Boys’ region tourney semifinals set
Mar. 5—Saturday afternoon at the Sportscenter will be filled with postseason basketball action as four teams battle for the chance to compete for the boys 3rd Region Tournament championship.
Owensboro (22-7) will face McLean County (20-10) in the regional semifinals at 3 p.m., followed by Muhlenberg County (16-11) taking on Hancock County (15-16) at 5 p.m.
Owensboro advanced out of the first round with a 71-42 win over Whitesville Trinity on Wednesday, while McLean County moved on following a 54-35 victory against Meade County.
Saturday will be the second meeting between the two programs, which met once this season — a 59-49 OHS win on Dec. 29 at the Sportscenter.
According to Red Devils coach Rod Drake, his team is still coming together even at this stage of the postseason.
“This is the second week we’ve had everybody back together since before Christmas,” Drake said. “It’s crazy. We’re still trying to figure some things out right now.”
OHS is led by a pair of double-digit scorers in 5-foot-11 junior guard Kenyata Carbon (20.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and 5-11 senior guard Amari Wales (19.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg).
The Cougars will counter with a group led by 5-11 junior guard Jaxon Floyd (14.1 ppg) and 6-3 senior forward Brady Dame (13.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
The 5 p.m. contest will feature the first meeting this season between Muhlenberg County and Hancock County.
The Mustangs topped Owensboro Catholic 58-43 in the first round Thursday, while the Hornets advanced following a 54-34 victory against Grayson County.
Muhlenberg County, the defending 3rd Region champion, is led by 5-11 senior guard Trey Lovell (13.3 ppg) and 6-1 senior guard Cole Vincent (12.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and features a deep and experienced group.
“They’ve been through this process before,” MCHS coach Kyle Eades said. “They’ve been locked in at practice, they’ve been locked into our preparation. They understand that you can’t look ahead.
“We just felt like if we did a good job consistently, day by day, that whenever it became game time, the game would simply be an extension of practice.”
The Hornets, making their first appearance in the regional semifinals since 1994, are led by 6-4 junior forward Kaleb Keown (15.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg), 6-1 junior guard Devyn Powers (15 ppg) and 6-3 junior forward Ryan Ogle (14.4 ppg).
The 3rd Region Tournament championship game will be Tuesday at 7 p.m.