The AA Highway that heads east to Maysville near the Ohio River may have a dark feeling at night.
But the Campbell County Camels (21-11) and Scott Eagles (14-18) boys basketball teams hope to lighten things up multiple times on it as the 10th Region Basketball Tournament takes place starting on Wednesday. The tournament will be played at the historic 5,400-seat Mason County Fieldhouse. The two earned at least one trip making it to the 37th District championship that Campbell County won 50-44 for the 10th year in a row.
Campbell County did not have to worry about this, but neither team will see the 40th District and defending state champion George Rogers Clark Cardinals (24-5) until at least the region semifinals.
The Camels drew the 40th District runner-up Paris Greyhounds (17-13) on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. It’s a rematch from last year’s tournament quarterfinals, Campbell County defeating Paris, 66-34. The two did not meet in the regular season.
Campbell County hopes to go on a long postseason run in the final go-around for the three seniors in forward Aydan Hamilton and guards Jake Gross and Keegan Hill. Hamilton is the school’s career all-time leading scorer averaging 22.3 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game and Gross averages 14.8.
“They come in and work hard. They’re very coachable,” said Aric Russell, Campbell County head coach. “The younger kids follow suit. It’s nice to have an Aydan Hamilton and a Jake Gross – guys that you can lean on for their leadership.”
Sophomore guards Jaidan Combs and Garyn Jackson give the Camels speed to create openings for their teammates and create havoc on defense. Junior power forward Connor Weinel has emerged as a post threat with juniors Nathan Smith at guard and forward along with guard Broc Sorgenfrei have given the Camels depth.
Campbell County has outscored opponents, 2,378-1,971. The Camels shoot 47% from the field, 35% from three and 72% from the free throw line. Their two lone region losses have come to George Rogers Clark and Mason County, the Royals a potential semifinal matchup.
Paris has an electric backcourt with two guards averaging in double figures. Freshman point guard Malachi Ashford averages 20.8 points per game and junior guard Jakari Ransom averages 15.8.
Opponents have barely outscored Paris, 1,993-1,934. The Greyhounds hit 44% from the field, 38% from three and 62% from the free throw line.
The winner takes on either host Mason County (27-5) or Nicholas County (11-21) on Monday at 6 p.m. Campbell County did not play Nicholas County during the regular season.
“The biggest challenge is you have to get on the bus, make sure they had dinner and other stuff,” Russell said of going to Mason County. “Then the other part is you have to get them settled down and ready to play. We have to get the timing down for when the game does happen. We’ll drive back and you have to get them ready for school the next day. But the kids are so excited it doesn’t bother them too much.”
Scott knew it would draw one of the three teams with the highest Ratings Percentage Index in the region. The Eagles received a good draw based on that drawing in the 38th District champion Harrison County Thorobreds (26-6) on Thursday at 7:45 p.m. Harrison County came to Taylor Mill and left with a close 62-56 win on Jan. 5.
Scott’s guards lead the way with junior Dylan Giffen and senior Brayden Howell averaging 14.6 and 14.1 points per game. Junior Xarek Sarakatsannis and Jon Evans have also had their big moments. But the Scott posts in senior center Nolan Hunter, junior forward Connor Griffin and junior center Carter Eten give the Eagles balance. Sophomore guard Kaymon Coleman came off the bench and provided some valuable minutes for the Eagles in their 37th District semifinal win over Bishop Brossart.
Scott has outscored opponents, 2,163-2,099. The Eagles hit 51% from the field, 33% from three and 72% from the free throw line. Eten leads Scott averaging 5.7 rebounds per game.
“Playing at Mason County is a lot like playing at the (Campbell County) Middle school,” said Steve Fromeyer, Scott head coach. “It’s not an easy place to shoot. The sidelines are little bit deeper. They just have to trust muscle memory and routine. It’s something that we’ve talked about for years. The unfortunate thing is getting inside the mind of a 15, 16, 17, 18-year-old kid is a lot easier said than done. If something doesn’t fall the first couple times, it’s a mental hurdle and you have to find ways to get over that. It very well may be in the 50’s.”
Harrison County is also a balanced team. Junior point guard Kaydon Custard and senior forward JD Kendall lead the Thorobreds averaging 16.6 and 14 points per game. Junior center Will Furnish gives Harrison County a nice post threat at 8.8 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game.
The Thorobreds make 44% from the field, 32% from three and 68% from the free throw line. Harrison County finished 15-2 in region play losing just to Campbell County and George Rogers Clark.
“Harrison County is very good,” Fromeyer said. “(Harrison County head coach) Terence Brooks is a very good coach. They play to their strengths very well. He did it at Paris. He’s doing it now. Usually, our games are very competitive whether he’s been at Paris or Harrison County. Their guard play is very good. They have (Furnish) in the middle that is obviously a concern for anybody when you have a mismatch like that. We’ll have to play defense as well as we did on Thursday. We need to shoot significantly better in order to win the game.”
The winner gets either GRC or Augusta on Monday at 7:45 p.m. The championship game is Tuesday at 7 p.m.
