It should be a very interesting week in boys’ basketball in the 2nd Region. The 2021 boys 2nd Region tournament gets underway Monday night, and this year the first round games are being played on the home courts of district winners.
Traditionally, the first round is played over two nights at one central location. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s quarterfinal round games will all be played Monday night at 6:30 pm on the home courts of the four district winners.
In the top game of the bracket, University Heights Academy, the champions of the 8th District will host Crittenden County, the runners-up out of the 5th District at Blazer Gym. The game will be a rematch of a game played at UHA on February 20. The Rockets gave the Blazers a battle that night before falling 61-54.
UHA, with a record of 12-9, has won 10 of its last 13 games, with the three losses coming by a total of 8 points, and two of the losses being last-second losses to McCracken County. Crittenden County enters the game at 13-9. The Rockets have won five of their last six, with the only loss coming to Lyon County in the 5th District title game.
The second game of the bracket will find Henderson County, the 6th District champions hosting Caldwell County, the 7th District runners-up. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
Henderson County, with a record of 12-11, has won six of its last nine games. The Colonels blew out Webster County in the 6th District championship game. Caldwell County, which comes into the game with a record of 8-15, has won five of its last eight games. The Tigers lost a hard-fought battle with Madisonville-North Hopkins in the 7th District final.
The winners in the upper part of the bracket will play Wednesday night in the semifinals at 6:30 pm at Madisonville-North Hopkins.
In the bottom half of the bracket, Madisonville-North Hopkins, the winners in the 7th District, will host Webster County, the 6th District runner-up. The two teams met in last year’s regional championship game, with the Maroons coming away with the title. Another interesting part of the storyline for this game is that current Maroon coach Jon Newton was the head coach at Webster County last season.
The Maroons, with a record of 14-4, are one of the hottest teams entering the tournament, having won nine straight. On the other hand, the Trojans, who were the top seed entering the 6th District tournament have stumbled their way to the finish line, losing seven of their last eight games. The Trojans enter the game at 15-10. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
The most anticipated quarterfinal may be the one at the bottom of the bracket. Lyon County, the champions of the 5th District, will host Hopkinsville, runner-up in the 8th District.
Lyon County, at 22-3, comes into the contest on a six-game winning streak. The Lyons only losses came to Owensboro Catholic, Walton-Verona, and Murray. Hopkinsville was among the teams most impacted in Western Kentucky by the pandemic. The Tigers have played only ten games on the season, going 6-4. The Tigers fell to UHA in overtime in the 8th District title game. The Tigers do have wins over UHA, McCracken County, and Muhlenberg County. Hoptown and Lyon County did not play during the season.
The winners of the two lower games will play Thursday night at 6:30 pm at Madisonville-North Hopkins.
The boys’ 2nd Region title game is set for Saturday night in Madisonville.
