Road to the Sweet Sixteen: One ticket punched, 30 teams alive for 15 spots at state
The 102nd Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen state basketball tournament gets underway Wednesday at Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington.
The 11th Region was the first to decide its champion on Friday. Fourteen region finals are scheduled for Saturday while one — the 16th Region championship — is set for Sunday afternoon.
Below you’ll find a brief recap of the 11th Region championship as well as previews of the other 15 region finals.
1ST REGION (Sunday at CFSB Center)
McCracken County vs. Mayfield: The Mustangs earned a chance to repeat as region champs after defeating Murray, 41-34, in the semifinals. They’ve won 16 straight games heading into their match-up with Mayfield, whom they defeated 66-65 in their only meeting on Dec. 11. The Cardinals, who advanced over Paducah Tilghman, 82-74 in overtime, are the slightest favorite according to the Cantrall Ratings (73.5 to 73.3) in what will be a battle between the region’s top two squads. Kade Neely hit a jumper at the horn to force overtime in the semifinals after Tilghman rallied for a late lead.
2ND REGION (Saturday at Madisonville)
University Heights vs. Madisonville: KyKy Tandy, a frontrunner for the Mr. Basketball award, had 36 points, seven rebounds and four assists to lead UHA to its second straight appearance in the 2nd Region final, where the Blazers will look to repeat. He was 8-for-12 from the 3-point line in a 96-60 win over Caldwell County in the semifinals. Madisonville used a 13-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to dispatch of Henderson County in the semis, 66-49. Ksuan Casey had 19 points to lead the Maroons, who haven’t played in the Sweet Sixteen since 2001. UHA won the only meeting between the two back in December, 80-79 at home.
3RD REGION (Saturday at Owensboro Sportscenter)
Breckinridge County vs. Owensboro: The Fighting Tigers defeated Owensboro Catholic, 70-59, in the semifinals to avenge a 79-73 defeat on the road earlier this season. Breckinridge County hasn’t played in the Sweet Sixteen since 1995, when it won its second state title 30 years after winning its first. Owensboro, whose 43 trips to the Sweet Sixteen are the most by any school, last made the big dance in 2015, when it won its fourth state title.
4TH REGION (Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena)
Bowling Green vs. Warren Central: The Purples advanced to the region final for the sixth straight year, knocking off Clinton County and WKU signee Jackson Harlan, 51-38. Reigning champ Warren Central’s 93-77 win over Logan County ensured that the 4th Region champ would come from the 14th District — the 4th Region’s champion has originated from that district for 18 straight seasons.
5TH REGION (Saturday at Hart County)
Taylor County vs. John Hardin: The Cardinals scored 21 points in overtime to upend LaRue County, considered the second-best team in the region after unbeaten John Hardin, which improved to 34-0 with its 74-55 victory over Marion County. The Bulldogs if they defeat Taylor County in the championship will become the first team to enter the boys’ Sweet Sixteen without a loss since Clay County did so in 1989, and would vie to become Kentucky’s first unbeaten boys’ champ since Brewers finished without a blemish in 1948.
6TH REGION (Saturday at Valley)
Bullitt East vs. Butler: The Chargers last reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2012, the second of back-to-back trips. Butler’s last visit was in 2010. It will be the fifth appearance in the state tournament for whichever program gets to come to Lexington; they split two meetings in the regular season (Bullitt East dropped a 57-51 road game in December but used a 50-49 victory to oust the Bears from the Louisville Invitational Tournament on the first day).
7TH REGION (Saturday at Valley)
Ballard vs. Trinity: These two teams have exchanged 7th Region titles each year beginning in 2012 when the Shamrocks took it on their way to the school’s first state title. History does not favor Trinity, ranked third in the state — this year is Ballard’s turn according to the unusual alternating pattern.
8TH REGION (Saturday at Henry County)
Oldham County vs. Walton-Verona: Two players had double-doubles — Christian Haprer (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Matthew Teague (15 points, 10 assists) — to lead the Colonels in an 87-65 semifinal win over Gallatin County; Oldham County needed a buzzer-beater earlier this week to knock off Collins. The Bearcats used a 22-6 difference in the third quarter to take command in a 70-47 victory over Spencer County. Mr. Basketball contender and Xavier signee Dieonte Miles finished with 18 points for the Bearcats despite playing only three minutes in the first half due to foul trouble; Kam Pardee had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Walton-Verona, which has not made the Sweet Sixteen since 1942 (when it was Walton).
9TH REGION (Saturday at BB&T Arena)
Beechwood vs. Covington Catholic: The Tigers upset Cooper, 47-43, in a rock fight decided in overtime; neither team shot better than 37 percent. Sophomore Scotty Draud had 15 points to lead Beechwood, which made its first region final since 1949 and will look to go 3-0 against district rival CovCath, the defending state champion, to make its first Sweet Sixteen. The Colonels eliminated Newport, 57-43, in the semifinals; Michael Mayer, who’s committed to play tight end at Notre Dame, had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists for CovCath.
10TH REGION (Saturday at Mason County)
Campbell County vs. Clark County: The Camels — last year’s region champs — got past host Mason County in a 74-51 semifinal win to make their third straight title game. GRC survived an overtime affair with Scott, 70-67, to engage again with Campbell County, which handed the Cardinals their only regional loss this season (57-48 on the road Nov. 30) and eliminated them in last year’s semifinal round.
11TH REGION (Friday at McBrayer Arena)
Scott County 58, Henry Clay 38: Mr. Basketball finalist Michael Moreno had 13 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to lead Scott County to its third straight 11th Region title. The Cardinals, the top-ranked team in the state, eliminated the state’s No. 9 team (Madison Central), No. 10 team (Frankfort) and No. 2 team (Henry Clay) to make it back to the Sweet Sixteen, in which they’ve been eliminated by the eventual state champion each of the last two seasons.
12TH REGION (Saturday at Lincoln County)
Danville vs. Lincoln County: DeShaud St. Martin had 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Admirals in a 49-46 win over Pulaski County; Danville will try to make the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1990. The host Patriots will have less than a day to recover from a 67-64 win over Wayne County that took five overtimes to complete; Blake Smith hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds left in the last overtime to give Lincoln a three-point advantage at the end and the Cardinals failed to tie. Smith finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Patriots, who out-rebounded Wayne County 55-34.
13TH REGION (Saturday at Corbin Arena)
Knox Central vs. North Laurel: Knox Central reached its first title game since 2004 with a 65-55 victory over defending region titlist Corbin; the Panthers haven’t won a region title since 1970. North Laurel upset South Laurel, ranked No. 19 statewide, 62-57 behind a 17-point, 6-rebound night by Cole Kelly. Reed Sheppard, the eighth grade son of former UK star Jeff Sheppard, had 12 points, six assists and three blocks for the Jaguars.
14TH REGION (Saturday at Powell County)
Perry County Central vs. Hazard: Noah Back, a Mr. Basketball finalist, had 15 points in a 47-41 win over Knott County Central to send the Commodores to their fourth region championship game in the last five seasons. Hazard defeated the host Pirates, 58-39, to set up its fourth meeting with Perry Central this season; the Bulldogs went 0-3 in those games, all decided by single digits — 61-56 at home on Dec. 11, 49-47 at PCC on Feb. 5 and 49-44 in the 54th District championship at Perry on Feb. 22.
15TH REGION (Saturday at East Kentucky Expo Center)
Johnson Central vs. Pikeville: The duo meet in the 15th Region final for the third straight season. It’s the eighth straight championship appearance for Johnson Central, a region record, thanks to its 56-47 win over Shelby Valley in the semifinals; Isaiah May and Jacob Rice each recorded 12 points and five assists for the Golden Eagles in that one. Pikeville overcame a six-point halftime deficit to defeat Paintsville, 64-61, behind a 19-point night from Christian Billiter.
16TH REGION (Sunday at Johnson Arena)
Ashland Blazer vs. Boyd County: Blazer in overtime upset region favorite Elliott County, 69-65. The Tomcats two weeks ago lost at Elliott County, 54-42, and trailed by 17 points at halftime in the semifinal match-up. Ashland’s Justin Bradley scored for the first time to tie the game with 20 seconds left to play. It was the largest halftime deficit overcome in a 16th Region tournament game according to Zack Klemme of the Ashland Daily Independent. The Lions, last year’s region champs, knocked out Rowan County in a low-scoring bout, 37-34. The pair combined for only 29 halftime points.
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 11:11 PM.
