Area basketball teams return to local action

The Corbin Redhounds have run their winning streak to eight games and improved to 10-2 on the season after picking up three wins last week in the Mountain Schoolboy Classic at Belfry.

Corbin defeated Magoffin County, 74-69 on Dec. 28, Shelby Valley 74-66 on Dec. 29, and Johnson Central 81-69 on Thursday.

“The competition was excellent and we were extremely happy to come out of that stretch 6-0,” said Coach Tony Pietrowski. “I still think the balance we are showing on offense, coupled with the defensive effort and rebounding has led to better play. The exciting thing is that there are another 40 percent of things we can improve upon. This team has a very high ceiling.”

Corbin was scheduled to play at Whitley County Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in a game that had not been completed as of press time.

The Redhounds will continue on the road this week, playing Frederick Douglas at South Laurel in the Raymond Reed Classic on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

Corbin will be back at South Laurel Tuesday night to face the Cardinals.

“We really need a good stretch of practices heading into the teeth of our January schedule,” Pietrowski said. “Plain and simple we have a lot of very good teams to play in January. District seed games, traditional rivals and some out of region teams that are very impressive. We just want to be the best team we can be and I think our competition level will lead us in that direction.”

Whitley County Colonels

The Whitley County Colonels won two of three games last week at LaRue County to improve to 7-2 on the season.

The Colonels opened the Magnolia Bank Holiday Classic with a 63-62 loss to Crittenden County.

Ashton Reynolds had 28 points to lead Whitley County. Brayden Mahan added 17.

Whitley County bounced back Wednesday with a 70-56 win over Logan County.

Jamie Fuson had 31 points to lead the Colonels. Brayden Mahan added 13 points and Ashton Reynolds contributed 11.

The Colonels wrapped up the tournament on Thursday with 69-39 win over Apollo.

“We had a good little stretch over the holiday tournaments,” said Coach Austin Horn. “We saw a lot of growth in our team both mentally and physically. We improved offensively and defensively over that stretch and learned a lot about ourselves. We had to overcome a little adversity which was good for our young bunch, because in our tough district, we are going to have some up and down nights, and just must continue having a next play mentality. I love my team and look forward to continuing watching them grow as basketball players and individuals.” 

The Colonels will welcome Bell County Thursday night and then travel to South Laurel Saturday afternoon to face Rockcastle County in the Raymond Reed Classic.

Tipoff Saturday is set for 2:30 p.m.

The Colonels will travel to Barbourville Tuesday night.

“This is going to be a tough stretch for our team,” said Horn. “We play three good teams in Corbin, Bell County, and Rockcastle. Will tell us a lot about our team and the steps we need to take. During this stretch I want to continue to see our guys take the next step defensively and make sure we do the little things well. I love this team and I’m excited to see how we compete in this tough stretch of games.” 

Williamsburg Yellow Jackets

The host Williamsburg Yellow Jackets dropped two of three games in the Bill Perkins Holiday Classic last week.

The Jackets opened the tournament Tuesday night with a 77-68 loss to King’s Academy out of Seymour, Tennessee.

Martin Shannon and Evan Steely each put up 25 points.

Williamsburg came back Wednesday with a 94-90 win over Johnson County, Tennessee.

Evan Steely had 51 points, including 20 of 23 from the free throw line, picking up a double-double with 11 rebounds.

The Jackets wrapped up the tournament with a 51-41 loss to Louisville Collegiate.

Evan Steely had 18 points. Evan Ellis added 10.

“We had a tough week, I don’t think we played very hard during our tourney here,” said Coach Eric Swords. “We had a film session and hopefully were able to correct a few things.” 

The Jackets were scheduled to play Middlesboro Tuesday night. The game had not yet been completed as of press time.

Williamsburg will open the 13th Region All ‘A’ Classic Saturday against Barbourville at Harlan.

“We play a hard–nosed Barbourville team in the All A,” Swords said. “They been playing really well and it should be a great game. It will be a tough place to play, but thankfully both teams will be on the road.”

Should Williamsburg win, the Jackets will advance to the semifinals on Monday.

The finals are scheduled for Tuesday.