Then there were two

Then there were two. The 13^th Region final is set. The Corbin Redhounds will battle the North Laurel Jaguars for the right to represent the 13^th Region against the 7^th Region in Rupp Arena.

The Redhounds were picked from the beginning of the season by many to repeat as region champs, but the North Laurel Jaguars. The Jaguars were pretty much in the middle of the pack.

The Redhounds survived a hard-fought win over Bell County and downed Clay County, 50-45. The Jaguars eliminated Harlan County then shocked the region with a win over cross-town rival, South Laurel, 62-53. I think that is the first time in regional play that the Jaguars have beaten the Cardinals.

I don’t think I have ever seen the Cardinals struggle so much on offense before like they did against North Laurel Saturday at The Arena. South Laurel was just 5-of-20 in the first half and had 11 points at the break.

North Laurel even ran out to a 15-point lead in the third quarter. You kind of expected the Cardinals to make that run and they did. But, North Laurel withstood the challenge of Matt St. John going inside. The Jaguars didn’t make that foolish foul when he went to the hoop, so there were few three-point plays.

With four fouls on the big man, he had trouble guarding the inside game of Adrian Wardrup. Wardrup finished with 20 points, many coming from the lane against St. John. When Wardrup wasn’t scoring Cody Likins was hitting. He finished with 18 points.

That sets up a championship game with Corbin taking on the Jaguars Monday at 7:30 p.m. The two met earlier in the season with the Redhounds winning. Look for this game to be a battle like last year’s regional semifinals at Bell County.