The boys’ 2nd Region Basketball Tournament features several potential show-stopping matchups all the way through the March 10 championship game at Hopkinsville High School.
In Wednesday’s 6pm opener, 8th District champion Christian County will meet 5th District runner-up Crittenden County.
Christian County (12-18) is the only team in the tourney field with a losing record. However, they appear healthy for the first time all season. The Colonels are 36-9 all-time in first round games.
Crittenden County (16-16) is making their third straight region tournament appearance for the first time since 1958. Their last region tourney win came one year earlier in 1957 against Trigg County.
The Colonels and Rockets have not played since the first round of the 2006 region tourney, won by Christian County 62-38. Christian County is 5-0 all-time against the Rockets in the region tournament.
In the 7:30 game Wednesday, defending region champion Madisonville will play 6th District runner-up Henderson County.
Madisonville (28-3) is the favorite to repeat as region champions after going 14-0 against region teams during the season. Madisonville is 48-17 all-time in first round region games.
Henderson County (19-12) has won 17 of their last 18 first round games and 32 out of 43 in their history. The Colonels are looking for their first region title since 1999.
Madisonville beat Henderson County 56-48 on Jan. 18. They are 3-7 all-time against the Colonels in the region tourney, including last year’s 66-49 win in the semifinals.
On Thursday at 6pm, Webster County and University Heights meet for the second time in two weeks.
Webster County (25-5) is in the region tournament as a district champion for the first time since 2016. They are 6-17 all-time in first round games. The Trojans, Fort Campbell, and Livingston Central are the only Second Region schools to never win a region title.
8th District runner-up University Heights (15-13) is making their 19th region tourney appearance. They are 13-5 in the first round.
Webster beat UHA 69-68 on Feb. 20 in Dixon. The last time the schools met in the region tourney was 1995 when the Blazers won 74-55 in the semifinals on their way to the region title.
The final game of the quarterfinals will be Thursday at 7:30 when border rivals Lyon County and Caldwell County meet.
Lyon County (22-9) won the Fifth District title for the second straight year and feature two of the top underclassmen in the region. Eighth grader Travis Perry leads the region in scoring at 26.9 points a game. Sophomore Jackson Shoulders leads the region in rebounding (11.5 reb.) in addition to scoring 16 points a game.
The Lyons will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak in the first round dating back to an overtime win over Webster County in 2010. The Lyons are 10-27 all-time in the first round.
Caldwell County (16-15) is 12-16 all-time in the region quarterfinals and snapped a five-game losing streak in openers last year.
Lyon County and Caldwell County met twice during the regular season. Lyon County won both games by two points and 11 points.
The semifinals will be played Monday, March 9 with the championship to be played Tuesday, March 10 at 7pm.
