This is the last day of Regionals, and we have ten Regional Finals left for tonight, including a rare 1 v. 2 matchup:
Second Region Final (at Hopkinsville):
(7) Lyon Co. (31-3) v. Henderson Co. (26-6)
Third Region Final (at Owensboro SportsCenter):
Owensboro Catholic (23-9) v. Butler Co. (22-8)
Fourth Region Final (at W. Kentucky U.):
(10) Bowling Green (29-5) v. Warren Cent. (16-11)
Sixth Region Final (at Lou. Valley):
(11) Lou. Evangel Christian (28-6) v. Lou. Fairdale (28-6)
Eighth Region Final (at Henry Co.):
Spencer Co. (24-9) v. Simon Kenton (18-15)
Ninth Region Final (at No. Kentucky U.):
(3) Newport (31-3) v. (14) Cooper (24-8)
Tenth Region Final (at Mason Co.):
Campbell Co. (25-6) v. Harrison Co. (17-14)
Eleventh Region Final (at Lex. Paul Dunbar):
(1) Great Crossing (33-1) v. (2) Lex. Catholic (32-2)
Twelfth Region Final (at Pulaski Co.):
Pulaski Co. (22-10) v. Somerset (22-10)
Sixteenth Region Final (at Morehead St. U.):
(17) Boyd Co. (27-6) v. Ashland Blazer (22-10)
Remember that we already have six regional champions so far:
First Region: Marshall Co. Marshals (25-7)
Fifth Region: Adair Co. Indians (28-7)
Seventh Region: (4) Lou. Trinity Shamrocks (26-7)
Thirteenth Region: (9) Harlan Co. Black Bears (31-4)
Fourteenth Region: Perry Co. Cent. Commodores (22-13)
Fifteenth Region: Magoffin Co. Hornets (21-13)
The draw for State looks like this:
Upper Bracket
Magoffin Co. v. Perry Co. Cent.
Region 8 v. Region 11
Region 16 v. Region 2
Adair Co. v. Marshall Co.
Lower Bracket
(9) Harlan Co. v. Region 4
Region 9 v. Region 10
Region 12 v. (5) Lou. Trinity
Region 3 v. Region 6
I would love to see a Region 1 v. Region 2 matchup in the quarter-finals.
ReplyDeleteThe game between Catholic and Great Crossing is on YouTube. Great Crossing leads 10-6 with 2:54 left in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteGreat Crossing is led by Malachi Moreno, a 6' 11" junior center who has not yet declared where he's going to college.
ReplyDeleteWe have 1,132 people watching this feed.
ReplyDelete(2) Lex Catholic 13 - 13 (1) Great Crossing (end of 1st quarter)
ReplyDeleteThey used to play the Eleventh Region at Eastern Kentucky, and this year they're at Paul Dunbar H.S., which is packed to the brim.
ReplyDelete(2) Lex. Catholic 24 - 19 (1) Great Crossing (3:49 left in 2d quarter)
ReplyDelete(2) Lex. Catholic 33 - 28 (1) Great Crossing (Halftime)
ReplyDeleteGreat game. 1,470 people watching the stream.
Lex. Catholic likes to play the old Pitino style -- a pressing defense that falls back into a zone defense, and an offense that runs through the high post and shoots three's. Great Crossing likes to work the ball to their center. In the second quarter, Great Crossing let itself get pushed into a tempo that's probably faster than it would like.
ReplyDeleteLexington Catholic's colors are the white and blue of UK. Great Crossing basically combines the navy and green of the Seattle Seahawks.
ReplyDeleteLex. Catholic is led by Tyler Doyle, a 6' 5" guard who is going to Bellarmine. He already has 23 points as LexCath leads 41-34 halfway through the third quarter.
ReplyDelete(2) Lex. Catholic 41 - 38 (1) Great Crossing (2:41 left in 3d Quarter)
ReplyDelete1,668 watching on YouTube.
(2) Lex. Catholic 43 - 40 (1) Great Crossing (end of 3d Quarter)
ReplyDelete1,925 watching on YouTube.
Calipari, who is recruiting Moreno, is at this game.
ReplyDeleteOh, good!
Delete(2) Lex. Catholic 46 - 42 (1) Great Crossing (6:42 left)
ReplyDeleteFeels like Great Crossing is about to make a run, but Catholic is getting the 50-50 balls and hitting three's when they need to.
(2) Lex. Catholic 48 - 46 (1) Great Crossing (5:46 left)
ReplyDelete(2) Lex. Catholic 48 - 48 (1) Great Crossing (4:57 left)
ReplyDeleteCatholic calls time.
(2) Lex. Catholic 53 - 50 (1) Great Crossing (1:30 left)
ReplyDeleteGC took a 50-48 lead, but Catholic got a whole series of offensive rebounds to tie the game at 50, and then GC hit a 3 to retake the lead, and then GC missed two three's, and then Catholic threw the ball away but GC threw it back to Catholic. And then Catholic called time.
2,237 watching on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteWell, that was the Game of the Year, and maybe the Game of the Last Five Years. With 50 seconds left, Catholic had a three-point lead, and it was a question of how much longer GC could wait before fouling. Then a Catholic player thought he had a layup -- only to find his shot blocked by Moreno. GC took the ball, came down to the other end, and hit a three to tie the game at 53 with 26 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteSo Catholic had the last shot. Doyle ended up being double-teamed, so he passed the ball to an open teammate, who took a three-pointer with 5 seconds left. He missed. Moreno grabbed the rebound, GC worked the ball down the floor, and Vince Dawson of GC took a three-pointer at the buzzer (while being guarded by two men). His shot WAS GOOD, and Great Crossing won the Eleventh Region Title by 56 to 53.
ReplyDeleteCatholic finishes 32-3. They lost once to Lyon Co., and twice to Great Crossing.
DeleteOh, my word, what a game!
Delete(11) Evangel Christian wins the Sixth Region, 64 to 54 over Fairdale.
ReplyDeleteSpencer Co. wins the Eighth Region, 57 to 51 over Simon Kenton.
Ashland Blazer upsets (17) Boyd Co. to win the Sixteenth Region, 61 to 47.
ReplyDeleteThat's six regional titles in a row for the Tomcats.
Delete(3) Newport beats (14) Cooper 46 to 39 to win the Ninth Region.
ReplyDeletePulaski Co. crushes Somerset 70 to 48 to win the Twelfth Region.
ReplyDeleteIn the Tenth Region, Campbell Co. hits a three-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to beat Harrison Co. 64 to 63.
ReplyDeleteThere's always an hour where the rest of the Commonwealth is finished, and we're waiting on the Regions from the Central Time Zone. That hour is one of my favorite hours of the Sports Year.
ReplyDeleteIn Hoptown, Henderson County is trying to play a slowdown game. At the half, Lyon Co. leads 20 to 18.
ReplyDeleteThe tension in Hoptown has got to be unbelievable. Lyon County is trying to win the Region for the third year in a row, and give its wonder class a final shot at the State Championship. Henderson County hasn't won the region since 1999. Unless you're from this part of the world, you can't really understand how everyone down there feels.
ReplyDeleteIn the Fourth Region, Warren Central beats (10) Bowling Green 64-57 in overtime. Both Warren Central and Ashland lost the District Tournament and then bounced back to win the Regional Tournament.
ReplyDeleteBGHS beat Warren Central three times this year. But Warren Central won the game that mattered.
ReplyDeleteFirst time catching up all week, and I so appreciate your posting about all of this.
DeleteEvery region has now been decided except for the Second and Third.
ReplyDeleteLyon County makes four threes in a row. Now the Lyons lead Henderson 32-18 with 6 minutes left in the third.
ReplyDeleteAfter three quarters, Lyon Co. leads 42 to 31. As you can imagine, it is packed in Hoptown.
ReplyDeleteLyon Co. leads 46 to 38 with 3:55 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteLyon County wins! Final score: Lyon Co. 56, Henderson Co. 44
ReplyDeleteFinal score was actually 58 to 44.
DeleteI think that Lyon County winning the Second Region three years in a row may be the greatest thing I've ever heard of in Western Kentucky high school sports. To me, for a school like Lyon County to win the Second Region at all is harder than Mayfield winning the state football championship. And they did it three years in a row.
ReplyDeleteAnd finally, in the Third Region, Butler County beats Owensboro Catholic 73 to 57.
ReplyDeleteSo that completes the draw for the State Championship:
ReplyDeleteUPPER BRACKET:
Magoffin Co. v. Perry Co. Cent.
Spencer Co. v. (1) Great Crossing
Ashland Blazer v. (7) Lyon Co.
Adair Co. v. Marshall Co.
LOWER BRACKET
(9) Harlan Co. v. Warren Cent.
(3) Newport v. Campbell Co.
Pulaski Co. v. (5) Lou. Trinity
Butler Co. v. (11) Lou. Evangel Christian
Boys' tournament starts March 20. I will be rooting for Lyon and Butler counties to advance to the final.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the girls’ tournament starts in about half an hour at Rupp. I don’t know the parentheses-ed rankings, but here’s the schedule, otherwise presented in GoHeath-style.
ReplyDeleteUPPER BRACKET:
Bowling Green v. Owsley Co. at 10 a.m. Central Wednesday
McCracken Co. v. Russell at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday
Lou. Butler v. Anderson Co. at 5 p.m. Wednesday
Franklin Co. v. N. Laurel at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
LOWER BRACKET
Win. George Rogers Clark v. Lou. Sacred Heart at 5 p.m. Thursday
Bethlehem v. Pikeville at 10 a.m. Thursday
Cooper v. Dan. Christian at 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Owensboro v. Henderson Co. at 12:30 p.m. Thursday
Go, Lady Mustangs! Their first-round matchup is with the high school of my first-ever girlfriend.
I'm pretty excited for the matchup between Owensboro and Henderson Co. I always like the Region Two v. Region Three games.
DeleteThe boys' Sweet 16 starts in about an hour, and here's Herald-Leader Mark Story with a wonderful (though unavoidably complicated) story of the Castle family's ties in and around the 11 a.m. Eastern first game, between Magoffin County and Perry County Central.
ReplyDelete1:28 to go in the first half ... 21-19, Commodores ... "this one's just been a battle, Coach," says one of the WSGS broadcasters ...
ReplyDeletePerry County Central is the Commodores. Magoffin County is the Hornets. It's now 23-19, Commodores.
ReplyDeleteWSGS went on the air in Hazard on Nov. 23, 1947, per Wikipedia. Its call letters come from the last names of the original owners: Whitaker, Sparkman, Gorman, and Sturgill. Here's an extensive history of the station. Why do I find the histories of TV and radio stations so compelling?
ReplyDelete25-19, Perry County Central leads Magoffin County at halftime. It's the largest lead of the game so far.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to the WSGS broadcast.
ReplyDeleteLogging in now. This is Magoffin County's first appearance ever in the Sweet 16.
ReplyDeleteThe "Coach" on the broadcast is Randy Napier, who retired in 2019 as Kentucky's winningest girls' basketball coach. His voice is scratchy today. He thinks the Bradford pear trees are to blame. I've never seen the Bradfords have so beautiful and long a bloom as they are having this year, but I've also never been more bothered by allergies as I have been this year. They say that the Bradfords aren't to blame, but I have a hard time believing Coach Napier isn't right.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, the KHSAA tells us that they are going to start offering boys' volleyball and boys' and girls' lacrosse.
ReplyDeleteOh, good.
DeleteWe get a commercial from Tom Leach, which reminds me of the year that Tom Leach called a game or two in the State Basketball Tournament. He was just as good as you would expect.
ReplyDeleteMagoffin County holds for the last shot of the third quarter and scores to pull within three points of Perry County Central.
ReplyDelete38-35.
Delete6:30 to play ... Magoffin County takes its first lead of the game, 39-38 ...
ReplyDeleteBradford-peared-voiced Coach Napier: "The Commodores look a little stunned right now."
ReplyDeleteWSGS play-by-play announcer: "It can't be overstated just how hopped up the Magoffin County crowd is right now ... the Perry Central fans are on their feet, too, but you don't know it."
ReplyDeleteMagoffin comes out of a timeout and executes to extend its lead to 41-38, and now Magoffin steals the ball from Perry.
Perry County Central steals the ball back and immediately calls timeout ... 5:10 to go ...
ReplyDeleteMina Todd, former girls' coach at Lou. Manual, is doing the color commentary on the KHSAA network.
ReplyDeleteThe Commodores come out of a timeout and execute a play leading to a three-point attempt ... good! Tie game. 4:40 ...
ReplyDeleteMagoffin Co. in white uniforms with maroon numerals and gray trim. They look remarkably like Mississippi State. Perry Co. Central in black uniforms with white numerals and red trim.
ReplyDeleteThe KHSAA announcers tell us that there are over 10,000 people at this game, which tipped off at 11 A.M. Eastern on Wednesday morning.
ReplyDeleteFantastic!
Delete2:36 to go ... Magoffin County leads Perry County Central by four ... Magoffin will have the ball after a timeout ...
ReplyDeletePerry Co. Central has struggled with Magoffin County's pressure. At one point in the third quarter, Perry Co. Central was up 34 to 27.
DeleteWow ... 51-43, Magoffin County after two free throws and a steal and a layup ... Perry County Central misses two three-pointer attempts ... Magoffin County throwaway ... 1:40 ...
ReplyDelete54 seconds to go ... Magoffin is going to the free-throw line for one-plus-one ... seven-point lead ... Eric out!
ReplyDeleteIn the fourth quarter, Magoffin outscored Perry Co. Central 19 to 9, as the Commodores never successfully adjusted to Magoffin's press. The Hornets win 54 to 47, and they move on to the quarter-finals.
ReplyDeleteThe next game is Ashland Blazer v. Lyon Co. Out of deference to the Lyons, I won't be posting during that game.
ReplyDelete