventh Region tournament. But that is life in the Seventh Region at times. 25th DISTRICT The 25th district tournament opens with the St. Francis Wyverns facing the Portland Christian Eagles on Monday. These teams played on January 15, with St. Francis prevailing 74-58. I think this rematch will be close. The winner of that game will take on the Dupont Manual Crimsons, who easily beat both St. Francis and Portland Christian in the regular season. It would be quite surprising if Manual does not advance out of that game, regardless of who it plays. The other semi-final has Central playing Shawnee. I am of an age that, whenever Central and Shawnee face one another, I think back to the early 1970’s when Central and Shawnee were among the best teams in the Commonwealth. In fact, I was in Freedom Hall in 1973 when Shawnee won the state tournament and also was there the next season when Central was crowned the champion. Neither of these teams is likely to win the state tournament this year, but this might be a pretty good game. Central beat the Golden Eagles 66-49 on December 13. 26th DISTRICT In one of the semi-final games in this 4-team district, Male plays Brown in what would seem to be a one-sided match-up. The Bulldogs beat the Bears 84-19 when they played on December 17. St. X plays Collegiate in the other semi-final game in what could be one of the best district semi-final match ups anywhere. These teams battled mightily on January 7, with St. X eventually prevailing 59-52. The Titans have been looking forward to this rematch ever since. Collegiate beat St. X when they were both in the 25th district in the 2010-11 season, and the Collegiate faithful believe it can happen again. This should be a good one. 27th DISTRICT The 27th district has a different look this year, as the Seneca Redhawks have nabbed the top seed. Seneca will take on the Atherton Rebels in the first round; when those teams played on February 11, Seneca prevailed, but only by a 50-46 margin. Might want to keep an eye on this one. That leaves the Trinity Shamrocks and the Waggener Wildcats to face off in the other semi-final. These are two good teams. When they played on February 11, Waggener beat Trinity by a 77-60 margin. If Waggener can repeat that result, Trinity will not advance to the Seventh Region tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 season. 28th DISTRICT Walden and Kentucky Country Day open things up in the 28th district this year. KCD got the best of the Wolverines 76-47 when they played on January 30. I think KCD will once again prevail. The Ballard Bruins await the winner of that game. Ballard has not played Walden this season, but the Bruins did beat KCD when they played on January 28. Ballard is likely to win against either potential opponent. Eastern plays Christian Academy in the other semi-final. Eastern has been playing well of late and beat CAL 67-59 when they played early in the season. While that was not a very decisive victory, these teams have gone in different directions the second half of the season. I think Eastern will advance.

Lest anyone think that Fern Creek and Butler have separated themselves from the rest of the Sixth Region, in the last week of the regular season Fern Creek needed overtime to beat the Doss Dragons and Butler lost to the Jeffersontown Chargers. So I guess we will let things sort themselves out on the court in the post season, which starts in the Sixth Region tomorrow with games in the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd district. It looks like there will be some interesting games this week in the district tournaments. I hope every high school basketball fan can get out and see some of the action this week. FINAL TEAM RANKINGS 1. Fern Creek Tigers (23-6) The Tigers won both of the games they played this week but they needed overtime to beat Doss 76-72. With this week’s two wins (the other was a 69-39 win over Valley), Fern Creek has won 10 in a row and 16 of its last 17. It also sports a 12-0 record against fellow Sixth Region members. Even with the Tigers needing overtime to beat the Doss Dragons this week, it would be hard not to view Fern Creek as the favorite to win the Sixth Region title this year. And while this is not the time to be looking ahead to next year, it is interesting to note that all of the Tigers’ significant contributors are underclassmen. Fern Creek takes on Whitefield Academy to open play in the 24th district tournament on Wednesday. 2. Butler Bears (17-9) Butler has had an outstanding season but ended the season 3-3 in its last 6 games. Of course, the 3 losses were all to good teams – Madisonville-North Hopkins, Fern Creek, and Jeffersontown. In addition, leading scorer Trey Minter, recently named the Sixth Region Player of the Year and finalist for Mr. Basketball, has been slowed by a groin injury during that stretch. After missing a couple games entirely, Minter returned in the second half of Butler’s regular season-ending 64-54 loss to J’Town, but his status going forward is one of the keys to the Bears’ post season success, which starts for Butler with a match up against Doss in the 22nd district tournament on Tuesday. 3. Jeffersontown Chargers (18-7) J’Town had quite the interesting week. Brandon Rayzor-Moore had 24 points against Fairdale, but the Chargers fell to the Bulldogs 75-70. Whatever disappointment the Chargers felt from that game was quickly wiped away when J’Town finished the regular season with an impressive 64-54 win over the Butler Bears. So what does that mean for the post season, which starts for the Chargers with a 24th district tournament semi-final game against Bullitt East? I think it means that J’Town could beat a lot of teams, but also that it could lose to a lot of teams. So we’ll see. 4. Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers (18-9) The Panthers went 3-0 in the final week of the season, beating Manual (63-60), Beth Haven (103-70), and Pekin (IN) Eastern (87-42). Led by senior point guard James Taylor, PRP is a talented bunch that can beat teams like Ballard (96-87, on January 3). It could be an exciting post season for the Panthers, who start the post season on Wednesday when they will take on either Valley or Beth Haven. 5. DeSales Colts (16-10) The Colts beat Iroquois (60-56) and Christian Academy (68-58) in this last week of the regular season but then dropped its last game of the regular season to North Oldham by a narrow 59-57 margin. Junior Sekou Kalle is averaging a double-double (15.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg) on the season and will lead DeSales into the post season, where the Colts will face the winner of the Iroquois-Western contest in the 22nd district tournament. 6. Doss Dragons (17-11) The Dragons played well but dropped both of the games they played in the regular season’s final week. After falling to Eastern 63-49, Doss took the top-ranked Fern Creek Tigers into overtime before losing 76-72. That results suggests that the Dragons can compete with anyone in the Sixth Region, and I think that is the case. On the other hand, the prior week’s loss to Western suggests there are a number of teams that can beat the Dragons, and I think that also is the case. Doss has a challenging first round game in the 22nd district tournament when they take on the Butler Bears. 7. Bullitt East Chargers (13-15) After losing to Fern Creek 51-48 on January 10, Bullitt East stood 3-13. I don’t know what Coach Jason Couch did during the following week in which Bullitt East did not play because they did not qualify for the LIT, but whatever it was, it worked. The Chargers have gone 10-2 since then, and the two losses were to Jeffersontown 71-51 on February 4 and a respectable 71-64 loss to Elizabethtown during the regular season’s last week. Bullitt East has a shot at revenge against J’Town when the Chargers take on the Chargers in a 24th district semi-final match up. 8. North Bullitt Eagles (22-8) North Bullitt has had a tremendous season. It has won its last 5 games, including games this week against Fairdale (95-93, in overtime), Meade County (73-59), and Brown (91-51). The Eagles’ 22 wins are more than double last year’s 9 wins and is only one away from the Eagles’ 23 wins in the 2015-16 season, the most wins in school history. It is easy to see why his fellow Sixth Region coaches voted Coach Alex Young the Sixth Region Coach of the Year. North Bullitt will face the winner of the Moore-Evangel Christian match up in a 23rd district semi-final game. 9. Holy Cross Cougars (16-11) The Cougars fell to Western early in the final week of the regular season by a 86-72 margin but then ended the regular season with a 51-40 win over Bardstown Bethlehem. Senior Sam Bearden has had an outstanding season for the Cougars, averaging 18.4 ppg and 7.5 rpg according to the latest statistics on the KHSAA scoreboard. Bearden will lead the Cougars into battle against the Fairdale Bulldogs in a semi-final game in the 21st district tournament. 10. Fairdale Bulldogs (14-13) Fairdale is an interesting story going into the 21st district tournament. Senior Hunter McCutcheon just recently was declared eligible and Stephen Moore has returned to the team. Both players can score in bunches; McCutcheon has hit for over 30 in a couple of games and Moore is averaging 18.5 ppg in the games in which he has played this season. Throw in Tyjuan Walter’s 14.1 ppg and you’ve got a team with multiple offensive options. I watched the Bulldogs suffer a heartbreaking overtime loss to Collegiate 69-66 when Fairdale led by 11 with just a little over a minute left in regulation. That night the Bulldogs looked like they were still trying to figure out how all the pieces should fit together. Fairdale regrouped to beat Bullitt Central 78-68 to end the regular season. Fairdale takes on Holy Cross in the 21st district tournament. 11. Western Warriors (15-13) Western finished the regular season on a strong note, beating Holy Cross 86-72 and Moore 77-74 in the final week. Senior BAngelo Anderson, who was averaging 14.6 in the 10 games in which he had played going into the Holy Cross game, exploded for 41 points against Holy Cross. Western has guaranteed that it will have a winning record this season, which is always a nice accomplishment. The Warriors face Iroquois in the 22nd district tournament Monday night. 12. Iroquois Raiders (16-14) The Raiders split the two games they played in the final week of the regular season, beating Atherton 72-63 but falling to Southern 70-64. Iroquois is guaranteed to have a winning season and its 16 wins is a big improvement from last season’s 7-win total. Quintel Walter has had a huge year for the Raiders, averaging 23.2 ppg. Iroquois takes on Western in the opening round match up of the 22nd district tournament. 13. Moore Mustangs (9-16) Moore dropped both of the games it played this week, falling to St. X (74-58) and Western (77-74). The Mustangs’ 9-16 record may not be very impressive, but the Mustangs played a pretty tough schedule; their out-of-district opponents included teams like John Harden, Henry Clay, and Waggener. Moore opens play in the 23rd district tournament with a first round game against Evangel Christian. 14. Bullitt Central Cougars (9-20) Bullitt Central lost to Oldham County 87-54 and Fairdale 78-68 in the regular season’s final week. The Cougars have taken a step back from last season’s 23-11 season, but the post season brings new opportunities for all teams, including the Cougars. The Cougars will hit the floor on Wednesday when they take on the Southern Trojans in a 23rd district tournament semi-final game. 15. Valley Vikings (6-20) The Vikings went 1-3 in the regular season’s final week. The win was a 69-57 victory over Shawnee, while the three losses were all to good teams (Collegiate, Fern Creek and Seneca). The Vikings will have a good opportunity for some post season success when they take on the Beth Haven Bearcats in the first round of the 21st district tournament. 16. Southern Trojans (6-17) Southern had a tremendous last week of the regular season. It included a loss to the Butler Bears, which was expected, by it was only by a respectable 78-62 margin. The Trojans followed that up with a solid 70-64 win over Iroquois. Southern will look to continue its good play when they face Bullitt Central in a 23rd district tournament semi-final game. 17. Whitefield Academy Wildcats (14-13) Whitefield beat Portland Christian 76-56 but fell to Fort Knox 58-54 in the last week of the regular season. Trevor Nauert, a Whitefield Academy stalwart for a long time, is averaging 19.5 ppg in this, his senior year. The Wildcats have an opportunity to grab everyone’s attention when they take on the Fern Creek Tigers in the 24th district tournament on Wednesday. 18. Beth Haven Bearcats (10-16) The Bearcats beat Fort Knox 60-52 in their final game of the regular season to claim their 10th win of the season. That’s a step forward for Beth Haven, who won 6 games in each of the last two seasons. The Bearcats face the Valley Vikings on Monday in the first round of the 24th district tournament. 19. Evangel Christian Eagles (3-19) The Eagles went 0-4 this week to finish the season with 3 wins. Evangel Christian plays the Moore Mustangs in the first round of the 23rd district tournament on Monday. PLAYER RANKINGS 1. Jaden Rogers, junior, Fern Creek Point guard and leading scorer (17.1 ppg) for the top-ranked Fern Creek Tigers. Leads the KHSAA in free throw shooting at 87%. 2. Sekou Kalle, junior, DeSales Big man averaging a double-double – 15.9 ppg and 10.9 rpg. Shoots 64% from the field. 3. Zek Montgomery, junior, Fern Creek Productive wing player for the Tigers. Averaging 14.8 ppg. 4. Trey Minter, senior, Butler KABC Sixth Region Player of the Year averaging 15 ppg. Groin injury slowed him down late in the season. 5. Logan Steinmacher, senior, North Bullitt Leading scorer for the Eagles at 20.4 ppg. KABC Player of the Year runner-up. 6. Darius Washington, junior, Fern Creek Inside presence for the Tigers averaging 8.6 ppg and 6.6 rpg. 7. Jadon Lamb, senior, Butler Averaging 13.8 ppg for the Bears. Shooting 53.4% from the field. 8. Zak Perdew, senior, Bullitt East Solid senior year for the Chargers’ leading scorer, averaging 18.7 ppg. 9. Quintel Walter, senior, Iroquois Leading scorer in the Sixth Region at 23.2 ppg. 10. Sam Bearden, senior, Holy Cross Completing outstanding career for the Cougars by averaging 18.4 ppg and 7.5 rpg in his senior season. SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Only recently becoming eligible and playing in only 7 seven games, Fairdale senior Hunter McCutcheon is averaging over 25 ppg. Certainly someone to watch in the post season. DISTRICT TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS It has been a good year in the Sixth Region, with lots of competitive games. I expect that trend to continue when district play starts this week. Each district has at least one game I think will be close. It may be that all the higher-ranked teams will advance to the Sixth Region tournament, but the road there will not be easy for some. 21st DISTRICT Valley and Beth Haven face off Monday night in the first round of the 21st district tournament. The Vikings and Bearcats played on December 6, with Valley prevailing 91-52. I expect Valley to prevail once again. Pleasure Ridge Park awaits the winner of that game. The Panthers had their way against both teams this season, so look for PRP to advance to the district final and a spot in the Sixth Region tournament. Holy Cross and Fairdale face off in the other semi-final game. Holy Cross beat Fairdale 67-60 when these teams played on December 13, but the recent addition of Hunter McCutcheon to Fairdale’s roster makes the Bulldogs a new team. I think this one is a toss-up. 22nd DISTRICT Monday’s opening game of the 22nd district tournament pits the Iroquois Raiders against the Western Warriors. When these teams met on January 24, Iroquois came out on top by a 82-72 margin. That would suggest that Iroquois will advance from that game, but Western has played pretty well at times, such as when it beat Doss 70-65. This should be a good game. The winner of that Iroquois-Western match up will face DeSales in the semi-finals. DeSales is the no. 1 seed by virtue of its 4-0 district record that includes a 55-51 win over Butler on January 7. DeSales beat both Iroquois and Western in the regular season, but the win over Iroquois just last week was by only a 4-point margin (60-56). Still, I have liked DeSales all year and believe the Colts will advance to the district finals and therefore also the Sixth Region tournament. Butler plays Doss in the other semi-final. Doss has had a good season and is playing well, losing by just 4 in overtime to Fern Creek this past week, but Butler is the better team, I think. Look for the Bears to advance. 23rd DISTRICT The 23rd district tournament opens up Monday night with the Moore Mustangs taking on the Evangel Christian Eagles. Those teams did not play in the regular season, but Moore is likely to advance out of that game. The winner of that game will take on the no. 1 seed North Bullitt Eagles on Wednesday. North Bullitt beat Moore 65-58 on December 10, a result that suggests this game might be a good one. I think North Bullitt is likely to prevail, but I will be following this one. The other Wednesday night semi-final pits the Bullitt Central Cougars against the Southern Trojans. The regular season game between these teams resulted in a 64-54 Bullitt Central win. This is another game that I think might be a good one. Should be a good Wednesday night at Moore. 24th DISTRICT The region’s only 4-team district, the 24th district tournament kicks off on Wednesday with two semi-final games. The first game pits the region’s top-ranked Fern Creek Tigers playing the Whitefield Academy Wildcats. Fern Creek won 89-62 when these teams played on December 16. I expect a similar result this upcoming week. The second game has Jeffersontown playing Bullitt East. The J’Town Chargers beat the Bullitt East Chargers 71-51 when they played on February 4. I feel pretty good about predicting a Chargers victory in this one.

1. Owensboro Red Devils (17-10) The Devils finished the season strong winning 4 of their last 5 games, only losing to Bowling Green by 1 point. Owensboro defeated both Catholic and Henderson by 20 plus points to close the regular season. They are easily the team with the highest ceiling and best chance to make a run at Rupp. Senior Jaiden Greathouse leads OHS with 13 points per game, while junior Amari Robinson Wales and Sophomore Gavin Wimsatt both average in double figures. Keep your eye on freshman Kenyatta Carbon and Camen Powell. Both guys have really turned the corner as of late. 2. Muhlenberg County Mustangs (18-11) The Mustangs closed the season very strong, winning 10 of their last 11 games. Junior guard Nash Divine has been one of the best players in the region in the 2nd half of the season. He is sitting at 15 points per game on average. The team has lost the services of Hayden Perkins but has a core of solid guys in the paint to help make up for the loss. 3. Ohio County Eagles (22-7) Ohio County had a tough last week of the season, dropping games to very good competition in Madisonville and Logan County. With the way this team shoots the 3, they can beat anyone on any given night. They have attempted almost 700 3 point attempts this year, making 38%. Tripp Manning is the best point guard in the region and leads the Eagles into tournament play with 19 points per game. 4. Breckenridge County Fighting Tigers (18-9) Breckenridge has cooled off down the stretch, losing 4 of their last 6 games heading into the post season. The one thing that remains consistent for Breck, is leading scorer Kaveon Mitchell. Mitchell should be the front runner for region player of the year honors and leads the region in scoring at 24 points per game. If the supporting cast like Brock Lucas and Justin Shrewsberry can compliment Mitchell in the postseason, the Tigers could make another run to the 3rd Region Title game. 5. Owensboro Catholic Aces (17-13) The Aces limp into the post season losing their last 5 games and 7 of their past 9. They will need to find a way to play better team basketball if they are going to have a chance to make any noise. While sophomores Brian Griffith and Jai Webb lead the team, they need to find a way to get guys like Drew Hartz and Gray Weaver more involved. 6. Mclean County Cougars (20-10) The Cougars have thier first 20 win season in a long long time and did so by winning their last 6 games heading into the postseason. They reeled off impressive wins over Butler, Crittenden and Apollo to close the season. Mr Double Double, Logan Patterson leads the Cougars with 18 points and 9 boards heading into the postseason. 7. Butler County Bears (19-9) The Bears have lost 4 of their last 6 games, but have be fairly consistent all season long. They are led by big man Parker Rice with 20 points and 8 boards per game. Coach Dockery has a nice cast of supporting players who could help Butler County get hot and make their deepest tournament run in quite some time. 8. Edmonson County Wildcats (12-14) Dalton Decker will lead the Cats into the postseason, putting up almost 19 points per game this season. He scored his 1,000th point in a win over Grayson County last week. The Cats have lost 4 of their last 6 but will get a rematch over Grayson County in the district tourney. 9. Grayson County Cougars (9-20) Grayson ended their up and down 2020 season on an upswing, winning 4 of their last 5 games. Nolan Shartzer has been great for the Cougars all season long, putting up 17 points per game. They will host the 12th district tournament on their own home floor. 10. Daviess County Panthers (8-20) Daviess County heads into a tough matchup with Owensboro winning 2 of their last 3 games of the season. Logan Hillard has came on strong for the Panthers as of late to compliment leading scorer Ryan Thomson. They will need all hands on deck to have a shot at the Devils. 11. Meade County Greenwave (9-15) The Waves have been a 500 team over their last 8 games, finishing 4-4. Coach Tripure always finds a way to win at tournament time and will have leading scorer Mitchell Dozier playing his best basketball of the season as the Waves get set to host the 11th district tournament. 12. Hancock County Hornets (10-16) Hancock was playing their best basketball of the season a few weeks ago, climbing as high as 7th in this poll. Since then, they have dropped 4 of 5 games. They are led by freshman Kolton Keown at 14 points per game. 13. Whitesville Trinity Raiders (9-21) Trinity had a very impressive first half of the season, but an overtime heart breaking loss to Owensboro Catholic in the 3rd Region All-A Championship game sent their season in a different direction. They were 6-8 before the loss but only 3-13 since. They will need to regroup fast if they want a shot to beat Butler County in the district tournament. 14. Apollo Eagles (5-24) Apollo has been on the verge of some very nice wins this season but have simply not learned how to win. They have had a hard time putting together complete game performances but have shown flashes of ability to beat anyone. They are led by senior guard Malik Wilson, sitting at 13 points per game. 15. Cloverport Aces (3-23) While the Aces have struggled to post many wins this season, they do feature one of the leading scorers in the whole region. Noah Pate is sitting at 23 points per game this season. District Tournament Preview 9th District at The Sportscenter Owensboro vs Daviess County – Owensboro won by 20 plus points in both match-ups. Expect Daviess County to fight hard early and Owensboro to pull away in the 2nd half. Owensboro Catholic vs Apollo – Catholic dominated the first match-up but Apollo was able to close the gap to only a 2 point defeat in the 2nd meeting. While Tim Riley is the Coach everyone looks to in the postseason, keep your eye on Steve Barker who always has great game plans in elimination games. Expect Apollo to try to take away Griffith and Webb. Drew Hartz will be the X-factor. PREDICTION: Owensboro over Apollo for the 9th District Championship 10th District at Mclean Muhlenberg with the bye Mclean County vs Ohio County – Ohio won the first match-up by 30 but Mclean bounced back and got a road upset over the Eagles just after the holiday break. Logan Patterson can change any game for the Cougars but expect Ohio County to come out firing in this one. If they are not hitting from the outside, Shane Frady is good enough to help prevent an upset. Mclean is playing their best basketball of the season but an upset here will be a tall task. PREDICTION: Ohio over Muhlenberg for the 10th District Championship 11th District at Meade Breckenridge County v Cloverport - While Breck is the heavy favorite here, this game does feature the top to scorers in the region in Kaveon Miitchell and Noah Pate. Hancock County v Meade County – Hancock swept the season series, winning both games by an average margin of 4 points. Coach Tripure always seems to find a way at tournament time but this one is a toss up. What Meade does well, Hancock defends very well. If the Hornets can find some offense, they will have a chance to go 3-0 vs the Waves. Home court could be the deciding factor. PREDICITON: Meade County over Breckenridge County for the 11th District Championship 12th District at Grayson Butler County v Whitesville Trinity – Butler County won big in the first meeting but had to come from behind to beat the Raiders in the 2nd meeting. The Bears will be the favorite but if the Raiders are hitting from the outside, they'll have a chance. Look for a big game from Parker Rice. The Raiders don't have much of a defensive answer for him. Edmonson County v Grayson County – The two teams split season match-ups but Edmonson just drilled Grayson this past Thursday. That probably won't mean to much come Tuesday. The Wildcats bring a few guys who can lead them in scoring, while Grayson County will need a big performance from Nolan Shartzer to get the win. PREDICTION: Butler County over Edmonson County for the 12th District Championship.

1) Hazard (24-5): Hazard finished the season with two more wins last week, defeating Letcher County Central 63-39 and edging out Estill County 41-40 on a game winning free throw with no time on the clock. For the second straight season, Hazard has won 20+ games. 2) Perry County Central (12-16): The Commodores ended the season on the rough side as they ended the season going 1-2 in they're final three games. The lone win came on the road at Bell County 60-54. For the first time since the 2007/8 basketball season, the Commodores will enter post season play with a losing record. That season, they ended the regular season at 14-19. 3) Knott County Central (17-9): The Patriots have hit hard times as they have now lost 4 straight and 5 of they're last 6 games. The good news is, with June Buchanan sitting out the post season this year, the Patriots have an automatic entry to the 14th Regional Tournament. 4) Wolfe County (18-9): Rocky road. The Wolves have hit a rocky road. After having a tremendous first half of the season, the second half has been a different story. The Wolves have put up wins but with the wins have came losses. In spurts. Wolfe County enters post season play having lost 3 of they're last 5 games. But with the 55th district only having 3 teams in it, Wolfe County has earned a buy to the district championship game and a bid to the regional tournament. 5) Buckhorn (15-15): The Wildcats end the season having won 3 of they're last 4 games. Wins over, Wellspring Guardians, Heritage Academy and Owsley County. The lone loss came to district foe, Leslie County. 6) Estill County (20-10): The Engineers seen they're 4 game wins streak snapped last Friday when they lost a heart breaker on the road to Hazard 41-40. 7) Breathitt County (12-15): The Bobcats picked up two wins last week to snap a 2 game losing streak. That, however would be the only wins they would get as they would fall in they're final game of the season 74-65 to Newport. 8) Cordia (11-16): The Lions have struggled this season and it continued last week as they lost 3 of they're final 4 games. The Lions have lost 9 of they're final 15 games. The good news is they get Letcher County Central in the first round of districts, the same team they've beaten twice already this season. 9) Leslie County (12-16): Leslie County split they're final two games last week, defeating Buckhorn 60-50 but falling to Williamsburg 73-56. The sad part is, that's probably the final win the Eagles will have this season as they will open up district play with Hazard. 10) Letcher County Central (6-19): Struggles continue for the Cougars. They have now lost 7 of they're final 9 games. That's not good especially with post season starting next week. 11) Owsley County (10-15): The Owls have had a remarkable season. Defeating Powell County and almost upsetting Estill County. The bad news is, Owsley County has lost 2 straight and 6 of they're final 7 games. 12) Jackson City (15-13): Jackson City has finished the season strong, having won 6 straight. 13) Powell County (6-20): This is a season the Pirates would like to forget about. Powell County has now lost 5 of they're final 6 games. 14) Lee County (6-23): The Bobcats have now lost 4 straight and 4 of they're final 5 games. 15) June Buchanan (6-19): The Crusaders ended the season on Saturday with a 77-45 loss to Dayton. DISTRICT TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: 53rd District: Feb. 25th-28th: Alice Lloyd College. (1) Knott County Central: The Patriots receive a first round bye and an automatic bid to the 14th regional tournament due to June Buchanan sitting out this post season. (2) Cordia vs. (3) Letcher County Central (Feb. 25th): The Lions have won both regular season meetings between these two teams. It's hard to beat a team three times in a season but the Lions can do it as this has been a nightmare of a season for Letcher County Central. Championship - Feb. 28th 7 PM. 54th District: Feb. 25-28. Leslie County High School. This district is not seeded. Feb. 25th - 7 PM Hazard at Leslie County: Hazard winners of 7 of they're final 8 games. They also own two victories over Leslie County 84-59 and 56-51. Leslie County will look to protect they're home court and if this game is like the 56-51 game earlier in the season then this will be a true barn burner. Feb. 26th - 7 PM Perry County Central vs. Buckhorn: The Commodores have gone 3-3 in they're final 6 games but 1-2 in they're final 3 games. They do own an 81-62 victory over Buckhorn this season. Buckhorn on the other hand has won 3 of they're final 4. Feb. 28th 7 PM Championship. 55th District: Feb. 24-28th. Breathitt County High School. (1) Wolfe County: The Wolves have an automatic bid to the district championship and a birth to the 14th region tournament. They are also undefeated in district play. Feb. 24th - 7:30 PM (2) Breathitt County vs. (3) Jackson City: Breathitt County is Breathitt County and coach John Noble is one of the best coaches in the 14th region. Jackson City has won 6 straight and will look to keep the momentum going. Feb. 28th 7 PM Championship 56th District: Feb. 25-28. Powell County High School. Feb. 25th 6 PM - (1) Estill County vs. (4) Lee County. Estill County has won 5 of they're final 7 games which includes two blowout victories over Lee County 70-53 and 81-42. Lee County has lost 4 straight and hasn't had a district win in a very long time. Feb. 25th 8 PM - (2) Powell County vs. (3) Owsley County. The Pirates have lost 5 of they're final 6 games. They split the regular season with Owsley County, losing 57-46 but winning 67-52. Owsley County has a big win over Powell County once this season but they have lost 2 straight and 6 of they're final 7 games. Feb. 28th - 7 PM Championship.

1. South Laurel (25-4 overall, 16-2 vs. 13th Region opponents) The Cardinals are winners of 14 straight and haven’t lost Jan. 11. They’re semifinal opponent in the 50th District Tournament on Tuesday will be a much-improved Whitley County squad the Cardinals defeated the Colonels twice this season, 72-61 and 51-38. 2. Clay County (20-9, 13-2) The Tigers were 7-3 during their last 10 games and have hopes of getting junior Connor Robinson back into the lineup after being sidelined with an injury. Clay County will play the winner of Red Bird and OBI on Wednesday during semifinal action of the 49th District Tournament. The top-seeded Tigers posted a perfect 4-0 record against the two teams this season. 3. North Laurel (21-8, 11-4) The Jaguars finished regular season play strong with a five-game win streak which included wins over Corbin, Hazard, Harlan and Knox Central. They’ll open 49th District Tournament semifinal play against No. 3 seed Jackson County. North Laurel posted a 2-0 mark (82-34, 69-36) against the Generals this season. 4. Harlan County (20-10, 10-4) The Black Bears snapped a three-game losing skid by defeating Whitley County, 78-46. Harlan County faces Bell County during semifinal action of the 52nd District Tournament on Tuesday. The Black Bears recorded wins of 65-59 and 62-57 over the Bobcats this season. 5. Knox Central (20-8, 7-3) The Panthers are 6-4 during their last 10 games with losses against South Laurel, Clay County and North Laurel during the stretch. Knox Central faces off against Pineville on Tuesday during semifinal play of the 51st District Tournament. The Panthers defeated the Mountain Lions 75-64 during the two teams’ only meeting of the season. 6. Middlesboro (20-9, 13-6) The Yellow Jackets are winners of four straight and eight of their last 10 games heading into their 52nd District Tournament semifinal matchup with Harlan on Tuesday. Middlesboro is 1-2 against the Green Dragons this season. The Yellow Jackets won the last meeting between the two teams, 49-47. 7. Corbin (15-12, 7-7) The Redhounds have been playing .500 (8-8) ball since Jan. 1. They’re hoping their fortunes will change during Tuesday’s 50th District Tournament semifinal matchup with Williamsburg. The two teams have split a pair of games against each other with Corbin winning, 84-74, while the Yellow Jackets came away with a 73-72 victory about three weeks ago. 8. Williamsburg (17-12, 9-9) Nick Napier’s squad has been playing some top-notch basketball lately. They’re 10-2 during their last 12 games entering Tuesday’s 50th District semifinal contest against Corbin. The two teams have split a pair of games against each other with Corbin winning, 84-74, while the Yellow Jackets came away with a 73-72 victory about three weeks ago. 9. Harlan (12-15, 7-9) The Green Dragons are limping into postseason play with a 2-5 mark during their past seven games, but they are 2-1 against Middlesboro, their semifinal opponent in Tuesday’s 52nd District Tournament. The Yellow Jackets won the last meeting between the two teams, 49-47. 10. Bell County (12-17, 7-9) Brad Sizemore’s Bobcats never could get on track during the regular season, but Monday begins a new season. Bell County will face-off against Harlan County during semifinal action of the 52nd District Tournament. The Black Bears recorded wins of 65-59 and 62-57 over the Bobcats this season. 11. Barbourville (12-14, 7-10) The Tigers have been a team that’s been hard to figure out this season. They’ll have a tough semifinal matchup with Lynn Camp on Wednesday during the 51st District Tournament. The Wildcats are the host team and barely lost to the Tigers during the two teams’ line meeting. Barbourville was able to pull out a 63-60 victory. 12. Lynn Camp (13-14, 5-9) The Wildcats suffered a big blow this past week after losing Maison Prater to an injury. Lynn Camp will play Barbourville during semifinal action of Wednesday’s 51st District Tournament. The Wildcats are 0-1 against the Tigers this season, dropping a 63-60 decision to Barbourville during the two teams’ only meeting. 13. Whitley County (12-18, 4-9) The Colonels picked up a big win over Bell County last week but then dropped a loss to Harlan County a few days later. Whitley County will need to bring its ‘A’ game when it hosts South Laurel during semifinal action of Tuesday’s 50th District Tournament. The Colonels are 0-2 against the Cardinals this season. 14. Jackson County (13-16, 6-12) The Generals will host North Laurel during Tuesday’s 49th District semifinal matchup but they haven’t fared well against the Jaguars, losing both games to them this season. 15. Oneida Baptist (11-18, 9-12) The Mountaineers will try to get back on track against Brad Marsee’s Cardinals during Monday’s 49th District Tournament first Round matchup. Oneida Baptist fell to Red Bird just last week, losing 69-67, and recorded a 75-46 win over the Cardinals way back in December. 16. Pineville (10-16, 2-13) The Mountain Lions have struggled throughout the season but can turn things around if they could find a way to upset top-seeded Knox Central during Wednesday’s semifinal action of the 51st District Tournament. 17. Red Bird (7-20, 2-15) The Cardinals are hoping to record their second win in a row over Oneida Baptist during Monday’s 49th District Tournament first round matchup. The two teams have split a pair of games this season.

Final Rankings and Postseason Preview 1) Warren Central (22-6) High Rank - 1, Low Rank - 2, Average Rank - 1 The season experienced a bit of a lull at its midpoint, but ultimately two-time defending region champion Warren Central ended up where it began – at the top of our rankings and as the region favorites. The Dragons raced out of the gates with a 3-0 start, knocking off preseason 3rd Region favorites Owensboro and showing off the three-point attack that would come to define their offense. Then came the lull, beginning with their worst loss of the year, falling 49-48 at home to Glasgow on a buzzer beater. Central would ultimately stumble through an 8-6 stretch against tough opponents, bottoming out in two blowout losses to John Hardin and Bowling Green. But the latter loss remains their last to date. Central has reeled off 11 consecutive wins, their longest streak in six years, and were the outright regular season district champions for the first time since that same 2013/14 season. The Dragons put up a lot of points, averaging 68.79 PPG – their highest season total since the 2012/13 season. The crux of that approach is a steady stream of three-point attempts. The Dragons average 24 attempts per game, accounting for roughly 45% of all their shots. Both Tay Smith and Kobe Brents rank in the top 25 in the state for three point makes per game at 2.9 and 2.8 respectively. Six different Dragons have made 17 or more three pointers on the season. When it’s not a three going up, it is usually region player of the year Dre Boyd doing the scoring – his 161 makes inside the perimeter are the most on the team by 93. His 18.4 PPG average is among the highest in the region, and he almost single handedly brought the Dragons back in their win over Bowling Green in late January, scoring 20 in the third quarter alone. Geovonni Floyd also does his damage inside, and is in the top 10 in the state for field goal percentage among qualified players. The Dragons are talented, veteran, and deep – and playing their best ball of the year. They are definitely vulnerable when they are unable to make their three-point shots, going 7/40 in their losses to John Hardin and Bowling Green, and one of the key parts of their lull was a sudden lack of defense. In four of their six losses, Central allowed over 70 points. Still, the Dragons have the profile of a frontrunner. They open the district with the winner of South Warren and Warren East. The tournament is at South Warren, and the host is expected to be their opponent, which may prove a little tricky. But ultimately, our prediction is that Central wins the region for the third straight year, and ends Bowling Green’s six year stint as district champions. 2) Bowling Green (22-7) High Rank - 1, Low Rank - 3, Average Rank - 2 Unlike Central, which bookended a rough patch with strong play, the Purples were the exact opposite. Their 15 game winning streak from mid-December to late-January was their longest since their state title campaign in 2017, but the bookends combined for just a 7-7 record. That includes a rare losing streak entering the postseason. The Purples lost their final two games of the regular season for the first time in 16 years. The loss to Ballard was understandable, but the home loss to Hopkinsville was definitely a head scratcher. Despite that, Bowling Green is a solid #2 and near co-favorite for the region crown. Averaging nearly 65 PPG, the Purples feature a mold that you could practically find in any of the last 13 years. They play aggressive defense, frequently with full-court pressure, and use their transition game to fuel their offensive attack, looking to get to the rim. Bowling Green attempts a three on only 28.18% of their field goals, choosing instead to go inside, where they hit nearly 52% of their shots. First-team all-region selection Isaiah Mason (a top selection for the second straight year) leads the way, averaging 16.2 PPG. Still just a junior, Mason has a strong mid-range game, and with his length he is tough to match up with properly. His 9.3 rebounds per game leads the team and rates him in the top 40 for the state. Junior Cobi Huddleston is a stronger defensive presence than offensive, but in a region without a lot of big men in the post, he has been known to bully his way to the basket when given the chance. When Bowling Green does shoot outside, sophomore Turner Buttry (11.8 PPG) has proven deadly accurate. A third-team all-region selection, Buttry is shooting 52.6% from three. Third-leading scorer Conner Cooper (10.8 PPG) compliments well from outside as well, knocking down a 42.4% clip. Perpetually young in the last few years, the Purples still don’t have a strong veteran presence, with only reserve Dorian Morrison seeing significant time. With the loss of Jordan Dingle to preseason surgery, Bowling Green typically is only going about 8 deep, so if a team can get into their depth by drawing some fouls, it can cause more problems than years past. Bowling Green lost only a pair of region games, but one was to their district semifinal opponent, Greenwood. That was way back in December, on the road, and their 42 points in that game represented a season low. They proved much more resilient in two home matchups with the Gators (one in a Christmas tourney), scoring 58 and 71 in winning both games. The Purples were just 1/16 from three in their loss, falling behind early and never recovering. A strong start will be crucial for BG, but they are rarely lulled into that many attempts from the perimeter, and if they attack the rim, another trip to the region tournament should be in the offing. They have made six consecutive region finals, and as mentioned each year (until it doesn’t happen), they have not failed to make the finals of a region tournament they advanced to since 2004 – 12 straight appearances. The 2012/13 season when they lost to Warren Central in the district semifinals is the only season they didn’t make the region finals in the last 12 seasons. Our prediction is that they keep that streak alive, reaching the finals, but falling to Central for the third straight year. 3) Logan County (25-3) High Rank - 3, Low Rank - 7, Average Rank - 4 With apologies to Warren Cunningham, who won the KABC COY award for the region, John Tinsley’s job with this Cougar team demanded that recognition, and it was a shame he didn’t get it. Logan County started the year 4-3, but reeled off 21 wins in a row entering the postseason, good enough for the second longest streak in school history. The streak they’re chasing, a 24 game win streak that ran the final 22 games of their state title season in 1983-84 into the start of the next year, is in real jeopardy. The Cougars are overwhelming favorites in District 13, going 6-0 in district play and winning all but one of their matchups by double digits. Their 70.32 PPG leads the region, as does their 17.39 PPG average margin of victory. They went 15-0 in region play, the only unbeaten team in region play – no one else even had as few as one loss. The only game in which they did not score at least 65 points during their winning streak was a 50-49 win over Barren County on January 28th, where they were missing 1st Team all-region selection Anthony Woodard. The Cougars score, they play defense, they win. They are very balanced, with three players averaging between 13.2 and 14.0 PPG, and three others averaging between 8.6 and 9.5 PPG. Jay Hardison leads the team with 14.0 PPG and his 3.7 three pointers per game is #4 in the entire state. He leads the team in three-point percentage (44.8%) despite attempting 125 more than any other player on the team. And he wasn’t even one of the all-region selections. Aforementioned Anthony Woodard comes in at 13.6 PPG. The combo guard-forward is most definitely the most talented player on the team, and the most likely to see the ball in a crunch-time situation. Second-team selection Jose Nazario, a transfer from Puerto Rico, may prove to have been the missing link for the Cougars in their pursuit of a region title. The guard is third on the team with 13.2 PPG, and gave the team yet another strong scoring option, making just under 58% of all attempts. Nazario also leads the team with 8 rebounds per game. Scoring inside, scoring outside, and strong scoring depth – that’s very much a region contender. Their run to the region semifinals last year may prove critical to get them the experience in the tournament atmosphere they need. It also helps that they have easily the clearest path to the region tournament of any team in the region, facing a Russellville squad they beat by 35 and 28 this year. If there is any knock on the Cougars at all, it is that we haven’t seen what they can do against Warren Central or Bowling Green, as neither were on their schedule this year. Logan County fell against both last season, and have lost 14 in a row against the Dragons and 9 in a row against the Purples. Logan County did take down the other three District 14 teams – all at home – culminating with a 75-66 win over Greenwood on February 11th. Even without facing the favorites, it is clear to see that this team is for real, and probably the only team outside the 14th District that I’d feel comfortable in saying I can really see them cutting down the nets. It would help the Cougars greatly if they saw only one District 14 opponent (or hey, NONE), or if they had to face both, if they didn’t have to do it back to back. Given the right circumstances, the Cougars can make a run to the title or at least a runner-up appearance, but our prediction is that they will bow out in the region semifinals against one of the two teams above. 4) Barren County (21-8) High Rank - 4 Low Rank - 7, Average Rank - 5 Now, even though I’d have given the COY to John Tinsley, actual winner Warren Cunningham has done a splendid job with this Trojan team. A preseason dark horse, the Trojans started just 7-6, but closed with 14 wins in their final 16 games. One of those two losses was a one-point road loss at Logan County. They turned a five-point loss to Glasgow just prior to that run into a 17-point victory against the wounded Scotties at the end of the month, riding momentum to a 5-1 record in the 15th District and ultimately, the top seed in the district tournament. Barren County averages a healthy 65 PPG, and has not lost the entire season when they hit that mark. The team is led by first-team all-region selection Aden Nyekan. Last year we tabbed Nyekan as the future star for the team – the sophomore has arrived. Nyekan carries a 16.7 PPG average, leading the team with 7 rebounds per game as well. Nyekan has a strong inside presence, making almost 54% of his shots. Joining him in inside attack is senior Will Bandy, adding 13.5 PPG and 6.3 rebounds per game as well. Bandy is not afraid to step outside and shoot from the perimeter as well, leading the team by percentage with 44.9% accuracy from three. Jacob Shaw is the biggest volume shooter from three for the Trojans, leading the team with 48 makes and 39.3% accuracy. Like Bowling Green, their focus is much more on getting to the rim with more of a post focused attack. Barren County boasts one of the region’s top scoring defenses, holding opponents to just 53 PPG. The Trojans are looking to return to the region tournament for the first time since 2017, and will open with Monroe County. Barren County knocked off the Falcons in both meetings this season, winning by 10 at home in December before gutting out a 47-45 victory on the road on January 20th. That game was won on an Aden Nyekan buzzer beater layup. Barren County has really come on since that matchup, but it is a reminder that though they are the top seed, they are not an unimpeachable favorite. We expect them to win their, take the district, and bow out in the region semifinals on their return to the region tournament. 5) Greenwood (17-13) High Rank - 2, Low Rank - 8, Average Rank - 3 There are many years that Greenwood can be said to be up and down, but this season, they were almost inexplicable at times. The Gator starting lineup may well be the most talented in the entire region. Three of their starters were named to the all-region team. And yet….. they are just 17-13. They announced their presence with an 85-70 win over Glasgow in the second game of the season, and then promptly lost to a Russell County team that is frankly, not supposed to be in their league. They followed that with a loss to Allen County-Scottsville, and then reeled off four straight wins, including a road win over Clinton County and knocking off Bowling Green for the first time in seven years. And then they lost to Franklin-Simpson. All of that was in the first nine games – a microcosm of their entire year. Like many recent years, Greenwood seems destined to be the team you most believe could win the region tournament outside the favorites – if only they could get out of their own district tournament. Cade Stinnett, yet another super soph in the region – leads the team with 15.3 PPG. An athletic guard and second-team all-region selection, Stinnett leads the team in field goal percentage, making 50.3% of his attempts. He has been easily the most consistent scorer for the team. Some of that is due to the focus paid to Ben Carroll. The big man has been the team-leader, and is second on the team with 12.6 PPG. Also a second-team all-region selection, Carroll leads the team in rebounding, and they are at their best when the offense flows through him. That doesn’t always mean he is taking the shot, but Carroll is a talented distributor, a consistent outside threat (39.4%), as well as one of the best ball-handlers. That being said, the team might never be more dangerous than when Noah Stansbury is on fire. A third-team all-region selection, Stansbury is what you expect out of a coach’s son. He’s a good shooter (75/196 from three), a fantastic free throw shooter (85.3%), and plays with high basketball IQ. It’s not an accident that in their victory over Bowling Green that he came out on fire, burying the Purples with four threes and dropping in 24 points. He dropped 26 in their second meeting on 8/10 shooting from three, making fully half of the shots Greenwood made in a game they struggled. If he can get hot from three, anything can happen. Of course, the Gators allow 60 PPG as well – very uncharacteristic of the team over the year. It’s not likely at all they can beat Bowling Green allowing that many. They’ll open the postseason with the Purples, a team they’ve beaten just twice in the last 11 years, and both of those were at home. It’s our prediction that they are unable to get the job done in the postseason away from home, falling in the district semifinals. But if they can find their way past that game, there’s a great chance Greenwood could make their way to the region finals. Or lose in the first round of region. Seriously, it’s all possible with Greenwood. 6) Clinton County (21-7) High Rank - 6, Low Rank - 12, Average Rank - 8 The final team in these rankings with 20+ wins, Clinton County’s journey was much like that of Barren County. They had a bit of a rocky start, entering the new year with a 9-5 record, but closed strong with 12 wins in their final 14 games. The early part of the year can perhaps be chalked up to the lack of Jackson Harlan, the prolific scorer who graduated after taking POY honors last season. In his absence, the Bulldogs have been winning almost exclusively on the back of defense. Their 55 PPG average is well below that of their 20-win peers, but they lead the region in scoring defense, allowing only 49.42 PPG. They have won 15 of their 21 games scoring less than 60 points, a bit of an oddity in the modern game. It’s incredibly impressive, but it also makes them vulnerable. That allowed them to take losses such as a 46-45 result against Franklin-Simpson in December, and an almost unthinkable 52-50 loss to Metcalfe County in the region’s All “A” Classic in January. That loss was their only one to a district opponent, though it did not count in the official district standings. They wrapped up the top seed in the district before that game was even played. Chase Stines leads the team with 15.7 PPG, the only Bulldog averaging in double digits. He also leads the team with 5 rebounds per game. In a bit of an oddity, they will end up playing Metcalfe County in the 1/4 game, matching them against the only team that beat them in the district – a win that ultimately was Metcalfe County’s only win in the district. The Hornets have not looked great lately, making it rather unlikely that the upset will be pulled twice. Our prediction is that Clinton County wins their district, but exits in the region semifinals – unless they happen to face one of the above teams in the first round. Which, Clinton County has a habit of finding poor region draws. 7) Glasgow (14-13) High Rank - 3, Low Rank - 9, Average Rank - 7 Finally, the sad story of Glasgow. Their high hopes for the season took an almost immediate detour when Tucker Kirkpatrick suffered a knee injury in their season opener against Monroe County. It was a harbinger of things to come. Kirkpatrick was just the first of several Scotties to deal with ailments over the season, as starters Bowen Haney and Jaden Franklin have also missed time – Franklin missed nearly a month. Everyone is back now, though Kirkpatrick is clearly limited. This all led to a 1-3 start for Glasgow that snowballed until they were 10-13, falling at home to Allen County-Scottsville to fall to #2 in the district standings. They have rebounded with four straight wins and finally as healthy as they could hope to be, but their development and flow has been completely shot. They are the most likely of any team to come from completely off the radar to make a run due to their talent, but they may never get the chance, having to open at Allen County-Scottsville in the district tournament. The team did place two on the all-region squad, with Jaden Franklin making the second team while Nick Sorrell got his second straight nod on the first-team. Sorrell averaged 19.1 PPG this year, trying to single-handedly lift the team as everyone around him got hurt. It was Sorrell who hit the game winner in their road win over Warren Central, the shining moment of the season to this point. The Scotties have the talent to do something, but it’s hard to see it coming together now. Our prediction is a district runner-up finish to Barren County, and a region quarterfinal exit. 8) Franklin-Simpson (13-14) High Rank - 7, Low Rank - 11, Average Rank - 9 The Wildcats have felt like they were “this close” at times this season. Franklin has had some top-notch wins, knocking off Clinton County, Greenwood, Owensboro, and South Warren. They’ve not really had a terrible loss since falling to Monroe County in the season opener, but the games they’ve lost, they’ve often been completely obliterated. That includes a three game home stretch that saw them lose to Logan County, Barren County, and Bowling Green by 14, 27, and 27. Franklin features a full-court pressure attack that can get them back into games, as it did in a double digit comeback at Clinton County back in a 46-45 win in December. The Wildcats don’t shoot particularly well, making just 42.7% of all shots and just over 29% from the perimeter. DeMarco Chatman was a third-team all-region selection, averaging 12.4 PPG and leading the team in rebounds with 6.4 per game. Kyjuan Stutzman leads the team with 14.7 PPG, owing to his volume from three. Franklin has only had one real winning streak, winning four in a row to open January. They are 4-3 in their last seven games, but other than that win streak, have won two in a row only one other time. They should have little trouble with Todd County Central in their district opener, winning their first two matchups by 13 and 24, but they should finish as runner-up to Logan County and exit in the first round of region. 9) South Warren (15-14) High Rank - 5, Low Rank - 9, Average Rank - 6 I’ve frequently described South Warren as a dangerous team – and they are very much in the same way that Greenwood can be. But they are every bit as inconsistent as the Gators. The only thing consistent about the Spartan program is their .500 play. The team enters the postseason at 15-14, needing just a win over Warren East in the 4/5 district game to grab their second winning season in the last seven years. But this is a team that hasn’t entered the postseason with less than 14 losses since their opening season 9 years ago. They haven’t won more than 16 games in a season since then either. Six of the previous eight seasons for South Warren have seen them within two games of .500 in either direction, and the other two were way on the losing side. It’s hard to explain, because this program has real talent. Jace Carver averages 15 PPG, and shoots 39.2% from three. When he gets hot, as he did in a furious near-comeback over Bowling Green, they can be a real load to handle. Caleb Mitchell-Franklin (13.2 PPG) has really impressed me each time I’ve seen South Warren in person. The team has strong guard play, always has one of two guys with size, but never seems to put it all together. This year is no different, as the team has lost 8 of their last 12 coming into the postseason. Big plus for the squad – they host the district tournament. They open with Warren East, and will easily win that game, but then will face a surging Warren Central squad. South led at the end of the first quarter and at halftime of their home matchup with Central, ultimately falling by five. If they can get into a rhythm, they can absolutely pull the upset. But for a team that has never won a district semifinal, you really can’t predict that happening until you see it the first time – especially not against the region favorites. 10) Allen County-Scottsville (14-14) High Rank - 7, Low Rank - 11, Average Rank - 10 The Patriots suffered some big graduation losses from last year’s surprise success team, and while they’ve flashed at moments, has mostly been a middle of the pack team for the region. Third-team all-region selection Mason Shirley has been a consistently good player for the Patriots, leading them with 15.7 PPG. But the junior hasn’t quite taken the leap forward that was expected after a strong sophomore campaign, likely owing to increased attention. He is joined in double digit scoring by Jax Cooper (12.4 PPG) and Owen Stamper (10.4 PPG). But the team will go as Shirley goes. Against Glasgow, he scored a then-career high 35 points to steal a road victory in overtime, pulling the Scotties into a district tournament matchup with them. Three days later, he dropped 39 on Metcalfe County in a double overtime victory. He had just five in a 34-point loss to Warren Central five days later. Shirley will likely need to be superhuman again for the Patriots to beat Glasgow. I just don’t think it happens. 11) Russell County (13-16) High Rank - 9, Low Rank - 14, Average Rank - 11 Russell County saw an improved season after last year saw them miss the region tournament for the first time, but the Lakers remain far off the radar for contenders. Scott Hamm (14.4 PPG) and Briley Hadley (11.9 PPG) lead an offensive attack that averages 56 PPG. They’ll host a Cumberland County team that they split the regular season with, with each team winning their road matchup. This game will be at tournament host Russell County, which despite the unusual road team trend in their regular season series, bodes well for the Lakers. It seems unlikely they would lose twice at home to the Panthers, so the prediction is for Russell County to get back to region. But that’s all they’ll do. 12) Monroe County (10-17) High Rank - 10, Low Rank - 13, Average Rank - 13 The Falcons have their work cut out for them against Barren County, though they did play the Trojans to a 47-45 decision when they last met in January. The Falcons have closed out the regular season with just three wins in their final 12 games, and have fallen in three straight. Grayson Rich leads the team with 16.2 PPG, with Kale Hagan chipping in 11.1 PPG. The Falcons have frequently had trouble generating offense, with only one game in their last seven topping 70 points. Six of their ten wins this year came at home – our prediction is that they cannot pull the upset of Barren County away from the friendly confines. 13) Metcalfe County (15-14) High Rank - 9, Low Rank - 13, Average Rank - 12 The last month of the season derailed what was looking like a really great story for the Hornets. It’s still a good story, but one goal I was personally hoping for them – their first winning season in nine years – appears to be a longshot with Clinton County looming. The Hornets have fallen to this position with just two wins in their last nine games, turning 13-7 into 15-14. This will still be remembered as a year that Metcalfe County upset Clinton County and captured the 4th Region All “A” title, winning a game in the state tournament as well, even if the other goals don’t fall into place. Junior guard Boston Devore worked his way into a second-team all-region selection, posting 18.6 PPG to lead the squad. Peyton Dial (14.7 PPG) also averages in double figures. Metcalfe County features a three-point heavy attack, averaging almost 21 attempts per game, so if they get hot, they can be giant slayers. But it looks like they’ll bow out against Clinton County in the district semifinals. 14) Warren East (6-20) High Rank - 11, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank - 14 Warren East is seeking their first region tournament appearance in 23 years, but it’s all but an impossibility. The Raiders have stumbled to their worst record in almost a decade, going winless in district play and reaching 20 losses for the first time since 2010/11. Kaleb Matlock (10.5 PPG) and Isaiah Andrews (10.0 PPG) are the only players averaging in double figures for East. They fell by 22 and 26 to their first opponent South Warren, allowing 83 when they played South Warren on the road, which is where they’ll be in this one. With 19 straight district losses, there is no realistic way to believe they’ll win two straight now. 15) Cumberland County (6-20) High Rank - 15, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank – T-15 Dawson Smith leads a Cumberland County squad that averages 58.2 PPG, with Smith chipping in 16.9 per game. He averages a double-double, with his 10.1 rebounds per game coming in as tops in the region. The Panthers went 4-13 in region play, but 3-3 in their district. That included a surprising sweep of Metcalfe County, and a split with district tournament opponent Russell County. Their win was a 59-52 result at Russell County, who also hosts them in the district tourney. While that all sounds good, it seems unlikely the Panthers would be able to do that twice, and they enter at 2-8 since that win over Russell County on January 10th. Their road ends here. 16) Todd County Central (6-21) High Rank - 15, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank - 17 The Rebels just couldn’t get much going this year, winning their first two games but then losing 14 in a row afterwards. They did manage to knock off Russellville twice, getting two district wins, with the last an 80-78 win in double overtime. They fared worse against district tournament opponent Franklin-Simpson, dropping those games by 13 and 24. They’ll lose again here to close their season. 17) Russellville (6-20) High Rank - 14, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank – T-15 The Panthers won their first three games of the season, but have not won two in a row since, and enter the postseason on a nine game losing streak. Russellville went 0-6 in district play, and 0-10 in region play. Jaquis Todd has been a bright spot, averaging 16.3 PPG, but there is no scenario where Russellville upsets first round opponent Logan County, even at home. The Cougars started Russellville’s losing streak with an 82-54 result on January 31st. This will likely be more of the same. Top Players in the 4th Region 1. Dre Boyd, G, Sr. (Warren Central) – Voted the POY by both the 4th Region coaches and the KABC. Boyd is physical on both offense and defense, and is deadly when he gets inside. 2. Isaiah Mason, G, Jr. (Bowling Green) – Mason is as steady as they come, leading the Purples in scoring and rebounding. 3. Nick Sorrell, G, Sr. (Glasgow) – Finished as one of the best scorers in the region despite a revolving door in his supporting cast this season. Sorrell is a player whose desire to win is always apparent. 4. Ben Carroll, F, Sr. (Greenwood) – Carroll may not have the flashy scoring average, but he possesses all the intangibles while providing the ability to do anything you want on offense and defense. 5. Aden Nyekan, F, So. (Barren County) – This is your future POY in the region. Nyekan is just a joy to watch play basketball. 6. Turner Buttry, G, So. (Bowling Green) – A deadly marksman from three and an incredible distributor, Buttry may actually be the key to Bowling Green’s success. 7. Anthony Woodard, F, Jr. (Logan County) – Woodard is just so smooth on the court, and an incredible athlete. 8. Tay Smith, G, Sr. (Warren Central) – One of the top three-point shooters in the state, Smith has an incredibly quick trigger from the perimeter, and his length is great for defense and rebounding. 9. Jose Nazario, G, Sr. (Logan County) – Nazario’s addition to Logan County pushed them from good to great. 10. Cade Stinnett, G, So. (Greenwood) – Another talented sophomore, Stinnett will be Greenwood’s go-to guy the next two seasons.