December 23, 2019 – Harold Brashear – Bluegrass Sports Nation
Week 3 saw a few games between regional contenders, but most teams were headed on the road to Christmas tournaments and classics. It has been a rough December for the 14th Region, as only 4 teams have winning records. Here is the weekly review and rankings.
53rd DISTRICT
CORDIA (5-6) – Cordia was busy this week, playing 6 games. Unfortunately, the Lions only came away with 2 wins. They started by hosting Knott County Central in a big District match-up. Cordia had opportunities to win in regulation, but Knott Central prevailed 86-78 in overtime. The next night the Lions traveled to Knox Central and were handed an 83-63 loss. Cordia finished the week with 4 games at the Berea All A Holiday Classic. They opened the tournament with a 77-64 victory over Monroe County. Their next game did not go as well as Somerset defeated the Lions easily by a score of 87-63. Cordia started Saturday with a disappointing 71-49 loss to Estill County, before getting past Jackson City by a score of 74-64.
JUNE BUCHANAN (0-4) – June Buchanan forfeited their only game of the week to Letcher County Central.
LETCHER CENTRAL (1-5) – Letcher Central got their first win of the season via forfeit over June Buchanan. Their only other game came against District rival Knott County Central in the Pine Mountain Classic at Letcher Central. They came up short against Knott by a score of 72-59.
KNOTT CENTRAL (6-2) – Knott County Central stayed in the region the entire week, however they played all 3 games on the road. The Patriots looked good going 3-0. They began the week with a thrilling overtime victory at Cordia 86-78. They followed that up with a 64-52 win at Breathitt County. They finished the week with another District win at Letcher Central by a score of 72-59.
54th DISTRICT
BUCKHORN (3-5) – Buckhorn finished the week at 1-3. They started by traveling to Pineville, where they lost by a score of 61-42. Next, the Wildcats took part in the Smoky Mountain Classic in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Buckhorn opened the tournament with a 71-35 win over Gordon Central out of Calhoun, Georgia. The Wildcats were then defeated by Cannon County from Woodbury, Tennessee by a score of 60-44. They finished the tournament with a 58-46 loss to Russell County.
HAZARD (7-0) – Hazard followed up their WYMT Mountain Classic Championship with only one game on the week. The Bulldogs hosted District rival Leslie County and pulled away for an 84-59 victory to remain unbeaten.
LESLIE COUNTY (1-7) – Leslie County struggled to a 1-3 record on the week. They started the week with a trip to Hazard, where the Eagles were defeated 84-59. Next, Leslie County traveled to Raceland to take part in the Derby Classic. They opened the tournament with a close 55-52 win over Rose Hill Christian. In the next round, the Eagles lost to host Raceland by a score of 70-49. Leslie finished the tournament on the wrong end of a blowout. They lost to Campbell County 75-40.
PERRY CENTRAL (2-6) – Perry Central went winless for the second week in a row. Their struggles began with a 73-57 loss at Martin County. Perry Central traveled to Hilton Head, South Carolina to take part in the Seahawk Classic. The Commodores were blown out in the first game by East Lake (Florida) 72-43. The next game went a little better, but Perry came up short, losing to John Handley (Virginia) by a score of 54-45.
55th DISTRICT
BREATHITT COUNTY (1-5) – Breathitt County lost all 3 games on the week to come up winless for the second consecutive week. They opened the week with a home loss to Wolfe County 69-58. Next, the Bobcats hosted Knott County Central. They lost by a score of 64-52. They finished the week at the Kentucky Bank Challenge at Rowan County. They once again came up short, losing to Robertson County 83-73.
JACKSON CITY (4-5) – Jackson City took part in the Berea All A Holiday Classic. They started the tournament with a victory over Eminence 69-65. The rest of the week was a struggle as the Tigers were defeated by host Berea 82-64. Jackson City followed that up with an 82-59 loss to Model. The Tigers finished the tournament with a 74-64 loss to Cordia.
WOLFE COUNTY (6-2) – Wolfe County started their week with a win at Breathitt County 64-52. From there, they traveled to Prestonsburg to take part in the Hi-Tech Signs/Graphix Holiday Classic. The 15th Region was not kind to the Wolves. They lost to Shelby Valley 69-50 and then lost a high scoring affair to Betsy Layne 90-84.
56th DISTRICT
ESTILL COUNTY (7-3) – Estill County had another good week by winning 4 out 5 games played. They started the week with a trip to Owsley County, where they came away with a 57-47 overtime win. Next, the Engineers took part in the Berea All A Holiday Classic. The Engineers started the tournament with a 67-56 win over Menifee County. In the next round, Estill County lost a heartbreaker to Sayre 50-48 in overtime. The Engineers bounced back with an impressive 71-49 victory over Cordia. Estill finished the tournament and week with a 59-42 win over Model.
LEE COUNTY (2-5) – Lee County played only one game on the week. They hosted Powell County and lost 73-63.
OWSLEY COUNTY (3-4) – Owsley County had a full week with 5 games. They began the week with an overtime loss to Estill County 57-47. The Owls then traveled to Berea for the Berea All A Holiday Classic. They lost their first game to Model 65-54. Next, Owsley suffered a 60-50 loss to Jackson County. The Owls were able to finish the week with 2 wins. Their first came in the form of a 78-46 blowout over Evangel Christian. They followed that up with a 54-52 squeaker over Bluegrass United out of Lexington.
POWELL COUNTY (2-4) – Powell County won its only game of the week at Lee County 73-63.
HAROLD’S REGION TOP FIVE – (12/22/2019)
– (prior week ranking in parenthesis)
1. Hazard (1)
2. Knott County Central (3)
3. Wolfe County (2)
4. Estill County (NR)
5. Cordia (4)
