Hey y'all, it's Derek K. representin' the one and only Henry Clay High School here in Lexington, KY, home of the BLUE DEVILS. I'm a senior football player and I also wrestle. I've been accepted into the University of Louisville and will attend there in the fall with a major in Sport Administration. Be sure to check out my blog when the Sweet 16 rolls around and I'll give ya everything you need to know about this year's tourney. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a sports junkie, I can bring out the craziest stats, so don't try to test my knowledge. Speakin of which, how bout that pic of my man Aaron Miller up top there, poppin' the j-work on somebody from the good old days back in 2005, 11th Region Champs! 32 minutes of HELLO Rupp Arena. Man I miss that.
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Tonights quarterfinal matchup between Ballard and Clark County turned into a track meet... a very one-sided track meet. Ballard literally sprinted out to a 14 to 2 lead in the first six minutes of the game. After recovering themselves, Clark County went on a small run themselves, going on a 10-0 run to close out the first quarter and open scoring in the second. That would just about be the extent of the Clark County offenese in the first half, as Ballard then went on a 31 to 7, including 23 straight points, run in about seven minutes to lead 45-17 at halftime. Ballard went in cruise control the rest of the night, as coach Chris Renner went to his bench often during the second half to win 71-48. Ballard out-rebounded Clark County 39 to 27 to enable their high octane offense and get easy buckets at the other end of the court in transition. Their tough defense caused seven steals and 15 total turnovers. Ballard again had four players in double figures, led by Antiquawn Beckham's 22 points and eight rebounds. Clark County standout Preston Knowles led the Cardinals with 18 points to finish his prep career. The Cardinals were stymied by the Bruin defense all game long and were held to only 26% shooting from the field, whereas Ballard shot 55%. Ballard used their offensive strength, dribble penetration, to get 46 points in the paint, nearly enough to beat Clark County on their own. Ballard led by as many as 32 at the 2:10 mark in the third quarter before the final margin of 23 was established. That's two straight 20+ point victories for the Bruins, who seem to be having little trouble with their half of the bracket so far. We'll see about that tomorrow morning in the semi-finals where they await the winner of the Elliott County/Warren Central game.
Derek Kirchner
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The final quarterfinal team is set, and it is the Warren Central Dragons. They advanced after dropping the Crusaders of June Buchanan 71-53 before 14,000 at Rupp Arena. The final score was not as close as the game itself was. Believe it or not, June Buchanan came out hot and jumped out to an early lead over a surprised Warren Central team. The strength of June Buchanan showed in the first half, as they distributed the basketball with dazzling passes and assists for easy buckets. They hit 4 or 7 threes in the first half and were 5 of 19 from behind the arc for the game. All-State point guard Clark Stepp came into the Sweet 16 averaging 25 points per game. He led the Crusaders in scoring, putting in 18 points. Buchanan also got 12 points from Tate Cox, just below his season average of 14.1ppg. Warren Central only led by a point at the break 32-31, but used their superior athleticism to come out of the intermission and go on an 18 to 7 third quarter run that put the game away. June Buchanan was never within single digits after that. Warren Central used precision passing to find seams in Buchanan's 2-3 zone defense, lighting it up from 3 point land and also getting it done at the free throw line. Warren Central showed what a balanced team they are, as they had four players in double figure scoring. Joe Hood and Monie Hudson had 18 points a piece. Nick Britt chipped in 16 and Aaron Rhodes came off the bench to give 10 points. Warren Central shot well from everywhere it seemed, shooting 48% from the field, 44% from 3, and 60% at the line. For the first 16 minutes, it seemed the small school from Pippa Passas, with its entire student body (all 75 of them), was going to show up the 6-time 4th Region champions. Warren Central used that as motivation that fueled their second half drive, but hats off to June Buchanan, they never quit and kept fighting til the end even though they gave up size, speed, strength, and overall athleticism. Warren Central advances to take on tournament first-timers Elliott County in tomorrow's quarterfinal nightcap.
Derek Kirchner
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The Bracket is made up for the 2007 Boy's Sweet 16 Tournament at Rupp Arena. Here is an early preview at how it could play out:
The first four games of the top half of the bracket, which feature the 5th v. 12th Regions, 11th v. 8th, 13th v. 6th, and 9th v. 1st. The favorite to make it out of this group, assuming they get in the Sweet 16 of course, would be Scott County out of the 11th Region. How could the team who just owned Huntington High (yes the one with OJ Mayo and Patrick Patterson and however many other D-1 recruits they had) be the favorite to make it to the finals? They will face stiff competition not only in their region, but also in their district which features the likes of Bryan Station, Henry Clay and Sayre. Once out of the 42nd District, the Cards would have match-ups against Tates Creek, Lexington Catholic, and Madison Central, all ranked in Dave Cantrall's Rating the State (2/5). Other strong teams that could make it into this half of the bracket are Central Hardin (5th Region), Gallatin County (8th Region), South Laurel (13th Region), Doss (6th Region), Covington Catholic (9th Region), and Paducah Tilghman (1st Region)
Looking at the bottom half of the bracket, the match-ups are 3rd v. 7th, 10th v. 2nd, 16th v. 15th, and 14th v. 4th. An early favorite for this half would be Ballard out of the 7th Region. The Bruins are currently ranked behind Scott County and own the number two spot in Cantrall's rankings. A solid team all-around, this team could make a run deep into March. Also from the 7th Region are the defending state champ J-Town Chargers, currently ranked 5th in the Dave Cantrall rankings. A J-Town/Ballard clash in the 7th Region finals will be a thriller, much like a Scott Co/Station, Creek, or Catholic meeting in the 11th. Other favorites who could make it to the bottom half of the bracket are Apollo (3rd Region), Bishop Brossart (10th), Christian County (2nd), Elliot County (16th), Shelby Valley (15th), Breathitt County (14th) and Warren Central (4th).
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If the 11th Region isn't the toughest region in the state, people must be crazy. Boy's and girl's, it is absolutely stacked. Top to bottom, no other region comes close. Scott County, Lexington Catholic boys and girls are at the top of the rankings. They're both NATIONALLY ranked. Bryan Station boys, Tates Creek boys, Henry Clay girls and boys all contend for district and region titles. Let's not forget the sleepers in Dunbar, Lafayette, Madison Central and Woodford County. I can't wait to watch the 11th Region tournament in a few weeks, it's gonna be some high flyin basketball action, and the best part is we don't know who's gonna win. Everyone thought Scott County would walk in the boys last year but got upset by Madison Central. See yall in Frankfort the best bball in KY, the 11th Region!!! Case in point: Scott County v. Huntington High from West Virginia. The totally unstopable, #1 in the country, the whole starting five and a backup committed D-1. You know the result, Scott Co. won the game. They dominated from start to finish. Huntington was never really in it, it was all Cardinals.
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