The final edition of the YSE Boys 2nd Region “Super 7” for the season looks a great deal like it did at the beginning of the season, at least at the top. UHA, Madisonville, and Hoptown have held down the 1-2-3 spots for essentially the entire season and will enter the postseason in those same spots. There has been some shuffling at the bottom following the results of the past week.
1. UHA (26-4) – The Blazers had to fight their way past Hopkinsville and Caldwell County, but note one thing. Championship teams find way to win the games they could have easily lost. UHA is the 2nd Region favorite going into the postseason, but it appears that at least four teams would have what you call “a shot.”
2. Madisonville (23-5) – The Maroons have now won 16 in a row, and this is a team that will be no fun to have to face in tourney action. Remember, they had UHA on the rocks on the Blazers’ home floor, before the Blazers rallied late. Could these teams have a Round 2 on the Maroons’ home court in either the semis or regional final.
3. Hopkinsville (16-11) – The Tigers took it in the grill from a very good Owensboro team on the road. Still, they appear to be the top threat to the “big two” in the postseason. If, and it is a big “if”, they can avoid stubbing their toe against Christian County in the 2-3 game in the 8th District tournament.
4. Caldwell County (17-9) – The Tigers gave an indication of how tough an out they may be at tournament time when they took UHA down to the wire on the Blazers’ home floor, after rallying from 19 down. They still will have to find a way to get past Hopkins Central on the Storm’s home court to advance to the region.
5. Union County (16-8) – The Braves are currently the 2nd hottest team in the 2nd Region. They have won 9 of their last 11, and one of the losses was later avenged with a double digit win over Henderson County. Kale Gaither and company will be a team not to take your eye off of as the second season gets under way.
6. Christian County (13-15) – Even though the schedule has been tough, losing four of their last six is not the way the Colonels wanted to head down to the wire in the regular season. Everything for Christian County focuses on that chance to come up with the big win over Hoptown in the first round of the district tournament. A win over Pulaski County Thursday would give them some momentum.
7. Lyon County (18-9) – The Lyons have had a good regular season. The concerning thing headed into the postseason is that the Lyons’ last three losses have come to regional contenders by 23, 30, and 33 points. Making noise in the region will require finding a way to change that trend.
