January 1, 2020 – Harold Brashear – Bluegrass Sports Nation
14th Region teams traveled near and far this week as they prepared to closeout 2019 and start a new year and decade. Holiday tournaments and showcases were abundant. Teams will now play more games in the 14th and start setting their sites on District seedings. (all but 54th). Here are the weekly reviews along with my new weekly Region rankings.
53rd DISTRICT
CORDIA (6-8) – Cordia traveled to Barbourville to take part in the Panther Holiday Shootout at Knox Central. The Lions opened the tournament with a blowout loss to Western by a score of 85-53. Next, Cordia took on Seneca and lost by a score of 69-58. The Lions did come away with a win in their final game against Halls (Tennessee). They prevailed 91-63 to finish the week with 1 win and 2 losses.
JUNE BUCHANAN (0-5) – June Buchanan lost their only game of the week to host Leslie County in the Hyden Citizen’s Bank Classic by a score of 74-37.
KNOTT CENTRAL (8-3) – Knott County Central played in the Gateway Holiday Classic at Montgomery County. Covington Holy Cross soundly defeated the Patriots 75-49 to open the tournament. Knott Central came back with a 66-62 win over Mason County. The Patriots finished the tournament with a 65-59 win over host Montgomery County to go 2-1 on the week.
LETCHER CENTRAL (2-6) – Letcher Central split their games on the week. They lost at Bethlehem 66-60 and then bounced back with a 75-64 win at Thomas Nelson.
54th DISTRICT
BUCKHORN (5-6) – Buckhorn hosted the Buckhorn Lake Christmas Classic this week and finished with a 2-1 record. They opened play with an 82-44 victory over Lee County. Next, the Wildcats defeated Jackson City by a score of 65-51. The win streak ended for Buckhorn with a 63-47 loss to Betsy Layne.
HAZARD (9-2) – Hazard traveled out west to play in the Las Vegas Prep Championship Tournament hosted by Las Vegas High School. Hazard opened play with a 52-43 win over Mountain View (Utah). In the next round the Bulldogs would suffer their first loss of the season to host Las Vegas High School in a 51-50 heartbreaker. Hazard would lose their second game in a row in another close game to Foot Hills (Nevada) 64-62 in overtime. The Bulldogs ended the trip at 2-2 with a 52-33 win over Chaparral (Nevada).
LESLIE COUNTY (2-8) – Leslie County hosted the Hyden Citizen’s Bank Classic. They lost their first game to Harlan County by a score of 78-43. In their other game of the classic, the Eagles soundly defeated June Buchanan 74-37.
PERRY CENTRAL (3-9) – Perry Central finished their trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina with a 65-46 win over Killian (Miami, Florida) to end a 5-game losing streak. The Commodores traveled to Belfry to take part in the Mountain Schoolboy Classic. The 15th Region was not kind to Perry Central. They began with a 76-71 loss to host Belfry. Perry Central followed that up with a 78-58 loss to Johnson Central. The Commodores finished with a 77-60 loss to Shelby Valley in a game that was tied with 5 minutes to play. Perry Central finished the week with a record of 1-3.
55th DISTRICT
BREATHITT COUNTY (4-5) – Breathitt County played in the Williamstown Holiday Tournament. In the opening round, the Bobcats defeated Metcalfe County 89-78. Breathitt County followed that win up with another against Paris by a score of 77-60. Breathitt County won the tournament with a 75-55 victory over Adair County to finish a perfect 3-0 week.
JACKSON CITY (5-7) – Jackson City took part in the Buckhorn Lake Christmas Classic at Buckhorn. They opened tournament play with an 84-50 win over Lee County. The Tigers lost in the next round to host Buckhorn 65-51. In their final game of the tournament, Jackson City lost to Owsley County 77-65. They finished the week at 1-2.
WOLFE COUNTY (9-2) – Wolfe County started their week with a home win over Gallatin County 71-69. The Wolves then traveled to Bracken County to play in the Bracken County Holiday Showcase. Wolfe County edged host Bracken County 75-74. Next, they completed a perfect 3-0 week with a 74-54 victory over Nicholas County.
56th DISTRICT
ESTILL COUNTY (9-4) – Estill County took part in the Dan Swartz Classic at Bath County. They started the tournament with a heartbreaking 57-56 loss to Elliott County. Estill County responded with a 56-46 win over Fleming County. The Engineers finished the tournament with a 64-56 win over Menifee County to finish at 2-1 on the week.
LEE COUNTY (2-8) – Lee County traveled to Buckhorn to play in the Buckhorn Lake Christmas Classic. They finished the tournament with 0 wins and 3 losses. They opened with an 84-50 loss to Jackson City. Next, they took on host Buckhorn and were defeated 82-44. They finished the tournament with an 85-53 loss to Raceland.
OWSLEY COUNTY (4-5) – Owsley County split their games at the Buckhorn Lake Christmas Classic. They lost to Betsy Layne 86-62 before defeating Jackson City 77-65.
POWELL COUNTY (2-4) – Powell County played in the Dan Swartz Classic at Bath County. They opened with a lopsided loss to host Bath County 79-42. Next, the Pirates were defeated by Menifee County 88-73. Powell County salvaged their lone win on the week over Fleming County 66-63.
HAROLD’S TOP FIVE (12/29/2019)
– Previous Week Ranking in Parentheses
1. Hazard (1)
2. Wolfe County (3)
3. Knott County Central (2)
4. Estill County (4)
5. Breathitt County (NR)