District Championship Previews for 2/22
We have our first group of district championship games tonight and 13 schools will cut the nets down before the night is over. Here’s a brief look at the Championship games being played tonight:
3rd District: Graves County v. Mayfield
The first meeting went to OT and Graves won by 6. The second meeting was a 13 point Mayfield win. This rubber match likely comes down to how effective Connor Guthrie is for Mayfield. He was held to 9 points in the loss to Graves but had 21 points in the win.
4th District: Marshall County v. Murray
Marshall has soundly defeated Murray in both meetings this season. They won the first game by 30 and the second game by 18. If Murray is going to have a shot, they’ll need more production from Noah Merriss. Noah had 17 of the teams 36 points in the semifinal win over Calloway County. In that win, they held Calloway to 26 points in 32 minutes. If they get that type of defense again, Murray can pull the upset.
5th District: Lyon County v. Crittenden County
Crittenden pulled an upset over top seeded Livingston Central on Monday night to get to this point. If they are going to cut the nets tonight, they’ll need to avenge two earlier losses to the Lyons. These two teams have combined for 14 wins in the entire season to this point. Crittenden got 46 points combined from Logan Belt, Sawyer Towery and Preston Turley in the win on Monday.
8th District: Christian County v. University Heights
Expect a packed house and plenty of fireworks as DeTorrion Ware and KyKy Tandy renew their rivalry at Christian County tonight. County swept the season series with a 9 and a 10 point win. Regardless of who wins, it is strange to see the end of the Hopkinsville dynasty in the 8th district.
10th District: Muhlenberg County v. Ohio County
Muhlenberg advanced to the final by default while Ohio County had to get through McLean County on Monday. The Mustangs swept the season series and will look to take the 3rd game tonight. Will Noffsinger leads Muhlenberg at 24 points per game.
26th District: Saint Xavier v. Male
Both these teams rolled to easy wins in the district semifinals. They only met once in the regular season and St. X won that one by 9. The game features several of the top sophomores in the city of Louisville with James Taylor, Howard Fleming, Tyren Moore and Noah Courtney all taking part in this one.
28th District: Ballard v. Eastern
These teams met in January and Ballard rolled over Eastern by 29. The balanced effort of the Bruins is likely to lead them to another district title. They have different players averaging 8 points or more. For Eastern to have a shot at an upset, they’ll need to score more than the 48 points they put up in the previous matchup.
39th District: Mason County v. Bracken County
Bracken used a miracle finish to beat St. Patrick in overtime on Tuesday and claim their 5th win of the season. Mason has beaten Bracken soundly in both their meetings this season. Unless Bracken can produce a second miracle, Leevi Dunaway and the Royals will be cutting nets this evening.
40th District: George Rogers Clark v. Paris
Paris fell by 7 points in both of the regular season games against GRC and will be looking to knock off the Cardinals on their third try. Eric Johnson going against Jordan Graham should be a fun match-up to watch as they are two of the top point guards in the 10th region.
47th District: Somerset v. Pulaski County
These two split two regular season meetings as Pulaski handed Somerset a 25 point beating in their first game but the Briar Jumpers beat Pulaski by 16 in their second meeting. Somerset has had a great season with 24 wins already and could roll into the regional with serious momentum if they knock off Steven Fitzgerald and his Maroon teammates.
53rd District: Knott County Central v. Cordia
Knott County Central is 3-0 on the year against Cordia and looking for their 4th win against the Lions tonight. Each game has gotten a little closer than the last as the margins have been 18, 16 and 6 points respectively. Isaac Caudill stars for the Patriots and they figure to be the favorites to get to Rupp from the 14th Region.
60th District: Belfry v. Pike County Central
Both of these teams won easily to get to tonight’s title game. Belfry has beaten Pike Central by double digits in both the earlier meetings. Pike Central has the most wins in the region at 24 but Belfry has had their number this year. Central will need a lot of points from Christian Mounts and Levard Missick to get their revenge over the Pirates.
64th District: Boyd County v. Ashland Blazer
These two teams won their semifinals by a combined 92 points in the two games so both schools should be well rested tonight when they hit the hardwood. They’ve played 3 times this year and Blazer leads the series 2-1 but Boyd won the last game by 4 a month ago. Boyd has 4 kids averaging double figures in scoring while Chase Villers and Devaunte Robinson lead the Tomcats in scoring.