All eyes were on the Second Region boys’ basketball draw Saturday to see if region favorites University Heights Academy and Madisonville drew opposite each other. They did, meaning the teams could meet in the region championship on the Maroons’ home floor.
The Blazers (28-4) are the defending region champions and will open tournament play Monday at 6pm against Fifth District runner-up Crittenden County.
UHA was 12-0 against region competition this year and have won 20 straight dating back to last year. They did not meet the Rockets during the regular season.
The Blazers are making their 18th region tourney appearance and have a 12-5 record in first round games.
Crittenden County (11-18) are in the region tournament for the second straight year but have not won a region tourney game since 1957. They are 1-23 all-time in the region tourney. It will be the first time the schools have met in the region tourney.
The second quarterfinal in the upper bracket Monday at 7:30 has Sixth District champ Union County (19-8) playing Caldwell County (18-10). The teams met back on Dec. 1 with the Braves winning 75-71 in Dixon. A lot has changed for both teams since that meeting as new players have emerged around their stars.
Union County sophomore Kale Gaither is averaging 23.2 points a game, while Caldwell County’s Darrin Boyd is scoring at a 24.2 points per game clip.
Union County is 13-17 all-time in first round games, while Caldwell is 11-16. The Tigers have lost five straight region openers dating back to 2007. Caldwell County and Union County have never met in the region tournament.
On Tuesday at 6pm, Fifth District champion Lyon County (21-9) meets Henderson County (15-11) in a rematch of last year’s first round game won by the Colonels 63-51 on their home floor.
The Lyons will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak in the first round dating back to an overtime win over Webster County in 2010. The Lyons are 10-26 all-time in the first round.
Henderson County has won 16 of their last 17 games in the first round and 31-of-42 in their history. They are 2-0 against the Lyons in the region tournament.
The final quarterfinal game at 7:30 has Seventh District champion Madisonville (26-5) playing Christian County (15-16). The Colonels beat Madisonville 68-45 in last year’s region first round and have won 15 of their 20 career meetings in the region tourney.
Christian County is 35-9 all-time in the first round, while Madisonville is 47-17. The Maroons beat Christian County 69-64 in overtime Dec. 18 in Hopkinsville.
The semifinals will be played Friday, March 1 with the championship to be played Saturday, March 2 at 6pm at Madisonville.
