The theme of the week?
Overtime.
And no I’m not talking about my weekly work schedule. I’m pointing to the play on the court, that saw multiple games go extra time, one even double overtime.
Last week started with a double overtime thriller in which Conner’s boys took down Newport, Highlands’ boys taking down Bishop Brossart in overtime on the same night with a game that had 205 points scored. The Conner girls followed the next day with an overtime victory over Highlands. Covington Catholic and Cooper also hit overtime on the same day. The coverage area had five overtime games last week, just giving us an early indication of how close we are to postseason play and games getting tighter and tighter.
Congratulations to the Holy Cross girls’ basketball team for winning the All “A” Classic state title in Richmond, an event that starts in region play with 120 of the smallest schools in the state and ends in Richmond with the winner of each region representing their respective region in Richmond at Eastern Kentucky University. The Indians made it through the Ninth Region with ease, then coasted past Leslie County, Owen County and Pikeville before hanging on over Bethlehem in the championship game on Sunday for the program’s second All “A” state title in program history.
The Holy Cross boys’ team came up just short in their quest for a fourth All “A” title, losing to Evangel Christian in the title game. Jacob Meyer continued to put the state on notice, scoring 49 in the championship game for a single game record in the tournament’s history, his 157 points also shattering the tournament scoring record by 42 points as he earned MVP honors for the tournament.
Now back to the grind as three weeks remain in the regular season. There’s still some district races to be sorted out as teams jockey for top seeds in their respective district for the right to play in the Ninth Region tournament that starts on February 26 at Truist Arena and runs through March 7 for the boys’ and girls’ tourneys for the right to Rupp Arena.
Here goes for the weekly LINK nky boys and girls area prep basketball rankings powered by Crown Pointe Remodeling (Boone, Kenton and Campbell County):
BOYS
- Covington Catholic (18-2, Previous Week: 1) – Outlasted Cooper on the road in overtime before dismantling Ashland over the weekend. Evan Ipsaro was his usual self as he moved into fourth all-time on the Colonels scoring list and cleared 2,000 points for his career when counting his freshman season at New Richmond (Ohio). Senior Kascyl McGillis’ play really stuck out, scoring 26 in the win over Cooper and 19 against Ashland, hitting 10-of-15 from 3-point land in the two contests.
2. Conner (14-6, Previous Week: 4) – Two thrillers last week in a double overtime victory over Newport on Monday followed by a one-point win at Simon Kenton on Tuesday. If anything those games showed is how the moment is not too big for this senior-laden team. The Cougars have 10 days off before welcoming No. 7 in the state Mason County to Hebron on Friday.
3. Holy Cross (16-6, Previous Week: 2) – Jacob Meyer cleared 3,000 career points in the championship game against Evangel Christian and is on the heels of breaking the Ninth Region scoring record held by Beechwood’s Scotty Draud with 3,128 points. Meyer has six regular season games and however many postseason games to go. With his 34.7 point per game average, he’s on pace to break the record before postseason begins. Subtract 65 points from his eighth grade year at Scott High, Meyer currently has 2,976 points at Holy Cross, so he’s 152 shy of the record. He’d need 25.3 points per game over the final six to tie Draud.
4. Newport (16-6, Previous Week: 3) – Failed to close out Conner on the road before a loss to Beechwood without their second leading scorer, but that’s life in the Ninth region sometimes and teams have to be ready for anything on any given night. They’ll now focus on the No. 1 seed in the 36th District and can do so with wins over Bellevue and Dayton in the next 12 days.
5. Highlands (18-6, Previous Week: 5) – Shout out to Nathan Vinson’s 48-point game in a 106-99 overtime victory over Bishop Brossart. Vinson hit 20-of-21 free throw attempts in the performance as Highlands went 3-0 last week with wins over Holmes and Cooper as well.
6. Simon Kenton (15-7, Previous Week: 6) – The tight loss to Conner had the Pioneers up 14 in the third quarter before relinquishing the lead. With the No. 1 seed secured in the 32nd District tournament, the Pioneers have seven games left to prepare for the postseason, starting with Lloyd Memorial on Tuesday.
7. Campbell County (14-9, Previous Week: 8) – Aric Russell won his 400th game as a boys’ basketball coach in the Camels victory over Scott on Friday, showing they’re still the class of the 37th District as they look for a 10th straight district championship. Russell now has 451 career coaching victories, winning 51 games as the Newport girls coach in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s before taking over the Newport boys team and then headed to Campbell County.
8. Lloyd Memorial (11-7, Previous Week: 9) – How important is the game with St. Henry Thursday night for the Juggernauts? If they lose, they’re looking at playing a Dixie Heights team who they just skimmed by in a 52-48 victory, or if they win playing the Ludlow/Villa Madonna winner in the district tournament who they’ve defeated by 34 and 25 points this season, respectively.
9. St. Henry (10-9, Previous Week: 10) – First off, congratulations to coach Dave Faust and breaking the Ninth Region wins record on Friday night against Bluegrass United. It was really cool to see Kenney Shields there to present him the game ball after the game, Shields holding the record previously with 460 wins. The Crusaders are playing really good basketball headed into their showdown with Lloyd Memorial on Thursday for the No. 1 seed in the 34th District, winning eight of their last 10. The No. 1 seed is an important one, a loss means a most likely matchup with Dixie Heights, who they’ve beat by seven or a win over Lloyd and a matchup with Ludlow or Villa Madonna, two teams they’ve beat by 45 and 37, respectively.
10. Walton-Verona (15-7, Previous Week: NR) – An impressive win over Cooper gets the Bearcats into the top 10. Aaron Gutman had 26, Julian Dixon with 19 in the win over the Jags. February 8 is a date to keep an eye on in a matchup with Grant County, the two are locked into a 2/3 matchup in the 32nd District tournament, but that game will provide a gauge of where the two stand when they meet the week of February 20.
Next up: Cooper (12-10), Scott (9-13)
GIRLS
- Cooper (17-3, Previous Week: 1) – Only a fourth quarter breakdown against DuPont Manual kept Cooper from being the No. 2 team in the state in the new rankings set to come out tomorrow. Headed to the fourth with a 37-35 lead, the Jags were outscored 19-5 in the final quarter of the Louisville Invitational Tournament semifinals. But they did pick up wins over Assumption and No. 5 Mercy on their way to the semis. After having just one home game in January, their life on the road continues this week with contests at Highlands and Simon Kenton before hosting their first home game since Jan. 13 on Saturday when they take on Notre Dame.
2. Holy Cross (21-5, Previous Week: 4) – A week of domination in Richmond was capped off with the program’s second All “A” state title in their program’s history. Nejai Lewis scored her 1,000th career point in the Sunday victory over Bethlehem while Julia Hunt’s monster stat line of 21 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocked shots earned her MVP honors. The depth also flexed their muscles this week, getting contributions from all over. Now they have four regular season games left starting with a neat experience on Saturday where the movie “Hoosiers” was filmed in Knightstown, Indiana, facing Walton-Verona.
3. Ryle (17-7, Previous Week: 2) – The trip east to the 16th Region came away with a split as they defeated Boyd County before a loss to Russell. Senior Abby Holtman set the program record for 3-pointers made with her 268th make on Saturday.
4. Dixie Heights (18-6, Previous Week: 3) – Have now won five games in a row after victories over Walton-Verona and Grant County last week. A win over Ludlow on Tuesday secures the No. 1 seed for the Colonels in the 34th District that hasn’t provided much resistance with victories of 17 over St. Henry, 62 over Villa Madonna and 41 over Lloyd Memorial.
5. Conner (14-6, Previous Week: 5) – A buzzer-beater by Alexis Craddock gave Conner the win at Highlands on Tuesday followed with a win over St. Henry on Friday. Should have a good battle on their hands with Notre Dame on Saturday.
6. Notre Dame (12-6, Previous Week: 6) – A light week as their only game was a blowout over Mason County. Cooper and Conner later on this week as they already have the No. 2 seed in the 35th District clinched.
7. Highlands (16-7, Previous Week: 7) – With the No. 1 seed wrapped up in the 36th District, the Bluebirds have six games left in their regular season. Cooper on Tuesday will let them know how far their team filled with underclassmen has come, losing to the Jags 58-22 last season.
8. Bishop Brossart (18-6, Previous Week: 8) – After a comeback victory over Jackson County in the opening round of the All “A”, ran into a tough matchup with Bethlehem in a loss in the quarterfinals. Showed how mature they were in a victory the very next day over Scott County after the All “A” loss. All eyes are now on a Feb. 7 meeting with Scott, if Scott wins, they earn a 10th Region tournament berth and the No. 1 seed in the 37th District. If Brossart wins, chaos ensues with a three-way tie between the two and Campbell County.
9. St. Henry (11-9, Previous Week: NR) – Wins over Scott and Simon Kenton has St. Henry into the top 10 this week. Held Scott to 24 points in the 34-24 win on Saturday. Big week of district contests with Lloyd Memorial on Wednesday and Ludlow on Friday as they aim to secure the No. 2 seed in the 34th.
10. Scott (11-9, Previous Week: 9) – Hanging on in the top 10 after a wins over Campbell County and Beechwood followed by a loss to St. Henry the next day after the rivalry win. Their schedule down the stretch sets up an opportunity to string some wins together with a handful of 10th Region opponents before postseason play.
Next Up: Simon Kenton (11-10), Newport Central Catholic (13-8)
