Written by Sunni Partin
This year’s boys 13th Region Tournament is nearly wide opened for whoever can play their best come the week of March 3.
Teams including: South Laurel, Harlan County, Bell County, Knox Central, North Laurel, Clay County, Whitley County, Corbin and Pineville have all, at some point this season, shown that they have what it takes to be the 13th region champs.
They call it “March Madness” for a reason. Anything can happen. The regular season of course builds teams and prepares them for big games however, March begins a clean slate.
South Laurel is 10-3 in the region. Their only losses are to Harlan County, Corbin, and Clay County. One of the Cardinals losses is to Clay County on the road. However earlier in the season at home, South won 70-47. South Laurel lost a valuable player in Josh Steele when he went down with a heartbreaking back injury in the loss against Clay County. However, Steele is back and ready to make a run with his team in district and region. The Cardinals are led by seniors: Jordan Mabe and Colton Rawlings. Mabe is averaging 19.7 points per game. Kaiden McQueen and Max Fullmer also add valuable minutes for the Cardinals. South Laurel is a team that is very capable of winning big games and one thing they have that other teams may lack is the seniors with experience playing at the Corbin Arena.
Harlan County, the defending region champions, stand at 8-2 in the region with both losses coming from Bell County. Harlan County is led by senior Maddox Huff. Huff averages 29.9 points per game. The Black Bears know what it feels like to win a region title and they will be determined to make it back to Rupp.
The Bell County Bobcats have had a great season and are hitting stride at the right time. Their region record stands at 9-1 with their only loss coming from Harlan County in the 2A Tournament. The Bobcats are led by Ethan Buell, Blake Burnett and Cameron Hall. Buell averages 18.5 points per game, Burnett 17.7 and Hall 14.7. All three of these guys are versatile athletes that know what it takes to win big games. No doubt Coach Brad Sizemore will have these guys ready come tournament time.
Knox Central is red hot right now. The Panthers have a region record of 10-1 with their only loss to South Laurel. Knox Central is led by freshman Grayson Burton averaging 22 points per game. Tydus Summers is another key piece to this Panther team. Summers averages 15.8 points per game. Coach Mitchell Madden looks to make another positive appearance at the Corbin Arena in his second year as head coach.
North Laurel is 7-5 in the region with losses to South Laurel, twice, Clay County, and Corbin, twice. The loss to Clay County went into overtime and the final score was 63-70. Later in the season, they met again and North won 78-63. North Laurel relies heavily on junior Reece Davidson as he averages 21.2 points per game. Other key players for the Jaguars include: Jordan Rawlings and Kole Jervis. North Laurel was stunned in the first round last year and Coach Nate Valentine will have his guys ready to compete.
Clay County has a region record of 11-4 with losses to South Laurel, Harlan County, North Laurel and Knox Central. The Tigers are led by Aiden Wagers, Adon Grubb, Jerrod Roark and Ethan Jackson. Wagers is averaging 12 points per game. Coach Mike Jones knows what it takes to win big games and he will have his guys well prepared for tough region competition.
Corbin can never be counted out come postseason time. The Redhounds are 10-4 in the region with losses to Harlan County, South Laurel, Whitley County, and Bell County. Corbin is led by Ryder Akins, Connor Middleton and Eli Pietrowski. Akins averages 18.7 points per game. Coach Tony Pietrowski has ample experience coaching in big games at the Corbin Arena.
Whitley County stands at 8-7 with their most impressive win being against the Redhounds, 58-54. The Colonels are led by Bryson Mahan (16.4 points per game) and Riley Fuson (14.8). Dee Parker (5.5), Garrett Sharp (6.3), Hunter Bowling (13.3), Aaron Rowe (5.3), and Levi Jackson (7.8) also log valuable minutes for Whitley County. Eric Swords and his team have had a good season despite graduating several key players from last year. The Colonels are hoping to secure a spot in the regional tournament but can’t look past the tough competition they will face in the 50th district.
Pineville is 11-3 in the region with losses to Clay County, North Laurel and Knox Central. Pineville is led by seniors Sawyer Thompson and Ashton Moser. Thompson averages 22.4 points per game and Moser 18.7. These two seniors have shown great leadership all season and hope to make some noise in the postseason.
As the district and region tournaments are quickly approaching, fans throughout the region are eager to see which eight teams will compete for this title and ultimately which team will advance to Rupp.
