Yahoo News 16th Region boys preview: No safe bets: Region field loaded with solid contenders
Mar. 2—MOREHEAD "You never know how the draw is going to go. It's a bit like going to Sandy's (Gaming), but every team that's here has earned the right to be here; it's all good teams."
Boyd County coach Randy Anderson knows there are no easy outs in this year's 16th Region field.
The Lions are eyeing a trip to Rupp Arena for the first time since 2018, but they have a pack of teams looking to play spoiler, including 64th District rival Ashland, who are vying for a sixth straight region title.
It's one thing to want a title, but only one team will earn it.
Boyd County (25-6) vs. East Carter (17-12)The tournament kicks off Wednesday with a rematch from last year's first round that had plenty of Boyd County fans biting their nails.
The Raiders took the Lions to overtime before the 64th District champions pulled out the 60-51 victory.
"We had about 15 guys get on the bus last year that believed they could win and hopefully they'll do the same this year," East Carter coach Cole Brammer said. "We want to come back over here and put on a similar performance. But, all in all, we're excited to have this opportunity to get back to the region tournament."
The Lions boast the best overall region record and yield a powerful offense. Boyd County averages 82.2 points per game, with nearly 11 made 3-pointers per contest.
"I like our team right now," Anderson said. "I think our chemistry has been really good all year long. I think defensively, here in the last probably two weeks, it's gotten tight again, and I feel really confident, as do our kids, with our matchups, even when we have to switch and that type of thing. and we've been controlling the boards. That's going to be huge down the stretch. But I really like the frame of mind our kids are in right now."
"I don't take this for granted," he added. "This is my 14th year here. In my second year, we didn't make it. So you never take for granted just the honor and privilege that your kids have gotten you here. So, we're just really glad we're here.
The Lions are sure to be a tough opponent, but Brammer thinks his guys are up to the task.
"When you have the 64th District, win or lose our district, it's going to be a tough draw when you get those guys," Brammer said. "But, we'll be excited for the challenge just like we were last year. It's the same draw we had last year, obviously, they're a very tough team. I think Boyd is probably the favorite to win it all this year. So, we'll have our hands full, but it doesn't mean that our kids will be any less excited to come over here and compete and hopefully, maybe be able to make some noise when we get the opportunity."
Boyd County, who has an array of offensive weapons, will be looking chiefly toward the three-headed monster of Jacob Spurlock, Cole Hicks, and Jason Ellis, who all average double-digit points with 23, 14.9, and 10.9 respectively.
East Carter will need big scoring performances from its top two scorers, Evan Goodman 19.1 ppg) and Blake Hall (15.7 ppg).
Rowan County (22-10) vs. Russell (17-12)After missing last year's tournament, Rowan County enters as the 61st District champions in 2024.
Russell enters as the 63rd District runner-up for the second year in a row.
The Vikings arrive at the region tournament with an experienced crew of seniors leading the way. At the same time, the Red Devils have depended on guys who were short on minutes before this season began.
"Our kids have really responded," Russell coach Derek Cooksey said. "At the start of the season, we were so young and inexperienced. A lot of our seniors had never really logged many minutes. So we see the evolution of our team, even into this past week, and we've had a lot of kids that have stepped up their game."
For Rowan County coach Shawn Thacker, the wealth of experience on his team has helped propel them to the postseason.
"When you have nine seniors on your roster and you're playing six of them a lot of minutes, that helps," Thacker said. "I think that's one of the things that's benefited us, plus our bench strength is really good."
The Vikings have defeated the Red Devils twice this season, but both coaches know that it's all about the here and now at this stage.
"They have tremendous young talent," Thacker said of Russell. "The first game we played against them was early in the year, but then we played a couple of weeks ago and they made some shots early but defensively, we kind of got locked in and went on a run. But, you're playing on a bigger floor here and a lot of things change. The value of the possessions changes, the scoring changes, plus defensively everybody gets better. But, we know them, and coach Cooksey knows us and there'll be a lot of familiarity there."
With a more inexperienced crew, Cooksey hopes his team will get into a rhythm early and stay composed throughout.
"They're senior-laden and they're well coached, so we're going to have to really get settled in," Cooksey said. "I think that's the key. We can't come out here and settle so to speak. I've got to get them into a flow and a rhythm and we have to make adjustments. The game goes by quickly, even with the TV timeouts. and I want them to play relaxed and free. Enjoy the moment and go out and put yourself in a position to compete."
Seniors Colby Wilburn (17.2 ppg), Brayden Mirus (14.0), and Deshawn Watson (10.9) will look to produce points for the Vikings in the tournament.
The Red Devils will need to continue to see offense from their top scorers Elijah Neel (15.6 ppg) and Caleb Rimmer (15.5).
Morgan County (23-6) vs. Fleming County (23-9)The Cougars enter this year's tournament as repeat district champions. The Panthers are the only team in the tournament that holds victories over both Boyd County and Ashland this season, as well as wins over Greenup County, Rowan County, and Russell.
It will be the first time these two squads have squared off since Feb. 18, 2020.
Fleming County coach Buddy Biggs knows that regardless of the matchup, his team needs to be ready to take on anyone if they want to make a run toward Rupp Arena.
"All eight teams are very good teams," Biggs said. "You're not getting a bad team. So, this is who we're playing now, obviously, our attention will be on Morgan for the next several days. We'll be on them. But you also, in hopes of advancing, you have to look at the other teams in your bracket too. So, we have that in the back of our minds. You get a few days, you get ready for them too. So, you really have to kind of start preparing for all three on your half of the bracket. So, it's not an easy situation. But we'll prepare and get ready the best we can."
Morgan County coach Reece Griffith echoes that sentiment. It's going to be a grind regardless.
"I think there's not really a good draw," Griffith said. "I think all these teams are really good. It's the most spread out, balanced region we've had in a long time. Everybody can play. We need to be ready to compete with all of them."
Fleming County has proven it can spread the ball around and really excel with its offense. A few shortcomings in the district tournament have Biggs hoping for a quick turnaround heading into Ellis T. Johnson Arena
"We stubbed our toe a little bit against Rowan," Biggs said of the 61st District title game. "They did a great job defending us and we were cold early. We got hot late and took it down to the wire, but as far as performing as well as we're capable of, offensively we didn't do it that night for four quarters. So that's my main concern that we perform up to our capabilities, certainly on the offensive end for those four quarters. I thought we defended and rebounded really well against Rowan, we just didn't put the ball in the basket efficiently enough."
After making the tournament last year, Griffith hopes the experience on the big stage helps prepare the team this year.
"I think having experience is huge," Griffith said. "I know that the twins (Eli and Gatlin Griffith) and (Cameron) Adams got to play in the game that year before last as sophomores when they were at Elliott, and you can kind of just tell the difference between those three compared to (Preston) Hoskins and (Logan) Spencer who was playing for the first time on that big stage last year. Now that we've got that game under our belt, I look forward to what can happen.
Gatlin Griffith, Hoskins, and Adams average 14.2, 14.9, and 10.2 points respectively for the Cougars
Morgan County will look to temper the offensive production from Fleming County's Seth Hickerson (18.7 ppg), Adam Hargett (17.3), and Lucas Jolly (16).
Greenup County (18-14) vs. Ashland (20-10)The Musketeers have not experienced a region tournament atmosphere since 2017.
In his two seasons with the Musketeers, Corey Allison has completely turned the program around and is excited to face some tough teams in the tournament.
"We weren't too concerned with the draw," Allison said. "We knew we had to come to Morehead and play good teams. We knew that it was going to be, whoever it was, some stiff competition and we're just looking forward to the challenge no matter who it is."
He'll get all that and then some with the Tomcats.
After coming up just short yet again to Boyd County in the district tournament, coach Ryan Bonner hopes that his team can do what they did last year and put the loss behind them, hit that next gear, and take a sixth straight region crown.
"I still don't believe that our team, as good as we've played at times this year, has played our best basketball yet," Bonner said. "I think it's still in front of us. and I think we're still continuing to grow. Our team is extremely optimistic and I think that's a competitive advantage going into this. If they continue to have that positive mindset, I do believe that's going to allow us to peak at the right time."
Ashland will need to find a way to penetrate the defense of Greenup County, which has proven to be a tall task as of late. Even with that defensive prowess, Allison still thinks there's room to grow.
"It's surprising because everybody keeps telling me about how good our defense is and I've just been on them like we're not playing good enough," Allison said with a laugh. "But I guess on the outside looking in, people saying that is a good reflection, but we still have some things we need to work on. But we do appreciate the kids' effort and they've been stepping up and they've been progressing slowly. We're just excited for them. They've been putting in all the hard work. So now it's coming to life."
Bonner is up to the challenge of Greenup County's defense. He wants to see his squad look for opportunities before the Musketeers have a chance to really lock-in.
"We're going to look for advantages early on in the possession and try to find ways to space the floor and attack," Bonner said. "That's kind of who we've been all year. That's not going to change at this point. We're not going to drastically change who we are. We're going to sprint, spread, and share and then we're going to try to attack gaps and find shooters. So, like I said, at this point, none of that really changes."
In particular, Ashland will need to be prepared to limit production from Eli Adkins (15 ppg), Bryson Chandley (12.5), and Kasey Gammon (10.3).
Unless the Musketeers have been living under a rock, they know that Zander Carter (22.7 ppg) is the leader of the Tomcats' offense, but they'll also need to keep Tyson Lalonde (10.7) and Braxton Jennings (10.3) from getting a hot hand as well.
The region semifinals are slated for March 11 at 6:30 and 8 at Johnson Arena. The championship game is on March 12 at 7.
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