Wins at Boyle County, Madison Central and Pulaski County is when Valentine felt his team had a chance of making a deep postseason run.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe felt like we had a team that was capable of winning three games at the region tournament,\u201d he admitted. \u201cWe played the region tournament scenario a couple of times this season, trying to encourage our team to win three straight games against quality opponents. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough all the losses, distractions, highs and lows, this team has been able to keep their head down and work,\u201d Valentine added. \u201cNo matter the circumstances, our guys have come back the next day and gone to work. If they were struggling throughout the season, they have gotten in the gym before school, on the weekends or after practice, they have worked their way through the struggles. All year, we\u2019ve had effort-based results. When we play with max effort, we\u2019ve been as good as anyone. Above all else, they have been a team and stuck together. It\u2019s been a total team effort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the starters to role players, Valentine said his players have stuck with each other and continued to get better as the season progressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKole Jervis started off slow this season but has been terrific the last month and continues to be a guy we can lean on in pressure situations,\u201d he said. \u201cJordan (Rawlings) and Reece (Davidson) have provided much needed consistency and are guys we can count on every night. Cooper (Elza) has continued to improve all season and has controlled the game for us on both ends of the floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRJ (Noble) has been a warrior for us all season,\u201d Valentine added. \u201cHis stats may not always show up on the stat sheet but we are so much better with him on the floor. Outside of our starting five, our bench has given us tremendous minutes. Cam (Anderson) and Corey (Cunagin) have given us a boost at key times on both offense and defense. Brayden Hampton and Kaiden Allen have provided a spark at needed times and have been readily available to step up if needed. Evan Zarate has brought tremendous energy and leadership to the team all season. The other guys that don\u2019t get minutes in our varsity games, Deacon (Good), Trendon (Dykes), Colton (Asher), Asher (Edwards), and Trey (Smith), have been great in our preparation and made our guys that get the majority of the minutes get better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With his team ready to make a run at the program\u2019s first state title, Valentine said his the 13th Region Tournament run was something to remember. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.13thregionmedianetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/img_4048-1-1024x611.jpg\")
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