Well it's been a while

My immense load of work has passed for the time being, so let's review what went down in the last week of high school basketball...

Last Friday
--Shelby County 58 Simon Kenton 54
Shelby County recovers from a couple tough losses to get a big win over a top regional foe.
--South Oldham 89 Gallatin County 79
But the 8th region is still wide open, as surging Gallatin County ran into a roadblock against South Oldham.
--Warren Central 54 Greenwood 42
It was played to the Gators' pace, but it was still not enough to touch Central.
--Calloway County 54 Graves County 50
--Christian County 80 Owensboro 68
2nd Region > 3rd Region
--Jeffersonton 67 Manual 56
--Larue County 81 Green County 78 (4 OT!)

Saturday
--Elliott County 83 Ashland Blazer 75
My pick for the 16th region seems to be a strong one, as Elliott County proves itself closer to its first regional championship.
--Mason County 62 George Rogers Clark 54
I have a feeling we will see these two meet up again sometime soon. GRC could be a trendy pick to make a Cinderella run to state.

Monday
--Holmes 55 Boone County 47
Here comes Holmes, now winners of six straight games.

Tuesday
--Ballard 78 Male 52
Ouch. Looks like Ballard is the definitive favorite in the 7th region, and then some.
--Christian County 70 Hopkinsville 63
Despite losing here, keep an eye on Hopkinsville, not only in the 2nd regional tournament, but the 8th district tournament as well.
--Greenwood 50 Allen County-Scottsville 45
Greenwood kept the score down again and this time toppled the other 4th region team without a region loss. The Gators needed a signiture win after some struggles.
--Lexington Catholic 69 George Rogers Clark 45
Not the way GRC wanted to respond after a near-miss against Mason County. Has there ever been less chatter about Catholic in 11th region basketball?
--Lincoln County 66 Southwestern 51
The Patriots show their strength inside the 12th region. What was once a wide-open region now seems to be Lincoln County's to lose.
--Mayfield 46 Graves County 43
Mayfield sweeps Graves County and thus extends the Eagles' slide here as of late.
--PRP 55 Fairdale 49
Two teams from the 6th region that I would not be surprised to see at Rupp.

Wednesday
--Central Hardin 64 Fort Knox 62
Well, if this has any indication on what to expect at the 17th district tournament, watch out.
--Eastern 66 Manual 53
The Crimsons have lost three of four and fall below .500 in 7th region play.

Thursday
--Huntington (WV) 67 Scott County 63
No sweep of the #1 team...in the nation...for the Cardinals, who lose only their second game of the season.
--Madison Central 67 Henry Clay 63 (OT)
Which is it: a sign of life from Henry Clay or a sign of weakness from Madison Central? I'll take the former.
--Shelby Valley 60 Pikeville 50
Has anyone noticed that Shelby Valley is darn good? And yes, they haven't beaten many contenders, but a three-point loss to Warren Central raises eyebrows.
--Warren Central 94 Franklin-Simpson 71
Speaking of, the Dragons upped the tempo and upped the hurt on the Wildcats. It's gotten to the point where I don't entertain any thoughts of a crazy upset in that region anymore.

And now for the top ten games to watch on Friday night...

10 Ashland Blazer @ Pikeville
9 Lafayette @ George Rogers Clark
8 Pulaski County @ Southwestern
7 Graves County @ Christian County
6 Allen County-Scottsville @ Franklin-Simpson
5 Tates Creek @ Bryan Station
4 Male @ Eastern
3 Marshall County @ Mayfield
2 Belfry @ Allen Central
1 South Laurel @ Hazard