Wildcats, Lady Cats gearing up for 51st District tourneys

This year’s 51st District tournaments are set to tipoff next week at Pineville High School, and while both Lynn Camp teams are coming in as underdogs, the Wildcats and Lady Cats are hoping to shock everyone by qualifying for 13th Region tournament competition at the Corbin Arena.

On the boys’ side, the Knox Central Panthers have been dominant in the 51st, winning the district crown every year since 2008, with the only exception being when Barbourville won in 2015. The chances are looking very good that someone will unseat Knox again this year, however, with the defending district champs entering postseason play near the bottom of the overall region rankings.

Knox Central’s only win over a district opponent this season came on Jan. 17, when they managed to top Lynn Camp, 74-69, in overtime. Meanwhile, the top seeded Barbourville Tigers defeated the Panthers by nearly 30 points back in early December, and the Pineville Mountain Lions won their game against KC, 82-66, on Jan. 12.

Knox and Pineville will meet up again in round one of the 2023 51st District tourney on Wednesday, Feb. 22, with the Mountain Lions being heavily favored to advance to the district finals on Feb. 24. In order for Lynn Camp to claim the other spot in the championship game, they will have to get past Barbourville on Feb. 21, which will be much easier said than done.

The Wildcats fell to the Tigers, 77-58, in their initial meeting on Jan. 20. Since that time, Lynn Camp has struggled to put marks in the win column, while Barbourville has looked solid with a recent win over Clay County, and an encounter with Corbin where they took the Redhounds to the limit before ultimately falling by just two points, 59-57.

The Cats’ success, or lack thereof, depends almost solely on the performance of senior Micah Engle, who leads the team in scoring this season by an extremely wide margin. Engle will need help on the court from fellow senior Duane Sparks, though, as well as from junior teammates Shelby Mills and Ethan Burd.

On the girls’ side of things, Lynn Camp is hoping to have the opportunity to play for another 51st District title, with their last championship win coming in 2019. In order to do so, they will first need to make it past the host Pineville Lady Mountain Lions on Feb. 20. Should they accomplish this, they will likely meet up with a very good-looking Knox Central team in the finals on Feb. 23.

The Lady Cats have depended heavily on the abilities of senior Abby Mabe this season, with fellow seniors Alissa Crumpler and Isabella Blevins factoring in, as well as the freshman duo of Lauren Partin and Julie Moore. Wins have been scarce for this group, but they have managed to best region foes Middlesboro and Williamsburg, and they were able to secure a district win over Barbourville, 67-43, on Jan. 30.

When Lynn Camp met up with Pineville in the regular season they lost, 64-33, on their own home court. With this rematch being played at Pineville High School, one must assume that the chances of the home team NOT walking away victorious are very slim, but it all depends on how well the visitors can play together when it matters most.