Search the Community

As hard as I try to stay positive, some days it is a battle. To help in that fight, I decided in December of 2017 that I would chart every day in the 2018 prep season ( I hate the expression "offseason". We have to improve on a day to day basis throughout the year.) If it was a good day, I would list the date with a "+". A bad day would get a "-". A great day would get "++". Those results are listed at the bottom of this blog and there were no bad days! I know Coach Cox and Coach Harris got tired of it, but I really enjoyed showing them periodically how we were doing. So what was a good day? It was a day when we improved, gave a good or great effort, held our guys accountable, and on a personal level I could look in the mirror and know that I had given my best effort to serve others and ultimately my Savior, Jesus Christ. (Colossians 3:23) Can you have a good day and make mistakes?? Absolutely! I made a ton of mistakes this year, even on great days. There is a real simple way to eliminate 100 % of your mistakes... do nothing. The purpose of this exercise was to give me some documentation that we were making progress. Sometimes due to circumstances, you absolutely "feel" like you are not making improvement and what is the point of all of your efforts. Those feelings are false. I wanted something concrete to see that would help me realize that in actuality we were getting better and we were productive. When the season started, we were still having "good days." But, we started 0-3. That is not fun. And, then the "feeling" begins to creep in .... this is not fun... there is never an enjoyable day.... every day is a struggle, etc. And, many days there was truth to that feeling. So, I began to chart everyday with either a P (Purpose) or F (Fun & Purpose). Maybe a day was not fun. But, if I had served others and my Savior that day to the best of my ability, I had fulfilled my purpose. I am coaching football in my hometown which I love. My 2018 seniors were the first in school history to have the same head coach for four years. It has been and continues to be a struggle to get us where we want to be. But, "purpose" is through the roof! For the kids I coach, the old Hogs, Dogs & Titans in my hometown, my own son who will be a sophomore, making this program the best it can be is absolutely worth doing and giving it everything I have. And, we are making significant progress. Even if a day was not "fun" , I took satisfaction in giving all that I had to the task at hand on a one day at a time basis. Seeing those "P's" reinforced that I was serving God and making a dent in what had to be done. Interestingly though, I realized that most days do have some fun! It might only be for a short while, and only one moment but there was something that I enjoyed. As I charted my days, I realized more and more days were being marked fun. In the beginning, most days had a P. I am fired up for 2019. We just finished our best December, ever, in terms of guys working on their own. We have had them doing extra in the weightroom, on the turf in the complex, on the field, etc. Our guys are working to take our level of commitment and program to another level. I will not be charting good days and bad days in 2019. They are all going to be good days. That CHOICE is up to us. On Fun versus Purpose.... I will either continue to chart that, or decide that there WILL be something fun each day, and look for that moment, no matter how short it may be. If all of this seems excessive, insane, etc. that is ok with me. The top priority (Matthew 6:33) of this is a desire to serve my Lord and Savior everyday who sacrificed His life for me. I don't want to let HIM down. Part of this also is that I HATE losing.... more now than ever before. I can handle it better on the outside but on the inside it is tougher than ever. And, I want to do all in my power to help our kids win, help our community win, & bring honor to the great players and coaches from the past at old Harrodsburg & Mercer County HS. I would also stress, I am not the Lone Ranger! God has a GREAT plan for all of us! What can be better than to invest our all into serving Him for 2019 to be all that He has called us to be, to glorify Him?! 2019... make it all good or great days (your CHOICE), serve God and others, and have FUN a long the way! 2018 Prep Season Chart: W 1/3: ++ Th 1/4: + T 1/9: + W 1/10: ++ TH 1/11: + TH 1/18: + F 1/19: + M 1/22: + T 1/23: + W 1/24: + TH 1/25: + F 1/26: ++ M 1/29: + T 1/30: + W 1/31: + TH 2/1: ++ M 2/5: + T 2/6: + W 2/7: + TH 2/8: ++ M 2/12: + T 2/13: ++ W 2/14: + TH 2/15: + T 2/20: ++ TH 2/22: ++ M 2/26: + T 2/27: + W 2/28: + TH 3/1: + M 3/5: + T 3/13: + W 3/14: ++ TH 3/15: + F 3/16: ++ M 3/19: + T 3/20: + W 3/21: + TH 3/22: ++ F 3/23: + W 4/4: ++ Xenith TH 4/5: ++ OL breakout M 4/9: + T 4/10: ++ TH 4/12: + M 4/16: + T 4/17: ++ (Xenith) TH 4/19: + M 4/23: + T 4/24: ++ (intervention) W 4/25: + TH 4/26: ++ F 4/27: + M 4/30: + T 5/1: + TH 5/3: ++ M 5/7: ++ T 5/8: + W 5/9: ++ TH 5/10: + F 5/11: + M 5/14: ++ T 5/15: + TH 5/17: + F 5/18: + M 5/21: ++ max out M 6/4: + TH 6/7: + M 6/11: + TH 6/14: + M 6/18: ++ TH 6/21: ++ SA 6/23: + SU 6/24: + Black Shoes and White ShoeStrings

It is without doubt the biggest and most anticipated regular season game in the 9th Region this basketball season. The game is being played at Covington Catholic and will likely sell out before the doors open. Big time Friday night prime time basketball at its finest, and I know that I can't wait. Both teams seem to be riding high playing some of their best ball as of late. CovCath is basically at full strength minus Michael Mayer who we still don't know when he'll be seen in action. He's always on the bench with the team, so one can only assume that his game is in the works. Perhaps they don't even want to play him in this game to keep him as a wild card down the road when these two teams will likely meet again in the 9th Region Tournament. CovCath has been playing solid team ball lead by the super energized, and highly talented Grant Diskin surrounded by his working bees of tall trees in Thelen, Fleek, and Green not to mention the solid play of Moser. Right now it appear that the Colonels play about 8 players, but their bench is much deeper if need be. On the other side we have an undeniably tough as nails, defensively solid Cooper who without doubt boast some of the strongest players in the region both in body and talent. As I write this I've not heard whether or not the Jags will have yet the services of Blaine Walters, but he is certainly one of, if not their best player, but as we saw the other night against Simon Kenton even without him they had no trouble dismantling a pretty decent Pioneers team. Still coach Sully is rich with talent, and can without pause rely on the highly talented TJ Deere, the versatility of the big horse in Micheal Spencer, the strength of Ty Houston rounded out by such decent players as Caleb Hampton, Josh Baker, and Kevein Centers. Forgive me if I'm missing any significant Jag roll players. Personally I'm having trouble figuring who has this game, but I'm certain that it will be a dandy. I lean toward thinking that Cooper's "D" could stymie the Colonels yet I'm confident in CovCath's teamwork ethic, and efficient offensive sets that I believe if there's a team in the 9th who can handle the pressure it would be them. What you say... are you feeling more confident in one team over the other, because I certainly am not. My crystal ball is cloudy and murky telling me I'm just gonna have to wait and see for myself. What's your crystal ball saying?

Unfortunately, the biggest 10th region news story of the week wasn't a game or a tournament or an individual highlight reel, but the torn ACL diagnosis of Pendleton County's Mr. Basketball candidate Dontaie Allen. DA suffered the injury in the first half in a game against Cooper before Christmas and hadn't appeared since; and the diagnosis was confirmed last week. Allen was leading the state in points and rebounds, but will not get the chance to qualify as a "state leader"; the requisite number of games to be considered being 20. We wish him the best as he recovers, and much success as he continues his basketball career at the University of Kentucky. That being said, let's look at last week's games as well as this week's rankings and schedule. 1. Campbell County (11-3, 4-0 region, 1-0 district). The Camels began the new calendar year by dismantling Mason County on Thursday 77-43. Reid Jolly had a typical game with 19 points (on a sizzling 9-10 shooting) and 9 boards; and was complemented by Drew Wilson's 18 and Tanner Lawrence's 10. They followed up on Saturday with a 60-37 dismantling of Bishop Brossart; turning a tight game into a rout by scoring the first 19 points of the third quarter. Jolly again led the way with 25 points (on a paltry 9-12 from the floor and 5-7 from the line); with Lawrence (11) and Andrew Helton (13) reaching double figures. Three games are on the Camels' schedule this week - Calvary Christian and Highlands at home, then Conner away. 2. Clark County (11-5, 3-1 region, 2-0 district). The Cards thumped Paris at home 68-40 - the seventh time they've held the opposition under 50 points. Jared Wellman, Jerone Morton, Jordan Graham and Brennan Canada score 14, 13, 12 and 11 respectively; and Graham officially joined the GRC 1,000-point club. The Cardinals were defeated by a solid Wayne County squad the next day (69-57) at Lincoln County. Canada and Wellman each poured in 17 points (on 8-11 and 8-14 shooting). The Cards only attempted 7 free throws to Wayne's 16; being forced to foul late. Harrison County, Montgomery County and Bryan Station provide the opposition this week. 3. Scott (7-5, 4-0 region, 0-0 district). Coach Fromeyer's charges took care of Highlands at home in their only action last week 70-56. Trey Meister poured in 24; going 9-11 from the charity stripe. Perhaps the best news for Scott was a healthy Chad Ohmer in the lineup, who added 21 and was 4-5 from deep; with David Hunter also returning. It's looking more and more like Campbell and Scott will be duking it out for the 37th District crown. Scott plays only one game this week - a Monday home contest against Holmes which I believe is a “2A” sectional game. 4. Bourbon County (11-5, 5-1 region, 1-1 district). The Colonels currently boast the 10th's longest winning streak at 5, dispatching Calvary Christian 73-50, then slipping by Powell County on the road the next day, 66-62. Stats for these two games have not yet been reported. Bourbon plays three games in four days this week - Harrison County (another 2A sectional contest), Shelby County and Nicholas County. 5. Bishop Brossart (9-7, 1-1 region, 0-1 district). The Mustangs defeated Holmes 67-66 in an overtime thriller before falling to Campbell County a couple days later. Ethan Ellerman provided the fireworks for Brossart with 29 points and a buzzer-beating triple for the win. J.D. Schumacher was the only other Mustang in double figures with 15. Carson Schirmer (11) and Schumacher (10) paced the 'stangs; who only collected 13 rebounds in the game. Brossart plays St. Patrick and Bracken County prior to a 10th Region All-A Classic matchup with last year's All-A champion Robertson County on Saturday. This one might be the region's must-see game of the week. 6. Montgomery County (7-7, 2-3 region, 1-1 district). The Indians defeated Garrard County at home 76-66 with Pharoah Davis (17), Myron Ralls (16), Austin Eichenberger (14) and Will Cockrell (13) leading the scoring parade. MoCo plays four games this week - Menifee County, Bath County, Clark County and Pulaski County; with the Clark County contest providing a barometer of the Indians' chances to compete for the 40th District title. 7. Pendleton County (9-8, 5-3 region, 3-0 district). All of a sudden, the 38th district is WIDE OPEN. The Wildcats drop to number 7, but have lost five straight; including a two-point loss to Sayre last week, which saw Cody Sullivan do his best to pick up the slack with 25 points. Pendleton stays one spot above Mason County; and the result of their meeting tonight in the inaugural 2A sectional tournament should tell us much about our number 7 and number 8. Calvary Christian rounds out the week 7 schedule. 8. Mason County (6-8, 3-3 region, 2-0 district). Coach Kirk's squad was royally thumped by region #1 Campbell County in their only action last week. Turnovers were a season-low 4, but Kirk was not pleased with shot selection (2-18 from distance) and rebounding per his post-game interview. The aforementioned tilt with Pendleton County is the only game scheduled this week. 9. Robertson County (12-4, 6-2 region, 1-1 district). The Black Devils recovered nicely from the previous week's tourney at Lexington Catholic; outmanning St. Patrick on the road 89-40 and Augusta 88-61 at home. The Devils raced to a 27 to 1 lead in this one and never looked back; continually frustrating the smaller Saints in the paint. Justin Becker was the game's scoring leader with 22, but ten of the thirteen Devils that saw action cracked the scoring column. Becker repeated his game-high feat with 28 in the Augusta matchup. At Nicholas County on Tuesday, then the tilt with Brossart at the All-A on Saturday. 10. Harrison County (4-11, 0-4 region, 0-2 district). How does a squad that's 4-for-15 crack the top 10? Well, the 10th isn't exactly all that this season. But more importantly, The 'Breds stunned Frederick Douglass - a team which not long ago dispatched Clark County - by 15 points - before falling to Beechwood (by 32) the next day. No HC stats posted yet for either of these games, but the Douglass result shows that the 'Breds can be dangerous when Spencer Free and Quenton Turley are firing on all cylinders. 11. Paris (3-10, 2-3 region, 1-3 district). The Greyhounds flip-flop with Harrison this week. Paris lost their only contest last week, but in their defense they were taking on quality competition in powerhouse George Rogers Clark and falling 68-40. Jalen Byars and Travis Strings paced Paris with 15 and 10. Paris faces off against Bracken County on Saturday in the 10th Region All-A tournament. 12. Calvary Christian (8-4, 3-2 region, 1-0 district). It's always tough to gauge a team's strength when playing (primarily) lesser competition, but the Cougars kept it moderately respectable against Bourbon County (50-73) with Mason Rusch tallying 28 points; then defeated Portland Christian 74-48 behind Rusch's 32 and Noah Herald's 11. CC has the unenviable task of facing Campbell County before squaring off against the Allen-less Wildcats of Pendleton County and Silver Grove. 13. Bracken County (7-7, 2-4 region, 1-1 district). The Polar Bears reached the .500 mark last week with wins over Bellevue and Williamstown at the Igloo. Kason Hinson (21), Jhace Cummins (14) and Nathan Jefferson (12) led the Bears in scoring in the Bellevue victory; and Hinson notched 19 points, Cummins 18, with Collin Jefferson and Tad Fisher each contributing 16 against W'town. Busy week seven - at Ludlow, at Brossart; with Paris providing the competition in the All-A tournament this weekend. 14. Nicholas County (4-9, 1-5 region, 1-2 district). The Blue Jackets fell in their only game last week to Bath County, 89-69. Noah Gritton led the squad in scoring with 17; while Brady Switzer added 16 and Morgan Planck had 12. Robertson County and Bourbon County will be tough tests this week. 15. Augusta (3-12, 2-5 region, 1-1 district). The Panthers were trounced by Robertson County before snapping a five-game skid with a 55-49 triumph over West Union (OH). In the first game, Preston Philpot, Reed Blake, Stephen Cordle and Samuel Appleman reached double figures; while Cordle posted a 17/11 double-double in the West Union win. Augusta faces Covington Latin on Friday, then turns around the next day against St. Patrick in the All-A. 16. St. Patrick (1-16, 1-5 region, 0-2 district). Coach Rigdon's Saints fell hard against Robertson County at home; but finally got off the season-long schneid with a convincing win 97-82 win over the Spencer Macke-led Silver Grove Big Trains. Jaylan Rigdon tallied 15 against Robertson County. Jack Gallenstein erupted for 31 points against Silver Grove (and had 15 rebounds), while 8th grader Riley Mastin also had 31, including 13-13 from the charity stripe; and he still leads the state at 95.2%. Brossart, then Augusta in the All-A (which should be a good one). this week. 17. Silver Grove (3-9, 0-2 region, 0-1 district). The Trains returned to action after a long holiday layoff and fell in both of their games to Sheldon Clark and St. Patrick. Macke had 37 and 42. Calvary Christian and Burgin are on the week seven schedule.

1. Butler (13-4): The Bears defeated DeSales before falling to Oldham County in Week 6. Through 17 games, Maurice Tolley and Willard Minter are averaging double figures in scoring for 6th Region frontrunner Butler. 2. Bullitt Central (11-4): The Cougars opened 2019 with a split in Week 6, falling to Meade County before knocking off North Hardin on a neutral floor at Adair County High School as part of the Lindsey Wilson College Classic. Jacob Mann paces Bullitt Central in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. 3. Jeffersontown (10-5): Waggener prevented Jeffersontown from winning in its 2019 debut, defeating the Chargers 68-49. Blake Butler continues to lead Waggener, averaging 16.7 points per game. 4. DeSales (10-5): The Colts suffered an eight-point loss to Moore before pushing Butler for a win. Keegan Brewer and Matthew Ruckreigle continue to average 20-plus points apiece for region title contender DeSales. 5. Fern Creek (8-7): The Tigers will visit Butler for their first game in 2019 on Tuesday. Fern Creek shot 50 percent from the field during the 2018 portion of the 2018-19 boys' high school basketball season. 6. Pleasure Ridge Park (8-6): The Panthers flirted with a win in their 2019 debut before Ballard prevailed 59-55. Darius Osborne continues to lead a balanced Pleasure Ridge Park offensive attack. 7. Valley (8-7): The Vikings started 2019 off right, turning back visiting North Oldham. Valley is currently on a four-game winning streak. 8. Southern (8-6): The Trojans have not made their 2019 debut. After dropping back-to-back games, Southern is scheduled to visit Jeffersontown on Tuesday, Jan. 8. 9. Doss (6-11): The Dragons stumbled in their 2019 debut. Evansville Bosse, an opponent from nearby Indiana, defeated Doss 66-46 in Week 6. 10. Moore (8-6): Showing improvement in Week 6, Moore won two of three games. The Mustangs defeated DeSales and Rock Creek Academy, an opponent from neighboring Indiana. However, Waggener dealt Moore a loss. 11. Bullitt East (8-7): The Chargers slipped back into the loss column in Week 6 as host Kentucky Country Day held on to win 61-56. 12. Fairdale (6-10): Winning its lone game in Week 6, Fairdale edged Christian Academy-Louisville 75-74. 13. Holy Cross (8-7): The Cougars won back-to-back games in Week 6, beating Evangel Christian and Whitefield Academy. 14. Western (5-10): The Warriors lost to Seneca before knocking off St. Francis in Week 6. 15. Iroquois (4-12): The Raiders are on five game-losing skid after dropping contests to South Oldham and Boone County in Week 6. 16. North Bullitt (4-13): Suffering a mid-season setback, North Bullitt lost to West Jessamine in its 2019 debut. 17. Whitefield Academy (5-10): Splitting a pair of games in Week 6, Whitefield Academy defeated St. Francis before falling to Holy Cross in the 6th Region All "A" Classic. 18. Evangel Christian (4-11): The Eagles beat Beth Haven 46-39 in the opening round of the 6th Region All "A" Classic before falling to Holy Cross (Louisville). 19. Beth Haven (3-8): The Bearcats lost to Evangel Christian in their lone outing during Week 6.

No big changes in this week’s rankings. Webster County dropped a few spots after their loss. Things will start to pick up as more teams play each other in the region over the next month and a half. Madisonville has the chance to break into the BGP top 20 soon if they can keep playing like they have been. Everyone else is looking up at UHA and MNC. There is a pretty significant gap after those two teams. Here are week 6 rankings: 1. University Heights Academy – Coach Grant Shouse BGP#5 2018-19 record: 11-2 Week’s Record: 1-0 The Blazers defeated Murray 76-66 at Mustang Madness. The Blazers were led by KyKy Tandy with 21 and Drew McGowan who had 17. Hollowell added 12 and Crump added 13. So far on the season, Tandy is leading the Blazers this season averaging 26.2 ppg. McGowan is averaging 14.3 ppg and is hitting from behind the arc at a 52.1% rate, and he is also leading the team in rebounding at 5.3 rpg. Christian County and Mayfield are all on the horizon for the Blazers. 2. Madisonville North Hopkins – Coach Matt Beshear 2018-19 record: 10-5 Week’s Record: 1-0 Ksuan Casey scored 20 points and had 8 rebounds in leading the Maroons past Hopkinsville 60-52. Kenny White added 14 points and JD Gilbert scored 14 points in the win. The Maroons took the first step in proving that this may be the year District 8’s dominance is broken. Casey is leading Madisonville in scoring with 15.7 ppg and 9 rpg. Kenny White is second with 13 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Barring any slipups, the Maroons could win out the rest of the season. Games against Owensboro, Owensboro Catholic, and Caldwell County look to be their biggest challenges 3. Hopkinsville – Coach Larry Miller 2018-19 record: 8-8 Week’s Record: 0-2 Tigers are in the midst of a difficult run in their season. They lost 60-52 to Madisonville, and 43-41 to Lincoln County. Hopkinsville has found it difficult to score in the midst of their 5 game losing streak. The Tigers have only averaged 46.5 ppg during the losing streak, the lowest 5 game total in over 10 years. James Nicholas is leading the Tigers averaging 14.6 ppg, with Jacaris Burks, Don Victor averaging 10 ppg. Things don’t get any easier as Hopkinsville play Warren Central and Doss this week. They should snap the skid however when they play Fort Campbell. 4. Caldwell County – Coach Daniel Kukahiko 2018-19 record: 10-4 Week’s Record: 1-0 The Tigers soundly defeated Dawson Springs 92-53 in their only game this week. Derrin Boyd leads Caldwell with 24.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg. He is the second leading scorer in Region 2. Cayden Fraliex, John Davis, and Tripp Branch are average 10 ppg. Caldwell could make some big noise this week as they travel to Madisonville to take on the region’s second best team. They will then play Webster in the KY 2A Sectional Tournament. 5. Christian County – Coach Kerry Stovall 2018-19 record: 8-8 Week’s Record: 1-2 The Colonels were so close in pulling a big upset against McCracken County, ultimately losing 52-50 in the Mustang Madness. Christian County played one of their best games of the year. They played Paducah Tilghman the next night and didn’t play as well losing 75-64. They followed that up with a win at Fort Campbell 81-51. Fred Tandy is leading the Colonels with 15 ppg and Eric Brody is averaging 14.4 ppg. UHA and Dunbar are on the schedule for this week. 6. Henderson County – Coach Tyler Smithhart 2018-19 record: 9-6 Week’s Record: 1-1 Henderson County played two away games this week. In the first game, the Colonels defeated Muhlenberg County 60-54. In the second they were unable to overcome Grayson County in a 51-40 loss. Corey Stewart is leading Henderson with 16 ppg on the season. Holden Raley is adding 10 ppg. The Colonels have some big games against Madinsonville, Webster County, and Union County this week. 7. Lyon County – Coach Jeff Embrey 2018-19 record: 10-6 Week’s Record: 1-0 The Lyons won the only game they played this week. Travis Perry scored 19 points leading them to a 62-49 victory. Jackson Shoulders added 17 in the win. For the season, Perry is averaging 21 ppg and Jackson 14 ppg. Lyon County will play Livingston Central and Ft. Campbell this week. 8. Union County – Coach Shane Smith 2018-19 record: 7-6 Week’s Record: 1-1 Union defeated Webster County 61-57 showing that they can play with most of the teams in region 2. However they suffered a very disappointing loss to Calloway County in the KY 2A Sectional Tournament. Many people expected a much closer game than the 64-46 final score. Union has the chance to put that behind them and move forward as they ply Henderson County on Friday. Kale Gaither is leading the Braves with 24 ppg and Elex Dunford is adding 11.6 ppg. 9. Webster County – Coach Jon Newton 2018-19 record: 10-5 Week’s Record: 0-1 The Trojans lost their only contest this week to Union County 61-57 as they continue to be an up and down team this year. Malachi Douglas is scoring 16 ppg and Tyler Camplin is getting 14.4 ppg, while Hunter McNaughton is adding 12.6 ppg. They play Henderson County and Caldwell County this week. Both games will be tough for the Trojans. 10. Hopkins County Central – Coach Lee James 2018-19 record: 5-8 Week’s Record: 0-1 Hopkins County took a hefty loss to Ohio County 81-62. The Storm have been led in scoring on the year by Tylan Mann at 20.5 ppg. Blasin Moore and Adrian Stringer both are scoring 11 ppg. They will play Calloway County in the KY 2A Sectional Tournament this week. 11. Livingston Central – Coach Chris Green 2018-19 record: 8-8 Week’s Record: 1-1 The Cardinals able to defeat Trigg County in a close game 38-37, but were unable to get past Benton, IL as they lost 47-32. LC is led by Kobe Ringstaff with 16 ppg on the season and followed by Bryce Stein (14.4 ppg) and Cameron Head (11.7). 12. Trigg County – Coach Payton Croft 2018-19 record: 6-10 Week’s Record: 0-1 Trigg County’s losing streak was extended to 5 as they lost 38-37 in a close game with Livingston Central. Kendric Adams is leading the Wildcats with 12 ppg on th eyar. Kyron Grubbs is averaging 10 ppg. 13. Fort Campbell – Coach Robbie Townsend 2018-19 record: 4-6 Week’s Record: 0-1 The Falcons found themselves at the mercy of Christian County in a 81-51 loss. They will play Dawson Springs this week, who they defeated earlier this season by 15. 14. Dawson Springs – Coach Chad Burgett 2018-19 record: 5-9 Week’s Record: 0-2 The Panthers had two games this week, neither were very pretty. They lost to Caldwell County and Metcalfe County. They will play Ft. Campbell and Madisonville this week. Dawson Springs has been paced this year by Skyler Clark (21.6 ppg) and Landon Pace (12.2 ppg). 15. Crittenden County – Coach Denis Hodge 2018-19 record: 5-10 Week’s Record: 1-1 The Rockets lost to Lyon County by 13, but defeated Stewart County, TN 62-52. Gabe Mott leads Crittenden County with 17 ppg on the year.

Week 6 wrapped up the holiday break, some District action commenced this past week but most of the District rivalry games are still in front of us. There are some clear contenders (Wayne, Danville, Lincoln), some potential contenders with the talent to win the Region that have yet to play their best (Mercer, West Jessamine), and some rising young potential contenders that could really shake things up if they continue to improve (Pulaski, Somerset, Garrard). The next tier is for Boyle County alone, who doesn’t currently appear to be a serious contender but that could change with the return of Smith and Hotchkiss. East Jessamine has shown some improvement, and while they are probably not yet a contender they certainly can play the spoiler role if they continue to get better. 45th District games are going to be huge, Danville and Garrard both have District wins under their belt but the fun is just beginning. Not only is a really good team or two going to fail to reach the 12th Region tournament, but some lucky District champion is possibly going to have to face a top-3 team in the opening round. The 45th runner-up will likely have a tougher road in the 12th, so every District game will be critical. That is usually the case, but with the 45thbeing so strong and deep this year it is magnified in that District. Here is a look at the Week 6 results, rankings, and Week 7 key match-ups: 1. Wayne County – The Cardinals went 2-0 this week, starting with a win over Perry County Central 66-48 at home.The following night, Wayne traveled to Lincoln County to take on 10th Region power George Rogers Clark (GRC) in the Patriot Classic and came away with an impressive 69-57 victory. GRC has some talented players, but at least on this night the Cardinals looked to be the better team. They took control of the game early, maintained composure when the game got quite physical late in the first half, then held off a GRC rally late in the 4th quarter. Wayne County is possibly the best 3-point shooting team in the Region, hovering around 40% for the season; they play solid defense, but it’s their scoring balance and ability to get good looks on offense that sets them apart. If there were a statistic for good shot selection, the Cardinals would likely lead the Region in it. 2. Danville – The Admirals continue to roll and are now 14-1, their lone loss being to #1 Wayne County. Danville opened 45th District play at Lincoln County on Friday this past week, and with a 30-30 halftime tie it appeared the game was going down to the wire. As has been the pattern in a few other games this season, the Admirals came out of the halftime locker room with heightened defensive intensity and dominated the second half on their way to a 63-47 win on the Patriots home floor. The Admirals followed this win with a home victory over Casey County on Saturday, 70-59. Danville seems to play with multiple gears, they size teams up early and lock them down late physically, making good use of their athleticism and are likely the best defensive team in the Region when they do so. An important week in the 45th District is up next, at Boyle County on Tuesday and home vs. Garrard County on Friday. 3. Lincoln County – The Patriots hosted District rival Danville this past week, played well in the first half but succumbed to a strong defensive showing by the Admirals in the second half on the way to a 63-47 loss. Lincoln bounced back the following night with a 43-41 home win over Hopkinsville. The Patriots hold on the #3 spot as they do appear to be one of the top three teams in the Region, and they will have at least one other shot at the Admirals for 45th District supremacy. 4. West Jessamine – West hosted North Bullitt on Friday this past week and won 72-67, then traveled to face Newport Central Catholic (NCC) on Saturday where they surrendered a 10-point second half lead and lost 67-65. The Colts played both games without leading scorer Dalton Bruner, who has been battling illness and unable to practice or play. West played well offensively in both games, ball movement and shot selection was improved over what was demonstrated in December; not having Bruner on the defensive side of the ball may have hurt the Colts more than on offense, as against NCC they struggled to stop penetration and close out shooters while surrendering their second half lead. West plays host twice this week, to top-10 power Lexington Christian on Tuesday and District rival East Jessamine on Friday. 5. Mercer County– Two wins for the Titans this week, starting with a 67-59 home win over East Jessamine on Friday. Mercer then traveled to Adair County to play Louisville Eastern in the Lindsey Wilson Classic on Saturday and came away with a 50-36 victory. The Titans play Western Hills on Tuesday in the new ‘2A Classic’. The three-pronged attack of Baughman, Lewis and Drakeford continues to make Mercer a threat to beat anyone in the Region, but Pulaski and Somerset are rapidly improving and pushing both the Titans and West Jessamine for a claim on the #4 and #5 positions in the Region. 6. Pulaski County – The Maroons may be hitting their stride, they traveled to Boyle County on Wednesday this past week and won 51-40 and took down Rockastle County at home on Friday by a score of 73-65. Pulaski is doing it with a balanced scoring attack as four players (Fraley, Combs, Oaks, Heath) are averaging in double figures. This is a huge week for the Maroons, starting with a District game at Somerset on Monday, a tough road trip to Lincoln County on Tuesday, a home game vs. Southwestern on Friday, and a matchup in Southwestern’s Iron Warrior Classic Saturday afternoon vs. Montgomery County. We should learn a lot this week about how Pulaski is going to stack up in the Region the rest of the way, their lone loss within the 12th came in week 2 against West Jessamine and they own a road victory over #1 Wayne County. The Maroons are primed to move up the rankings with a good showing this week. 7. Somerset – Two road wins this week, 70-66 over Rockcastle County and 72-56 at Casey County, keep the Briar Jumpers at #7. Junior Forward Jase Bruner went off at Rockcastle, going for 27 points (on 10-11 shooting) and 11 rebounds in a dominating performance. A huge District rivalry game is up next, Somerset hosts Pulaski County on Tuesday before traveling to Anderson County ono Friday. The Briar Jumpers are starting to have the look of a potential contender, the matchup with the Maroons will be a good litmus test. 8. Garrard County – The Golden Lions dropped a road game Montgomery County on Wednesday this past week, 76-66, but returned home for a critical 45th District matchup vs. Boyle County on Friday and prevailed in a hard-fought battle, 51-49. The win over Boyle included a couple of milestones, Junior Braden Sebastian passed the 1,000-point mark and coach Ryan Young now has victories over each 45th District in his short tenure at Garrard. This team and program is headed in the right direction and is now a threat to beat any team in the Region, and while Sebastian is scoring the ball (25.4 points per game) at a high level the surrounding cast is strong enough to make the Golden Lions competitive. Only one game this week but it is a tough one, Garrard travels to Danville on Friday night to play the #2 Admirals in a 45th District matchup. 9. Boyle County – The Rebels dropped a Wednesday home game vs. Pulaski County this past week, 51-40, and followed that up with a road trip to Garrard County on Friday where they lost a close one, 51-49. The young Rebels have their work cut out for them this week, hosting #2 Danville on Tuesday before traveling to #3 Lincoln County on Tuesday. 10. East Jessamine – The Jaguars are showing consistent improvement week to week and move up a few spots this week as a result. This past week they played well vs. #5 Mercer County in a 67-59 loss, are now 7-8 in the Region and have been competitive in every game since their beat down at Lincoln County a few weeks ago. Senior Tyler Pitney continues to be the anchor averaging a double-double in points and rebound, while Sophmore Ben McNew has become a dependable threat from the 3-point line. East hosts Western Hills on Tuesday in preparation for their huge District rivalry game at West Jessamine on Friday. The Colts seem to be regressing a bit so the Jaguars have a real chance to take this rivalry game. 11. Rockcastle County – The Rockets dropped two close ones this week, at home to Somerset on Wednesday (70-66) and on the road at Pulaski County (73-65) on Friday, dropping them to 3-10 on the season, 1-6 in the Region. Rockcastle travels to North Hardin on Tuesday this week, then plays 47th District foe Casey County on Friday night in an important seeding matchup. 12. Casey County – The Rebels had a difficult week, dropping a 72-56 home game to an improving Somerset team on Friday and losing 70-59 at Danville on Saturday. Casey plays at Anderson County on Tuesday this week before hosting a big District game vs. Rockcastle County on Friday. 13. Southwestern - Southwestern had only one game this past week, and not an easy one as they played top-10 Lexington Christian at Lincoln County on Saturday in the Patriot Classic, losing 68-49. The Warriors host Jackson County on Tuesday this week, travel to Pulaski County on Friday, then host Nelson County on Saturday in their Iron Warrior Classic event. 14. McCreary Central - McCreary played only one game this past week, a 78-65 loss at Williamsburg on Friday evening. The Raiders have a home game vs. Williamsburg on Tuesday and travel to take on #1 Wayne County on Friday evening. 15. Burgin – The Bulldogs moved to 10-1 with a 53-50 win over Rose Hill Christian on Saturday. Burgin will have that nice record tested this week when they play host to Berea at home on Tuesday, they then travel to play Frankfort Christian and Silver Grove on Thursday and Saturday. 16. Danville Christian – One game this week for the Warriors, a 67-55 loss to Frankfort Christian, they play Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) on Thursday. 17. Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) – KSD did not play this past week, they face Danville Christian this coming Thursday. Key 12th Region Games of the Week: Monday, January 7 Pulaski County at Somerset, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 8 Pulaski County at Lincoln County, 7:30 p.m. Lexington Christian at West Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. Danville at Boyle County, 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 11 East Jessamine at West Jessamine, 7:45 p.m. Garrard County at Danville, 7:30 p.m. Boyle County at Lincoln County, 7:30 p.m. Casey County at Rockcastle County, 8:00 p.m. Southwestern at Pulaski County, 7:30 p.m.

Final Rankings and Postseason Preview 1) Bowling Green (22-5) High Rank - 1, Low Rank - 2, Average Rank - 1 You wouldn’t know it from the rankings, but few teams in the region experienced as much turmoil as the Purples. Coming into the year, Bowling Green had five seniors on their roster. Entering the postseason, they have two. Two of the casualties were starters Trevor Dennis (10.6 PPG) and Davion Dice (6.7 PPG). They weren’t small losses. They were a very large part of a Purple team that started 15-2 and looked to be on their way to dominant favorite in the region, losing only to McCracken County and John Hardin (in overtime) at that point – both teams are ranked in the BluegrassPreps.com rankings and one is undefeated. They are still a very respectable 7-3 since that time, but it took them quite some time to figure out their offense again. They enter the postseason with two straight wins in which they averaged 88 points scored, albeit against teams in the bottom half of the region. Despite all the turmoil, they have lost only a single game in the region, falling to Warren Central 49-45 on the road in January. Their 14-1 record in region play is the best in the region, and one of only two teams that have lost less than four games in region play. With the departure of Dennis and Dice, they have become an extremely youth-oriented group. That group is led by Isaiah Mason, the team’s only player averaging in double digits at 15.3 PPG. That’s no surprise – the sophomore was listed as one of the preseason ten best players and has a sky high ceiling. A guard with great length, he is a pure shooter, hitting 45.3% from outside, shoots well in midrange, and is the team’s leading rebounder. The team needs him to be at his best to be at their best. Freshman Turner Buttry has been key in the back half of the season, and averages 7.1 PPG. He had 14, 12, and 13 in three key games in late January, wins over Warren Central, Allen County-Scottsville, and South Warren. The Purples have relied on phenomenal defense lately, suffocating teams with great size and length inside and dominating the glass. They have the #2 defense in the region, allowing just 54 PPG, and still have the top scoring average at 68. 26 PPG. They are more vulnerable than they might have been, but they still fit the bill of a favorite. They win this region if the youth performs well in the high pressure of postseason play. They do not have the luxury they are used to of a wealth of experience leading the youth – it’s a baptism by fire. They will open in the district semifinals with the winner of South Warren and homestanding Warren East. If they survive that to reach Diddle, recent history has shown that they are a near lock to make the finals – they have the last 11 times they reached the region tournament. They are 139-3 in the last decade against teams in the region that aren’t Warren Central. Right now we’re predicting them to win it all for the fifth time in six years, as well as their sixth straight district crown. 2) Greenwood (16-11) High Rank - 2, Low Rank - 10, Average Rank - 7 I really struggled with where to rank the Gators in these final rankings. I’m not entirely certain that they really are the second best team in the region, but their recent run has been outstanding. They started the season in fifth, but started just 2-4, and were sitting at 8-11 in late January. Since then, they’ve reeled off eight wins in a row, which included five straight wins with margins of less than five points and two overtime games. That winning streak is their longest since the 2007/08 season. What is significant about that year? That’s the last year they won region. The main difference between the late season and early season was Jack Roberts. He was present early on, but broke his hand against Bowling Green in the season’s fourth game. He returned just prior to the winning streak, but is in full motion now. He has averaged 17 PPG in this streak, just a notch above his season average of 15.3 PPG. Ben Carroll was the man while they weather the absence of Roberts, and the big man was more than up to the task. A forward with range, Carroll averages 16.4 PPG, shooting better than 41% from outside and better than 50% from inside. He leads the team in rebounding and even shoots 74.5% from the foul line. He’s a matchup nightmare for most teams in the region, a strong scorer, and foreboding presence on defense. Isaac Stansbury and brother Noah Stansbury are shooting 42.7% and 37.9% from outside as well, giving the Gators a wealth of perimeter options. They’re averaging over 65 PPG in their current winning streak and their defense has typically been sound all season long. One of Greenwood’s strengths is also likely one of the worries about them. They have been so good lately in close games, but were just 1-4 in games decided by less than five points before the current run. They were run down by Bowling Green in a game Greenwood seemingly had won in early January. When the chips are down, do they have the finishing kick to get away from a team and not let it stay in that razor thin margin where anything can happen? I have to hedge on their prediction a bit. If they beat Warren Central in the district semifinals, this is a team that can make a run to win the region. They are well-coached, and fundamentally sound. Just two years ago, they beat Warren Central twice to reach the region tournament – can they do it again? It’s our prediction that no, they won’t. Ultimately when predicting, you have to lean to where the deeper talent is, and that was showcased in a 28-point Warren Central victory in January. But that is a game that can go either way. If it is close and Greenwood has the lead, given recent history, can you go against them? 3) Warren Central (16-10) High Rank - 1, Low Rank - 3, Average Rank - 2 What a strange journey it has been with this team this year. They opened the season as preseason favorites and boy were they backing it up. Their first five games they topped 80 points in each and started 5-0. You can see by the record up there and do the simple math – they are 11-10 since. Some of that is schedule. Teams like LaRue County, John Hardin, and Bowling Green are understandable losses. 18 point loss to Pikeville? 24 point loss to Doss? Their first ever loss to South Warren? Those are much less understandable. Even more concerning has been a recent trend that has seen Central play outstanding ball against teams not from this region and then struggle against 4th Region competition. They own road wins over Owensboro, Taylor County, and Wayne County. They took down Collins in February at Warren Central. But they were swept by Allen County-Scottsville, their first losses to the Patriots in a decade. They blew a seven point lead entering the second quarter against Greenwood and never led in the entire second half. They have the second highest PPG in the region with 67 points on average, but failed to score over 60 in three of their last four games – all losses. On the positive side, their defense ranks fourth in the region as well, and the 66 they allowed to Allen County-Scottsville is the only one they gave up north of 60 in February, and one of just four games they have allowed over 60 in the last 17 games. No one doubts their talent. Dre Boyd and Kobe Brents made the second and third teams all-region respectively. Brents is their leading scorer with 14.7 PPG and has made nearly 100 three pointers. Dre Boyd is shooting 53% from inside the arc to average 13.2 PPG, adding 7.6 rebounds per game. Senior Tayshaun Bibb has posted several high double digit games lately and has upped his average to 8.4 PPG on the season – he is hitting nearly 60% of his shots. Central is similar to their teams this decade in that they love the three. If it is falling, they will bury you. But if not, it will fall almost entirely on Boyd and Bibb to carry the scoring. It’s a lot of pressure on their primary interior weapons. Like Bowling Green, the Dragons just want to get to Diddle and let it play out. They have made the finals 14 of their last 16 trips to the region tournament. Like most 14th District teams that make region, they are always heavily favored to go the distance if they get there. They split with district semifinal opponent Greenwood this season, with the road team winning each time. The loss to Greenwood in the district tournament two years ago will no doubt loom in coach William Unseld’s mind, though most of his team were not players in that game – the majority of the roster wasn’t even at the school. There is every reason to believe they can lose that game. If they get by it, our prediction is they make the region finals against Bowling Green. Of note – if they don’t win at least one title trophy this postseason, they’ll fail to hit 20 wins for the third time in four years. 4) Clinton County (21-7) High Rank - 3, Low Rank - 5, Average Rank - 3 Clinton County has pretty much done everything that was expected of them this year. They carry the second best record in region play at 15-2. They swept their district with a perfect 8-0 record. They won the region’s All A tournament by an average of 15 PPG and fell against a very good Shelby Valley team in overtime of the state All A. They are 13-2 in their last 15 games, and they stayed between #3 and #5 in the ranks the entire season. Simply put, they are the team you’d expect to be most likely to make a run outside of the 14th District. A lot of that is owed to the presence of Jackson Harlan. Harlan is the region’s player of the year, averaging 24.3 PPG. He scores, then scores some more, then scores for good measure after that. And you can’t just key on him, as Seth Stockton is an able lieutenant, adding 14.2 PPG to complement Harlan. They are the region’s best 1-2 punch. But depth is a definite drawback for the Bulldogs, as you might expect when two players account for more than half of your team’s scoring. They are #6 in the region in scoring and #5 in the region in team defense. If there’s a major red flag for contender status, it is their 1-2 record against District 14. One of those losses can be waved away – their were blown out 73-48 by Greenwood in a game in which Harlan did not play. The other two games were against South Warren. One was at home in December, a 14 point Bulldog victory. The last was on the road in February, an 8 point loss. They did not play Warren Central or Bowling Green, and the whole team did not play Greenwood. Chances are, they will have to go through at least one of those teams if they are to win the region, and history suggests that they’ll have to go through two. Clinton County has not made a region final in 59 years – they are not used to being there. They are going to make region, and they are likely going to make it easily – they beat their opponent Cumberland County three times this season, and none were closer than 9 points – the last was by 20. What their hope would be in terms of a region draw depends on just what they want to do. If they want to make a real run at the title, then they should hope to draw District 14 first. Get one out of the way, and put a gap in between potential games against the two teams. If they want to advance, then given any other draw, they will be favorites to make the semis. Ultimately, that’s where we’ll split the difference in our prediction – district champions, region semis finish. 5) Logan County (22-6) High Rank - 3, Low Rank - 6, Average Rank - 4 We knew coming into the year that Logan County was going to be good. I will not pretend that we knew they’d be this good. They not only have their first 20+ win season in seven years, they have their most wins since 1993. They need just two wins to have their most wins since 1984 – the year they won the state title. It’s been a rousing success by any measure for new head coach John Tinsley. The party got started early, as they raced out to a 15-2 record, with one of the losses coming in a very close 68-62 game against Bowling Green. They experienced a bit of a swoon as they went 3-4 over their next seven games, but closed out strong with four wins in a row. Their last loss was a 44-43 overtime affair at Greenwood, and as mentioned before, that’s the hottest team in the region right now, so it’s not exactly shameful. Their 27 point dismantling of Allen County-Scottsville on the road was particularly eye-popping. The Cougars carry the #1 scoring defense in the region into the postseason – they allow just under 53 PPG. Their average scoring margin is just over 11 PPG, trailing only Bowling Green in the region. Their rotation goes 8-9 deep, providing solid depth on par with most region teams. Kelby Epley, Third Bell, and Anthony Woodard are the names to know for the Cougars. Unlike Clinton County, they have played with the best the region has to offer in games against Greenwood and Bowling Green, nearly sweeping the Gators and taking that close loss to Bowling Green when the Purples were whole. They have allowed a few teams to get closer than they probably should, most notably in losses to Glasgow and Franklin-Simpson, as well as a narrow victory over Barren County. The biggest knock on the team is lack of experience. No one on the squad has played in a region tournament. No one on the team was alive the last time Logan County won a game at region (all the way back in 1998). They have shown a bit of a weakness with Franklin-Simpson. Last season they fell as the #1 seed against a poor Franklin team, and then split with them this year, falling by five on the road after winning by 15 in December. If they win their district, it is likely they will have to contend with the likes of Allen County-Scottsville (1-0), Monroe County (1-0), Russell County (1-0), or Metcalfe County. They’d likely be favored in any of those matchups, and again, have proven they can contend with the 14th. Going in as a district runner-up, that’s a different proposition entirely, as possible champions Bowling Green and Clinton County would be favored, and the current 15th District favorite Glasgow knocked off Logan County in January. Ultimately, we see Logan County winning the district and advancing to the semifinals should they avoid the 14th District in the first round. 6) Glasgow (19-10) High Rank - 3, Low Rank - 7, Average Rank - 5 The Scotties didn’t quite work their way to twenty wins in the regular season, owing to the fact that they never had more than a four game winning streak during the year. Still, a lot of things have broken their way. First, they won the first Kentucky 2A Classic sectional to advance to the state round. They did that despite playing in a sectional with both Warren Central and Allen County-Scottsville, each of whom they fell to prior to that tournament. AC/S took down Central and Webster County cleared out AC/S just one day after Glasgow lost to the Patriots. Second, when they entered the final weeks at 2-2 in district play, they needed three things to happen to have a chance to get #1 in the district. They needed to beat Monroe County, then have Monroe County beat Allen-County Scottsville in Scottsville, then go to Scottsville themselves and beat the Patriots. Check, check, BIG CHECK in a 21 point blast. Then they need to win a head to head draw with Allen County. It broke their way again, and instead of playing Monroe County in the semifinals in Tompkinsville, they match up with rival Barren County who they beat twice during the season. Now, that’s not 100% rosy, as the Trojans lost the two games by a combined 7 points, so you never know. Still, better to take your chances with a team that didn’t already prove they could beat you. The Scotties are led by a trio of players that have put up double digit averages on the year. Nick Sorrell is chief among them. A first team all-region pick, Sorrell is averaging 19.3 PPG. He has gotten to the line for 213 attempts this year, hitting 70.4%. He is averaging 9.1 rebounds per game, giving him nearly a double-double each night. New addition Tucker Kirkpatrick is averaging 11.2 PPG, leading the team in three point makes with 58. Robert Kingery doesn’t have any time for the perimeter – his 11.1 PPG is all a result of the inside game, and he carries a 55% average from the field. Two more players average over 8 points per game, meaning that just like last year, Glasgow is one of the most balanced teams in the field. They were destined for a higher final rank before they fell at Franklin-Simpson on Thursday, the first major moment to give pause on the team since a loss to South Warren to open January. Still, this is a team that made the region tournament last season, pushing Warren Central heavily before falling by five. They’ve won 7 of 9 going in, and can reach Diddle if they can get their fourth straight win over Barren County. We predict they do, and go on to win the 15th District title. Like Logan County, their draw may determine how far they go. If they avoid the 14th District representatives, we like them for a semifinal exit. 7) Allen County-Scottsville (22-7) High Rank - 2, Low Rank - 13, Average Rank - 6 What to make of the Patriots? First things first, what a job Brad Bonds has done in his first year at the helm. The former coach of the girls’ program is in his first year, and he just pushed them to their first 20+ win season since 2009, and their most wins since 2007. That alone would win him coach of the year in the region, which he did. Add to that the fact he is the fifth coach in five years for the program, and it becomes even more impressive. That fueled an oddly common among region teams 15-2 start, which included an overtime win at home over Warren Central, their first win over the Dragons in a decade. But again, simple math tells you things went a bit askew from there. The Patriots closed just 7-5, and some of those losses were hideous. 16 points to Webster County, 21 points to Glasgow, and finally 27 points to Logan County. They struggled mightily in wins over Edmonson County and Metcalfe County, beating the two by a combined three points. Just when you were thinking it was safe to write them off as having peaked, they rode into Warren Central and dealt the Dragons their first home loss of the year and got the season sweep. So who knows what to expect? The Patriots have done it largely thanks to the scoring effort of four players. Brett Rippy leads the team with 16.9 PPG, and is one of the best sharpshooters in the region, hitting 46.5% from three on 144 attempts. It’s not often you see a player attempt that many from three and hit nearly 57% of his shots from the field overall – he shoots 68.5% from inside the arc. We knew first team all-region selection Rippy would score a lot, but sophomore Mason Shirley has been possibly the more important player. A third team all-region selection, his 15.4 PPG came seemingly out of nowhere for outside observers, and there is no telling how high his ceiling will go. Both he and Rippy are money from the foul line, hitting 80.8% and 78.4% respectively. Owen Stamper (9.7 PPG) and Jax Cooper (9.2 PPG) round out the top scorers for a team that has the fifth highest PPG in the region at 65.5. The team shoots well, shoots free throws well, what’s not to like? While the margins were occasionally unimpressive, the Patriots do go into the postseason winners of four of five. They drew the short straw in their tie with Glasgow, and now they take on a Monroe County team that has gone toe to toe with Greenwood in the past week and knocked off the Pats on the road to start the spiral. It’s a game the Patriots should still win, but they are in real danger here. The team went 10/23 from three when they played at Monroe in January, and Rippy was a perfect 7/7 from the field. They’ll need those types of efforts again to get the W. Our prediction is they push past Monroe County, a vote for consistency, but fall to Glasgow, and then ultimately bow out in the first round of region. 8) South Warren (13-14) High Rank - 8, Low Rank - 13, Average Rank - 11 Don’t let the record fool you – South Warren is a team that is on the rise in the region. They are 8-3 in their last 11 games, and those three losses came by a combined 16 points against Bowling Green, Greenwood, and Warren Central. Otherwise known as the top three teams in these ratings. They also own a win over Warren Central in that stretch, the first ever they took from the Dragons. They took down Clinton County as well, winning by 8 over the Bulldogs not even a week ago. The 101 points they scored on Hart County on February 9th is a program record, their first to hit the century mark. They knocked off Glasgow just prior to this 11 game stretch, doing so in Glasgow by 8. The Spartans are very dangerous under head coach Blane Embry, who returned to the male coaching ranks for the first time in 9 seasons. Tyler Martin was named to the second team all-region, and averages 17 PPG to lead the Spartans. Martin will shoot from anywhere, and if he is on, can end your season. Sophomore Jace Carver has emerged to give the Spartans a second strong scoring threat with 12.6 PPG, hitting better than 40% from three. He had a career-high 35 points in a near upset of Greenwood, the last loss the Spartans suffered before notching four straight wins to end the year. Freshman Caden Veltkamp has also emerged for nearly 9 PPG. The next great quarterback for the Spartans is the third leading three point shooter on the team with the best percentage of the three, hitting on 42.7% of his attempts. The Spartans rank in the bottom half of the region in scoring offense and defense, but do have a positive margin of victory despite the losing record. They open the district tournament in the 4/5 game with Warren East, who they swept on the year, most recently winning by 12 at home. They do have the disadvantage of playing that game on the road, as Warren East hosts the tournament. However, the Spartans are playing their best ball of the year, and Warren East has won just three times since December 27th. The real looming monster is Bowling Green if South Warren were to advance. That semifinal matchup would pit them against a Bowling Green team they have never beaten – they are 0-22 against the Purples. The last of those losses was one of the closet they’ve ever had against Bowling Green, falling 47-43 at BG in late January. Bowling Green is a young team, not playing at home, and will have had a week off by then, which can sometimes be counterproductive. If there were a year to do it, this appears to be that year. Our prediction is, this is not that year. They’ll make the district semifinals, but they’ll have to wait yet another year for their first region tournament appearance. 9) Franklin-Simpson (15-11) High Rank - 8, Low Rank - 16, Average Rank - 10 Franklin-Simpson has had a lot more recent success than some of the other success stories above, but their turnaround this season is still a quite impressive surprise. In 2016 & 2017, the Wildcats combined for 50 wins. That dropped to 7 wins last year in a 7-23 campaign that saw them win just twice after January 1, and after an 0-3 start to this season, they had lost 17 of 19 games. But then the script flipped, and the Wildcats boast 11 wins in their last 15 games, gained a season sweep over Greenwood, and earned a share of the regular season district championship alongside Logan County, before settling into the #2 seed on the coin flip. They are favored to return to the region tournament for a fourth consecutive season, but they won’t upset their way in this time like last season. The Wildcats are also a year ahead of schedule – they don’t have a single senior on the team, not one. DeMarco Chatman leads the team with an average of 16.1 PPG and is the leading rebounder as well with 6.7 PPG. The junior guard was selected to the third team all-region. Sophomore Andreyous Miller is another bright player for the future, averaging 10.8 PPG. It must be said though that scoring is a problem for the Wildcats. They rank 16th in the region in scoring, averaging on 54.65 PPG. That is one stat that has not turned around from a year ago when they were similarly offensively challenged. They make up for it by allowing just 54.38 PPG. Defense wins championships, but that’s a razor thin margin. It’s why eleven of Franklin’s wins have come by single digits. It may not be comfortable, but it has been working for them. They open the postseason with Russellville, who they swept after falling to them twice a season ago. The second matchup was tight, won by just six points after a 25 point margin in the first game – the largest margin of the season for Franklin. The most encouraging thing about the first two games was Franklin’s scoring. The 69 points they scored in the second matchup was a season high, with the 66 in the first just behind. Franklin also comes in with strong momentum, winners of four of their last five, and grabbing a win over Glasgow last week. Our prediction is they knock off Russellville, fall short against Logan County, and exit in the first round of region. 10) Barren County (15-14) High Rank - 7, Low Rank - 10, Average Rank - 8 The Trojans were the picture of average this season. Barren County never strayed more than two games above or below .500. If they won two straight, they’d lose two straight. They saw a three game winning streak end in blowout fashion against Clinton County last week – that three game winning streak had come on the heels of a three game losing streak. They have scored just five points more on the year than they allowed, ranking 12th in the region in scoring and 8th in defense. Even their region record was 9-10. They struggled to get wins in district play, posting a 1-5 record against the 15th district, though four of their losses were by a combined 12 points. Crucially, two of those close losses were against Glasgow, their opponent in the district semifinals. The Trojans were bested by their bitter rivals a season ago, and will be looking to flip the script from the 4 seed this year. Barren County is another youth movement team, this one with just two seniors. Instead, junior Will Bandy leads the team, averaging 16.1 PPG and 6.5 RPG. Bandy has a solid build, and plays primarily on the block, though like many Barren County bigs, he is not afraid to shoot from the perimeter, though he has hit only 26.6% of his 79 attempts from outside. Bandy was selected to the third-team all-region. A guy who will possibly be looked at as Barren’s next superstar is freshman Aden Nyekan. Nyekan is 6’3”, and is tough to handle inside. He’s hitting nearly 52% of his shots, averages 14.3 PPG, and pulls down 7.3 rebounds per game. He’s a foundational piece moving forward, and paired with Bandy, the two can really make some noise next year. Barren County is a team that relies heavily on production inside. They rate among one of the worst in the region for perimeter shooting, hitting on just 28.2% of their shots there. That makes it extremely difficult in games where they fall behind, so they have to stay in shouting distance of Glasgow. It is absolutely possible that the Trojans take the Scotties down on a neutral court, but ultimately, the prediction has to be in favor of the team with the season sweep. We predict Barren County ends its season at 15-15 – it feels almost like destiny that they finish at .500. 11) Monroe County (11-14) High Rank - 5, Low Rank - 11, Average Rank - 9 If the team that played in the first two weeks of the season and the final two weeks of the season shows up, then Monroe poses some real danger to their opponents. They would probably prefer to pretend that December 20th-January 29th did not happen. The Falcons started the year 6-2. They played a modest 3-2 in February, but had a relatively close road loss at Clinton County and fell in overtime against the red-hot Greenwood team, plus knocking off district tournament opponent Allen County-Scottsville on the road. In between? That would be a 2-10 run that included a loss to Barren County that would ultimately cost them a shot at the #1 seed in district play. In that stretch, Monroe County’s only wins were by 1 point over South Warren, and an overtime win over Metcalfe County. Team defense has been a struggle for the Falcons. They rank 15th in points allowed in the district, giving up 2.4 points more than they score despite having the 4th highest scoring average in the region. They meet Allen County-Scottsville in the semifinals, who averaged 75.5 PPG against them in their two matchups. They allowed 70+ in nearly half of their games this year (12). They’ve got a shot if they can just reel that in. An all-region first team pick, senior Chandler Clements is a big reason for the gaudy scoring average in the positive column. He was our pick for #2 in the region entering the year and he has not disappointed. He averages 25.8 PPG and has a knack for getting to the foul line – he has hit nearly 200 free throws this season. His scoring region is tops in the region and #5 in the entire state. He’s #8 in the state for rebounding as well, averaging 11.2 per game. Grayson Rich has complemented him well, averaging over 12 PPG while doing his damage from outside where he hits nearly 38%. The Falcons lost two of their three district games at home this year, so homecourt advantage in the tournament may not seem to be a massive advantage, but they’ll hope to catch lightning in a bottle when they face the Patriots. Our prediction though is that they exit the postseason on Monday. 12) Warren East (11-17) High Rank - 7, Low Rank - 13, Average Rank - 12 It’s been a very rough year for the Raiders. Like many seasons of late, East showed some promise in the early going. They won their Christmas tournament and started 8-4. There were surprising losses that look better in retrospect (South Warren, Franklin-Simpson, and Allen County-Scottsville), but for the most part, it looked like East would be a factor in the region. Then came illness, injuries, and games against teams that they rarely have success against. And so they crashed to a 3-13 record since that start, with all three wins coming against teams with losing records, including Caverna which has only a single win. The Raiders can be forgiven for playing in a brutal district where they ultimately went 0-8, but they have only lost by less than double digits twice during the run. Needless to say, they are not rolling going into district, and it does not look good for their chances to reach region for the first time since 1997. That’s despite having homecourt advantage, though they have lost in their first game of the last four times they’ve hosted the district tourney. The Raiders rank 13th and 11th in scoring offense and defense respectively. East shoots just under 44% of all attempts from the three point line, so if they can get hot, they’ve got a puncher’s chance. Adante Barber leads the team in scoring with 12.8 PPG, while four other players average between 7.8 and 8.8 PPG (Ryan Carter, Bryson Wallace, Thomas Maxey, and Kaleb Matlock). The Raiders will be looking for a game like the last they played against Warren Central, where they hit on 8 of 20 three pointers on their home floor. They open with South Warren, who defeated them by 2 at Warren East in December before getting the sweep with a 12 point win in February. That’s where we predict them to go out. If they should manage to get past that to the district semifinals, they’ll match up with Bowling Green. The Purples just beat East by 34 at Warren East, and have won 50 in a row against the Raiders. It’s hard to see any path to the regional tourney. 13) Metcalfe County (10-19) High Rank - 13, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank - 15 The Hornets enter the postseason with ten wins. That is their first double digit win season since 2011. It is also equal to the win total they had in the last four seasons combined. Let’s put it one more way – the last five Hornet coaches that weren’t the legendary Tim McMurtrey failed to ever reach double digit wins in a season. This was a good year. In addition to the win total, the Hornets had near misses against the likes of Glasgow, Monroe County (overtime), and Allen County-Scottsville. They enter the 16th District tournament with the two seed, having secured their first win over Russell County in 11 years when they knocked off the Lakers at home 56-53 on January 29th. Boston Devore and Tyler London lead the team with 16 PPG and 13.7 PPG respectively, as the Hornets average a healthy 64 PPG average as a team. They will host the district tournament, where they are 4-7 this season. Their reward for beating Russell County is the proposition of doing it again. That’s a tall task as Russell County has yet to lose a district semifinal game since entering the region in the 2005/2006 season. But this appears to be finally the year for Metcalfe County to return to Diddle. They’re at home and the Lakers have struggled on the road. They get the win, fall to Clinton County in the finals, and then have their season come to a successful end in the region quarters. 14) Russell County (7-23) High Rank - 13, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank - 14 The Lakers are just 3-14 in their last 17 games, and three of their wins on the season have come over Cumberland County, who went winless against 16th District teams. Russell County enters the postseason on a short positive note, knocking off Rockcastle County 63-58 to stop a nine game skid. The seven wins they have now equals their lowest total for a season in the last 20 years. In other words, it has been a tough season for Russell County. Their scoring attack rates as one of the worst in the region, as they score only 54.9 PPG while allowing 64.7 PPG. During their nine game losing streak, they topped that average only twice, scoring 59 against Jackson County (in overtime) and 61 against Marion County. Scott Hamm has provided an able presence inside, scoring 14 PPG while hitting nearly 55% of his shots from the field. When we say inside, we mean it – he has attempted zero three pointers. Briley Hadley has also chipped in 11.3 PPG. As mentioned in the Metcalfe preview, Russell County has never lost a district semifinal game as a member of the 16th District. Their region tournament appearance streak is a record 13 in a row. Of greatest concern for them is that they have won only a single true road game this year, beating Cumberland County 76-72 on January 4th. They are 1-10 at their opponents, and that includes a 56-53 loss to Metcalfe County. The combination of a low scoring offense, a road environment, and just general momentum points to a district semifinal loss at long last for a rebuilding Russell County team. 15) Cumberland County (6-22) High Rank - 12, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank - 17 The Panthers entered the season on a 14 game losing streak, and the first half of the season did not go much better. Despite some close results such as losses of 7, 9, and 4 to 16th District opponents, Cumberland County started just 2-14. Things have improved in the back half, including a stretch of four wins in seven games, back to back wins over Russellville and Todd County Central, and a 90 point effort in an overtime loss to Metcalfe County that rated as the highest score for the program since December 2003. The Panthers have frequently been competitive, and their scoring rate of 66.7 PPG is good enough for third in the region. Unfortunately, they allow over 78 PPG, dead last by over 8 points. They have allowed 77 points or more in a staggering seven straight games. Three Panthers average in double digits, led by Dawson Smith’s 19.7 PPG. Joseph Johnson averages 11.7 PPG and Isaiah Dyer adds 10.9 per. If Cumberland County had the fortune of matching up against Metcalfe County or Russell County, it would be conceivable that they could advance to the regional tournament. But instead, they take on top seed Clinton County, who have bested them 25 straight times dating back to 2009. That 2009 victory came in the district tournament, the last time Cumberland County advanced to the region tournament. That won’t happen here. Clinton County gets the win, and ends Cumberland County’s season. 16) Russellville (8-16) High Rank - 12, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank - 16 The Panthers have improved slightly from last season, but they are still well off the pace of 2017’s region runner-up. Like last season, the trouble has really kicked up following the start of the new year. While Russellville started 0-4, they entered the new year at 5-8, and were still 7-9 following a win at Caverna on January 8th. Since then, they are just 1-7, with only two of those losses coming by less than 10. It’s not without effort from Jacob Naylor. The senior was selected to the second team all-region, and his 25.2 PPG are tied for 8th in the state. He accounts for over 42% of his team’s total scoring. Add in Elijah Kemp’s solid 12.9 PPG average, and the two players account for over 64%. There’s just not enough depth from Russellville for a run. They did avenge an early season loss to Todd County Central with a 71-58 victory, which helped them avoid a potential matchup with Logan County in the district tournament. They will play Franklin-Simpson, who they fell to by just 6 at the start of February. Crazier things have happened, but our prediction is a swift exit in the semis. 17) Todd County Central (5-23) High Rank - 9, Low Rank - 17, Average Rank - 13 Todd County Central had a phenomenal season last year, getting back to the region tournament, reaching the semifinals, and claiming their first district title in over a decade. They returned the best pure big man in the region in John Calvery, and the second team all-region selection is having a fine year with 17.4 PPG. But ultimately, the loss of leading scorer Nolan Barrow was too much for the Rebels. They enter the postseason on a 14 game losing streak, and one of their five wins was actually an administrative forfeit to open the year. During their losing streak they have topped 60 points only three times, and their 54 PPG average is the worst in the region. They meet Logan County, who knocked them off by 13 and 10 in their two matchups. The district is at Todd County Central, but this seems like a year where a lot of the district hosts are not in extremely favorable positions. It’s just hard to envision Todd Central making any noise. Our prediction is that they end their season at home against Logan County. Top Players in the 4th Region 1. Jackson Harlan, G, Sr. (Clinton County) – Voted the POY by both the 4th Region coaches and the KABC, his scoring average is actually down to 24.3 PPG. That’s how much he can score. 2. Chandler Clements, F, Sr. (Monroe County) – Clements leads the 4th Region in scoring, and will be leaned on heavily if they are to have a chance to advance. 3. Isaiah Mason, G, So. (Bowling Green) – Lean and long, Mason will ascend to his birthright as best player in the region starting next year. 4. Ben Carroll, F, Jr. (Greenwood) – Carroll is a huge matchup advantage, playing both inside and outside, and has a high basketball IQ. 5. Brett Rippy, G, Sr. (Allen County-Scottsville) – Rippy averages a ridiculous 46.5% average from the three point line. If he’s open, you’ve made a terrible mistake. 6. Tyler Martin, G, Sr. (South Warren) – Martin recently became the all-time leading scorer at South Warren. He’ll need to be great to give them a shot at their first region tournament berth. 7. Jacob Naylor, G, Sr. (Russellville) – It’s unfortunate that Naylor has gone a bit unnoticed by some in the midst of a rough Russellville season. His 25.2 PPG are 8th in the state. 8. Kobe Brents, G, Jr. (Warren Central) – Brents has struggled to find his shot at moments this year, but has turned up his play of late to lead the Dragons in scoring. If his threes are falling, look out. 9. Jack Roberts, G, Sr. (Greenwood) – A broken hand early in the season blunted his progress, but the eighth year senior is playing well as he enters his final postseason, looking to duplicate the heroics of 2017. 10. Jon Calvery, C, Sr. (Todd County Central) – Calvery is easily the best post player in the region, enabling him to still average over 17.4 PPG despite struggles around him. He’s making 50.6% of his field goals on the year.

1. Owensboro Red Devils (18-7) SAME Owensboro stayed red hot to end their regular season, beating Hopkinsville by 26. They led by more than 40 at points in the 2nd half. They are the clear cut team to beat in the region, finishing 12-0 in the 3rd. 2. Breckenridge County Tigers (24-3) SAME The Tigers finished the regular season with 24 wins after closing with impressive wins against Central Hardin and Whitesville Trinity. They tied a school record for most wins in a season. 3. Owensboro Catholic Aces (16-10) SAME The Aces had an up and down final week, losing to Castle, IN by 22 before bouncing back with a nice road win at Hopkinsville on Saturday. They will enter the postseason having lost 3 of 5. 4. Ohio County Eagles (15-14) SAME Ohio County has shown they can compete with anyone in the region but have been very inconsistent. They closed the season with tough losses to Logan County and Madisonville. The good news for the Eagles is they have already punched their ticket to the regional tournament with a bye in the 10th district. 5. Grayson County Cougars (15-14) SAME The Cougars have surged to 8 wins in their last 9 games to finish the season. They got wins against Daviess County and Hancock County this week. 6. Muhlenberg County Mustangs (13-10) UP 1 The Mustangs closed their regular season with a 13 point win over Todd Central. 7. Mclean County Cougars (11-14) UP 1 There are not many teams in the region hotter than the Mclean County Cougars. They closed the season with a 12 point win over Edmonson County. Mclean closed with 5 wins in their last 7 games. 8. Daviess County Panthers (10-14) DOWN 2 Daviess County lost 2 heartbreakers to close the regular season. They started the week with an overtime loss in Grayson County. Then on Thursday, a last second shot in Union County downed the Panthers. They have lost 3 of 4 heading into district play. 9. Butler County Bears (14-10) UP 1 The Bears closed their winning season with a victory over Cloverport. 10. Whitesville Trinity Raiders (13-15) UP 1 The Raiders lost tough games to Webster and Breck this past week. They will enter district play with 4 straight losses. 11. Edmonson County Wildcats (11-16) DOWN 2 Edmonson enters the postseason with 4 straight losses. They closed out last week with losses to Mclean County and Greenwood. 12. Meade County Greenwave (11-16) SAME The Waves dropped 2 this week to North Bullitt and Central Hardin to close their regular season. 13. Apollo Eagles (3-24) SAME Apollo finished one of the toughest regular seasons in school history with a loss to Madisonville on Tuesday. 14. Hancock County Hornets (6-21) SAME The Hornets split a pair of games this week, defeating Cannelton Indiana before losing to Grayson County on Saturday. 15. Cloverport Aces (1-26) SAME The Aces dropped their season finale to St Francis. 3rd REGION REGULAR SEASON TOP SCORERS 5 .Parker Rice - Butler County - 17 ppg 4. Darrion Wimsatt - Owensboro - 19 pgg 3. Kobe Poole - Breckenridge County - 20 ppg 2. Logan Patterson - Mclean County - 22 ppg / 10 rpg 1.Dakota Walden - Daviess County -26 ppg DISTRICT TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS 9th District - #1 OHS (18-7) vs #13 Apollo (3-24) - Owensboro Swept Apollo this season by a large margin. Apollo struggles with speed and ball pressure. It would be hard to see an upset in this matchup #3 Catholic (16-10) vs #8 DC (10-14) - Catholic swept Daviess County this season. Catholic had to come from behind in the first meeting, but won the 2nd meeting handily. Anytime you a leading scorer, like Dakota Walden you have a chance, but Tim Riley will have the Aces ready. PREDICTION - OWENSBORO OVER OWENSBRO CATHOLIC 10th District - #6 Muhlenberg (13-10) v #7 Mclean (11-14) - Easily the most intreguing 1st round game in the region. Both teams split wins in the regular season. Mclean comes in red hot, but it would still feel like a bit of an upset if the Cougars were to score the win. PREDICTION - OHIO COUNTY OVER MCLEAN COUNTY 11th District - #2 Breck (24-3) v #15 Cloverport (1-26) - Breckenridge should cruise here. #11 Meade (11-16) v #14 Hancock (6-21) - Meade swept series by an average margin of 34. PREDICTION - BRECKENRIDGE COUNTY OVER MEADE COUNTY 12th District - #5 Grayson (15-14) v #10 Trinity(13-15) - Grayson swept the season series in 2 close games. Cameron Wright has been injured most of the 2nd half of the season for Trinity but will try to give it a go. The Cougars athletisim will be hard for Trinity to handle. #9Butler (14-10) v #11 Edmonson(11-16) - Both teams split wins in the regular season, but Edmonson will host the district, giving them a slight edge. Butler has 2 very dynamic scorers to offset the home court advantage. This one should be a good one! PREDICTION - GRAYSON COUNTY OVER BUTLER COUNTY

Overview: Shelby Valley’s Jim Hicks and Magoffin County’s Brady Whitaker took home KABC Coach and Player of the year honors respectively while the top tier teams in the region remained the same. District tournaments are a week away as the 15th Region prepares for what is expected to be one of the most competitive post seasons in many years. Listed below are the rankings and reviews after eleven weeks of play. Rankings (overall record): 1. (-) Shelby Valley (25-4) The Wildcats were perfect in week eleven, going 3-0 against Belfry, Pike Central and Jenkins with an average winning margin of 30 plus. Cody Potter will finish the regular season averaging 25 plus points and 10 plus rebounds regardless of performance in their final game at home vs. Johnson Central in week twelve. Valley ended with the top overall seed in the 59th district and will face Jenkins in the first round at East Ridge. 2. (-) Pikeville (16-8) - The Panthers went 1-1 in week eleven as they lost a return game at Clay County 68-75 in OT after defeating the Tigers by 34 just four days earlier and won at home over Sheldon Clark 72-61. Pikeville has the best half-court defense in the region and solid, experienced guards against pressure. When they score the ball efficiently, they are extremely difficult to beat. Pikeville closes the regular season with Floyd Central and Pike Central at home then Paintsville on the road. The Paintsville game could carry a lot of tension after the way the two teams closed the regular season last year. 3. (-) Johnson Central (20-6) - The Golden Eagles went 2-1 in week eleven with a pair of twenty point wins on the road over Magoffin County and Ashland and a loss at home in OT to Lawrence County. Senior star Jacob Rice did not play in the Ashland or Lawrence County game as he nurses a sprained ankle from last Thursday’s practice as he expects to return before districts. In the Lawrence County Sophomore Cory VanHoose had one of the greatest shooting games in KHSAA history, going 19/20 from the field and finishing with a career high 40 points. Sophomore stud Isaiah May scored his 1,000th point in the Ashland win as played all five positions on both offense and defense for JC in the game. Johnson Central will flip a coin with Paintsville for the top overall seed in the 57th District tournament this week as the finish out the season with Floyd Central and Mountain Mission, VA at home, then Shelby Valley on the road. 4. (-) Paintsville (16-5) – The Tigers picked up two wins this week over Belfry and Letcher Central as they close the season on a four game home stand. The last two games come this week against Raceland and Pikeville. Paintsville does not yet know their opponent in the 57th district tournament they will host, but they do know it will be either Magoffin County or Sheldon Clark, both of whom they went 4-0 against collectively. The Tigers will look to close strong with Pikeville at home as they head into the post season. 5. (-) Lawrence County (20-7) – The Bulldogs picked up three key wins this week all on the road versus Sheldon Clark, Johnson Central (OT) and Paris (OT). Cody Maynard went for 30 points in the JC game as this young team is a strong sleeper in the region. They would have been moved up in the rankings had JC not beat them badly twice earlier in the season and due to the fact JC did not have one of their best players in senior Jacob Rice. Nonetheless, this team has 20 wins and is capable of getting hot and beating any team in the region on a given night. 6. (Up 1) Magoffin County (14-13) – The Hornets lost their first game of the week, but reeled off three straight to get above .500 after a four game losing streak. Magoffin lost by 20 to Johnson Central the beat Prestonsburg, Sheldon Clark and East Ridge. Along with the wins, Senior Brady Whitaker was named KABC Player of the year and will be a Mr. Basketball finalist next week. Magoffin will play either Paintsville or Johnson Central in the first round of the 57th but will have to wait until Tuesday’s flip to see which it will be. Prior to that they will travel to June Buchanan and Pike Central to close out the season. 7. (Down 1) Sheldon Clark (9-18) – Sheldon Clark was 0-4 in week eleven and have dropped five or their last six overall. Trey James continues to play well, but the supporting cast is hit and miss on a nightly basis. Sheldon Clark will learn of their appeal on their D1 transfer this Wednesday as they await a coin flip to find out if they play Johnson Central or Paintsville in the 57th District opening round. Sheldon Clark will close with Huntington St. Joseph and Red Bird as they hope to pick up two wins and avoid their third 20 loss season in the last four years. 8. (-) Pike Central (16-11) – The Hawks were 1-2 with losses to Letcher Central at home and Shelby Valley on the road and a win over Phelps in district play. Pike Central has locked up a trip to the regional tournament as they won the 60th District regular season and earned an opening round match-up with Piarist. Pike Central will close out the regular season with Pikeville on the road (should be a great crowd) and Magoffin County at home. 9. (Up 1) Prestonsburg (13-13) – Prestonsburg was 1-1 this past week with a loss on the road at Magoffin County and a win over Floyd Central as they wrapped up a four game road trip 2-2 overall. They will play Betsy Layne in the 58th District opening tournament and close out the season with East Ridge and Jenkins both on the road. This could be the first winning season in a very long time for the Blackcats. 10. (Down 1) Phelps (11-13) – The Hornets were 1-1 in week eleven as they beat Jackson City and lost to Pike Central. This team will play Belfry in the 60th District tournament at home in what should be a great game. Before then, they will have Betsy Layne, Piarist and Morgan County as they try to get to .500 before districts. Trey Francis continues to play well as one of the more underrated players in the region. 11. (-) Belfry (8-19) – The Pirates dropped two more games this week, winning only one. They will lose 20 games this season after winning 20 games last season. The good news is they could still get in the regional tournament with a district tournament win over Phelps on the road. That won’t be easy as the Pirates look to prepare with Floyd Central and East Ridge in the final week. 12. (-) Betsy Layne (12-14) – The Bobcats have dropped four of their last five with the only win coming against Jenkins. The Bobcats schedule well to get wins, but are no real threat to the top half of the region. They will close with Phelps and June Buchanan at home before playing Prestonsburg in the 58th District tournament at Lawrence County. 13. (-) Floyd Central (3-22) – The Jaguars are improving as their players are getting in better shape since their return to action, but they did drop both games in week eleven as both Prestonsburg and Boyd County knocked them off at home. Floyd Central is locked into the 4 seed in the 58th District and a date with Lawrence County on the road. Prior to that Floyd Central closes with a three game road trip against tough competition as they travel to Pikeville, Johnson Central and Belfry in that order. 14. (-) East Ridge (10-15) – The Warriors went 1-2 this week with losses to Letcher Central at home and Magoffin County on the road. They did beat Piarist at home by 25 for their lone win. East Ridge will host the 59th District tournament where they play Pikeville in the first round. The will close the season with two games at home versus Belfry and Prestonsburg. 15. (-) Jenkins (2-24) – The Cavaliers picked up their second win of the season over Piarist in week eleven and should be beat them again when they play this week. This will be the only three wins on the season, however, as Jenkins gets Lawrence County and Prestonsburg before facing Shelby Valley in districts. 16. (-) Piarist (0-23) – Piarist went 0-3 in week eleven and are expected to remain winless on the season. The best change to get a win will be Jenkins on the road but Jenkins has already beaten the Knights handily. Agree or Disagree?

The final week of the regular season is upon us, and the 12th Region has lived up to the preseason billing of being wide open and having several teams with legitimate shots at taking the Region crown. Despite each enduring a down week where they looked imminently beatable, both Danville and Wayne County have demonstrated the most consistent performance and currently deserve to be considered Region tournament co-favorites. District play comes first, of course, and the Cardinals have a much easier path (they’re already in) to the Region Tournament than the Admirals, who will have to survive a nervy semifinal game to advance. If Lincoln County plays their ‘A’ game, they are squarely in a second tier behind the first two, and are potentially alone there. If the Patriots have one of their off nights, which has occurred more often this season than any team would be comfortable with, they might not survive their District much less be able to win three consecutive games in the Region Tournament. Having home court for the Region Tournament may or may not help the Patriots, historically it is debatable whether or not it is a real advantage. For the next six teams, maybe seven now that Casey County is playing so well, you can almost put them together into a large third tier, each capable of making deep run in the Region Tournament and each at risk for an early exit. Next week’s District Tournament Preview will include an analysis of the tournaments and a few predictions, but for now here are a couple of preliminary thoughts: · The 46th District Tournament will have to turn away people who want to attend, Burgin’s gym is simply not big enough. The East-West Jessamine regular season games regularly draws far more than Burgin’s capacity, and they will be playing each other in an elimination game on the 19th. Hundreds of fans that want to go may not be able to get in. · The 45th will be one of the top few toughest District Tournaments in the state to advance through to the Region Tournament (with respect to the 43rd, 27th, others). Here is a look at the Week 11 results, rankings, and Week 12 key match-ups: 1. Danville –The Admirals hit a rough patch on the road this past week, losing two games in a row for the first time all season as they lost 62-55 (in OT) to Franklin County on Monday and 58-56 at Frankfort on Tuesday. The loss at Frankfort was not a big surprise, they have been one of the 11th Region’s strongest teams this season, can match Danville’s athleticism, and sport an impressive 22-5 record. In the Franklin County game, the Admirals sometimes struggled with shot selection and occasionally let their emotion get the best of them, something that has plagued Danville periodically this season and could put them at risk for an early tournament elimination if it shows up again. Danville bounced back from these two losses nicely, however, defeating District rival Lincoln County 68-62 on Friday. In the first half against Lincoln they once again looked like the team to beat in the District and Region, taking a commanding lead early then holding off a Patriots rally down the stretch. Despite the two losses, as the deepest and most physically talented team in the Region Danville retains the #1 spot but it is very nearly a 1 and 1A with Wayne County at this point. The Admirals play at Russell County on Tuesday this week, at home against Somerset Thursday, and at East Jessamine Friday. 2. Wayne County – Wayne County hit the road this past week, winning 60-52 at Somerset on Tuesday and at 77-69 at West Jessamine on Friday. On Saturday, the Cardinals returned home and lost 67-56 to Warren Central, ending their 6-game winning streak and taking their first loss since the 0-3 meltdown in the Toyota Classic a few weeks ago. Wayne has struggled a bit with the more physical and athletic teams, particularly those that can apply ball pressure, force them out of their offense and requiring the three scorers (Weaver, Gehring, Spencer) to create their own shots, but if they settle into an offensive rhythm that allows them to move the ball comfortably they can score the ball better than anyone in the Region. Boyle County defends physically and is good at disrupting half-court sets, so this coming Tuesdays home game against the Rebels should be a good tournament preparation test for the Cardinals. Wayne also plays at Lexington Catholic on Friday to close out the regular season. 3. Lincoln County – The Patriots won impressively this past Tuesday in a 68-46 win at home against Mercer County, then lost 68-62 at District rival Danville on Friday. Despite a 16-12 record on the season, Lincoln County has shown moments of Region-winning capability, so they hold down the #3 spot as ‘best of the rest’ after the top two. The Patriots have also shown moments of mediocrity with some head-scratching losses. Senior guard Blake Smith has performed consistently all season, the younger players around him have been a bit more up-and-down. Defense is the key for Lincoln, their perimeter quickness can give any team trouble and they need easy buckets from it on those nights when they are not hitting on all cylinders offensively. The Patriots have a nice tournament warm-up week, playing at home against Lexington Catholic on Tuesday then traveling to play an improving Casey County team on Friday. 4. Mercer County– Mercer had a busy week, beating Russell County 61-45 on Monday, having their 6-game winning streak snapped 68-46 at Lincoln County on Tuesday, dropping a surprising 73-60 game at home against Casey County on Friday, then defeating Adair County 67-31 on Saturday. Lincoln County’s perimeter defenders gave Mercer some trouble on Tuesday, as the Titans struggled with turnovers and were held to 27% shooting in a game that was really never in doubt. The Patriots are not a team Mercer wants to be matched up with in the Region Tournament, they have been beaten soundly by them both times this season. The Titans don’t really have an inside scoring threat and rely heavily both on three-point shooting and perimeter players creating their own shot, so teams that can defend the individual skills of good perimeter players will have some success against Mercer. This week the Titans play only one game, at Madison Southern on Monday. 5. Boyle County – The Rebels opened the week with an impressive 64-42 road win at Southwestern where they shot 8-15 from behind the three-point arc. Boyle returned home to play Casey County on Thursday, grinding out a 77-70 victory in a game featuring over 50 fouls and a lot of time watching free throws being shot. The Rebels then dropped a surprising game at home to a struggling Bryan Station team on Friday, losing 67-49. Boyle County has a strong test and tournament preparation week ahead, playing at Region #2 Wayne County on Tuesday and at Oldham County on Thursday. 6. West Jessamine – The Colts faced two challenging opponents at home this week but dropped both games, losing 74-49 to 11th Region power Woodford County and 77-69 to Region #2 Wayne County. West played well at times against the Cardinals, taking a small lead into the 4thquarter, but Wayne County’s shooters got free for open shots on a couple of key possessions late and was able to pull away from the Colts. West has now lost six of seven games and seem to be in a downward spiral, although they have been going through a very difficult portion of the schedule. The Colts have the talent to make a strong tournament run, but they continue to struggle with a ‘my turn’ offensive mindset and a no-help approach to defense that allows opponents to comfortably isolate defenders. This combination makes them a high risk for an early tournament exit. West Jessamine will play a single game this week to close out the regular season, hosting a Paul Laurence Dunbar team on Tuesday they defeated back in December. 7. Somerset – Somerset lost two home games this past week, 93-69 to 13th Region power Knox Central on Monday and 60-52 to Region #2 Wayne County on Tuesday. Somerset also traveled to play Green County on Saturday, coming away with a 75-63 victory. The Briar Jumpers continue to knock on the door of the Region elite, they have a strong group of young perimeter scores and multiple ways of scoring, but they occasionally struggle on the defensive side of the ball which could potentially be the cause of an early tournament exit. Despite two wins over District rival Pulaski County this season, Somerset drew the more difficult matchup in the 47th as they will have to face an up-and-coming Casey County team. This week will be a challenge and an excellent tournament warmup as the Briar Jumpers host Garrard County on Tuesday and play at Danville on Thursday. 8. Pulaski County – Pulaski had two solid home wins this week, beating Estill County 87-49 on Tuesday and Southwestern 73-61 on Friday. Since their 30-point beat down at Lincoln County on January 8, the Maroons have played solid basketball, they are two single-possession losses away from being winners of ten straight and look to be one of the hot teams coming into tournament play. Pulaski prepares for District play this week with a game at Corbin on Tuesday, followed by a home game against an athletic Christian County team on Thursday. 9. Garrard County – Garrard beat an improving Casey County team at home 79-66 on Tuesday this past week, lost 84-61 at North Laurel on Thursday, and then won a 98-95 double OT thriller at Rockcastle County on Friday. Garrard played the latter two games without Senior Guard Brice Burkhart, his presence on the court is important as a three-point threat to help open things up for double-double machine Braden Sebastian (26.9 PPG, 10.2 RPG). The Golden Lions play at Somerset on Tuesday this week, then host Western Hills on Thursday to close out the regular season. 10. Casey County – The Rebels had a difficult road trip this week and only went 1-2, but they proved to the Region that they are a force to be reckoned with and they have become a threat to get past Somerset in District play and into the Region Tournament. Casey lost 79-66 Tuesday at Garrard, dropped a hard-fought 77-70 foul-fest Thursday night at Boyle County, then walked away with an impressive 73-60 victory on Friday over Region #4 Mercer. Casey plays three games at home this week, Monday against McCreary Central, Thursday against Taylor County and Friday vs. Lincoln County. 11. Southwestern – The Warriors had two tough home games this week and dropped them both, 64-42 to Boyle County on Tuesday and 73-61 to Pulaski County on Friday. The Warriors play Perry County Central at home on Tuesday this week, then travel to play Cordia on Friday to close out the regular season. 12. East Jessamine – East followed up their big win over West Jessamine with a busy road week, winning 61-59 at Western Hills on Monday, losing 87-68 at Bourbon County on Wednesday, then winning 71-56 at McCreary Central on Friday in a game where Senior Forward Tyler Pitney contributed 21 points and 15 rebounds. This week the Jaguars play Bluegrass United (homeschool) on Tuesday and host Region #1 Danville on Friday. 13. Rockcastle County – Rockcastle lost two very close games this past week, on Tuesday at Jackson County 84-82, and then 98-95 in double OT on Friday against Garrard County. The Rockets host Whitley County on Tuesday this week, South Laurel on Thursday, then complete the regular season on the road against Russell County on Friday. 14. McCreary Central – The Raiders lost 55-48 at Clinton County on Monday, and lost 71-56 to East Jessamine on Friday. This week they play at Casey County on Monday, host Cumberland Home School on Tuesday, and finish the regular season at home against Barbourville on Friday. 15. Burgin – Burgin defeated Kentucky School for the Deaf 57-20, and Cumberland Home School 71-31 this week, then lost 68-60 at Portland Christian on Saturday. The Bulldogs host Danville Christian on Tuesday this week and Jackson City on Thursday. 16. Danville Christian – The Warriors lost 81-78 to Cumberland Home School Monday, defeated Lee County 77-72 on Tuesday and lost 93-56 to Portland Christian on Friday. The Warriors also played at Heritage Academy on Saturday, coming away with a 64-62 victory. Danville Christian plays at Burgin this week, on Tuesday night. 17. Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) – KSD lost 57-20 to Burgin on Tuesday, then lost 50-26 to Georgia School for the Deaf in the KSD Homecoming Classic on Friday, 55-24 to Ohio School for the Deaf and 41-24 to North Carolina School for the Deaf on Saturday. KSD hosts the Danville Homeschool team on Tuesday this week, then plays at Oneida Baptist on Thursday. Key 12th Region Games of the Week: Monday, February 11 Mercer County at Madison Southern, 7:30 p.m. McCreary Central at Casey County, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 12 Boyle County at Wayne County, 7:30 p.m. Lexington Catholic at Lincoln County, 7:30 p.m. Paul Laurence Dunbar at West Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. Garrard County at Somerset, 7:30 p.m. Pulaski County at Corbin, 7:30 p.m. Perry County Central at Southwestern, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 14 Somerset at Danville, 7:30 p.m. Boyle County at Oldham County, 7:30 p.m. Christian County at Pulaski County, 7:30 p.m. Taylor County at Casey County, 7:30 p.m. Western Hills at Garrard County, 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 15 Danville at East Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. Wayne County at Lexington Catholic, 7:30 p.m. Lincoln County at Casey County, 7:30 p.m. Southwestern at Cordia, 7:30 p.m.

Believe it or not we have reached the final week of the regular season. Elliott County remains unblemished in regional play as the potential contenders continue to topple each other on a weekly basis. Rowan County took two losses this past week while Boyd County and East Carter saw winning streaks snapped as well. Lewis County has reeled off six straight wins to position themselves as contenders in March. Here is a look at this week's ratings: 1. ELLIOTT COUNTY (20-3) The Lions were challenged by both Morgan County and Boyd County and once again responded in typical Elliott County fashion. Gage Evans, Tanner Dickerson, and Collin Porter all complemented high-scoring Korbin Spencer in the wins. They will finish their season with Russell and their home finale against Ashland. 2. ROWAN COUNTY (22-4) The Vikings dropped two games to East Carter and Morgan County after a thrilling win over Ashland on Tuesday. The region's winningest team have won several close games throughout the season with clutch play from Mason Moore. They will wrap their successful season with a game with Fairview on Thursday. 3. BOYD COUNTY (20-9) The Lions notched their 20th win of the season over Floyd Central following a loss to Elliott County. Blake Stewart and Talbott Taylor have been as good as advertised for this high-scoring team. They will meet East Carter on Thursday to finish their regular season schedule. 4. LEWIS COUNTY (17-9) The Lions have now won six consecutive games heading into the final week of the season. The week was punctuated with a thrilling triple overtime win over West Carter on Friday. Tanner Willis made big plays down the stretch to push the Lions to the victory. Seth Wright and Sam O'Keefe have provided an impressive one-two punch for the Lions. The Lions end the season with Augusta and Bath County. 5. WEST CARTER (14-10) The Comets sandwiched wins over Russell and Bath County around the heart-breaking loss to Lewis County. Tyson Webb has been a spark plug lately for the very balanced Comet squad. The Comets take on Ashland Tuesday then end their season with 10th region school Bracken County. 6. EAST CARTER (10-13) The Raiders followed up a loss to improving Raceland with a huge win over Rowan County and a lopsided win over Fairview. Jordan Brooks provided the latest Riser buzzer beater in the win over Rowan County. The Raiders hit the road to end the season with games at Bath County and Boyd County. 7. MORGAN COUNTY (16-11) The Cougars may well be thinking what could have been at the end of this season. A loss at Elliott County insured they will take on the Lions in round one of the 62nd District tournament. The Cougars then defeated 22-win Rowan County for the second time this season on Saturday. Jake Helton has been a force the last couple weeks in the post. The Cougars take on Greenup County and Phelps this week. 8. ASHLAND (12-13)The Tomcats 2-2 split last week was a microcosm of their season up to this point. An impressive win over Spring Valley was followed by a strong effort in an one-point loss versus Rowan County. Ashland then got a road win over Bath County before a lackluster 64-44 loss to Johnson Central at home. The return of Cole Villers should ease the scoring load for the Tomcats. A busy final week will test ashland as they take on West Carter, Elliott County, and Russell. 9. RACELAND (13-11) The Rams had a strong win over red-hot East Carter on Tuesday then battled state ranked Cabell Midland to the wire in a close loss and ended the week with a road win over Menifee County. The perimeter-oriented Rams could be a tough out in the postseason. They will end their season with three games and the most important is Tuesday versus Greenup County that will decide the three and four seeds in the 63rd District. 10. RUSSELL (8-15) The Devils got a nice district win over Greenup County on Tuesday and then lost another late lead in a loss at West Carter. It was a costly loss as improving guard Jared Goodman suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Devils have led in twelve of their 15 losses in the fourth quarter this season. The Devils hope to reverse that trent this week with a tough game at Lawrence County and home games with Elliott County and rival Ashland. 11. FLEMING COUNTY (11-16) The Panthers notched a thrilling win over as sophomore Landen Lutz hit the game winner and scored a career high 21 points. The Panthers absorbed lopsided losses to Lewis County and Mason County as well. Fleming County will end their season with Sayre and Greenup County. 12. BATH COUNTY (11-17) The Wildcats are in the midst of a four-game losing streak despite playing some decent basketball. They played Ashland and West Carter tough behind the play of Jake Porter and Chandler Otis. The raid does not get easier with home games versus East Carter and Lewis County. 13. FAIRVIEW (9-18) The Eagles will try to end a four-game skid this week as they take on Tolsia and Rowan County. Noah King and Garrett Greene look to end their careers on a high note this week. The week was a struggle with losses to Morgan County, East Carter, and Lewis County. 14. GREENUP COUNTY (9-16) The Musketeers came from 15 down to beat Augusta 52-50 on Thursday but had losses to Russell and Wheelersburg to end the week at 1-2. Brady Nelson scored a career-high 33 points in the loss to Russell and has been on a scoring tear the last two week. Greenup County ends the season with four games including a big seed game matchup with Raceland on Tuesday. 15. MENIFEE COUNTY (9-18) The Wildcats almost had a 3-0 week but fell to Raceland 66-61 on Saturday after notching wins over Jackson City and Rose Hill earlier in the week. Estill County, Robertson County, and Williamstown make up the schedule this week. 16. ROSE HILL (4-22) The Royals got their fourth win of the season over Covenant last week. Johnny Wilburn continues to put up big numbers in a stellar junior season. The young Royals will end their season with game versus Tolsia and Raceland.

It's been another outstanding year for Kentucky high school basketball. We have one final week left in the regular season before we head to the main season. 1) Knott County Central (20-8): 93-50 W over June Buchanan, 93-66 W over Cordia, 58-51 L to George Rogers Clark. This week: 2/14 (Thurs) at Knox Central. Previous Rank: #1 The Patriots went 2 out of 3 this past week, picking up wins over two district foes, June Buchanan 93-50 and Corida 93-66. The Patriots suffered a not so bad loss to one of the states best in George Rogers Clark, 58-51. The Patriots will have one final opponent/game. It's a tough one as they travel to Knox Central (23-4) on Thursday night. 2) Breathitt County (17-8): 55-54 W at Sheldon Clark, 63-38 L vs. George Rogers Clark (Senior Day). This week: 2/12 (Tues) at #11 Leslie County, 2/15 (Fri) at #20 Newport, 2/16 (Sat) vs. Frankfort Christian. Previous Rank: #2. The Bobcats picked up a big road win this past week, defeating Sheldon Clark in a barn burner 55-54. The Bobcats would pay though as they would get picked apart by George Rogers Clark 63-38 on the Bobcats senior day. Breathitt County should have a decent week this week as they have a chance at picking up three more wins before heading into the 55th district tournament. 3) Perry County Central (12-11): 49-47 W vs. Hazard. This week: 2/12 (Tues) at Southwestern, 2/14 (Thurs) vs. #6 Letcher County Central. Previous Rank: #3. The Commodores, who had just one game all of last week, picked up a big win, defeating corsstown rival, Hazard Bulldogs 49-47. Perry County Central will look to stay afloat past .500 with their two games this week. 4) Hazard (21-7): 49-47 L at Perry County Central, 73-63 W vs. Leslie County, 56-55 L at Buckhorn. This week: 2/12 (Tues) at #6 Letcher County Central, 2/15 (Fri) at #10 Estill County. Previous Rank: #4. The Bulldogs seem to be losing some momentum as of late. Going 2-3 in their last 5 games. Prior to that, the Bulldogs had gone 19-4 with several long win streaks. Can Hazard get the momentum started back up with two final regular season games next week? 5) Buckhorn (19-9): 94-26 W vs. Pairist School, 63-60 W at Betsy Layne, 56-55 W vs. #4 Hazard. This week: 2/12 (Tues) at #12 Owsley County, 2/15 (Fri) vs. Frankfort Christian. Previous Rank: #5. Ever since their back to back losses at #10 Estill County (68-52) and #11 Leslie County (63-58), the Wildcats have been set off like a rocket, roaring past their opponents on to a 4 game win streak that includes a big big win over #4 Hazard. Can Buckhorn keep up the momentum this week with Owsley County and Frankfort Christian the remaining two games on their regular season schedule? 6) Letcher County Central (17-9): 65-52 W at East Ridge, 67-52 W vs. #8 Cordia, 69-55 L at Paintsville, 56-52 W at #8 Powell County. This week: 2/12 (Tues) vs. #4 Hazard, 2/14 (Thurs) at #14 Perry County Central. Previous Rank: #6. As the season end approaches, the Cougars seem to have things figured out. After starting and going most of the way through the season, up and down, the Cougars have put togeather a nice win streak (before the Paintsville loss) and have won 7 of their last 8 games. 7) Powell County (10-13): 73-66 W at #9 Wolfe County, 56-52 L vs. #6 Letcher County Central, 86-59 W vs. Eminence. This week: 2/12 vs. Montgomery County. Previous Rank: #8. Since Coach Dave Fraley retired and Blake Williams took over on interim basis, the Pirates have picked up win after win after win. They had won 5 straight and have won 7 of their last 9 games.That's a good sign as post season is just two weeks away. 8) Cordia (7-20): 67-52 L at #6 Letcher County Central, 93-66 L at #1 Knott County Central, 87-52 W at #14 June Buchanan, 49-48 W vs. Whitley County. This week: 2/12 (Tues) at Harlan County, 2/15 (Fri) vs. Southwestern. Previous Rank: #7. Cordia had struggled all season and continues to struggle due to their schedule being so brutal for a small school but the good news is, the Lions are 5-4 in their last 9 games. That's a lot better than what they went through during the seaosn. 9) Wolfe County (9-17): 73-66 L vs. #7 Powell County, 67-64 W vs. #12 Owsley County, 74-50 L at Sayre, 88-72 W vs. #10 Estill County. This week: 2/12 (Tues) at Oneida Baptist Institute, 2/15 (Fri) vs. Western Hills. Previous Rank: #9. Wolfe County contiues to struggle like they have all seaosn long. They haven't been able to put up but 1 back to back win this whole season. I got a feeling next week, the final regular season week, won't be too kind to the Wolves. 10) Estill County (8-18): 87-49 L at Pulaski County, 66-52 W at Berea, 88-72 L at #9 Wolfe County. This week; 2/12 (Tues) at Menifee County, 2/15 (Fri) vs. #4 Hazard. Previous Rank: #10. The Engineers started the new year out right and had a decent little run, going 4-2. However, Estill County has fallen off the face of the earth as they have only won 2 games since. They are 2-5 in their last 7 games. They have a rough week ahead of them, especially on senior night when #4 Hazard rolls into town. 11) Leslie County (6-17): 84-74 L vs. Harlan, 88-85 (OT) L vs. Oneida Baptist Institute, 73-63 L at #4 Hazard. Previous Rank: #11. Leslie County has dropped three straight and 4 of their last 6 games. 12) Owsley County (10-15): 67-64 L at #9 Wolfe County, 58-44 L at Pineville. This week: 2/12 (Tues) vs. #5 Buckhorn, 2/15 (Fri) vs. #14 Jackson City. Previous Rank: #12. Owsley County is 1-6 in their last 7 games. Includes multiple 3 game losing streaks. (13) June Buchanan (8-17): 93-50 L at #1 Knott County Central, 74-67 W at Jenkins, 87-52 L vs. #8 Cordia. This week: 2/11 (Mon) at Prestonsburg, 2/13 (Wed) vs. Magoffin County, 2/15 (Fri) at Betsy Layne. Previous Rank: #14. The Cursaders have been playing some decent ball lately, going 2-2 in their last 4 games. 14) Jackson City (6-18): 80-51 L at Menifee County, 67-51 L vs. Phelps, 74-68 L vs. Walden. This week: 2/12 (Tues) at #15 Lee County, 2/14 (Thurs) at Burgin, 2/15 (Fri) at #12 Owsley County. Previous Rank: #13. The Tigers have a had a rough season and it hasn't gotten any better. They have won just 2 games since January 1st. In fact, the Tigers are 2-8 since the new year rang in. 15) Lee County (6-22): 77-72 L at Danville Christian, 86-37 L at Red Bird. This week: 2/12 (Tues) vs. #14 Jackson City, 2/15 (Fri) at Berea. Previous Rank: #15. The Bobcats have struggled this whole season but they have won 6 games, that's more than what they did all of last season. They have a young team and once these players get more playing time and start growing as a team, it could turn them back into the old Lee County Bobcats, when star guards Aaron Charles and Kenny Brandenburg where there shooting the lights out of the basketball. 16) Riverside Christian (0-0): No games for the Rams this season.

The same old song and dance continues in the 16th Region. Elliott County was tested for the first time by a region opponent as Rowan County fought them to the final horn. It gives the rest of the region a possible blueprint for an upset once postseason play begins. The rest of the region continues to play competitive games that have resulted in some surprising results such as East Carter shocking Morgan County in Grayson. Should we just throw numbers 2-14 in a hat and pull them out? This week's matchups may provide some clarity to the rankings but don't hold your breath. We try to rate teams how they are currently playing. 1. ELLIOTT COUNTY (13-2) The Lions got a hard-fought win in Morehead over Rowan County last Thursday. Korbin Spencer continues to show why he is the region's best player evidenced by his 30 point average. He is also one of the top rebounders in the region. The Lions now set their sights on another All A region title. They will play host Fairview in the semifinals on Tuesday night. 2. ROWAN COUNTY (15-2) The Vikings have the most wins of any team in the region. They have in-region losses vs Morgan County and Elliott County. Mason Moore has proven to be the addition this Vikings team needed. The Vikings can cement their position as the biggest threat to Elliott County this week. The go on the road to face Russell and Lewis County before facing the challenge of 10th region favorite Campbell County in the Lake Kelly Classic at Fleming County. 3. LEWIS COUNTY (11-6) The Lions recorded a solid win over district rival Greenup County 57-41 on Friday. Stoney Lykins sparked the Lions offense with 17 points off the bench. A big week awaits the Lions with matchups versus perennial region contenders Boyd County and Rowan County followed by a tough tilt with Hazard at the Lake Kelly Classic. A very telling week for the Lions. 4. ASHLAND (8-7) The Tomcats got healthy dose of Scott County on Saturday night after notching a key district win over Fairview. Seniors Devaunte Robinson and Hunter Mays continue to shoulder the scoring burden for the Tomcats. The question remains when or if Cole Villers will return to action? Rose Hill and Boyd County provide the opposition this week. 5. MORGAN COUNTY (13-6) The Cougars have made it clear they are the region's Jekyll and Hyde team this season. The Cougars have solid wins over Rowan County and Lewis County along with head-scratching losses to Russell and East Carter. Blake Evans was on fire from trey-land as the Cougars went 2-2 and also advanced to the state 2A championships in Owensboro where they will face Glasgow on Friday morning. 6. WEST CARTER (9-5) The Comets have steadily remained a top 6-7 team in the region. Their aggressive, hard-nosed play keeps them in games almost every night out. Ethan Adkins and Rodney Evans have been instrumental in the Comets' turnaround this season. They begin All A region action tonight versus Menifee County in Westwood. 7. BOYD COUNTY (10-7) The Lions split games this week with an easy win over Rose Hill and a competitive 10-point loss to Johnson Central. The Lions are still searching for a consistent third scorer to complement Blake Stewart and Talbott Taylor. Coach randy Anderson will find out a lot more about his teams with games against Lewis County, Huntington (Wva), and a third matchup with Ashland. 8. FLEMING COUNTY (9-9) The Panthers made a big jump this week with a key district win over Bath County and a competitive loss at Rowan County. Coach Chris Stapleton has his Panthers believing they can win and it has them at .500. They will travel to a suddenly resurgent East Carter Tuesday and host Boone County on Saturday at the Lake Kelly Classic. 9. EAST CARTER (3-11) A three-win team at #9? The Raiders notched a huge upset behind versatile big man Jordan Brooks last week. This squad has been steadily improving. We will see if their jump in the rankings is justified as they take on Fleming County, Greenup County, and Bath County this week. 10. RUSSELL (5-11) The Red Devils are also an intriguing team. They have led many of their games into the fourth quarter. The one team they have held the against is Raceland. Charlie Jachimczuk is on a roll the last three games scoring at a 25.6 clip for the Devils. Russell hosts Rowan County and Bath County this week at The Fireplace. 11. RACELAND (7-8) The Rams seem to take a step forward then two steps back. The Rams fell at home to Russell and then were beaten at Fairview in the first round of the All A regional on Saturday. Greg Mershon and Andrew both had big games in the two losses. The rams look to get back on track with home games vs Sciotoville (OH) and an improved Phelps squad. 12. GREENUP COUNTY (6-10) The turnover bug continues to plague the Musketeers against better competition. Brady Nelson and Eli Raby have been consistent scorers all season. This week gets no easier with games against Mason County, East Carter, and West Carter. 13. BATH COUNTY (8-11) The Wildcats are another team that just can't consistently play solid basketball. A loss to Montgomery was followed by another district loss to Fleming County. The Wildcats drilled Rose Hill to open All A regional play and will face the West Menifee winner on Wednesday at Fairview with a spot in the finals on the line. 14. FAIRVIEW (7-10) The Eagles are another team that could also be in the Top 10. Noah King has become a great scorer and Garrett Greene has continued to rebound and score well. The Eagles got a ice win over Raceland and will host Elliott County in the All A semifinals on Tuesday. 15. MENIFEE COUNTY (7-13) The Wildcats recorded a win over Lee County last week while absorbing two losses. Coach Tim Swatz agrees with us on the fact that the Wildcats need a signature win. 16. ROSE HILL (2-17) The Royals continue to fight an uphill battle this season. A date with Ashland will be followed by a winnable game with Sciotoville (OH) later this week.

1. John Hardin (17-0): The Bulldogs amazing season continues with winning all four games which included winning their section in the 2A Tournament. They beat Adair County on the road 73-33, beat district foe Central Hardin in a nail biter 68-67 at home, beat Larue County 64-63 in a classic game, and beat Christian Academy Louisville 84-52 to win their section. What John Hardin has done so far has been tremendous. All they have done is continue to win, no matter who it is against. They have won three games by one point this year, which shows how good they are in late close games. In the win over Central Hardin, Aaron Scott led them with 21 points and 5 made threes. 2. Larue County (13-3): The Hawks played in the 2A Tournament and won one game and lost the other game. Larue County beat Nelson County 66-44 and lost in a heartbreaking fashion to John Hardin 64-63. Larue lost to John Hardin in the closing seconds, just like the year before in the region title. The loss hurt for Larue I am sure, but they know that they are right there with John Hardin. I will be very surprised if John Hardin and Larue don’t play again and if they do, we can only hope for another great game. Noah Davis led Larue County in points in the win against Nelson County. 3. Central Hardin (11-6): The Bruins played two games this week where they won one game and lost the other. The Bruins lost to district foe John Hardin 68-67 on the road in a great team effort, and they beat district opponent Fort Knox 57-14. Central Hardin almost got a massive statement win against John Hardin, but they couldn’t win the close contest. Central Hardin is the third best team in the region, but are very capable of making a run at the region title, as they could beat both Larue and John Hardin. In the loss to John Hardin, Jacob Hobbs had 27 points and 11 rebounds. 4. Taylor County (12-4): The Cardinals played two games this week with one win and a loss in the 2A Tournament. They beat Monroe County 88-53 at home and lost to Christian Academy Louisville 68-66 at Christian Academy Louisville. The Cardinals have been a good team this year, but they haven’t shown the consistency to be a top 3 team in the Region so far. Taylor loses three starters, so the Cardinals will try to make another magical postseason run. Kybrin Smith led Taylor with 21 points and 8 rebounds in the loss to Christian Academy Louisville. 5. Marion County (12-5): The Knights played just one game this week and that was the 2A Tournament which they lost. Marion County lost to Desales 70-67 at home. Marion had a great start to the year, but they have struggled some lately as they have lost three out of their last four games. Overall though, Marion has been very good and has competed against some good teams. John Adams led Marion with 19 points in their loss against Desales. 6. Elizabethtown (9-7): The Panthers played four games this week and won three of them. They beat district opponent Fort Knox 76-34 on the road, they beat North Hardin in a dandy 65-64 at home, they beat Meade County 70-63 on the road, and lost to Butler 76-64 in the Bluegrass Cellular New Year’s Eve Classic. The Panthers are playing their best ball of the season right now. This is a team who have shown to be a good team after expectations were this was going to be a rebuilding year. Camden Williams had 34 points in the win over North Hardin including the game winning basket. 7. Washington County (10-4): The Commanders won both their games this week. They beat district opponent Nelson County 69-55 on the road and beat Model 76-60 at home. This is a Washington County team who has a lot of experience and it has shown, as they have won six out of their last seven games. When you think of good teams in the 5th Region, you don’t hear Washington mentioned, but they are a very solid team. Drew Yates had 35 points in the win over Nelson County. 8. Bardstown (9-9): The Tigers played two games this week and won both against district teams. They beat Bethlehem 59-46 on the road and beat Thomas Nelson 68-57 at home. The Tigers have been inconsistent so far this year, but this week was a good week. The best part for Bardstown is, they should be a team that competes in the regional tournament once again this year. Tereylin Calbert had 26 points in the win over Thomas Nelson and hit an insane 8 threes in the game. 9. Adair County (8-8): The Indians played one game this week in the 2A Tournament in which they lost. Adair County lost to John Hardin 73-33 at home. This was a bad draw for the Indians, but they still did not put up a very good showing. Adair has been better than expected, but they have struggled some lately. Jordan Simpson had 10 points in the loss to John Hardin. 10. Campbellsville (7-9): The Eagles played one game this week in which they won. They beat Hart County 86-78 at home in a high scoring affair. The Eagles have started the year slow, but hope to get it going before postseason, like they did last year. Malachi Corley is back for Campbellsville and he led the Eagles with 26 points and 9 rebounds in the win over Hart County. 11. North Hardin (5-13): The Trojans played two games and they lost both. They almost got a great statement win, but lost at the buzzer. The record isn’t good, but it would be hard to find a better 5-13 team in the state. 12. Hart County (4-10): The Raiders played one game this week which ended in a loss. They were without John Shoulders for a while due to injury, but it has really been a struggle lately. They have won one out of their last nine games. 13. Thomas Nelson (9-8): The Generals lost both games this week. They are still one win away from double digit wins, which would be a huge accomplishment compared to last year’s season. 14. Green County (6-10): The Dragons only played one game and it was a district win. Green County really needed that win, as they stopped a four-game losing streak by picking up that win. 15. Bethlehem (3-11): The Eagles played one district game this week and it was a loss. It has been a rough season for the Eagles, but with a new coach and a young squad, you expect it to get better. 16. Caverna (1-13): The Colonels played three games this week and lost all three games. It’s been a rough season, as they are currently on a thirteen-game losing streak. 17. Nelson County (1-18): The Cardinals played in three games this week and lost all three games. It has been a disappointing year as they have lost ten games in a row. 18. Fort Knox (1-10): The Eagles played two district games this week and lost both games. They are in a five game losing streak and to make matters worse, they have all been blowout losses.

1. Breckenridge County Tigers (14-2) SAME The Tigers continued to roll this week, running their winning streak to 10 games. On Tuesday, they rolled into Daviess County and took down the Panthers 79-63. Kobe Poole looked unstoppable at times, on his way to 36 points. Poole became the Tigers all-time leading scorer, moving past Breckenridge County legend Adam Mattingly. Mattingly, along with current head Coach Patrick Critchelow led Breck to a state championship and would go on to win a Division II national title at Kentucky Wesleyan. Congrats to Kobe! They followed that up with an 88-68 win over North Bullitt. Poole had 24 points and 8 rebounds, while Cole Tabor chipped in 16. They host Apollo on Tuesday before heading to Grayson County to close out the week. 2. Owensboro Red Devils (9-6) SAME Owensboro had their lone game of the week snowed out. Word on the street is 6-5 Brennan Williams will return to the Devils lineup this week. Keep your eye on that development as they host Grayson County and Daviess County this week. 3. Owensboro Catholic Aces (11-5) SAME Owensboro Catholic got back on the winning side of things this week, starting with an 87-51 blowout win over Whitesville Trinity. Freshman Jai Webb led the Aces with 16. This weekend they won the All-A semifinal matchup against Mclean County 77-61. They will rematch Trinity for the All-A title this week before closing out the week on the road at Apollo. 4. Muhlenberg County Mustangs (9-6) SAME Muhlenberg County suffered a big setback this week, dropping a 10th district game to Mclean County 47-41. That sets up a huge rematch at Ohio County on Friday night that could end up determining which team gets a bye into the regional tournament. Before then, they will face Hopkins Central on Monday. 5. Ohio County Eagles (10-7) SAME The Hartford Eagles had an up and down week, starting with a 49-44 loss against red hot Grayson County. Trey Lewis scored 14 in defeat. They bounced back with a 64-50 win against Trigg County. The Eagles host Barren County on Tuesday before their district showdown with Muhlenberg County on Friday. 6. Meade County Greenwave (8-8) UP 1 The Waves got above 500 for a short period of time early in the week with a 71-36 win over Hancock County. Chezney Wieck scored 16 in the win. They fell back to an even record with a tough loss against Elizabethtown, 70-63. Meade has a chance to stay above the 500 mark this week with games against North Hardin and Hancock County. 7. Butler County Bears (11-6) UP 3 The Bears bounced back this week and have now won 5 of 6 games. They scored a blowout win over Cloverport to start the week. Parker Rice had 25. Butler followed that up with an impressive district win over Grayson County 52-46. Hurt had 13 and Leevi McMillen was huge off the bench, chipping in 8. The win ended a 4 game win streak for Grayson County. The Bears have another big 12th district game on Friday, hosting Whitesville Trinity. 8. Whitesville Trinity Raiders (10-6) DOWN 2 Whitesville opened the week with a tough loss at Owensboro Catholic but they were able to put that loss behind them in All-A tournament play, scoring consecutive wins over Edmonson County in overtime and a blowout against Cloverport. Those wins moved the Raiders into the All-A championship against Owensboro Catholic. They also have games this week against Muhlenberg and a district game vs Butler County. 9. Daviess County Panthers (6-9) DOWN 1 Daviess County battled tough this week against great competition. Tuesday, they fell at home to Breckenridge County, 79-63. They followed that up with a hard fought loss to Warren East. The constant for Coach Hayden has been Dakota Walden. He averaged 27 points per game last week, upping his season average to 25 per outing. The Panthers take their show on the road this week with road games at Edmonson County, Owensboro and Whitesville Trinity. 10. Grayson County Cougars (7-11) DOWN 1 The Cougars opened the week running their win streak to 4 straight with a 49-44 win over Ohio County. Nolan Shartzer led the way with 17 and Spencer Sharp added 16. Their run came to an end on Saturday with a tough district loss to Butler County. They head to Owensboro on Tuesday before returning home with games against Cloverport and Breckenridge County to close out the week. 11. Mclean County Cougars (6-9) UP 1 Keep your eyes on Mclean County. They have competed well all season long and finally got over the hump with a huge district win against Muhlenberg County on Tuesday. Jacob Clark led the way with 18 points, while Brady Dame added a double double with 12 points and 10 boards. Clark was big again, in their All-A win over Hancock County, scoring 29! The Cougars dropped their All-A semifinal to Owensboro Catholic. Mclean hosts Lyon County in their lone game this week. 12. Edmonson County Wildcats (7-10) DOWN 1 The Cats split a pair of games this week, knocking off Thomas Nelson 76-64 before falling in All-A action against Whitesville Trinity in overtime. Edmonson returns home for a game against Daviess County before heading to Hart County to finish the week. 13. Apollo Eagles (1-15) SAME Apollo was off this week but they get back to action in a big way, with games against Breckenridge County, Owensboro Catholic and Evansville Central. 14. Hancock County Hornets (4-11) SAME The Hornets dropped games this week to Meade County and then in All-A competition against Mclean County. They are back in action at Meade County on Friday. 15. Cloverport Aces (0-13) SAME Cloverport continues to struggle, dropping games to Butler County and Whitesville Trinity this past week. They head to Grayson County before returning home against Dawson Springs to close the week. 3rd REGION PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Kobe Poole - Breckenridge County - 19 points per game this season - Became Breckenridge Counties All-Time Leading Scorer with 36 vs Daviess County this past week. GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK: TUE - Barren County at Ohio County, Grayson County at Owensboro FRI - Breckenridge County at Grayson County, 9th District Games (Daviess at Owensboro, Catholic at Apollo), 10th district battle - Muhlenberg County at Ohio County SAT - Daviess County at Whitesville Trinity ALL A CHAMPIONSHIP - Whitesville Trinity vs Owensboro Catholic at Hancock County

The 10th didn't exactly distinguish itself in the week 5 holiday tournaments - with one exception. Our "powerhouses" aren't so powerful at the moment - maybe a new calendar year will ring in better results. 1. Campbell County (9-3, 2-0 region, 0-0 district). The Camels went 2-1 in the Central Bank Classic at Lexington Christian, routing Oldham County and West Jessamine; while falling to the host school in a two-point nailbiter. Big man Reid Jolly is still averaging a double-double; while senior guard Drew Wilson actually gets to the line a bit more often and averages over 19PPG. Campbell begins its regional schedule in earnest this week. facing off against Mason County and 37th district foe Bishop Brossart. 2. Clark County (10-4, 2-1 region, 1-0 district). GRC finished 6th in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic last week. Their first matchup was a thriller; falling to eventual tourney runnerup Newport in overtime 65-62. According to BGP crack reporting staff at the scene, the Cardinals were ahead by 3 and shooting the 1-and-1 with less than 1:40 to play in the OT, but failed to convert and were plagued by turnovers down the stretch. Brennan Canada joined the ,000-point club in the loss. Wins over Knoxville's Webb H.S. and Bryan Station got the Cards into the 5th place game, where they fell to Frederick Douglass 66-58. The Cardinals entertain Paris on Friday, then face off against Wayne County in the Patriot Classic at Lincoln County on Saturday. 3. Bourbon County (9-5, 4-1 region, 1-1 district). Coach Campbell's Colonels ran the table last week at the Mountain Schoolboy Classic in Pike County (Belfry) and as a result, jumps one spot in this week's rankings. Their only regional blemish continues to be a head-scratching loss to Montgomery County at home in early December. Through 9 games of stats, Bourbon had four players averaging in double figures - seniors CaMarr Myers, Jace Wallace, Billy Murphy and junior Nakyir Joyce. Calvary Christian and Powell County are on tap this week. 4. Scott (6-5, 4-0 region, 0-0 district). As mentioned above, Scott drops a spot (to Bourbon) and was idle last week. The Eagles return to the hardwood on Friday against Highlands and hope that Chad Ohmer - who has missed five games - all of which were losses - gets back to full strength soon. 5. Bishop Brossart (8-6, 1-0 region, 0-0 district). The Mustangs went 2-1 in Henry County's tournament last week, falling in the final by 8 to a nice Grant County squad. The Mustangs crushed Garrard County in the opener, then defeated the host school by sixteen behind J.D. Schumacher's 18 points and an impressive 9 steals from Carson Schirmer. Holmes and Campbell County are up this week. 6. Pendleton County (9-7, 5-3 region, 3-0 district). It's tough placing the Wildcats accurately in week 5, as they were without the services of all-stater Dontaie Allen for all three of their games in the Ashland Invitational tournament. I think we all know that Pendleton is a COMPLETELY different team with number 11 on the court; and perhaps the 6th-place ranking is a bit artificially high based on the body of work early on. Cody Sullican paced the Cats with 20 in the opening A.I.T. loss to Seneca; but no one on the squad other than D. A. averages double figures. At Sayre this Friday; the Cats' only action in week 6. 7. Montgomery County (6-6, 2-3 region, 1-1 district). The Indians went 2-1 in their own Gateway Classic in week 5; defeating Rockcastle by 7 and Middlesboro before falling to Frankfort 79-63. Another squad with a one-game week; at Madison Southern on Friday. 8. Mason County (6-7, 3-2 region, 2-0 district). Coach Kirk's charges also went 2-1 at Montgomery County's tourney, losing the opener to Frankfort 94-68, but bouncing back against West Carter and Rockcastle County; with balanced scoring as four Royals reached double figures against the Rock. Mason County's only week 6 action is at regional number one Campbell County. 9. Robertson County (10-4, 4-2 region, 1-1 district). The Black Devils stepped onto the big stage at LexCath's holiday affair, falling big to Simon Kenton (101-65) and being harassed by the 'neers' pressure; then losing by 43 to Frederick Douglass (no slouch) before getting a big win over 3-10 Hancock County. St. Patrick and Augusta (away and home) this Thursday and Friday. 10. Paris (3-9, 2-2 region, 1-2 district). The Greyhounds were idle last week, and return to action at Clark County on Friday. 11. Harrison County (3-10, 0-4 region, 0-2 district). Harrison won their first contest at the Gateway Classic, defeating West Carter 59-54 before being unceremoniously thumped by Frankfort and falling to Middlesboro. Spencer Free is one of the region's top scorers at nearly 24 per game. A tough stretch of games begins this week; home to Frederick Douglass and at Beechwood. 12. Calvary Christian (7-3, 3-12 region, 1-0 district). Idle last week, the Cougars take on Bourbon County and {Portland Christian this week. CC puts up over 70 points per game, but the schedule is what it is. 13. Bracken County (5-7, 2-4 region, 1-1 district). Coach Hinson's Polar Bears split a pair of games against Ohio competition last week, falling to Cincinnati Mariemont before rallying to defeat Cincinnati Gamble Montessori behind guards Jhace Cummins and Kason Hinson. The Bears have already equaled last season's win total, and look to get to .500 with home games against Bellevue and Williamstown. 14. Nicholas County (4-8, 1-5 region, 1-2 district). The Bluejackets went 2-1 at Williamstown last week, eclipsing the 90-point mark in their victories over Dayton and Dawson Springs. Nicholas travels to Bath County on Friday. 15. Augusta (2-11, 2-4 region, 1-1 district). Augusta lost to the same two squads that Bracken County faced in Ripley, and are on the wrong end of a four-game skid. Robertson County and West Union (Ohio) this week. 16a. Silver Grove (3-7, 1-1 region, 1-1 district). The Big Trains were idle last week and travel to Maysville to take on St. Patrick on Saturday to see which of the two teams will stay out of the cellar. 16b. St. Patrick (0-15, 0-4 region, 0-2 district). The Saints are improving, but still don't have a win to show for it. They have a real chance on Saturday when they lace them up against Silver Grove after hosting Robertson County on Thursday. Here's the stat of the week. While it's no surprise that UK commit Dontaie Allen leads the state in scoring at 42.9 PPG and rebounds at 14.2; St. Patrick's Riley Mastin - an 8th grader - leads the Commonwealth in free-throw percentage at 93.3 (42-45).

1. South Laurel (12-1 overall, 4-0 vs. 13th Region opposition) The Cardinals are winners of 12 straight after posting a 3-0 record in the Legacy Nissan Dribble Drive Challenge. They were able to capture two Tournament titles during Christmas Break, and will face-off against Harlan County for the second time this season on Saturday during the Raymond Reed Classic. 2. Clay County (14-0, 4-0) The Tigers are rolling, and look quite impressive. Glenn Gray’s squad hasn’t lost yet this season, and added another tournament championship after winning the Cumberland Falls Invitational Tournament this past week by defeating Corbin in the finals, 70-59. Clay County is for real folks, and will get another chance at showing just how good it is on Thursday with a home game against North Laurel. 3. Knox Central (10-2, 2-1) The Panthers continue to look impressive after posting a 7-1 mark since their loss to Clay County in early December. Tony Patterson’s squad takes care of business each game out, and has been doing it in impressive fashion. Knox Central has a solid group of players that is talented enough to make another run at the 13th Region title. If people believe the region is only a two team race between South Laurel and Clay County, they’re in for a rude awakening. 4. Harlan County (11-4, 4-2) The Black Bears are another team that has been quietly putting together a solid season. Harlan County posted a combined 4-2 mark during the two tournaments it participated in over the holidays, including an impressive run in South Laurel’s legacy Nissan Dribble Drive Challenge. Michael Jones’ squad reaches the finals of the tournament before falling to South Laurel in the finals, 52-45. The game was close throughout, and the Black Bears showed they have enough talent to win the 13th Region championship. 5. North Laurel (8-6, 3-2) The Jaguars remain in the top five, but barely. Coach Brad Sizemore’s squad has been struggling as of late, going 3-6 over its past nine games after starting the season with five straight wins. North Laurel has the talent to surprise this season, but needs to continue to improve in some spots. Eighth grader Reed Sheppard continues to impress along with post player Landon Young. 6. Corbin (7-3, 4-2) Injuries haven’t slowed down the Redhounds, who advanced to the finals of the Cumberland Falls Invitational before falling to Clay County, 70-59. Corbin will host its second tournament during the past two weeks beginning today. The Redhounds will host the 13th Region Class 2A Tournament with hopes of brining a region championship home. Tony Pietrowski’s squad will open tournament play against Bell County, a team Corbin defeated last week, 64-49. If the Redhounds get past the Bobcats, they’ll face-off against the winner of Jackson County and Knox Central in the title game. 7. Bell County (6-6, 2-5) The Bobcats can’t seem to find much consistency, but remain at the No. 7 spot. Bell County posted a 2–1 record in last week’s Cumberland Falls Invitational Tournament with hopes of having an even better effort in this week’s 13th Region Class 2A Tournament. The big concern to me is The Bobcats’ 2-5 mark against regional opponents. 8. Barbourville (10-3, 8-1) The Tigers turned in solid play over Christmas break by posting a 3-0 record in last week’s Pineville Mountain Classic Barbourville had two key wins against teams (Pineville and Williamsburg) they could be facing in next week’s 13th Region All ‘A’ Classic Tournament. The Tigers will have two key district games this week against Pineville and Lynn Camp. 9. Harlan (10-5, 3-4) The Green Dragons have turned in two consecutive impressive showings in separate holiday tournaments during Christmas Break. They’ve won six games in a row, and are considered by many as the front-runners in next week’s 13th Region All ‘A’ Classic Tournament. An interesting tidbit is who Harlan will open up against in the first round of the tournament — Barbourville. If the Green Dragons aren’t the team to beat, the Tigers are. 10. Middlesboro (8-4, 3-3) The Yellow Jackets are coming on strong after getting off to a somewhat slow start. Middlesboro posted a 2– record in last week’s Gateway Holiday Classic with its lone loss coming to Montgomery County. 11. Williamsburg (6-6, 4-6) The Yellow Jackets remain a dangerous team, but can’t seem to get any consistency going so far. 12. Lynn Camp (7-2, 4-1) The Wildcats continue to surprise and have three keys 51st District games coming up against Barbourville, Knox Central and Pineville. 13. Whitley County (9-6, 0-4) The Colonels are looking good, and seem to be improving each game, but an 0-4 mark against regional opponents keep me from moving them up any higher. 14. Red Bird (5-4, 3-3) The Cardinals were winners of three straight before falling to Barbourville on Dec. 14. Red Bird will try to get back in track today at home against Buckhorn after taking more than two weeks off due to Christmas Break. 15. Pineville (5-9, 1-7) The Mountain Lions recorded a big win over Jackson County, and continue to improve. 16. Jackson County (4-10, 1-7) The Generals aren’t winning, but they are improved. They’ve played some of the better teams in the region close, and recorded a nice win over Williamsburg. 17. Oneida Baptist (2-6, 2-4) The Mountaineers so own wins over both Pineville and Jackson County, but they’ve lost four in a row since those respective victories.

A week full of holiday tournaments have passed and the season is in full swing. This past week some of the top teams in the region made some statements while others are still trying to find their identity. One team is not only starting to distance themselves from the rest of the region but maybe the state as a whole. Lets get to the rankings! Team Rankings 1. Scott County (13-0) - The Cardinals traveled to Myrtle Beach this week for the prestigious Beach Ball Classic and at the time of this post are preparing to play in the championship game against Westchester, California. During the impressive run by Scott County this week they knocked off host Socastee, SC, Cox Mill, North Carolina who is currently ranked 19th in the country by Max Preps, North Little Rock, Arkansas, another team ranked in the top 25 in the country by Max Preps. The biggest news to come from the Scott County camp though unfortunately is the loss of Michael Moreno for 4-6 weeks with a fracture in his foot that he sustained against Cox Mill. Glenn Covington has picked up the slack pouring in 31 points in a semifinal win over North Little Rock. This team is loaded and deep, the loss of Moreno will hurt but Im not sure anyone in KY will be able to handle Scott County in the mean time. 2. Frankfort (11-2) - The Panthers continue to impress this season. This past week Frankfort won the Gateway Holiday Classic in Montgomery County with 3 wins over Mason County, Harrison County, and host Montgomery County. None of the 3 games were remotely close and Juanya Frank continues to lead the way for the Panthers with help from big man John Tillman. Only one game on the schedule this week for Frankfort but its a HUGE one with Woodford County visiting the state capital Friday night in a big district seeding matchup. 3. Lexington Christian Academy (10-3) - The Eagles captured the Central Bank Classic this week with wins over Conner, Campbell County, and Central Hardin. In the win over Campbell County senior Kyle Rode connected on a lob play over 3 Camels with less then 7 seconds left to give LCA a big win over a quality opponent. This week LCA hosts Lexington Catholic and Paul Laurence Dunbar in 2 big district seeding games. Two wins would really establish LCA as the 1 seed in the ever tough 43rd District. 4. Henry Clay (11-3) - The Blue Devils headed to Ashland this past week for the Ashland Invitational Tournament. Henry Clay finished 3rd with a semi final loss to Butler, a team they beat just last week, and wins over Christian Academy of Louisville and Seneca. Marques Warrick was named to the all tournament team and continues to prove himself to doubters. He is by far and away the best player on the Blue Devils and one of the best in the state. Three games on the schedule for the Blue Devils this week with district games against Sayre and Scott County and a game in the Kentucky/Indiana Hall of Fame Classic at New Castle, Indiana. 5. Woodford County (9-3) - The Yellow Jackets traveled to Daytona, Florida this past week and finished 3rd in the Father Lopez Holiday Tournament with wins over Gateway and Canterbury out of Florida and a loss to Frederick Douglass Academy out of the Bronx. This week just one game but as mentioned above its a big one against Frankfort. Cant wait for that matchup. 6. Tates Creek (8-3) - The Commodores were idle this past week after their tournament win in Gatlinburg. This week they hit the road to Franklin County and Lafayette. The next hurdle for these Commodores is to win a district game. The Commodores have lost 37 straight 43rd District games. The last win came against Lafayette in December of 2014!! A big chance to end that streak Friday against the Generals. 7. Lafayette (8-6) - The Generals are starting to find their stride as they ended the week with a championship at the City of Middletown Holiday Classic with wins over DuPont Manual, Mayfield, and Central. This week Lafayette hosts Bryan Station and then an interesting district matchup with Tates Creek. 8. Madison Central (6-7) - The Indians traveled to the Lake Cumberland Holiday Classic and finished 1-2 on the week with a win over Newport Central Catholic and losses to Somerset and Aiken out of Cincinnati, OH. Three games on the schedule this week for the Indians as they host Paul Laurence Dunbar and Bryan Station then head to New Castle, Indiana to play in the Kentucky/Indiana Hall of Fame Classic against Heritage Hills, Indiana. 9. Lexington Catholic (5-10) - The Knights finish the week 2-2 in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic with wins over Bellevue and Franklin County and losses to Newport and Landstown, Virginia. This week the Knights head to LCA and host St. Henry. 10. Frederick Douglass (6-6) - A good week for the Broncos as they finished 3-1 in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic and won the consolation bracket. After a loss to eventual champion University Heights the Broncos reeled off 3 straight wins over Robertson County, Bardstown, and George Rogers Clark. This week the Broncos hit the road to Madison Southern and Harrison County. 11. Paul Laurence Dunbar (5-7) - The Bulldogs finished the week 1-2 in the City of Middletown Holiday Classic with losses to Central and Eastern and a win over Atherton. The Bulldogs are one of the better defensive teams in the region but are really struggling to score on the offensive end which has resulted in a lot of close losses. This week PLD heads to Madison Central and LCA. 12. Franklin County (7-7) - The Flyers competed in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic this past week and finished 1-2 with a win over Hancock County and losses to Lexington Catholic and Cooper. A good week of quality opponents for the Flyers. This week they host Tates Creek and "rival" Western Hills. 13. Madison Southern (8-7) - The Eagles traveled to Campbellsville this past week for the Campbellsville High School Holiday Classic and finished 1-2 with a win over Green County and losses to Marion County and Campbellsville. This week they host Frederick Douglass and Montgomery County. 14. Model (9-5) - The Patriots continue to play good basketball with a championship in the Beth Haven Holiday Classic with 3 wins over Brown, Shawnee, and Kentucky Country Day. Up next the Patriots head to Berea. 15. Bryan Station (2-11) - The Defenders competed in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic this past week and finished 1-2 with a win over Bellevue and losses to Deltona, Florida and George Rogers Clark. Station's 2 wins are against teams with a combined 6-18 record. This week they head to Lafayette and Madison Central. 16. Berea (8-5) - The Pirates finished the week 2-1 in the Grand Home Furnishings Holiday Classic in Wise, Virginia with wins over Wise County Christian and Northwood both out of Virginia and a loss to Eastside, Virginia. This week the Pirates host Model and Bluegrass United Homeschool. 17. Sayre (2-10) - The Spartans finished the week 0-3 as part of the South Central Bank Halton Classic at Allen County Scottsville with losses to Allen County Scottsville, Todd County Central, and Franklin Simpson. This week Sayre hosts Henry Clay and Pendleton County. 18. Western Hills (2-8) - The Wolverines ended up competing in the Henry County Invitational and finished 1-2 with losses to Grant County and Boone County and a win over Iroquois. This week Western Hills heads to Franklin County in a district matchup. Games of the Week Friday January 4th Woodford County @ Frankfort Tates Creek @ Lafayette Scott County @ Henry Clay

We all love this game. We remember coaches and teammates for the rest of our lives. We replay games and even specific plays in our minds as we get older. But alas, it is a mere game. When a member of the basketball brotherhood passes away, even those of us that were not close to him feel the loss. I only knew Bob Burkhart from Starbucks and even then, we never exchanged names. I remember he gave my son a High-Five once and I have read stories about him training young officials and leaving a positive mark in this community. I am reminded of a time when Jesus told a crowd of people “whatever you do for the least of these, you do to me.” It sounds like Bobby did some good things for anyone who crossed his path. So as we look at my rankings and enjoy the good competition this week (Friday and Saturday are loaded in the 8th, 9th, and 10th) let's keep in mind that High School basketball is a way for us to enjoy and love life, but it is not all there is to life. 1. Cooper (12-2): Cooper lost to University Heights this week but rebounded with two victories on consecutive days. They do not play again until the 4th when they host district opponent Boone County High School. Blaine Walters and TJ Deere are both shooting close to 40% from 3-point range this year. That’s pretty solid; as is this team. 2. Beechwood (12-2): The Tigers got on a roll over the Holidays before losing in the Lake Cumberland Championship to Aiken High School out of Cincinnati. Newport is pushing them for this spot but the Tigers can hang on to their victory over Campbell County for now in order to stay #2. 3. Newport (12-2): Newport won 3 games in 4 days against quality competition. They did lose to University Heights in the championship of the Traditional Bank Classic. Donnie Miller joined the 1,000-point club. It is quite an honor. Newport hosts Covington Catholic on January 2nd. If the wife allows, I will try to sneak out to see this one. 4. Covington Catholic (10-4): I dropped the Colonels to #4 this week, perhaps out of ignorance. I have a pretty good feel for the quality of Newport’s opponents and know little about the teams that Covington Catholic played this week. The boys can make a statement with their game against Newport on the 2nd, Newport previously defeated Highlands whom beat Covington Catholic earlier this year. 5. Highlands (8-4): Highlands won 2 of 3 games in Florida and play one more game on Monday. Assuming this is a bracket tournament, they should be playing for 3rd place. The Bluebirds play two Kenton County High Schools this weekend in Scott High and Simon Kenton. If they can win both these games, coupled with a Newport victory against Covington Catholic, then the Bluebirds would move up the ladder at least one spot. 6. Lloyd Memorial (7-3): Lloyd only played once this week and they defeated the Ryle Raiders. I sat in the stands for this one and noticed a Sophomore Guard named Zaire Monroe. I was very impressed with this young man’s effort and ability and will follow his stats and development closely throughout the rest of the year. Zaire is averaging 8 points a game this year with an 89.5 FT%. Lloyd plays Villa Madonna in a 34th District match and host, 8th Region opponent, Henry County. 7. Conner (6-6): Conner went 1-2 this week but had a good showing against Oldham County. The OC Colonels beat the Cougars by ten in overtime. This is the same Oldham County team that beat Highlands by 4 and almost pulled off an upset win against the Bearcats @ Walton Verona. Conner also defeated Holy Cross (Covington) by 19 points. Conner plays Covington Catholic on January 4th and, while I do not predict a win, I would consider it a good showing if they were within 15 points. 8. Newport Central Catholic (5-8) No one in this middle group wants to separate. New Cath did play well against a very good Wayne County team. Evan Mullikin scored 22 points in their win against Russell County. Coach Collopy’s boys play West Jessamine on the 5th. 9. Dixie Heights (5-9): Dixie played three times and each game was decided by less than 6 points. The Colonels won one of the games and host the Ryle Raiders this Friday. Dixie has not posted any stats on the KHSAA website this week so I am not sure who played well this week. 10. St. Henry (3-8): It’s hard to know what to do with teams that don’t play for a 7 days. Since Holmes and Holy Cross lost 3 games this week and Dixie and NCC added to their win total, I felt that some movement was appropriate. The Crusaders play Dayton and Lexington Catholic this week. 11. Holy Cross (4-8): The Indians lost 3 games this week. They played West Jessamine within ten points and, at that point, the Colts only had three losses on the year. Coach Grammar seems determined to build this program and hopes their current 4 game losing streak ends with a victory against the same Grant County team that started it. Coach Grammar previously won two district championships at Grant County in 2014 and 2015. 12. Holmes (4-10): Holmes drops a few slots this week. I probably had them a little too high previously. The Dawgs have lost four straight and 9 of their last ten games. They play 10th Region Bishop Brossart on the 3rd followed by another 37th team in Scott on the 7th 13. Ludlow (7-6): Ludlow is in the midst of a two-week break from games. I hope they do not show any rust when they travel to Bellevue on Friday. I’ll say this though, I was surprised that Dan Sullivan became their coach. Not many well-established coaches go to small schools after being in successful programs for several years. The Panthers got a good opportunity to get quality coaching. 14. Ryle (2-9): Ryle lost to Lloyd on Saturday to drop to 2-9. They play Dixie, Boone County, and Bellevue this week. The Raiders have enough bodies to win all three of these games. IF they can finish around the rim and rebound well, it could be a turning point for their season. 15. Villa Madonna (5-8): The Vikings lost a close won against a team from Alabama over the Holidays. They travel to Lloyd on the 3rd for a district match-up. 16. Boone County (3-10): Coach McQueary’s group went 2-1 this week and their only loss was by a single bucket. I will eat crow on this one, I stated they would not win until after the ball dropped in NYC. Good job Rebels and good luck this week in your two district games (Ryle and Cooper). 17. Bellevue (3-9): The Tigers were over-matched in their three games @ Lexington Catholic this week. They will look to break an 8-game losing streak when they travel to Bracken County on Wednesday. 18. Dayton (3-10): The Devils won a game in the Williamstown Tournament. They host St. Henry on Wednesday and travel to Heritage next Monday. Their leading scorer is Michael Marksberry. 19. Heritage Academy (1-6): Heritage lost two games this week against other small schools. The play Saturday @ Covington Latin (I do not know where Covington Latin’s gym is). 20. Covington Latin (0-8) Latin does not play until Saturday.

1) Bowling Green (10-2) - 12/27 78-51 W Murray, 12/28 78-63 W Owensboro, 12/29 62-57 W Graves County Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/4 at #10 Greenwood, 1/5 vs. Muhlenberg County Ever since the Purples dropped the house on Glasgow in the second game of the year I've been tempted to move them to the top slot, but a strong run through the holidays has made it clear they needed to ascend. Bowling Green won their Christmas tournament for the fourth straight year against one of the better slates they've faced in it. Murray doesn't have a strong record, but has made a habit of playing good teams closely. Owensboro was fresh off a win over a rising Madisonville team. And Graves County entered their game unbeaten against Kentucky teams. BG did to each what they've done in most games this year - punched them directly in the face early and quickly. The Purples are ending games before they even truly begin, and their game against Graves is the only one where they let it get close again. The Eagles managed to close an 18 point deficit all the way down to two late in the fourth quarter, but Bowling Green held on. They have three games in between now and their trip to Warren Central on the 11th - they're a virtual lock to win them all. 2) Warren Central (6-3) - 12/28 51-58 L John Hardin (at Taylor County), 12/29 47-71 L Doss Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/4 vs. #12 Warren East, 1/5 vs. #8 Barren County The Dragons have some soul searching to do if they expect to be able to compete with Bowling Green in two weeks. They've now dropped three of four, and after opening the year with five straight 80+ efforts, they have had three under 52 points since. And that's been fueled by an ugly remnant of a couple of poor Dragon seasons this decade - putrid perimeter shooting. They are 27/98 (27.6%) in their last four games from three. They did battle back against John Hardin after a very poor first half, and the Bulldogs are playing as well as anyone in the state. The Dragons have spent most of the season away from home, and get a pair of home games this week which should settle them back into a confident groove. They need it. 3) Logan County (11-2) - 12/27 67-50 W at Nelson County, 12/28 70-48 W Boyle County (at Nelson County), 12/29 74-62 W Meade County (at Nelson County) Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/4 at #16 Russellville, 1/5 vs. #10 Greenwood The Cougars are over halfway to their first 20 win season in seven years and they've done that before reaching New Year's Day. They ran through the Nelson County Classic, capping it with a 74-62 win over Meade County. The Cougars have been bucking the trend of teams that light everything up from the outside, taking only 33% of their shots from the perimeter. As it stands right now, Logan County is favored in every game for the rest of the regular season. This could be a special 2019. 4) Allen County-Scottsville (12-2) - 12/27 61-50 W Sayre, 12/28 68-50 W Daviess County, 12/29 72-71 W Owensboro Catholic Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/4 at #6 Monroe County Speaking of a special team, the Patriots keep rolling. They caught a bad beat the previous week in an OT loss to Paintsville, but this time they wrapped up a title in their home Christmas tournament, with a particularly impressive win over third region power Owensboro Catholic. A trio of Patriots are leading the way for AC/S, with Brett Rippy the team leader right now with 16.8 PPG closely followed by super soph Mason Shirley's 16.0 PPG. It has been Shirley that has been the x-factor that no one saw coming entering the season. He averaged less than 1 PPG last year as a freshman. Owen Stamper is also noteworthy with 10.6 PPG entering 2019. AC/S already has their high total for wins since 2015 when they won 14. They need just five more wins to notch their high win total since 2009. They start their march to that with a crucial road game against district foe Monroe County on Friday. 5) Clinton County (9-5) - 12/27 36-61 L Montgomery Bell Academy (TN) (at Pigeon Forge (TN)), 12/28 46-54 L North Murray (GA) (at Pigeon Forge (TN)), 12/29 58-53 W Knoxville Central (TN) (at Pigeon Forge (TN)) Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/3 vs. Pickett County (TN), 1/4 at #15 Metcalfe County As with last week, there's not much to say about the Bulldogs at the moment. They've sort of done what they needed to do, and unfortunately we don't know much about the teams they played this last week, going 1-2 in the King of the Smokies tournament. They are 3-0 in 16th District play, and will completely wrap up the games that count for the district standings in the next 12 days. They start that with a Metcalfe County team they obliterated by 43 on December 7th. 6) Monroe County (7-7) - 12/27 67-70 L Bullitt East (at Bowling Green), 12/28 70-69 W #11 South Warren (at Bowling Green), 12/29 67-69 L Madisonville-North Hopkins (at Bowling Green) Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/4 vs. #4 Allen County-Scottsville Monroe County concluded a ghastly 1-5 Christmas season in the Meijer Holiday Classic. Their lone win in the last six games came against 4-10 South Warren, and it was by a single point. Many of their losses are not to bad teams - Owensboro Catholic, Hopkinsville, Owensboro, Madisonville - but a win somewhere in there other than South would have been nice. Still, they're 2-0 in the 15th District, so it's hard to envision moving them behind the teams they've beaten. They square off with Allen County-Scottsville for the first time this season on January 4th, and it's at home. The Patriots have been white-hot, and the winner of this one will become the big favorite to take the #1 seed for the postseason. 7) Glasgow (7-4) - 12/28 64-58 W at #8 Barren County Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/4 vs. #11 South Warren, 1/5 at #13 Todd County Central The Scotties had a relatively quiet week, just taking on their crosstown rival in their house. It was the fourth game in a row at Barren County for Glasgow, and they have still traveled outside their county borders a single time this year. They picked up a crucial win over the Trojans in large part due to Nik Sorrell. The junior poured in 32 points in the win, helping the Scotties to overcome an early 8 point deficit. They trailed as late as the 2:15 mark, winning a back and forth affair. They settle in for some very winnable games this week ahead of their 2A Championship sectional game against Warren East on the 7th. 8) Barren County (5-6) - 12/28 58-63 L #6 Glasgow Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/4 at Adair County, 1/5 at #2 Warren Central On the other side of that rival matchup were the Trojans. As mentioned last week this was a highly critical game as it was the second of three home district games they'll have and they'd already lost the first one. Now, Barren County is 0-3 in the district with only one home game left to play on the slate. It is looking extremely likely they'll have to play out of the #4 spot in the postseason. Will Bandy entered the contest averaging 16.6 PPG, but exceeded that with 25 in the losing effort. 9) Franklin-Simpson (6-7) - 12/27 64-68 OT L Owensboro Catholic (at Allen County-Scottsville), 12/28 54-51 W Henderson County (at Allen County-Scottsville), 12/29 56-44 W Sayre (at Allen County-Scottsville) Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/4 vs. #13 Todd County Central Franklin narrowly missed out on a marquee win, leading Owensboro Catholic much of the way before falling in overtime. They rebounded to take home the consolation title in the South Central Bank-Halton Classic. They're just one game shy of their win total from all of last year, and will look to pick up their first district win over the season when they host Todd County Central. The Rebels defeated Franklin in both their meetings last season. 10) Greenwood (6-6) - 12/27 64-46 W Henderson County (at Allen County-Scottsville), 12/28 52-62 L Owensboro Catholic (at Allen County-Scottsville), 12/29 58-59 OT L Daviess County (at Allen County-Scottsville) Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 1/4 vs. #1 Bowling Green, 1/5 at #3 Logan County Ben Carroll has been keeping the Gators afloat, posting 27, 21, and 23 points in their three games in the South Central Bank-Halton Classic. But despite his effort, the Gators could not follow up the momentum of their Caveland Classic title, finishing fourth in the tournament. Jack Roberts remains out for a couple more weeks with his fractured hand, so Carroll will be expected to keep it up. They face two likely losses this week, having lost their last 15 against Bowling Green and also facing a stout Logan County squad. 11) South Warren (4-10) - 12/27 59-71 L Graves County (at Bowling Green), 12/28 69-70 L #5 Monroe County (at Bowling Green), 12/29 62-67 L Murray (at Bowling Green) Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 1/4 at #7 Glasgow The math has now turned heavily against South Warren following up last season's winning record effort as the Spartans have dropped seven of eight. They have 14 games remaining, and four of those games are against Bowling Green and Warren Central - two teams they've literally never beaten. Rough times ahead. On the positive side, Jace Carver (12.1 PPG) has been a young standout to complement Tyler Martin (15.8 PPG). 12) Warren East (8-6) - 12/27 65-60 W Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (TN) (at Ohio County), 12/28 49-61 L #17 Russellville (at Ohio County), 12/29 69-73 L at Ohio County Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 1/4 at #2 Warren Central The Raiders had momentum coming off a title in their holiday tournament, but it slipped away in Ohio County. After a win out of a team out of Chattanooga, East took a bad, bad loss to Russellville, posting a season low 49 points. East shot just 35.7% from the field in that one, including just 6/24 from three. Even the free throw line failed them, going just 3-8. They'll look to snap a 13 game skid against Warren Central on Friday. 13) Todd County Central (5-10) - 12/27 55-77 L Daviess County (at Allen County-Scottsville), 12/28 60-56 W Sayre (at Allen County-Scottsville), 12/29 45-73 L Henderson County (at Allen County-Scottsville) Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 1/4 at #9 Franklin-Simpson, 1/5 vs. #7 Glasgow The Rebels have dropped 7 of 9 and 4 of 5 entering the new year. Their lone win in Allen County was against 2-10 Sayre. Not much positive momentum going for the Rebels heading into a district contest with Franklin-Simpson. 14) Russell County (2-9) - 12/27 51-75 L Cincinnati Aiken (OH), 12/28 47-65 L Newport Central Catholic Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 1/4 at #17 Cumberland County, 1/5 vs. Whitley County (at South Laurel) I didn't include it because I don't know who they played let alone the score, but per the Russell County Twitter they actually are 3-9 having won their final game in the Lake Cumberland Holiday Hoops Classic. Without knowing that result, they still have only one game on the year where they scored over 55 points, and are 0-9 when scoring less than that. 15) Metcalfe County (5-9) - 12/27 66-54 W Whitefield Academy (at Danville), 12/28 38-77 L Webster County (at Danville), 12/28 50-70 L at Danville Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 1/4 vs. #5 Clinton County, 1/5 vs. Dawson Springs The Hornets now have more wins than their last two years combined, and already their highest win total since they won five in 2012. One more win, and it'll be the most since Metcalfe legend Tim McMurtrey's last season in 2011 (16 wins). A winning record still seems like a stretch, but Coach Brockman has had a successful season. 16) Russellville (5-8) - 12/27 49-63 L at Ohio County, 12/28 61-49 W #12 Warren East (at Ohio County), 12/29 58-52 W Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences (TN) Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 1/4 vs. #3 Logan County I was somewhat hesitant to move the Panthers back ahead of a Cumberland County team they lost to, but Russellville has now won 4 of 5, which included a nice win over Warren East. Jacob Naylor is the one doing most of the heavy lifting. He has already posted 330 points and is averaging 27.5 per game. Elijah Kemp has chipped in 14.5 points. They get their first crack at Logan County this season in the clash of the cats on Friday. 17) Cumberland County (2-9) - 12/27 47-81 L Somerset, 12/28 47-81 L Wayne County, 12/29 vs. TBA Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 1/4 vs. #14 Russell County Speaking of Cumberland County, they have now lost four in a row. It would be by no means mathematically impossible for them to climb out of the cellar with a loss, but if they do lose at home to Russell County, they become extremely at risk of seeing Clinton County come district time.

1. Butler (15-6): The Bears suffered a one-point loss to Bullitt East in the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament but still own the best record in the 6th Region. Maurice Tolley and Willard Minter are combining to score 24 points per game for the Bears. 2. Bullitt Central (13-7): The Cougars dropped two of three games in Week 8, falling to Trinity and Western before beating Elizabethtown. Jacob Mann is averaging 16-plus points per game for the Cougars. 3. Jeffersontown (13-7): The Chargers knocked off Central prior to falling to Waggener in overtime in the semifinals of the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. Blake Butler continues to lead Jeffersontown in scoring with a 17 points per game average. 4. DeSales (11-7): Falling in its lone game in Week 8, DeSales lost to Seneca in the opening round of the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. Keegan Brewer and Matthew Ruckreigle continue to average 20-plus points per game for the Colts. 5. Fern Creek (9-9): The Tigers flirted with a victory before Male held on to win 38-36 in the opening round of the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. Jaden Rogers averages a team-high 18.2 points per game for the Tigers. 6. Pleasure Ridge Park (10-8): The Panthers topped St. Xavier before falling to Ballard in the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. Darius Osborne is leading Fern Creek, averaging 14.4 points per game. 7. Valley (9-8): The Vikings suffered a lopsided loss to Waggener in the opening round of the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. The loss halted a five-game Valley winning streak. 8. Southern (9-8): The Trojans topped Holy Cross to stop a four-game losing skid. Southern returned to the win column for the first time since December 27. 9. Moore (8-8): Suffering its second straight loss, Moore fell to Eastern. Currently, Kalon Howard and Quintin Anderson rank as Moore's top two scorers. 10. Bullitt East (10-9): The Chargers upset Butler but then fell to Seneca in the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. 11. Doss (7-14): The Dragons lost back-to-back games to Ballard and St. Xavier in Week 8, falling to the Bruins in the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. 12. Fairdale (8-11): The Bulldogs prevailed in a lone matchup at home, downing DuPont Manual. 13. Holy Cross (10-8): The Cougars defeated Iroquois after falling to Southern. 14. Western (6-13): The Warriors absorbed a three-point loss to Eastern before upending Bullitt Central on the road by the same margin. 15. North Bullitt (5-17): The Eagles suffered back-to-back losses to LaRue County and Oldham County. 16. Iroquois (5-15): Following a loss to Holy Cross, Iroquois notched a win over Carroll County to halt an eight-game losing skid. 17. Whitefield Academy (7-12): The Wildcats dropped a game to Portland Christian then beat Evangel Christian. 18. Evangel Christian (6-12): Splitting games in Week 8, Evangel Christian handled Heritage Academy prior to falling to Whitefield Academy. 19. Beth Haven (3-10): Currently on a five-game losing skid, Beth Haven was idle in Week 8.

This year’s All A Tournament did not disappoint. Several games came down to the final possession and the Newport Wildcats had to play hard and communicate defensively in order to win the tournament. I believe that since Newport had to execute late in these games, it may have prepared them for tough competition at EKU. The region’s top two teams do have big games this week as Covington Catholic hosts Campbell County and Cooper travels to Conner. This is an exciting time of year as we see the various districts solidify their post-season seeds. 1. Covington Catholic (16-5): Covington Catholic went 2-1 last week against Ryle and two Cincinnati schools. This team seems to be putting it together pretty well. The Colonels host the Campbell County Camels on Tuesday; this was a highly anticipated game but the Camels may not be a good as we once thought they were. Covington Catholic has a district game as well when they host the Holmes Bulldogs on the 25th. 2. Cooper (16-3): Coach Sullivan’s boys went 2-0 last week defeating Highlands and Boone County. The Highlands win is significant because Highlands is the only school in the Bluegrass State to beat Covington Catholic. That victory closed the gap a little between #1 and #2 but it will take a little more for the Jaguars to surpass a team that beat them in head to head competition. Cooper has two games this week including two district matchups before playing the All A regional champions. 3. Newport (17-4): It’s hard to win four games in a week, but the Wildcats accomplished it. The Wildcats will represent the 9th region on the 24th in the All A State tournament. We wish them the best of luck. 4. Beechwood (16-3): The Tigers are disappointed that they did not advance in the All A tournament. Coach Goetz will convince his boys that there is more to play for this season as the Tigers are in position to get a favorable seed in the district tournament. Beechwood plays Frederick Douglas and Newport Central Catholic this week. 5. Highlands (11-9): The Bluebirds went 2-1 this week and played Cooper well in their loss. It’s hard to figure Coach Listerman’s boys out, they were within single digits in the 4th quarter against a solid Cooper team but beat a, not so solid, Holmes team by only 10. Highlands has two district match-ups this week against Newport Catholic and Bellevue. 6. Conner (9-8): Conner is riding a three-game winning streak including victories over Ryle and Dixie Heights. I was surprised that the Dixie score was so close, but a three-game winning streak is nice to have. Conner will be tested when they host Cooper on Wednesday. The Cougars may have closed the gap a little and this game might be the big one to watch. Conner has enough good shooters on their squad to keep this game close, but they have yet to play a defense as solid as the Jaguars. 7. Newport Central Catholic (9-9) Newport Catholic deserves to move up a spot because of the way they played Newport High. As the 9th region writer, I make it a point to see everyone play in person, but there is a time span where I depend on posted stats and the Boys' Basketball Forum to determine where teams and players rank. I knew that Evan Mullikin was the Thoroughbred’s leading scorer, but I did not see him in person until the Newport loss. The boy is much better than I realized. He is not afraid of the defense and will attack the rim with both aggression and control. I would put him in the top 3 players in the 36th district, a district with a lot of talent. 8. Lloyd Memorial (12-4): Lloyd did nothing to deserve a drop, but the Breds just played so well against the Wildcats that this was a byproduct. Lloyd has a good win/loss record, but we’ll see how they fair against Dixie and Holy Cross this week. Those two teams are better than the recent handful of games that the Juggs have won. 9. Holy Cross (6-11): The Indians ended what seemed like a lifetime skid by nearly running the table in the All A regional tournament. Coach Grammer’s boys played with intensity and courage in a hostile environment. Holy Cross has a big district match against the Holmes Bulldogs on the 22nd. 10. St. Henry (8-10): The Crusaders are playing better at this point in the season. They play three 10th Region teams this week, including two from the 37th district. St. Henry currently is 2-0 in the 34th District. 11. Holmes (4-14): Holmes is not winning any games, but they are losing by less points recently (that is supposed to be a compliment). The 11th and 12th spots are interchangeable at this points and Holmes did beat Dixie at the beginning of the year. Coach Carr’s team plays Ryle, Holy Cross, and Covington Catholic this week and they could get their 5th win. 12. Dixie Heights (6-13): Another week goes by and Dixie is still sitting at 6 wins. The Colonels only have one victory since the beginning of the New Year. They have not posted any stats since January 8th and I hope they are not phoning the season in. The Colonels can beat Lloyd to be a middle seed in the district tournament. There is still a pathway that leads to NKU. 13. Ryle (4-13): Ryle had a close game against Conner. The Raiders play Holmes and Cooper this week. 14. Boone County (5-15): The Rebels got a win this week against Fleming County. Boone County has a rough stretch ahead against Simon Kenton, Conner, and Covington Catholic. 15. Bellevue (5-14): I saw the Tigers play Lloyd on Saturday. Tommy Ratterman can shoot the three well even with someone in his face. A lot of teams would love to have him setting his feet in the left corner. 16. Ludlow (9-8): Ludlow gave up 80+ points for the second time this year to St. Henry. They still have had an admirable season and can finish with a winning record. It’ll be interesting to see if they can compete with Lloyd or Dixie. 17. Villa Madonna (7-12): The Vikings should be able to beat Silver Grove this week before playing the Ludlow Panthers. 18. Dayton (4-15): The Devils seem to be in the Abyss still. They will try to beat Silver Grove to get to five wins. 19. Covington Latin (1-9) Latin did not play this week. They must be opting out of everything associated with being a team in Kentucky. They did not participate in the All A and they are not playing any District games despite being assigned to the 35th District. 20. Heritage Academy (1-14): Heritage lost to Evangelical and Portland this week.

Week 8 was yet another exciting one in the 12th Region. There were several games that came down to a last-second shot, some near upsets of state powers by 12th Region teams, and some terrific individual performances. The not-so-shocking revelation for the week: there is a really good team or two in the 45th District who will not be playing in the 12th Region Tournament. Danville looks to be on path for the #1 seed in that District, while Boyle and Lincoln may be battling for #2, and Garrard County will have a say before all is said and done. I would not want to be the team that draws any 45th team in the Region Tournament, whether as a District Champion or Runner-Up. An early look at some likely Regional Tournament participants outside the 45th: West and Mercer from the 46th, Somerset and Pulaski from the 47th, Wayne and Southwestern from the 48th. I suspect, however, that there may be at least one District upset this year to shake up this picture. The Player of the Year (POY) race is still up for grabs. Mercer County’s Carter Baughman is putting up the best scoring numbers, seems to be getting the most attention and some well-deserved promotion. West Jessamine’s Dalton Bruner has quietly been transforming his game, he does not receive as much publicity but has recently showing signs of maturing into an all-around player and fitting into the team concept better than in the past. Wayne County’s Aubrey Weaver is also flying under the radar; his versatility is similar to Bruner’s, he contributes in all facets of the game and is possibly the best all-around athlete of the three, very strong. Although it is still too close to call, I would currently rank Baughman first (best perimeter shooter), Bruner second (best defender and creative scorer), then Weaver (most well-rounded). Here is a look at the Week 8 results, rankings, and Week 9 key match-ups: 1. Danville – Now winners of ten in a row, the Admirals are simply playing consistently better than anyone else in the Region. Despite the season-ending loss of Senior Guard Tevin Kavanaugh, Danville currently looks the part of Region favorite and is getting some state-wide notoriety as the continue to creep up the various rankings. The Admirals did get a tough battle from Somerset in the 12th Region All ‘A’ Classic this past Tuesday, the game was tied 19-19 at halftime before Danville turned it up a notch in the second half and prevailed 58-48. Danville then cruised to a 67-40 win over host Washington County and will represent the 12th Region in this week’s All ‘A’ Classic at EKU in Richmond. Sophomore Guard Dante Hayden was on fire against Washington, tossing in 33 points. In what should be one of the best first round matchups in the All “A”, the Admirals open up with Elliot County, one of the top teams in the 16th Region. It should be interesting to see how Danville, one of the best defensive teams in the state, contains one of the state’s leading scorers in Senior Guard Korbin Spencer (29.2 PPG). The Admirals have a good chance of not only representing the 12th Region well and advancing through the tournament, but to win the All “A” Classic outright, and it’s hard not to look ahead to a possible semifinal matchup against state top-10 University Heights and Senior Guard Dekeyvan Tandy. 2. Wayne County – Perhaps it was just an off week, but the Cardinals did not look like the #1 team in the 12th Region during Scott County’s Toyota Classic. Facing three athletic teams that all play fast and aggressive, Wayne seemed a step slow and a bit uncomfortable with the frantic pace of their three losses. In the tournament opening loss against Frederick Douglass (71-63) they were physically dominated for much of the game, the Broncos applied nonstop ball pressure that clearly bothered the Cardinals, and they seemed to get every 50-50 ball and rebound. Senior Guard Jadon Pryor took a violent charge in the 3rd Quarter that took him out of the remainder of the Douglass game; he also did not play in the following games against Lafayette and Christian County, and Wayne County missed him. Throughout the tournament the Cardinals not only turned the ball over more than usual, they also struggled getting into any flow offensively, and the absence of Pryor was not the only reason they struggled. All three teams applied ball pressure that pushed Wayne County away from the basket and out of their sets, and all three opponents did a good job anticipating the interior passes the Cardinals are so adept with. The Cardinals dropped game two to Lafayette 75-62, and then took a surprising 69-61 loss to Christian County to complete the disappointing week. Two bounce back opportunities are up this week with home games against Southwestern and Casey County before the schedule toughens considerably, it remains to be seen if this past week was an anomaly or if teams have figured out a formula for beating the Cardinals. 3. Boyle County – A 6-10 team ranked 3rd in the Region? Yes, as the return of Juniors Reese Smith and Grant Hotchkiss has completely changed the dynamic of both the 45th District and the 12th Region. Despite still being a relatively young team, the Rebels clearly have the look of a contender. In a 58-48 loss to state top-10 Collins this past Tuesday night, the game was tied late and the Rebels were in a good position to win but gave up a quick run in the final two minutes to the more experienced Titans. Boyle bounced back in a convincing fashion, pummeling District foe Garrard County 72-47 in a game where they trailed early then dominated from the 2nd Quarter on. In a Region that is down a bit this season in overall athleticism, the addition of these two Juniors allows the Rebels to return to being one of the more physical defensive and rebounding teams in the 12th. Smith can dominate a game without scoring a point. We will see in the next two weeks if this is where Boyle County belongs in the rankings as they face a challenging lineup of opponents: Mercer, Lincoln, West Jessamine and Danville. 4. Lincoln County – The Patriots defeated 45th District foe Garrard County on Tuesday this past week, 67-58, where Freshman Guard Jaxon Smith had a bit of a breakout game with 23 points as he was able to repeatedly break down the Garrard defense with his dribble penetration. Smith had similar success against Boyle County in their matchup on January 11, and the development of this consistent scoring option for the Patriots bodes well for the future. The remainder of the week was not kind to Lincoln, however, as they got hammered in back to back games Friday and Saturday against beatable 11th Region competition, losing 75-47 to Madison Central and 78-51 to Paul Laurence Dunbar. Much like the team ranked immediately below them, Lincoln County has been inconsistent through much of these season, at times looking like a top team in the Region (wins over West, Mercer and Pulaski were impressive) and at times looking like they could be one-and-out in the 45th District Tournament. The Patriots play McCreary Central on Tuesday this week, then have a huge game at Boyle County this coming Friday night. 5. West Jessamine – The Colts dropped two tight contests this week, both where they had a shot attempt to tie the game at the buzzer, 78-76 at home to Madison Central and 54-51 at 46th District rival Mercer County. In a season where most close games seem to end up in the 40’s, the Colts game against Madison Central game was highly entertaining and tight throughout, with both teams playing at a high level. The Colts three-pronged perimeter attack (Dalton Bruner, Yallen Woods, Michael Thalacker) shot a combined 11-22 from the 3-point line and a perfect 17-17 from the FT line, but an astounding 24-point 2nd half outburst by Central’s Quae Charlton and a couple of timely Isaiah Cozart dunks sealed the win for the Indians. As aesthetically pleasing as this was, the District rivalry game Friday night against Mercer County was the opposite – both teams played sloppily, with turnovers and poor shooting, missed layups and FT’s, from both Mercer and West. Playing three big games in a row leading up to the showdown with Mercer may have taken a toll as the Colts seemed drained of energy in the Friday night loss. A perhaps well-timed layoff is ahead as West does not play again until Friday night, at home against Madison Southern, followed by a game vs. Southwestern on Saturday. The Colts are still hanging below the radar as a top Region contender, but in the three games prior to the ugly loss at Mercer they looked like a team that is starting to gel – particularly on the offense side of the ball, shooting percentages are improving as a direct result of improved ball movement and shot selection. If this trend continues, West will be a very tough matchup come tournament time. 6. Mercer County– The Titans only played one game this past week, they had the week to prepare for their big game against West Jessamine on Friday night and came away with a hard-fought 54-51 victory. Mercer did not play their best game against the Colts, but willed their way to a win with effort and some big FT’s down the stretch from Senior Carter Baughman and Junior Kaelin Drakeford. Baughman opened the game on fire and helped push Mercer to an early lead, but as he cooled off the Titans really struggled to score and West was able to claw their way back into the game. A handful of effort plays – hustle plays, key rebounds and 50-50 balls that went Mercer’s way in the 4th Quarter – made a big difference in the win. Mercer’s challenge continues to be finding consistent scoring beyond Baughman, the remainder of the team is cumulatively shooting less than 40% from the field for the season. The Titans will need to address this if they are going to contend for the 12th Region title. Mercer has a big test this coming Tuesday as they host new #3 Boyle County, followed by another home game against 46th District rival East Jessamine on Friday. 7. Somerset – The Briar Jumpers played only one game this past week, a competitive 58-48 loss to #1 Danville in the 12th Region All “A” Classic. Tied 19-19 at halftime, Somerset was not only competitive but very much in the game; Danville’s athleticism took over down the stretch, but the Briar Jumpers also have some size and strength in the paint and somewhat neutralized the Admirals inside. Aside from Boyle County, Somerset may be the most improved team in the 12th Region since the start of the season, and are poised to continue their climb up the rankings. The Briar Jumpers are a young team, they are physically strong in the paint and have one of leading Sophomore scorers in the Region with Kade Grundy (17.3 PPG), along with one of the top shooters in the Region in their lone Senior, southpaw Guard Chase Walker. Somerset plays only one game this week, Friday night at Barbourville. 8. Pulaski County – The Maroons have played well since their 71-41 beat down at Lincoln County a couple of weeks ago, winning three straight and going 1-0 this past week with a 90-74 road win at Casey County. Pulaski’s road trip continues this week where they should be able to extend the winning streak, they play Tuesday night at Russell County and Friday at Rockcastle County. The Maroons do not have an overwhelming schedule down the stretch and should be able to post a nice record going into District and Regional play. 9. Garrard County – The Golden Lions took two tough District losses this week, 67-58 at Lincoln County and 72-47 at Boyle County. Senior Forward Charles Jones was a beast in the paint against Lincoln County last Tuesday night, going for 22 points and 14 rebounds, but the perimeter quickness of Lincoln gave Garrard some trouble and the Patriots did a good job containing Junior Braden Sebastian. Against Boyle County on Friday night, Garrard County roared out of the gate and led at the end of the 1st Quarter, but the Rebels dominated from that point forward. The athleticism of Boyle, led by Reese Smith, caused issues for the Golden Lions as they struggled to get good shots and turned the ball over at a much higher rate than usual. Garrard has dropped five of six games but has a chance to get things on track in coming weeks as they start a six-game home stand. Richmond Model and Bluegrass United (home school) are up this week. 10. East Jessamine – This was a rough week for the Jaguars with losses to Lexington Catholic (63-42) and Thomas Nelson (57-55), extending their losing streak to five games. The biggest loss may have been with Senior Tyler Pitney, East’s leading scorer and rebounder, who had to be helped off the floor after an injury in the Lexington Catholic game and sat out of the Thomas Nelson game. I am not sure of the extent of the injury, but losing Pitney would be a serious blow to the Jaguars if he is out for any extended period of time. Pitney is an animal on the boards, he gets nearly half of his team’s rebounds; hopefully the injury is not serious. East has a very busy week, playing at Rockcastle County on Monday night, at Marion County on Tuesday night, hosting Mercer County on Friday and Pulaski County on Saturday. 11. Southwestern - The Warriors defeated McCreary Central 61-59 this past Thursday night behind 36 points from Junior Forward Brayden Sims. Southwestern traveled to Richmond on Saturday and lost 66-56 to a rapidly improving Madison Southern team that has now won five games in a row. The Warriors host Cordia on Tuesday this week, then travel to Wayne County on Friday and to East Jessamine on Saturday afternoon where they will face West Jessamine in the North/South Shootout Classic. 12. Casey County – The Rebels had only one game this week, at home on Tuesday against Pulaski County, where they lost 90-74. Casey has three winnable home games this week, hosting Danville Christian, Adair County and Russell County. 13. McCreary Central - The Raiders are showing some steady improvement in recent weeks, and even though they went 1-3 this past week they were competitive in every game and almost took down Southwestern on the road. After a Monday loss to Huntsville Scott (TN), McCreary defeated Rockcastle County 66-53 before dropping a close one at Southwestern, 61-59. A home defeat against Bell County (56-51) closed out the week. A tough game at Lincoln County awaits the Raiders on Tuesday, followed by a Thursday game at Lynn Camp and a Saturday game at Cumberland County. 14. Rockcastle County – The Rockets have now lost eight in a row, losing three road games this week at Wayne County (83-43), McCreary Central (66-53) and Marion County (84-55). Rockcastle now gets three home games, starting with East Jessamine on Monday, Oneida Baptist on Tuesday and Pulaski County on Friday. 15. Burgin – The Bulldogs defeated Danville Christian 66-42 in the opening round of the 12th Region All ‘A’ Classic this past week, then lost 78-61 to host Washington County in the semifinals. Burgin hosts Evangel, Eminence and White Academy (TN) this week. 16. Danville Christian – The Warriors lost 66-42 to Burgin on Monday, in Washington County, to kick off the 12th Region All ‘A’ Classic. On Saturday they traveled to Tennessee where they lost to White Academy, 65-51. This week the Warriors will play at Casey County on Tuesday, Evangel Christian on Thursday, then back home on Saturday to face Berea. 17. Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) – KSD almost got their first win of the season, battling Oneida Baptist tough this past Tuesday night before falling 67-63. A road trip to Mississippi for the Mason-Dixon Tournament is up next. Key 12th Region Games of the Week: Tuesday, January 22 Boyle County at Mercer County, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 24 Danville vs. Elliot County, 5:00 p.m. at EKU (All ‘A’ Classic) Friday, January 25 Lincoln County at Boyle County, 7:30 p.m. East Jessamine at Mercer County, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 26 West Jessamine vs. Southwestern, 3:45 p.m. (played at East Jessamine) Pulaski County at East Jessamine, 7:15 p.m.

With 4 weeks left in the regular season, the top 3 teams in this region are starting to set themselves in stone. While Ohio County is coming on strong, there still seems to be a bit of a gap between 1-3 and 4-12. We'll see if these gaps get wider as the regular season heads toward the finish or if anyone in the middle of the pack can take a step forward and become a real contender. 1. Breckenridge County Tigers (16-2) SAME Kobe Poole continued his great senior season this week, leading the Tigers to their 12th straight win. On Tuesday, Poole scored 16 in Breckenridge's blowout win against Apollo. Kaveon Mitchell added 16 against the Eagles. Friday, the Tigers knocked off Grayson County by 16. Poole had 22. If the Tigers can continue their winning ways over the next few weeks, they may have a shot at cracking the Bluegrasspreps top 25. They travel to CAL on Tuesday before returning home Friday, looking to avenge their early season loss to Meade County. 2. Owensboro Red Devils (11-6) SAME The Devils ran their win streak to 4 this week with big wins over Grayson County and Daviess County. Darrion Wimsatt scored 18 in the big district win over the Panthers. Owensboro is 8-0 vs the 3rd Region, but will continue to play top teams outside the region this coming week. Tuesday they travel to Madisonville. On Friday, they play one of the best teams in the state of Indiana in Evansville Bosse. The Devils will close out the week at home against Mclean County. 3. Owensboro Catholic Aces (13-5) SAME The Aces started their week, surviving upset minded Whitesville Trinity to win the All-A 3rd region championship. Freshman Brian Griffith led Catholic with 16, while John Parker and Ty Vincent chipped in 14 each in the 60-56 win. Friday, the Aces jumped out to a 20-2 lead against Apollo and never looked back, winning 72-50. Drew Hartz had 19, while Griffith was strong again, scoring 17. The Aces start their tough week on the road at Central Hardin before heading to the All-A State Tournament to close out the week. 4. Ohio County Eagles (12-9) UP 1 Ohio County became the first team in the region to punch their ticket to the 3rd region tournament on Friday, with a 60-49 win over Muhlenberg County. Colby Vanover led the Eagles with 17. Grant Tichenor gave Ohio a huge lift off the bench, bringing great energy. It looks like Tony Hopper's group is starting to turn the corner. They have won 7 of their last 9. The Eagles look to stay hot this week as they host South Warren. 5. Butler County Bears (12-6) UP 2 The Butler County Bears continue their accent up the rankings this week after scoring their 4th straight win over Whitesville Trinity. Jaden Hurt scored 23 and guard Justin Elms chipped in 14 in the win. Coach Dockery's group has won 6 of their last 8 games. We'll see if they can continue their winning trend on the road this week with games at Muhlenberg and Edmonson County. 6. Muhlenberg County Mustangs (9-8) DOWN 2 The Mustangs couldn't stop the bleeding this week, losing games to Hopkins Central and Ohio County. They have now lost 5 straight games. The loss to Ohio County cost them a first round bye in the 10th district tournament. The good news is they return home for 3 straight games this week against Butler County, Apollo and Hancock County. 7. Meade County Greenwave (9-9) DOWN 1 Meade bounced back from an early week blowout at the hands of North Hardin to score a 72-39 win over Hancock County. Peyton Cole had a monster game, scoring 29. Chris Armstead added 15. The Waves will be tested this week with tough games at Breck County and at home against Daviess County. 8. Whitesville Trinity Raiders (10-8) SAME While the Raiders dropped 2 games this week, they showed they can compete against anyone. Tuesday, they led Owensboro Catholic until very late in the game before falling short. Joe Brown knocked down 5 3 pointers to finish with 16 and Trenton Morris had a double double with 15 points and 11 boards. Friday, they lost a heart breaker to Butler County, 69-67. Keep in mind the Raiders are still without one of the top players in the region, Cameron Wright. They have 2 home district games this week against Edmonson and Grayson County. 9. Daviess County Panthers (7-10) SAME The Panthers split a pair of games this week. Tuesday, they defeated Edmonson County 91-62. Dakota Walden and Christopher Hillard both scored 23 in the win. If Coach Hayden can find Walden some consistent help, the Panthers could compete with anyone in the region. Friday, they battled Owensboro but came up short, 65-53. The Panthers continue their tough schedule this week with road games against Henderson and Meade. 10. Mclean County Cougars (6-9) UP 1 The Cougars had the week off this week but have won 2 of their last 3. Logan Patterson has one of the most impressive stat line averages in the entire region with 24 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. Teammate Brady Dame is also close to averaging a double double with 9 points per game and 11 rebounds per game. The Cougars will be tested this week with road games at Apollo and Owensboro. 11. Grayson County Cougars (7-13) DOWN 1 The Cougars continued their up and down season this week, dropping games to Owensboro and Breckenridge by an average margin of nearly 20 points. They have shown the ability to compete against top competition but have yet to put together any consistency. They return to 12th district play this Friday at Whitesville Trinity. 12. Edmonson County Wildcats (7-11) SAME The Wildcats were blown out in their lone game against Daviess County this week. Chaz Wilson was a bright spot however, as he scored 17 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. They will look to get back on track this week with 3 winnable games at Trinity, at Metcalfe and at home against Butler County. 13. Apollo Eagles (1-18) SAME The Eagles got back in action this week, but suffered 3 straight blowout losses at the hands of Breckenridge County, Owensboro Catholic and Evansville Central. They will look to end their 18 game losing streak with games against Mclean County and Muhlenberg this week. 14. Hancock County Hornets (4-14) SAME The Hornets were blown out by Meade in their lone game this week. They will travel to Cloverport and to Muhlenberg this week. 15. Cloverport Aces (0-13) SAME The Aces are still hunting their first win of the season, after losing to Dawson Springs on Saturday. They travel to Beth Haven before returning home against Hancock this week. 3RD REGION PLAYER OF THE WEEK - DAKOTA WALDEN - Daviess County Panthers - 23 ppg this week / 24 ppg average on the season GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK MON - Owensboro Catholic at Central Hardin, Edmonson County at Whitesville Trinity TUE - Butler County at Muhlenberg County, Breckenridge County at CAL, Owensboro at Madisonville STARTING THURSDAY - Owensboro Catholic in the All-A State Tournament FRI - Meade County at Breckenridge County, Ev Bosse at Owensboro

The weather reared its ugly head last week, causing a few cancellations with not enough time in the season for rescheduling. Our number one still holds the top spot; and not a lot has changed from top to bottom. 1. Campbell County (18-4, 9-0 region, 3-0 37th District). Campbell has now won 10 of 11; the only hiccup being a road loss at Walton-Verona. In fact, the Camels have lost three in-state games by a total of just nine points. Two of last week's three contests were cakewalks - a 32-point thumping of Harrison County and a 62-point demolition of Bracken County at home. Reid Jolly and Drew Wilson each scored 20 against the 'breds; and combined for another 40 against the Polar Bears and an even dozen players cracking the scoring column. The much-anticipated battle with Scott for district seeding honors was much closer, with Campbell ultimately prevailing 74-68 in a game in which they never trailed. Four games mark the schedule this week - Simon Kenton (H), Pendleton (A), Cooper (H) and Conner (A). 2. Clark County (18-6, 8-1 region, 6-0 40th District). The Cardinals also secured their number one district seeding last week (in fact, it was already decided), although it may have been a bit closer than many expected. GRC squeaked by Bourbon County by a single point on the road, 65-64, in their only game last week. The Cards converted 16 of 17 charity tosses in the game, and Jared Wellman paced the squad with 24 points. Brennan Canada continued his double-double parade with 13 and 12. All of Coach Cook's contests over the course of the season's final two weeks are outside the region; and the squad faces Madison Southern, Knott County and Breathitt County - all on the road - this week. 3. Bourbon County (18-9, 9-4 region, 2-4 40th District). Bourbon and Scott have flip-flopped spots the last couple of weeks; the Colonels won ol' pap's coin flip this time. Even though the Colonels lost their only game in week 10; it was the aforementioned 1-point loss to Clark. 7-15 free-throw shooting didn't help in this one; and the final score was as close as it was on the strength of a buzzer-beating three-pointer. Nakyir Joyce, Jace Wallace and CaMarr Myers had 17, 15 and 11. Bourbon hosts East Jessamine in their only week 11 action. 4. Scott (12-9, 6-2 region, 1-1 37th District). Coach Fromeyer's Eagles went 1-2 last week; the two losses both at the hands of state top-20 teams. First was a 3-point loss to (still) undefeated John Hardin on the road; a game in which Chad Ohmer didn't play. Trey Meister, Nathan Joyce and Kyren Simpson provided the scoring punch in this one; scoring 52 of Scott's 69 points. Next was a 64-60 home win over Dixie Heights; then the close loss to Campbell County for district bragging rights. Ohmer played in this one; but re-aggravated his ankle and was forced to leave with 3 minutes remaining. Scott is busy this week, playing four games in five days - Brossart, Ryle, Simon Kenton and Conner. The Brossart game will decide the 2 seed in the 37th; but confidence is high that the Eagles and the Mustangs will meet in the semis regardless of the outcome. Scott did win the 10th region freshman tournament last week; 42-40 over Clark County in the finals. 5. Bishop Brossart (16-8, 7-1 region, 0-1 37th District). The Mustangs continued their fine season last week with easy victories over Augusta and Newport Catholic. J.D. Schumacher led four in double figures with 20 and the team converted 27/50 (including 7/16 from distance ) from the field against the Panthers. The 'stangs got to the line early and often against NewCath, hitting 29 of 37; with Carson Schirmer converting 11 of 13 and Schumacher again topping the scoring column (21). Coach Code's crew faces off against district foes Scott and Calvary this week. 6. Robertson County (17-6, 8-3 region, 2-1 38th District). The Devils dispatched Bluegrass United (Lexington home-school squad) by 34 and Berea by 20 in week 10 to retain their 6th-place spot in the rankings. Robertson went an outstanding 37-59 from the field, and hit 13 of their 22 triples against BU. Justin Becker and Sebastian Dixon went for 24 and 21. Becker and Alex Schalch combined for 49 points in the win over Berea; and they both recorded double-doubles as well. The Devils entertain St. Patrick and Harrison County this week. 7. Montgomery County (13-11, 4-6 region, 2-3 40th District). The Indians got back on track last week with wins over Mason County (53-41) and Fleming County (71-34). Myron Ralls and Pharoah Davis went for 15 and 13 against the Royals; and MoCo hit 15 of 24 triples against Fleming. Paris (a critical district seeding matchup), Nicholas and Pendleton provide the competition in week 11. 8a. Paris (6-14, 5-6 region, 1-4 40th district). The Greyhounds fell in both of last week's tilts; struggling to put the ball through the hoop in each. Paris went 14-44 from the field in a 50-40 loss to Dunbar; and pretty much repeated the performance in a 61-50 loss to Bourbon County; going just 15-49 from the floor. Jalen Byars did notch an impressive 26/13 against the Colonels. The Hounds look to get their shooting back on track Monday at home in the big district contest against Montgomery County; then play Augusta and Harrison on Tuesday and Wednesday; finishing the week on Saturday against Lawrence County. 8b. Harrison County (7-15, 2-7 region, 1-2 38th District). The Breds fell hard against superior competition in both of last week's matchups; 72-40 at Campbell County and 75-51 at Madison Central. Quenton Turley was the only player to reach double figures against the Camels, and the team was held to 3-19 shooting from beyond the arc. Spencer Free and Turley cracked the double-figure mark against Central, but only gathered 13 rebounds as a team in that one. Week 11 will be busy - Williamstown, Paris and Robertson on the road, followed by Mason County on Saturday at home. 10. Mason County (10-12, 4-6 region, 2-0 39th District). The Royals split a pair of games in week 10. First was a 12-point loss in Mt. Sterling to Montgomery County in which Mason again had trouble finding the basket (16-53; 3-19 from distance). Jaylen Lofton had 16; while Xylon Frey recorded a 13-10 double-double. The Royals followed up with a surprising 60-57 win at Ashland; with Jeremiah Jones netting a team-high 19. Three road games on this week's schedule - Highlands, Fleming and Harrison. 11. Bracken County (11-13, 5-8 region, 2-1 39th district). First up was the 100-38 drubbing at the hands of region #1 Campbell County, but the Polar Bears bounced back with a 40-point thrashing of St.Patrick and a nip-and-tuck 64-61 defeat of Pendleton County. Kason Hinson and Collin Jefferson had 24 and 21 against the Saints. Tad Fisher provided the scoring (and rebounding) punch against the Wildcats with 27 and 12. Fleming County, Anderson County and Robertson County round out the week 11 schedule. 12. Calvary Christian (15-10, 6-5 region, 2-2 37th district). The Cougars fell by a point at Bellevue last week, then followed up with a 66-60 defeat of Portland Christian and a 73-27 thrashing of Immaculate Conception (OH) in their home tourney. Mason Rusch tallied 67 points in the three games; while Cross Dugan notched a team-high 21 against IC. Dayton, Villa and Brossart are on tap this week. 13. Pendleton County (10-13, 6-7 region, 3-1 38th District). Coach Belcher's Wildcats fell by 3 at the Igloo in their only action last week. Tredyn Thomas had 17 (7-8 from the field) and Cody Sullivan 16 (along with 11 boards) in the loss. Things don't get any easier this week - Campbell County at home and Montgomery County on the road. 14. Augusta (8-14, 6-7 region, 3-1 39th District). The Panthers fell hard to Brossart in their lone week 10 contest; 82-51. Paris, Villa and Greenup County this week. 15. Nicholas County (5-17, 1-10 region, 1-3 38th District). The Jackets lost two heartbreakers last week (75-74 to Berea; 78-71 to Sayre on OT) before dispatching Frankfort Christian by 39 last week. Dalton Davenport scorched the nets for 30 against the Royals of FC. Montgomery County (A) and Western Hills (H) this week. 16. St. Patrick (1-24, 1-10 region, 0-5 40th District). The early January defeat of Silver Grove is a fading memory; and the Saints are currently on the wrong end of an eight-game streak; and could muster no more than 38 points in losses to Lewis County, Bracken County and Berea last week. Robertson County, Bellevue and Berea up this time around. 17. Silver Grove (7-15, 0-4 region, 0-2 37th District). The Big Trains were 2-2 last week, losing big to Ludlow and Bellevue and defeating Heritage Academy and B3 (Big Bone Baptist home school). At last report, Spence Macke has taken over the state scoring lead. Williamstown on the road is the only game on the week 11 schedule. Games to watch: Montgomery County at Paris, 2/4 Bishop Brossart at Scott, 2/4 Simon Kenton at Campbell County, 2/5 Harrison County at Paris, 2/6 Harrison County at Robertson County, 2/8 Cooper at Campbell County, 2/8 Simon Kenton at Scott, 2/8