OK, we're getting toward the end now. Three more teams punch their trip to Rupp Arena, although this year's tournament is starting to look like a walkover for St. X. But Barren County's win over Warren Central shows us, once again, that defeats are not always forever:
FOURTH REGION QUARTERFINALS (at W. Kentucky):
Barren Co. 58 - 44 (16) Warren Cent.
Clinton Co. 87 - 64 Logan Co.
SEVENTH REGION CHAMPIONSHIP (at Valley H.S.):
Lou. Trinity 44 - 59 (1) Lou. St. Xavier
Because the 7th Region is so deep, its tournament is usually won of the best of the year. This year, St. X crushed everyone. That is very rare.
EIGHTH REGION QUARTERFINALS (at Henry Co. H.S.):
(15) N. Oldham 73 - 45 Gallatin Co.
Anderson Co. 44 - 57 Walton-Verona
TENTH REGION QUARTERFINALS (at Montgomery Co. H.S.):
Montgomery Co. 87 - 25 Harrison Co.
Mason Co. 67 - 59 Bishop Brossart
TWELFTH REGION SEMIFINALS (at Lincoln Co. H.S.):
Pulaski Co. 49 - 53 Mercer Co.
Southwestern 46 - 47 (19) Danville Christian
They have now played six games in the 12th Region tournament. Three went to double overtime. The other three were decided by a total seven points. This may be the greatest tournament in the history of basketball.
THIRTEENTH REGION CHAMPIONSHIP (at The Corbin Arena):
N. Laurel 49 - 44 (18) S. Laurel (OT)
FOURTEENTH REGION CHAMPIONSHIP (at Knott Co. Cent.):
Breathitt Co. 61 - 59 (12) Hazard
Hazard finishes the year with a record of 29-3, as did Marshall Co.
FIFTEENTH REGION SEMIFINALS (at Pike Co. Cent. H.S.):
Pike Co. Cent. 76 - 93 Lawrence Co.
Martin Co. 103 - 85 Floyd Cent.
SIXTEENTH REGION SEMIFINALS (at Morehead St.):
Russell 45 - 57 Boyd Co.
(8) Ashland Blazer 61 - 39 Rowan Co.
The following top 20 teams have been eliminated:
4. Marshall Co. (lost to (6) Calloway Co. in Regional Championship)
5. Lex. Bryan Station (lost to (2) Great Crossing in Regional Semifinals)
10. Lou. Manual (lost to Lou. Trinity in Regional Semifinals)
12. Hazard (lost to Breathitt Co. in Regional Championship)
16. Warren Cent. (lost to Barren Co. in Regional Quarterfinals)
Tonight we get champions in the 3d Region (Daviess Co. v. Grayson Co.), the 6th Region (Butler v. J-Town), the 11th Region (Great Crossing v. Frederick Douglass), the 12th Region (Mercer Co. v. Danville Christian), the 15th Region (Lawrence Co. v. Martin Co.), and the 16th Region (Boyd Co. v. Ashland Blazer).
ReplyDeleteWe also have two big semifinals in the 9th: Cooper v. CovCath, and Newport v. Lloyd.
ReplyDeleteIn the 9th Region, Cooper beats Cov. Cath 59 to 54.
ReplyDeleteIn the 6th Region, J-Town leads Butler 55-46 with 1:25 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteJason Frakes calls the 6th Region. With J-Town up 57-46 with 1:04 left, Frakes writes that the "Chargers are going back to Rupp." It will be J-Town's third 6th Region Title in the last four years.
ReplyDeleteJ-Town wins the 6th Region 60 to 51.
ReplyDeleteAshland wins the 16th Region for the SEVENTH year in a row, beating Boyd County 55 to 47.
The 12th Region -- the greatest single basketball tournament ever played -- ends in overtime, as it should have. And the winners are Danville Christian, who beat Mercer County 39 to 36 in OT.
ReplyDeleteThis really is remarkable. And Danville Christian won the 12th Region girls' championship, too, and opens play in the state tournament today.
DeleteThe 11th Region also had a great tournament. Great Crossing edges Frederick Douglass 59 to 57 to win the Region for the second year in a row.
ReplyDeleteSince 2008, every West Coast Conference Tournament has been won by either
ReplyDeleteGonzaga or Saint Mary's. During that time, Gonzaga has 12 Conference Tournament Titles, and Saint Mary's has four.
I can't tell you how many times I've tried to get excited about Gonzaga v. Saint Mary's. Ken Pom loves Saint Mary's -- he always has them ranked really high. Right now they're 22 on Ken Pom and 19 in the AP poll. So Ken Pom gave this game a "thrill score" of 82.2 -- very high. With 12:58 left in the first half, the Zags already lead 20-7. This happens all the time with Saint Mary's.
ReplyDeleteOK, this is better. With 1:06 left in the first half, an 8-0 run pulls Saint Mary's to within two points of Gonzaga: 31 to 29. The Zags call time.
ReplyDeleteZags lead 33-31 at the half. The teams have combined to go 1-17 from three-point range.
ReplyDeleteIn a Second Region Semifinal, Lyon County and Henderson County are going to overtime, tied at 53.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Daviess Co. beats Grayson Co. 69-56 to win the 3d Region.
ReplyDeleteHenderson beats Lyon 59-55 in overtime. What a great run for the Lyons.
ReplyDeleteSyracuse beats Florida St 66 to 62 in the ACC Tournament, and that will end Leonard Hamilton's remarkable coaching career.
ReplyDeleteWith 11:54 left in the game, Gonzaga leads Saint Mary's 44 to 41. The teams have combined to go 1-21 from three-point range.
ReplyDeleteGonzaga wins 58-51 in a game where the teams went 1-31 from behind the arc.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about the Defeats Are Not Always Forever label, and I'm looking forward to going back and looking at all of those posts.
ReplyDelete