KHSAA Boys' State: Semi-Finals and Final

Earlier today, they played the semi-finals in the KHSAA Boys' State Basketball Tournament.  In the first semi-final, Number-14 Bowling Green pounded Number-11 S. Oldham 73 to 51.  The Purples appear to be getting stronger as the tournament goes along.  Next up, Malachi Moreno and the Great Crossing Warhawks crushed Montgomery County, 70 to 49.  So we are down to the last game of the season, both in the Commonwealth and in Rupp Arena:

(14) Bowling Green (30-6) v. (2) Great Crossing (33-4)

Here is how Bowling Green got here, starting with the Fourth Region Tournament:

03/11/25:  (14) Bowling Green 80, Glasgow 53

03/17/25:  (14) Bowling Green 86, Russell Co. 71

03/19/25:  (14) Bowling Green 66, Clinton Co. 59

03/26/25:  (14) Bowling Green 52, Adair Co. 51 (OT)

03/28/25:  (14) Bowling Green 80, (8) Ashland Blazer 74 (OT)

03/29/25:  (14) Bowling Green 73, (11) S. Oldham 51

And here is how Great Crossing got to the Final:

03/04/25:  (2) Great Crossing 81, Lex. Christian 51

03/08/25:  (2) Great Crossing 59, (5) Lex. Bryan Station 56

03/11/25:  (2) Great Crossing 59, (3) Lex. Frederick Douglass 57

03/27/25:  (2) Great Crossing 69, Daviess Co. 37

03/28/25:  (2) Great Crossing 49, (9) Cooper 36

03/29/25:  (2) Great Crossing 70, Montgomery Co. 49

Whatever happens tonight, it has been a tremendous season, and we wish both teams the very best of luck.

It is 160 miles from Bowling Green H.S. (in Bowling Green) to Great Crossing H.S. in Georgetown.

KHSAA Boys' State: Quarterfinals

Here are today's quarterfinals (all times Central):

10 A.M.:  (8) Ashland Blazer v. (14) Bowling Green

12:30 P.M.:  (11) S. Oldham v. Jeffersontown

5 P.M.:  N. Laurel v. Montgomery Co.

7:30 P.M.:  (2) Great Crossing v. (9) Cooper

Unfortunately, the UK game will be going on when Great Crossing plays Cooper, so that game will not get the attention it deserves.

4 Teams Left

In the late game last night, Evangel Christian beat Trinity 57 to 46.  So the semi-finals look like this:

(1) Great Crossing (36-1) v. (7) Lyon Co. (34-3) (10 A.M. Central)

(9) Harlan Co. (33-4) v. (11) Evangel Christian (31-6) (12:30 P.M. Central)

On paper, this is one of the strongest collections of semi-finalists I can remember.

Oh, Kentucky

49 Teams Left

A big day yesterday, with lots of important games.

1st Region Semi-Finals (at Murray St. Univ.):
Marshall Co. 67, Paducah Tilghman 58
McCracken Co. 73, Mayfield 49

3d Region Semi-Finals (at Owensboro Sportscenter):
Owensboro 56, Muhlenberg Co. 45
Owensboro Catholic 57, McLean Co. 40

7th Region Semi-Finals (at Lou. Valley):
(10) Lou. Ballard 79, Lou. St. Xavier 55
(1) Lou. Male 59, Lou. Eastern 52

Sets up the expected showdown between Ballard (28-6) and Male (30-4) on Tuesday for the Seventh Region Championship.  This will be one of the most important games of the year, and the third meeting between these two powerhouses.  On January 17, Ballard beat Male 71-58 in the semi-finals of the Louisville Invitational Tournament.  On January 31, Male avenged that defeat with a 76-67 home win over Ballard.  Tuesday's game will be the decider.

9th Region Quarter-Finals (at N. Kentucky Univ.):
Connor 78, Beechwood 59
(6) Cov. Catholic 63, Newport 36
Ft. Thomas Highlands 72, Dixie Heights 58
St. Henry 58, Cooper 55

11th Region Championship (at E. Kentucky Univ.):
Scott Co. 65, (4) Lex. Catholic 62

This is quite a story.  For years, as we all know, Scott County has been a great athletics power, racking up wins in both football and basketball.  The Cardinals benefited from the strong economy in their part of the world -- particularly all of the jobs at the big Toyota plant in Georgetown.  But Scott County High School finally grew so crowded that for this season, the county opened a new school -- Great Crossing High School, named after an old school that disappeared when Scott County was created through consolidation (back in 1955).  Scott County dropped down from 6A to 5A in football, and the basketball team struggled.  The Cardinals were 16-16 going into the regional tournament, and they lost their district tournament to Lex. Douglass.  Back on December 10, they lost to Lexington Catholic, their ancient 11th Region rival, by 62 to 49.  But last night they pulled the upset, and Scott County is going back to State with a record of 19-16.  Lex. Catholic, with a record of 31-3, becomes the second top-10 team to be eliminated.

13th Region Semi-Finals (at Corbin Arena):
Harlan Co. 65, Clay Co. 58
Knox Cent. 65, (9) S. Laurel 62

South Laurel was riding a 17-game winning streak, and had just beaten Knox Central on the road 71-57 back on February 13.  But the Panthers had their revenge last night, and South Laurel ends their season with a record of 28-5.  They are the third top-10 team to be eliminated.

15th Region Semi-Finals (at Appalachian Wireless Arena):
Lawrence Co. 63, Shelby Valley 61
Martin Co. 62, Pikeville 59 (OT)

Oh, Kentucky

Is steel coming back to Ashland? Is bourbon coming to Somerset?

A fire at Farmington, former home of the blue-and-white Region 1 Wildcats. An auction of McDowell, former home of the blue-and-gold Region 15 Daredevils.

"Our group is an unfortunately growing group that nobody wants to be a part of, or should have to be a part of. But at the same time, once you're a part of it, you're glad it's there."

The next 10 years might be a pretty good time to move to Scott County.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green, Bromley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burkesville, Burnside, Elkton, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Rest in peace, Gene Clabes, Kentucky print-journalism serial entrepreneur, online-journalism pioneer and his wife's hero. "What we do know is that there will be a party."

Oh, Kentucky

There's a lot of stuff going on--wars and refugees, churches and cities, the 1970s and Vietnam, the 1980s and Japan, etc.--in this fascinating Georgetown News-Graphic article by Jackie Anders on the sale of the Cardome to the Catholic Diocese of Lexington. I had to read it a couple of times to take it all in, and I'm glad I did.

Bath County High has a (beautiful) new fine-arts wing. 

The NWSL is coming to Louisville.

"With forward-thinking public officials and involved volunteer groups, the rebirth of downtown Winchester will continue unabated."

"The report brings up many good questions for Danville and Boyle County. How are we doing on being a rural development hub? Are we setting our community up to succeed long-term in a world where everyone thinks rural communities are dying? How are we doing on improving quality of life, particularly for our most vulnerable populations? Are we resisting changes that could have huge impacts because we are risk-averse? Are we putting too much emphasis on old economic development methods and measuring sticks? How well are we working regionally?"

"Too big of a challenge to focus on our differences."

Free Thanksgiving dinner, in Ashland. (And Whitesburg.) (And Wurtland.)

Free Christmas trees, at LBL.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Brownsville, Greensburg, Guthrie, Mayfield and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond and Trenton, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burkesville, Burnside, Elkton, Providence, Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Chuck E. Cheese is ready to blow our minds, in Lexington.

CDT and EDT all of the T?

Frenchburg's city employees get a raise.

Allen's hiring.

Russell County Public Library is on the move.

LBL appears headed for its first from-helicopters, feral-hog shoot.

Turning to sports, the University of the Cumberlands has landed a key reserve on Mercer County's #khsgbk17 and #khsbbk18 state champs, and the Clinton County Bulldogs claim their first-ever #khsfb-playoffs win.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville and Monticello, Dec. 6; Berea, Bowling Green, Calvert City, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton, Versailles and Whitley City, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10, and Burnside, Elkton and Williamsburg, Dec. 14.

Oh, Kentucky

I've subsequently gone on my Thursday-night basketball league's IL with a knee issue (which is really heartbreaking, because it was widely held that I had been playing the best ball of my whole freaking career), but I am thrilled that I at least stayed healthy long enough to visit and play in the gym of the 1928-state-finalist Nebo Purple Aces (reports indispensable Bob "I Corinthians 10:31" Mays, "Nebo (district champ) beat LaFayette, Madisonville, and Cobb to win the 2nd region. At the state tournament, the Aces beat Russell 31-6, Munfordville 31-21, and Inez 21-18 before losing the championship game to Corbin & its 6’6 center Bob Cluggish 24-18."). 

"Louisville Parks and Recreation is seeking information from current and future pool users in an effort to provide alternative swimming options during the 2019 summer swim season. Metro’s four outdoor pools will not be opening due to budgetary challenges caused by an increase in our state pension bill and the council’s vote against new revenue. The goal is to use the feedback to create the most useful alternatives possible."

With 478 people going to work in April, Kentucky reached a record-breaking 1,982,330 people doing jobs across the state.

Best of luck to Mr. Richardson and Mrs. Spears on their coffee/coloring pages/art endeavor in Villa Hills.

On ambulance service in and around Pike County in the wake of recent M&A activity.

Latest turn in the recycling saga in and around Lexington.

Almost six years later and still no peace for the family, friends and colleagues of Ofc. Ellis.

Oh, Kentucky

Kentucky for sale:

Rock on, Hospice of Western Kentucky and Horse Haven, for Camp Courage for grieving children.

Here are the nine teachers vying for Kentucky's 2020 teachers of the year for elementary, middle and high school.

Kentucky's 2019 teacher of the year was not there for a ceremony in her and other teachers' honor at the White House.

No. 1 Louisville duPont Manual, No. 2 Louisville Brown, No. 3 Fort Thomas Highlands, No. 4 Murray, No. 5 Pikeville, ...

iPads for everyone (in the incoming freshmen at the University of Kentucky).

Hiring in Madisonville (at the old Rosenwald school next month).

Mellow out in Saint Matthews (and of Louisville altogether).

Counterpoint to the racists in Paducah.

Oh, Kentucky

By the way, it turns out "The Fort Campbell Courier has been suspended for an undetermined period to fulfill contractual requirements for the selection of a new service provider."

The First Lady is coming to Toyota; AOC, to a coal mine?

There might be a buyer for TVA's coal-fired Paradise Power Plant.

Charles Bethea's article in The New Yorker on environmental reporting in Kentucky is fantastic.

Kentucky had a record February for home sales.

Bad jobs news from Franklin.

Hiring in Shepherdsville.

It's almost drive-in season again in La Grange.

Covington honors a fast-acting ambulance crew (and Ryan Clark in the Northern Kentucky Tribune delivers a compelling report).

Turning to sports, a 10-year-old Reidland Intermediate School student will be covering MLB19 (but, according to WSIL, he's a West Paducah native).

Oh, Kentucky

About HB46, the effort to "Amend KRS 158.195 to require each public elementary and secondary school to display the national motto in a prominent location in the school." It received first reading in Kentucky's senate yesterday.

Good jobs news from Pike County (involving solar panels, a TEDx event and a Democrat running for governor).

Fourth "sickout" in two weeks for Jefferson County schools.

Who was your favorite teacher, in Henderson County?

Turning to sports, ...

Happy 50th, KFC in Middlesboro!

Oh, Kentucky

Sweet Sixteenwise, we have Walton-Verona vs. Campbell County at 11 a.m. Central today, …

… Ashland Blazer vs. Louisville Trinity at 12:30 p.m., …

… Scott County vs. Louisville Butler at 5:30 p.m. …

… and Madisonville-North Hopkins vs. Warren Central at 7 p.m. …

Semis are 6:30 and 8 Saturday, and the championship is 1 p.m. Sunday.

Comments flow!

Oh, Kentucky

Turning to sports, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association boys' basketball state tournament got going yesterday. This and the girls' tournament have turned into an annual exercise in fun with Google Maps for me. Seriously, I'm not denying all of the privacy, surveillance, security fears that Google Maps casts light on, but--man, oh, man--is it ever fun to be able to draw maps of the routes between two competing high schools to Rupp Arena! 

I got a late start on doing these yesterday, and, by the time I did, Saint Matthews Trinity had already swamped over Paintsville Johnson Central, 70-28. Jason Frakes with The Courier-Journal seems pretty convinced that this tournament is going to end up Trinity against Scott County, and Jason certainly knows what he’s talking about. And this would be my best guess, anyway, and I know almost nothing about what I'm talking about. But, whatever, Wednesday and Thursday is no time to be get all no fun and smart about foregone conclusions at the Sweet Sixteen.

Wednesday’s other winners were Walton-Verona, 76-54, over Knox Central; Campbell County, 61-60 over Elizabethtown John Hardin, and Ashland Paul Blazer, 58-50, over Owensboro. John Hardin was undefeated, and that game apparently came down to a deal where the coach had called a timeout right before his own player hit what would’ve been a game-winning shot. And I read that Owensboro had been several points ahead in its game before losing. (Like I said, I know next to nothing about what’s going on.)

So, today, we have Louisville Butler vs. Perry County Central at 11 a.m. Central, …

… Covington Catholic vs. Scott County at 12:30 p.m., …

… Madisonville-North Hopkins vs. Lincoln County at 5:30 (GO! BIG! M!) …

… and Warren Central vs. Mayfield at 7 p.m. ...

Here's where you can get links to everything official at the KHSAA. Have fun. Comments flow!

Kentucky High-school Basketball

Turning to sports, I've been derelict in figuring out what's happening in the state high-school basketball tournaments. We're deep into regionals in both the boys' and girls' tournaments.

The biggest news out of the district and regional rounds thus far came Wednesday: As previously reported, unranked Edgewood Dixie Heights over state-No. 1 Hebron Conner in the Ninth Region girls' tournament. That presumably leaves No. 2 Scott County as the new #khsgbk favorite. Here have been the Cardinals' scores in he 42nd District and 11th Region tournaments so far: 99-59, 88-57 and 71-35. Up next for Scott County is Franklin County in an regional semi Sunday evening at Eastern Kentucky University.

But maybe No. 3 Boyd County should be considered the team to beat. The Lady Lions were a semifinalist in the state tournament last year, and they were No. 3 in the final state Associated Press poll this season--neither 2018 champ Mercer County nor runner-up Louisville Mercy received votes for this year's last poll. Boyd opens play in the 16th Region tournament at Morehead State University tomorrow.

The only girls' game tonight involving a team in the AP top 10 actually involves two of them: No. 7 Louisville Sacred Heart and No. 10 Louisville Male are going at it--right now, I think--in a Seventh Region tilt at Bellarmine University.

The boys' tournaments are where most of the action is tonight and tomorrow:

-- No. 1 Elizabethtown John Hardin vs. Marion County in the Fifth Region at Hart County High at 7:45 Eastern tonight

-- No. 2. Scott County vs. No. 8 Lexington Henry Clay in the 11th Region championship at Eastern Kentucky University at 8 Eastern tonight

-- No. 3. Hopkinsville University Heights just finished blitzing Caldwell County High in a Second Region semifinal at Madisonville-North Hopkins High, 96-60

-- No. 4 Louisville Trinity vs. Louisville Ballard in the Seventh Region championship at Louisville Valley High at 7 Eastern Saturday

-- No. 6. Covington Catholic vs. Newport in the Ninth Region at BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University at 8 Eastern tonight

-- No. 7 Campbell County won, 74-51, at Mason County High in the 10th Region earlier this evening

-- No. 9 London South Laurel vs. London North Laurel in the 13th Region at Corbin Arena, which was scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m. Eastern tonight

-- No. 10 McCracken County vs. Murray in the First Region at Murray State University, which was scheduled to tip at 6:30 tonight

No. 5 Louisville Waggener is the only member of the last AP top 10 to be eliminated. Ballard beat the Wildcats in the Seventh tournament, subverting what would've been a 4/5 matchup with Trinity in tomorrow's regional final.

Back to Campbell County's win at Mason County tonight, it was the last broadcast for Danny Weddle of a game involving the home team (and his alma mater) on Maysville's WFTM. Last week, they honored Weddle before a game--noting that over the last 40 years he did the radio play-by-play on all 15 of Mason County's 10th Region championships and both state championships, playing over the public-address system recordings of several local coaches saying nice things about him and then bringing Weddle's wife and three daughters out to meet him at midcourt. Then they unveiled a freshly painted spot along media row:

DANNY WEDDLE

1979 2019

VOICE OF THE ROYALS

A big radio microphone appears between the two years.

"It's been a blast. It's been a blessing," he said as he signed off from tonight's Royals' loss (and WFTM rolled right back into "Head Over Heals" by Tears for Fears). Congratulations, Danny Weddle, and way to go, Mason County High!

Oh, Kentucky

Robin Hart in Danville's Advocate-Messenger reports the state auditor's gripping tale of losing his vehicle but finding plenty of helpful people in the flooding near Salyersville.

Buffet on Kentucky (indirectly): "If I were relocating into some state that had a huge unfunded pension plan, I am walking into liabilities. Because I mean, who knows whether they’re gonna get it from the corporate income tax or my employees–you know, with personal income taxes or what. But that–that liability isn’t gonna–you can’t ship it offshore or anything like that. And those are big numbers, really big numbers."

Bevin on trade: "Ultimately, when the dust settles, I am confident that we will have a deal that is a significant improvement over NAFTA, that will benefit all interested parties in my home state of Kentucky and that will be a win for the entire Western Hemisphere. The USMCA is that deal, and the sooner each of our nations ratify it, the better it will be for all of us."

The back story, perhaps, on EnerBlu's pullout from Pikeville.

Hiring in Fulton (for drivers for the county transit authority) and Irvine (for a general laborer "essential to providing safe drinking water to the community").

Kentucky's safest cities? In order, they are Madisonville, Independence, Fort Thomas, Lawrenceburg and Mount Washington, per the National Council for Home Safety and Security and its analysis of FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics.

"Combatting Homelessness" is the agenda for tomorrow's Greater Louisville Reentry Coalition meeting.

Average student-loan debt among Kentucky college students is up 100 percent since 2004, reports Nicole Ziege in WKU's College Heights Herald.

Oh, Kentucky

Record Attendance At 2018 Halloween On The Square

— The Edmonson Voice® (@edmonsonvoice) October 31, 2018

 

Meanwhile, in Owensboro, ... 

And in Louisville ...

And, finally, Shepherdsville ...

"I feel that she's not just the people in Kentucky's hero, but also our hero." (Also, Christmas parades: Owensboro, Nov. 17; Berea, Bowling Green, Lawrenceburg and Paducah, Dec. 1; Richmond, Dec. 7, and Hopkinsville, Dec. 8.) 

Way to go, Bloomfield Elementary fourth-grader Cameron Blair.

Happy retirement from McDonald's, Mr. Gill.

A church brings new life to an old school in La Center.

The agenda for the Nov. 30 Kentucky Creative Industry Summit at Georgetown is compelling: "ensure that artists are thriving with support from every sector ... how to develop their aspirations into an intentional, concrete and strategic foundation for future success ... connecting your financial goals to your creative ones ... ensure you have the tools you need to protect your work, and yourself, in your arts practice ..."

Good jobs news from Paris.

Oh, Kentucky

PikeCoKY/MingoCoWV line @WYMT @brobwx @KelliWYMT @PaigeWYMT @SpecNewsKY @JimWKYT @Kentuckyweather @ChrisWKYT @JoshFitzWx @AMHQ @SpencerWeather pic.twitter.com/7otizFszIK

— Mary Reed Runyon (@MaryReedRunyon1) October 9, 2018

Good jobs news from Elizabethtown and Louisville.

"One of the busiest bridge-building years in the state’s history" is allegedly afoot, reports Tom Latek of Kentucky Today.

Oh, Kentucky

Congrats on 40 years behind the mic at @WFTMRadio , @DannyEWeddle pic.twitter.com/5kAjrJDduT

— Ron Bailey (@RonEBailey) August 21, 2018

 

No. 16!

More foster-care children, longer periods to locate foster homes.

Nipping the opioid bud in Muhlenberg County.

Leitchfield's city parks are getting a refresh.

A dog-friendly park is scheduled to open in Georgetown next spring.

On the construction-jobs boom coming to Ashland.

Adam May with WHOP reports that New Hampshire vice-presidential hopeful Matt Bevin "sounds like someone who will be on the ballot" for re-election as governor of Kentucky in 2019.

Union County's White Buck Vineyards and Winery is on the market.

The Cadiz Main Street of the 1920s is coming back to life next month.

Solving the mystery of a 1919 desk from the Butler County Courthouse.

Oh, Kentucky

And now we get the U.S. 25 Yard Sale.

The person who spruced up Lynagh's is now taking over Alfalfa's.

The state is celebrating a couple of LGBTQ landmarks.

Employees at the Franklin County public schools are getting a little more money and either one or three additional holidays.