UPSET BUG

 There were no surprises in the first-round of the boys’ 13^th Region Basketball Tournament Wednesday night at the Arena.

The North Laurel Jaguars advanced to the semifinal with a 59-43 win over Middlesboro while Knox Central downed South Laurel, 59-50, thus shooting down any hopes of a Laurel County semifinal.

Tonight the Redhounds will take on the Pineville Mountain Lions in the second game of the night with the feature game matching Harlan County against Clay County at 6:30 p.m.

A big crowd is expected for the opening game that matches the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the 13^th Region. It’s a toss-up between the two teams. Media row feels like the Tigers may have the upper hand as Harlan County went into a slump the last two weeks of the season.

And, after North Laurel manhandled the Middlesboro Yellow Jackets, I have to agree. I could never feel a since of Middlesboro coming back in last night’s game.

The Jaguars had a balanced effort and look to be a team on a mission, say winning the 13^th Region Tournament. Don’t be too surprised to see the green and blue of North Laurel in the boy’s state tournament.

Knox Central (24-7) had a tougher time putting away the South Laurel Cardinals because of the play of Jeff Hale. Hale had 26 points and sizzled the nets, hitting 10 of 13 shots from the field. He just didn’t get the help he needed to pull off the mild upset.

It’s hard to believe this South Laurel win finished the season 11-22. Give them credit; they did play a tough schedule.

The Panthers also had a balanced attack in the win over South Laurel. Tobie Merida came to play, pouring in 18 points. That was one of the best games I have seen the young man play.

This is been the year of the upset bug. Who would have thought Woodford County could knock off Lexington Catholic. The Knights are out of the running and the 11^th Region is wide open as well.

 Record 28-8

After Wednesday night’s region action statewide, I am 28-8 while Advertising Rep Trevor Sherman is 22-14. I’ve missed both 9^th Region games, Dixie Heights losing to Cooper and Covington Catholic falling to Newport Catholic. Cooper (15-14) might have been a bigger shock than Woodford County edging Lexington Catholic.

Of course I missed Lexington Catholic as well. Other games I have missed have been Letcher Central losing to Powell County, Gallatin County beating Simon Kenton, who had a 19 point lead going into the final quarter.

Louisville Southern (22-9) let me down in a loss to Butler (18-10).  I missed Christian County’s upset of Webster County. Christian County went into the game with only eight wins while Webster County was 20-10.

In the 16^th Region, East Carter pulled off the upset of Russell, 51-41. The Raiders were ranked seventh out of the eight teams in the region tournament.

 Heading the wrong way

I ended the night with the news Louisville had lost to South Florida. Oh my gosh, just send the Cardinals to the NIT and be done with it. And, hey folks, I am a die-hard Cardinal fan.

It just goes to show, you can’t count your wins before the game or is that chickens before they hatch.