Thursday, April 1, 2021

8 Teams Left

Not too much drama today, but four deserving winners:

Boyle Co. 70, Paintsville 56
(10) Ashland Blazer 56, Knox Central 38
McCracken Co. 68, Bullitt East 56
Ft. Thomas Highlands 88, Muhlenberg Co. 60

So we are left with the champions of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and 16th regions.  Four of the final eight teams were ranked in the last AP top ten -- good job by the pollsters.  Another full day tomorrow (all times Central):

Friday, April 2:

10 A.M.:  (4) Elizabethtown Panthers (20-2) v. George Rogers Clark Cardinals (20-4)
1 P.M.:  (5) Lou. Ballard Bruins (20-2) v. (8) Bowling Green Purples (24-2)

4 P.M.:  Boyle Co. Rebels (22-4) v. (10) Ashland Blazer Tomcats (21-4)
7 P.M.:  McCracken Co. Mustangs (23-6) v. Ft. Thomas Highlands Bluebirds (27-4)

48 comments:

  1. I thought that E-Town would be too much for GRC, and I was right. With 2:29 left in the first half, the Panthers lead 31-19.

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  2. Elizabethtown is wearing white jerseys that say "E-Town." I like that. GRC is wearing gray jerseys that say "Cards" in cursive. I don't like that.

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  3. With 2:55 left in the third, E-Town leads 43-34.

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  4. E-Town leads 49-38 with one quarter left. I'm calling this one for the Panthers.

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  5. E-Town rolls into the semi-finals with a 65-44 victory.

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  6. Ballard leads BGHS 30-26 at the half.

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  7. I wonder what Tom Leach is doing today.

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  8. Ballard up 39-30 with 4:14 left in the third quarter. I think Ballard would win this matchup about 80 percent of the time.

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  9. I was in Lexington yesterday but not for the Sweet 16. I saw a bunch of people in Paintsville gear and got to talk with them about their experience at Rupp Arena. They had fun, even though their team lost. Then, as I was talking with them, "Starfish and Coffee" by Prince started playing on the Sirius Radio or whatever music system in the place. I lived with a fella from Paintsville for a while when I was at WKU, and that year I used to listen to "Starfish and Coffee" pretty often on cassette tape. It's not often I hang out with anyone from Paintsville or hear "Starfish and Coffee" these days, so I enjoyed the whole deal in Lexington yesterday.

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    1. Also, I saw several women load up in a van with Boyd County plates. One of them was wearing a sweatshirt reading, "TOMCAT VIBE."

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  10. Ballard is wearing white uniforms with cardinal trim. The front of the uniform says "LOUISVILLE," then the number, then "BALLARD." I've always referred to this school as "Louisville Ballard," just like "Louisville Eastern," "Louisville Male," and lots of other similar schools. But I've never seen a Louisville school that worked "Louisville" into its uniform. I like it.

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  11. Ah, yes ... today is the opening day of Keeneland's spring racing, so Tom Leach is over there doing those broadcasts. This makes sense. I saw a bunch of people in fancy hats in Lexington, and I saw one guy with an old Saratoga cap. I don't care anything about horse racing, so I didn't put all of that together until I didn't hear Tom Leach on the Sweet 16 radio broadcasts.

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  12. Bowling Green is trying to bring some of that middle Tennessee energy into this game -- throwing themselves on the floor, diving all over the place, grabbing at every rebound. But Ballard is bigger and more talented, so this game has some the quality of a UK/UT game. Ballard leads 43-38 with one quarter left.

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  13. Also, BGHS can't shoot. UT can upset UK, but only when it makes its shots.

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  14. Ballard leads 48-43 with 5:54 left.

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    1. Bowling Green was within four points with three minutes to play but threw away an inbounds pass and gave up a Ballard layup.

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  16. Ballard leads 51-45 with just under three minutes in the game. BGHS is a very good high school team, but Ballard is better.

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  17. Ballard wins 61-53. BGHS had their chances, but the Purples went 4-21 from three-point range. They also went 16-41 from 2-point range, which is what will happen with Maker Bar guarding the basket.

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  18. Again, I give credit to the pollsters. E-Town and Ballard are the highest-ranked teams in the field, and I think they are pretty clearly the best.

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  19. Ashland looking much better than they did last night. They lead Boyle County 24-8 after one quarter.

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  20. Ashland now up 32-10 with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half. I'm calling this one for the Tomcats.

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  21. E-Town was last in the semi-finals in 2000, when the Panthers won it all.
    Ballard was last in the semi-finals in 2013, when they lost in the final to Madison Central
    Ashland was last in the semi-finals in 1996, when they lost in the final to Paintsville.

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  22. COME ON, MUSTANGS!

    Down seven to Highlands going into the final quarter ...

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  23. 50-46 ... 6:30 to go ... McCracken ball ...

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  24. Mustangs beat the press, and they are within two! And now there's a HIGHLANDS TURNOVER!

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  25. McCracken has trailed by as many as 12 points and was back five points at the half. 3:05 to go ... Highlands, still up by two, has the ball ...

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  26. You're right about Tom Leach--he's great. So's Cameron Mills. I'm so glad McCracken got to play after Keeneland wrapped for the day.

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  27. COME ON, LONE OAK! COME ON, REIDLAND! COME ON, HEATH! COME ON!!!

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  28. Highlands has a couple of free throws, and it's 54-50. McCracken's top scorer is fouled.

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  29. Ouch. McCracken fouls on a loose ball. Highlands returning to the line ... NO GOOD ON FRONT END ... McCracken rebounds ...

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  30. Mustangs miss, and the McCracken County coach's son fouls out on the rebound.

    2:12 to play ... 54-50, Bluebirds ... Highlands will have one-and-one ...

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  31. Dang ... Highlands ball with six-point lead ...

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  32. Cameron Mills is saying nice things about the Mustangs, and I'm glad for this.

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  33. 17 seconds ... 61-53 and McCracken County calls timeout after a long three ...

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  34. Ballard is really big. Etown is really fluid. Blazer can really defend. Highlands can really score. I've only listened to the radio and haven't seen any of the games, and that's the best semifinals doping I can surmise. I think it's going to be a heck of a day tomorrow.

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  35. Highlands 63, McCracken County 53.

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  36. Mike Stunson ⁦‪@Mike_Stunson‬⁩
    Can’t help but wonder what Joey Fosko would think about the Paducah Sun not staffing the KHSAA boys basketball tournament, which includes the largest school in its coverage area and county. Such an embarrassment. At least I get to listen to the always excellent ⁦‪@EricChumbler‬⁩!
    4/2/21, 7:37 PM

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