Thursday, March 12, 2015

20 Teams Left

The First Region, usually the last Region to be decided in the Boys' Basketball Tournament, wrapped up last night as Calloway County rolled to a 48-35 victory over Murray.  The Lakers are headed to the State Tournament for only the second time in school history -- their last trip came in 2003.  The Lakers will enter the State Tournament with a gaudy record of 29-3, an unusually strong mark for a First Region team.

First Region Final (at Murray St. U.):
Calloway Co.  48, Murray 35

The last four tickets to the State Tournament will be handed out tonight:

Second Region Final (at Union Co.):
(8) Hopkinsville (27-4) v. Webster Co. (26-6)

Sixth Region Final (at Lou. Valley):
Lou. Doss (25-6) v. Lou. DeSales (25-7)

Note:  They're kicking it Old School in the Sixth Region.  Lou. Doss hasn't been to the State Tournament since 1987, while DeSales hasn't been there since 1979.

Seventh Region Final (at Lou. Valley):
(1) Lou. Ballard (30-2) v. Lou. Manual (25-5)

Note:  Ballard is 25-0 against teams from Kentucky this year.  The Bruins won the L.I.T. in January.  Manual hasn't been to the State Tournament since 1972.

Sixteenth Region Final (at Morehead St. U.):
Elliott Co. (21-7) v. Morgan Co. (22-5)

So far, by the way, six of the AP's Top 10 are still dancing.  Henderson County and Louisville Trinity were eliminated by Top 10 teams.  So only Newport Central Catholic and Mason County were really upset.  Good job by the AP so far:

1.  Lou. Ballard (playing in the Seventh Region Final)
2.  Henderson Co. (eliminated in Regional Semi-Final)
3.  Knott Co. Cent. (Fourteenth Region Champion)
4.  Taylor Co. (Fifth Region Champion) 
5.  Lou. Trinity (eliminated in Regional Semi-Final)
6.  Newport Cent. Catholic (eliminated in Regional Quarter-Final)
7.  Owensboro (Third Region Champion)
8.  Hopkinsville (playing in the Second Region Final)
9.  Cov. Catholic (Ninth Region Champion)
10.  Mason Co. (eliminated in Regional Quarter-Final)
 
 As of now, the draw for the State Tournament looks like this:

Wednesday, March 18:
Shelbyville Collins v. (7) Owensboro
(4) Taylor Co. v. (8) Hopkinsville or Webster Co.
(9) Cov. Catholic v. Campbell Co.
Williamsburg v. Lou. Doss or Lou. DeSales

Thursday, March 19:
Johnson Cent. v. (1) Lou. Ballard or Lou. Manual
Lex. Catholic v. Boyle Co.
Bowling Green v. Elliott Co. or Morgan Co.
(3) Knott Co. Cent. v. Calloway Co.


97 comments:

  1. A potential upset brewing at Valley High, where Manual has jumped out to a 14-4 lead over Ballard in the first quarter.

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  2. Manual makes a three-pointer and they now lead 19-4 with about 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

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  3. Oh my goodness. After one quarter, Manual leads Ballard 21-4. The Crimson scored the last 17 points in a row. We haven't seen anyone do this to Ballard or Trinity in years.

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  4. Manual opens the second quarter with a three-pointer, and they now lead 26-6.

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  5. Ballard has at least stopped the bleeding, but the Bruins trail 29-14 with 4:16 left in the Second Quarter.

    These teams did not meet in the regular season.

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  6. Ballard hits a late three to cut Manual's lead to 12. At the half, the score is Manual 35, Ballard 23.

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  7. Now it's halftime, and a bunch of the lights have gone out at Valley High. So now we have to wait for the lights to come back on. If I were a Manual fan, I would be very nervous about this development.

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  8. OK, the lights have been fixed, and we are ready to go. SIXTEEN MINUTES TO RUPP!

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  9. Ballard scores the first four points of the third quarter, and Manual's lead is now down to 35-27.

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  10. Like a toy winding down, Manual's offense is slowly dying. The Crimson scored 21 points in the first quarter, 14 in the second, and only 8 points in the third. Ballard's height is creating all sorts of problems around the basket, and Manual has stopped making outside shots. So the Crimson are now trying to hang on with defense. After three quarters: Manual 43, Ballard 36. EIGHT MINUTES TO RUPP!

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  11. Manual finally hits a three -- they're up 48-38 early in the fourth quarter.

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  12. Anthony Eaves makes two free throws to cut Manual's lead to 48-40 with 6:13 left in the game.

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  13. Everyone's struggling now. Manual missed two free throws -- got the rebound -- missed again -- Ballard tried a fast break -- Manual stole the ball -- and then lost it out of bounds. Still 48-40.

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  14. No, wait! Ballard scores, then steals the ball and quickly scores again! Manual calls time with 5:37 left.

    Manual 48, Ballard 44

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    1. Manual had two free throws up 48-40. Those were two big misses.

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  15. Manual makes one of two FT's to extend their lead to 49-44. Anthony Eaves came charging back down the floor, got trapped, and called time. Still Ballard's ball.

    The folks on the broadcast almost never tell us how much time is left, but I think it's just over five minutes.

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  16. Ballard hits a three!

    Manual 49, Ballard 47

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  17. Again, Manual makes one of two FT's. Again, Ballard responds with a three.

    Manual 50, Ballard 50

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  18. Manual hits a three, but Eaves responds with a three for Ballard.

    With 3:30 left: Manual 53, Ballard 53

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  19. Manual misses, and Ballard draws a foul. Ballard has a 90 percent free throw shooter at the line, but he MISSES. Still tied at 53.

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  20. 2:40 to go. Still tied at 53. Ballard ball.

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  21. 2:11 to go. Ballard misses, but gets its own rebound. Still 53-all.

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  22. 1:57 to go. Ballard still has the ball. The Bruins call time.

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  23. This is the greatest high school sporting event in America.

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    1. Hear, hear. Did you hear the Williamsburg radio stuff? NO, BIG CLAY!

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    2. That was great stuff on the Williamsburg radio call.

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  24. Ballard shoots, misses, shoots, misses, shoots -- and hits!

    Offensive rebounding makes the difference. Ballard 55, Manual 53 with one minute left.

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  25. Manual shoots, misses. Ballard has the ball and the lead with 39 seconds left.

    This is going to be a heartbreaking defeat for Manual, but in all honesty Ballard is much the better team. Since that flukey first quarter, where Manual was hitting everything they took, Ballard has outscored Manual 51-32.

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  26. Manual has to foul to stop the clock. Ballard MISSES!

    Manual will have one more chance. 28 seconds left. Manual calls time.

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  27. I normally play for the tie down two, but Manual will have no chance in overtime. They have to shoot for the win right now.

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  28. Manual goes for the three, shoots an airball. But a Manual player gets the rebound, scores, AND IS FOULED!

    55-all with 14 seconds left.

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  29. Both teams have struggled at the line, and sure enough Manual misses the free throw. BUT THE CRIMSON GET THE REBOUND. Now they can win the game in regulation! They do absolutely nothing with this opportunity, passing the ball around until someone shoots an off-balance three with time running out. That shot misses and we are going to overtime.

    Ballard 55, Manual 55. FOUR MINUTES TO RUPP!

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  30. Manual draws first blood in OT, now leads 57-55.

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  31. Eaves responds with a driving jump shot. We're all tied at 57.

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  32. A Manual player almost lost the ball, got it back, was falling down, kept his dribble and called time as he hit the ground. Still Manual ball. Still tied at 57. About 2 and a half minutes left.

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  33. Actually, there's only 2:05 left. Still tied at 57.

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  34. Manual's shot is BLOCKED! Ballard goes hurrying the other way. The Bruins score and ARE FOULED. Bruins MAKE the free throw, and now lead 60-57 with 1:57 left.

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  35. Manual can't score, as usual. Ballard gets the ball, scoots the other way, and calls time. 1:23 left. Ballard leads 60-57, and now, surely, they have control of the game for good.

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  36. And now Manual fouls Ballard -- and the officials call a TECHNICAL FOUL! Presumably the player for Manual said something wrong.

    That is surely the ball game. Ballard makes both technicals, and then both personals, and the Bruins now lead 64-57 with 1:19 to go.

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    1. Jason Frakes of the C-J explains that what actually happened was that the Manual player thought he had stolen the ball. Instead, he was called for a foul. In frustration, the Manual player slammed the ball to the floor, thus getting a technical foul.

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  37. Manual can't score -- I'm not sure they could score at this point if Ballard walked off the floor -- and Ballard runs off some clock before going back to the free throw line with 43 seconds to go.

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  38. Ballard makes both FT's, and the Bruins are now on an 11-0 run in OT. That is championship basketball.

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  39. Manual shows me -- they finally hit another three. Ballard leads 66-60 with 28 seconds left. The Ballard announcer warns us that it's not over by a long shot, but he is mistaken.

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  40. Manual misses again, and Ballard is heading back to the line. It's all over but the shouting.

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  41. The final score (in overtime):

    Ballard Bruins: 67
    Manual Crimson: 60

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  42. In the last 20 minutes of basketball (two 8-minute quarters and a 4-minute overtime), Ballard beat Manual 44-25. That is an absolutely dominating performance under enormous pressure.

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  43. In the 16th Region, Elliott County leads Morgan County 31-21 at the half.

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  44. Now we turn to one of my favorite radio stations on earth -- WHOP (1230-AM) in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Once again, WHOP is giving us live coverage of Hoptown's efforts to win the Second Region.

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  45. "You're listening to Tiger Basketball sponsored by Chick-Fil-A." But the first commercial is actually for Land Funeral Home. "Owned and operated by a family dedicated to serving your family."

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  46. In the 16th Region, Elliott County leads Morgan County 33-27 with 5:09 left in the third.

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  47. In the 6th Region, DeSales leads Doss 9-5 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

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  48. Not much happening in Union County. Webster leads Hoptown 9-5 with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

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  49. In the 16th Region, Morgan County is on an 11-0 run. Elliott County's lead is now only 33-32 with 2:35 left in the third.

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  50. With 1:45 left in the first quarter, Hoptown and Webster are tied at 11. Tigers starting to roll.

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  51. With 1:30 left in the first quarter, Hoptown leads 13-11. Webster calls time.

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  52. Now an ad for Herb Hays furniture. "Water-damaged savings include dozens of items."

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    1. The 1969 desk has a Herb Hays article in the hopper.

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  53. In the Sixth Region, DeSales leads Doss 17-12 with 1:19 left in the first.

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  54. After a blah start, Hoptown leads 15-13 after one quarter. I predict a big run for Hoptown in the second quarter.

    "Stop by your Sonic drive-in on West Seventh Street and Fort Campbell Boulevard."

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  55. I couldn't have been more wrong about the second quarter. At the half, Webster County leads Hoptown 31-30.

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  56. In the Sixth Region, Doss leads DeSales 29-25 at the half.

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  57. In the 16th Region, Elliott County hangs on to beat Morgan County 49-43.

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  58. Here's one of the Vandiest things you will ever see. The Vanderbilt Commodores have a bunch of freshmen, and they got off to a terrible start in the SEC. After eight conference games, they were 1-7 in the league. Then they started clicking, and one 8 of their last 10 games. Of course, one of the two losses was an OT loss at home to UT, but they bounced back and beat UT on the road.

    OK, so now Vandy is going into the SEC Tournament with a record of 19-12 overall and 9-9 in the SEC. In their first game, they are supposed to play Tennessee, who has been terrible down the stretch. Pomeroy gives Vandy a 77 percent chance of victory.

    Sure enough, Vandy is rolling along in Nashville with a 59-47 lead with 6:25 to go. BRING ON ARKANSAS IN THE NEXT ROUND!

    Nope. In the last 6:25 of the game, UT outscores Vandy 20-2 and wins the game 67-61. So long, thanks for playing.

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    1. Remember this: the ultimate test for any Vandy coach is whether they can beat Tennessee, because Tennessee can almost always beat Vandy, no matter how good the two teams are. I have probably watched UT win at least 15 basketball games against Vandy where Vandy had the better team.

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    2. Next year, when Vandy is raining three's all over UK, I want everyone to remember this game.

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  59. Meanwhile, in Union County, Hoptown leads Webster 46-41 late in the third quarter.

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  60. Hoptown finally had that spurt I was waiting for. The Second Region Final was tied at 41 with just a few minutes left in the third quarter. But Hoptown went on a 7-0 run and now leads 48-41 with one quarter left.

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  61. Now a commercial for Pennyroyal Hospice -- "Living to the Fullest."

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  62. In the Sixth Region, Doss leads DeSales 41-37 going into the fourth.

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  63. Webster County scores to make it 48-43 early in the fourth.

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  64. Hoptown now up 52-43, and the Tigers will be going to Rupp for the fourth year in a row.

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  65. Max's Cafe: "For a limited time, get a gizzard or liver for only a dollar."

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  66. In the Sixth Region, Doss leads DeSales 48-37 with 5:23 left in the game.

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  67. "Four Seasons Catering: To everything there is a season."

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  68. "Expect great things at Planters Bank . . . with 13 full-service locations."

    2:29 left: 56-44 Hoptown.

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  69. This game was tied at 41 late in the third quarter, and since then Hoptown has gone on a 17-3 run. Tigers now lead 58-44.

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  70. Since Hoptown is in, here's what happened to the AP's top 10:

    Six won their region
    Two were eliminated by other teams in the top 10.
    Two were upset by teams outside the top 10.

    Good job by the AP voters!

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  71. In the Sixth Region, Doss leads DeSales 52-42 with 1:47 left.

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  72. Webster County is going to lose this game, but this is the best Webster County team I can remember in any sport.

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    1. Hear, hear. That was an impressive run. I was rooting for them. We go to church with the superintendent! How's that for namedropping?

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    2. "Trojans' valiant effort falls short" is the headline in the morning-after Madisonville Messenger. Otherwise above the fold on the Sports front, we've got a lot of prep-baseball-lookahead coverage.

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  73. In the Sixth Region, Doss leads 54-49 with 39.5 seconds to go.

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  74. Final: Hopkinsville 61, Webster County 46.

    Hoptown becomes the first team to win the Second Region four years in a row since Dawson Springs won four consecutive regional titles from 1944 to 1947.

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  75. Great job by all the folks at WHOP!

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  76. Doss beats DeSales 55-49 to win the Sixth Region. The Warren Central Dragons didn't make it, but the Doss Dragons are going to the State Tournament for the first time since 1987.

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  77. The Second Region is not selecting an all-tournament team. WKU Todd on WHOP just explained that all the Second Region muckymucks got together and voted against having an all-tournament team this season. I would love to know more about that decision. Another of the stories the 1969 desk is tracking is all of the logistical decisionmaking around the Second Region tournament back then--there were reportedly all these tense meetings on decisions like game times, distribution of ticket sales, etc.

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    1. The Second Region is barn-burning country. I've always found everything over there to be pretty intense. It's like a little section of Middle Tennessee inserted into Kentucky.

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    2. The only thing that holds Christian County back in sports is that it doesn't have enough people to go up against teams in Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky. Even with that disadvantage, all three schools in Christian County have won the state basketball championship since 1985. If Hoptown had as many people as Clarksville, Tenn., the teams from over there would be almost unbeatable.

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    3. I think of it as western Kentucky's northern Kentucky.

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  78. In honor of the Dragons, here is a special nickname-included version of the match-ups in the first round of the Sweet 16. We actually have sixteen different nicknames represented, which makes me very happy:

    WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18:
    Shelbyville Collins Titans (26-8) v. (7) Owensboro Red Devils (27-4)
    (4) Taylor Co. Cardinals (28-4) v. (8) Hopkinsville Tigers (25-5)
    (9) Cov. Catholic Colonels (29-5) v. Campbell Co. Camels (25-9)
    Williamsburg Yellow Jackets (25-4) v. Lou. Doss Dragons (25-6)

    THURSDAY, MARCH 19
    Johnson Cent. Golden Eagles (23-9) v. (1) Lou. Ballard Bruins (31-2)
    Lex. Catholic Knights (24-8) v. Boyle Co. Rebels (26-6)
    Bowling Green Purples (28-5) v. Elliott Co. Lions (21-7)
    (3) Knott Co. Cent. Patriots (30-2) v. Calloway Co. Lakers (29-3)

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  79. Here's how the last 10 state finals played out:

    2006: 7th Region over 3d Region
    2007: 11th over 7th
    2008: 10th over 9th
    2009: 9th over 6th
    2010: 15th over 7th
    2011: 2d over 16th
    2012: 7th over 11th
    2013: 11th over 7th
    2014: 9th over 11th

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