(2/11)
The 59th district tournament was set Friday night as the Shelby Valley Wildcats will play the Millard Mustangs and the Pike Central Hawks will play the Pikeville Panthers. In my opinion, this is the strongest district in the region, if not the Mountains.
(2/4)Millard, Millard, Millard. 108-102. I can't believe it either. The entire region was shell shocked Friday night as the Mustang Buzzsaw mowed down the heavily favored Pike Central Hawks. I just can't tell you who is going to win this region. Anyone is beatable on any given night. If Joe Marson doesn't get the job at East Ridge than there isn't any justice in this world. This isn't the first time a Joe Marson school has been consolidated; his Mullins Tigers combined with Johns Creek and David Rowe became the head coach. Marson was assistant for one year, then moved on to Feds Creek. After a couple of years there, he went on to his current position at Millard. He has the Mustangs 7-2 in 2001 and is looking to be the 3 seed in the 59th district tourament. The Pikeville Panthers go to Millard this Tuesday night in a very key district matchup. If the Mustangs lose they will have to play the Shelby Valley Wildcats in the first round. If the Mustangs win and the Panthers lose against Pike Central next week they will play the Hawks in the first round. Next week, the 59th is set, and I look forward to all the talking up until tournament time. see ya at midcourt!!
(1/28)Well, the Shelby Valley Wildcats finally fell for the first time to Clark County and then again to Bourbon County in the Toyota Classic. They finished a disappointing 6th in the tournament and looks to get back on the winning track against the Pikeville Panthers Tuesday night. The Panthers are also coming off big district loss against the Pike Central Hawks. The Hawks look like the hottest team in the region and maybe the only team that can beat Shelby Valley for the regional title. A team that took some tough losses early in the season is Danny Adams' Magoffin Co. Hornets. They are starting to put together a string of wins and are fighting for that #1 seed in the 57th district. There are some big games in the 58th this week as the South Floyd Raiders play at Allen Central for what could be the clincher for the Rebels on the # 1 seed in the district tournament. If South Floyd wins, it is still a 3 horse race for the top spot. I will have an update and some pics of Tuesdays 59th district war. see ya at midcourt!!
(1/23) The Pikeville Panthers used another triple double by Chase Gibson and three teammates were in double figures as they romped over the defending regional champion JC Golden Eagles 87-69. Gibson had 35 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists to hold off the 3 point attack of the Golden Eagles led by Dock Johnson's 6 three, 27 point performance. In addition to Gibson's big night, Matt Branham had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Adam Myers 11, and Dave Cecil had 10. The next opponent for the Panthers is Friday night against district foe Pike Central. It should be a classic district battle!
(1/21) After a long week of the All A it is back to the grind of who will be #1 in each district tournament. In the 57th, the Paintsville Tigers have the early jump as they are 3-0; the Hornets from Magoffin Co. has the only other shot to be the #1 seed as they are 2-1. The 58th district is a 3 horse race, with the Allen Central Runnin Rebels with a commanding lead. The 59th is as well as any of 3 teams could win, but Shelby Valley looks pretty impressive right now. The 60th is wide open, with all 4 teams capable of being the #1 seed. I am looking forward to district, but we still have half the season to go!! Anything can happen during that time, and it probably will. It would be tough to bet against the SV Wildcats, but they still have to go to Pike Central and Pikeville. If any team comes out flat in this region, you are liable to get beat on any given night. As I have said many times, 8 teams could win this region and I wouldn't bet against any one of them come tournament time. If you have noticed I have put together a Court Talk Archive. If you have missed a couple of them click on the link below and get caught up on what you have missed. Remember, I will update my editorial every Sunday. see ya at midcourt!!
(1/19) After being up 32-17 at the half, the Paintsville Tigers couldn't hold off the Allen Central Rebels in overtime 60-57. This was one of those classic coaching matchups that you knew would end up being a barnburner. This game also had some 3 point bombing as the Tigers had 11 and the Rebels had 8. The Rebels were led in scoring by Shawn Newsome's 20 and 16 by Hayes. The Tigers were led in scoring by Chas Harmon's 19 and Ben Hale's 18(5 threes). The big win for the Rebels moves their record to 13-2 and the Tigers record to 9-7. The second game saw the Pikeville Panthers cruise to a 69-56 victory over the Millard Mustangs. Chase Gibson led the Panthers with 23 pts., 14 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 block shots. Matt Branham added 15 and Adam Myers had 13. Tomorrow night should be another good ole All A barnburner as the Allen Central Runnin Rebels take on the Pikeville Panthers at 7pm. If you miss this one, you just don't love the game!! see ya at midcourt!!
(1/18) The Pikeville Panthers showed why they are in the Top 10 in the State in Scoring Defense as they shut down the South Floyd Raiders 77-61. Chase Gibson led the Panthers with a triple-double as he had 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. His 13th rebound broke Dickie Prater's school record of 1100. You would think that all of this stole the show for the Panthers. Guess again! Matt Branham was the X Factor as he poured in 23 big points with 5 big threes down the stretch to put the game in the win column for Pikeville. The Panthers will play Millard who thumped a young Elkhorn City team 84-70. The Mustangs were draining wide open 3s all night and when it was all said and done they had 10 big homeruns. Jarrod Adkins 26 and Adam Coleman's 16 led Millard. Justin Ratliff led the Cougars with 25. Tomorrow night at 6:30 is Paintsville vs. Allen Central, and the night cap is Pikeville vs. Millard. see ya at midcourt!!
(1/17) The Paintsville Tigers had a little more trouble than they thought they would as they held off the Phelps Hornets 75-71. Coach Bill Mike Runyon must not have been too worried though as he only got off the bench twice the whole night. Chas Harmon keeps opening some eyes as he had a game high 26 points. Harmon, in my opinion, is the best true guard in the region. He is ly behind the arc and leads the team well with his ability to handle the ball. In the second game the Allen Central Runnin' Rebels pounded the 0-14 Feds Creek Vikings 69-36. Shawn Newsome, the most unde player in the region, led the Rebels with 26 points. The win was a special one for Coach Johnny Martin as he picked up his 400th victory. Allen Central vs. Paintsville in the semifinals should be a dandy!! South Floyd vs. Pikeville tomorrow night at 8:15. See ya there!
(1/16) Well my evening started off a little slow as the Pikeville Panthers detroyed Piarist 104-18. I don't think you could find a team in the US that this team could beat. Bottom line it was a waste of everybody's time. After that I drove up US 23 to catch some real basketball as the Shelby Valley Wildcats stayed undefeated (14-0) as they fought off the Pike Central Hawks 75-72. Shannon Akers led the Wildcats with 21, Terry Wright had 17, and Jeremy Akers had 15. Shawn Scott led the Hawks with 30 as he seemed like a one man show at times. The Wildcats keep proving that they are the team to beat in the Mountains and it will be tough to beat them anywhere!! The All A continues tomorrow night as Paintsville Tigers play the Phelps Hornets in the opener and the Allen Central Runnin' Rebels play the Feds Creek Vikings. later
