‘No one has an easy path to Rupp.’ Reactions to the boys 11th Region Tournament draw
Fifth-ranked Bryan Station’s reward for winning the 42nd District championship in dramatic fashion Friday night turned out to be drawing the same side of the 11th Region Tournament bracket as No. 2 Great Crossing, the defending champs, on Saturday morning.
“I guess I should have made the draw myself instead of my assistant coach,” Bryan Station coach Champ Ligon joked. “But hey, it is what it is. You’re going to have to beat a lot of good teams to win the region. … Just line up. Whoever’s in front of us, we’re going to give it 100%.”
The Defenders (24-6) will host 44th District runner-up Berea (14-16) in Tuesday’s first round while Great Crossing (28-8) welcomes 43rd District runner-up Lexington Christian (15-17).
The hosts have to like their chances to advance and set up a rematch of last season’s first-round game, which was a 69-61 Warhawks win. Both teams returned this season with their rosters largely intact. For Great Crossing, that includes 6-foot-10 Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno, the two-time 11th Region player of the year.
“We knew from the start that (Great Crossing) was going to be there. And you’ve got to beat ‘the man’ to be ‘the man,’” Ligon said. “We’ve got to worry about Berea to begin with, but hopefully it will be another great game and we can find a way to win it.”
The 11th Region boys basketball tournament includes three teams ranked in the final media poll top five among four Lexington schools and four more out-of-Fayette County rivals. All boys’ first-round games will be played at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the home of each district champion from the 41st, 42nd, 43rd and 44th districts. Saturday’s semifinals and March 11’s finals will be played at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. The semifinals and finals will be streamed live by Glicod.com.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Frederick Douglass (23-4) will travel to 44th District champion Madison Central (20-11), one of the most difficult places to grab a road win in the state. Back in 2021, the Indians knocked off a longtime No. 1 Lexington Catholic team that featured the state’s Mr. Basketball, Ben Johnson, in a 101-97 thriller on Allen Feldhaus Jr. Court in Richmond.
“It’s a one-game season now. This is what we all work so many hours for. We wanted to win a district championship, but it’s a new season and our ultimate goal starts Tuesday night,” Douglass assistant coach Shawn Smith said. “No one has an easy path to Rupp Arena.”
Lexington Catholic (22-9) hosts Western Hills (10-20) in the other first-round game. Though the Wolverines have a losing record, they feature Kentucky football commit Javeon Campbell, one of the top senior defensive linemen in the nation who also happens to be Western Hills all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
“They’ve got a 2,000-point scorer who is a monster on the football field. We’ll have our hands full,” Lexington Catholic coach Brandon Salsman said. “I’m excited for the fans. They’ll have a a great time while we’re sweating bullets down there.”
11th Region boys tournament
First-round games listed in bracket order. Semifinals and finals at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
TUESDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
7 p.m.: Lexington Christian (15-17) at Great Crossing (28-4).
7 p.m.: Berea (14-16) at Bryan Station (24-6).
7 p.m.: Western Hills (10-20) at Lexington Catholic (22-9).
7 p.m.: Frederick Douglass (23-4) at Madison Central (20-11).
SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Noon: Lexington Christian-Great Crossing winner vs. Berea-Bryan Station winner.
3:30 p.m.: Western Hills-Lexington Catholic winner vs. Frederick Douglass-Madison Central winner.
MARCH 11 FINALS
7 p.m.: Championship game.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 12:41 PM.
