Midseason Report
Ashland, Boyd, Fleming, Rowan Top Teams in 16th

BY JAMES COLLIER
FOR THE ASHLAND BEACON
When Mother Nature flexes, sometimes all one can do is sit and wait.
That is the situation for many teams across the Commonwealth after a massive winter storm postponed and cancelled numerous games, leaving teams anxious for the return to the hardwood against an opponent that is not comprised of their teammates. Just as several teams were set to start chipping away at their district seeding games, intertwined with midseason tournaments, scheduling is going to be much like a Rubix Cube with no solution.
It has been pretty clear the region is sharply divided into two categories of teams with most teams at or near the halfway point of the season. Those who look poised to challenge Ashland for the title and those who will not. Ashland is chasing an unprecedented seventh consecutive region crown and already has a dominating win over Boyd County in their first meeting on Dec. 10. That win, however, was over a depleted Lions roster who was down a pair of starters in Griffin Taylor and Cole Hicks.
Do not let Ashland’s record deceive you in thinking there is an issue with the Tomcats hopes of No. 7. Sitting currently at 8-5 are the Cats but have played a gauntlet of a schedule. In those five losses are Great Crossing, Hazard, Woodford County, Lloyd Memorial and Butler County. Great Crossing, Hazard and Woodford County are currently ranked in the AP Top 15 with Lloyd Memorial sitting at 17th. Ashland also owns wins over Walton-Verona, Harlan County and Danville Christian in the AIT and a throttling of Corbin in their last outing. The Tomcats, led by Zander Carter with 27 points, defeated Huntington Expression Prep Saturday in the Larry Conley Classic for their eighth win of the season.
Carter leads the Tomcats at 24.9 points a night followed by Caleb Clarke’s 12.9. Clarke also leads the team in rebounding with 6.8. Carter has been deadly from downtown, connecting on 29 of 56 triples (52%) while shooting over 60% from the field.
Ashland’s remaining schedule will no doubt prepare the Cats for another deep postseason run with visits from Chapmanville, WV, Pikeville, Fleming County, Rowan County, Johnson Central and Lawrence County and trips to Mercer County, Bardstown, Pike County Central, George Washington and Huntington.
Of the teams looking poised to try and disrupt Ashland’s tenure at the top of the 16th are Boyd County, Rowan County and Fleming County with a handful of other teams trying to get into the mix. Boyd sits at 7-7 after a pair of convincing wins in the Kentucky 2A over Bath County (87-55) and Estill County (91-55). Boyd is a team that has the most possible upside remaining due to the missing pieces the Lions are currently operating without. Taylor has missed the entire season thus far as the starting point guard after a devastating ankle injury in practice. His backout in Rhett Holbrook broke his hand just before Christmas but is nearing a return later this month. The return of Taylor is still uncertain.
Boyd plays Rowan in the 2A Section 6 Championship with the winner moving on to Owensboro in the 2A State Championship. The duo will reconvene Jan. 21 in Morehead. Boyd closes the season with a trip to Ashland Jan. 31, and visits from Huntington and Fleming County to close the regular season.
Jacob Spurlock has been the strongarm for the Lions as expected with a 28.1 point a night average, eighth best in the state. Hicks adds 13.8 a game and Jackson Childers pours in just over 10 a game. Boyd is shooting nearly 40% from the arc as a team with Ethan Rardon, Marcus Brumfield, Spurlock and Hicks all shooting over 40%.
Fleming County possess the weapons to make a run at Ashland with a starting roster loaded with seniors and a head coach that knows all about the Tomcats in former Ashland Coach Buddy Biggs. Fleming defeated Ashland late in the regular season but fell in the region semifinals last year. The Panthers are 10-4 with losses to GRC, Graves County, Danville Christian and Rowan County. Fleming has impressive wins over Highlands and Harlan County in the AIT and still features a loaded schedule to close out the year. Fleming still has two games against Rowan to play for seeding games in the 61st as the loss to the Vikings came in the Kentucky 2A Semifinals. The Panthers will welcome Montgomery County Feb. 5 and visits Ashland and Boyd County in a span of three days in February.
Bradley Robinson has been the leader for the Panthers who graduated the 16th Region Player of the Year last season in Adam Hargett. Robinson averages 21.6 a game in his first season with the Panthers after transferring from Bourbon County. Seth Hickerson adds 21 a night with Lucas Jolly kicking in 10.7 as their point guard. Preston Cropper and Hickerson shoot nearly 40% from beyond the arc with Robinson at 38%.
Rowan County has been a team with a roller coaster of a ride through the first half of the season but has strung together three wins for their longest streak of the year while playing themselves into the Kentucky 2A Section 6 championship against Boyd. Jayson Ingles leads the Vikings with 10.8 a night but is the only player to average double figures. That, however, does not mean the Vikings struggle scoring, rather they just spread the ball well throughout the five on the floor. Jace Coats averages 9.8 a game and secured the win over Fleming with a free throw with 0.3 seconds remaining in the Kentucky 2A semis. Gavin Mirus kicks in 9.5 followed by Daniel Flannery and Wyatt Slone at 7.2 and 7.0, respectively.
Rowan meets Boyd in the Section 6 finals for a berth to the Kentucky 2A State Championship and still has a pair of seeding games with Fleming yet to play. Rowan and Boyd will hook up again in Morehead on Jan. 21 and the Vikings visit Ashland on Feb. 11
Lewis County and Raceland hover around the teams who could make a run and both have the pieces in place to do so. Lewis knocked off Rowan 68-44 in the second game of the year, but took an ugly 25-point loss to Russell in their last contest where they scored a season low 37 points. Julian Puente paces the Lions with 17.5 a game while Drew Noble is one of the top post players in the region at 15 points and seven rebounds a night. Brayden Gerike kicks in just under eight a game while leading the team in rebounding with eight boards per contest. Daylen Bivens also nets just under eight a game as well. Lewis is one of the best rebounding teams in the region but struggles shooting from long range and really drops off when the Lions go to the bench for production.
Raceland is off to one of their best starts under Joe Bryan as they await the resumption of the All “A” Classic this week. The Rams sit at 10-3 on the year and have yet to lose to a team inside of Kentucky. Connor Thacker has been huge for the Rams this season, averaging 16.8 points and nine rebounds a game, both which lead the team. Jonah Arnett adds 11.9 a game. Charles Welch sits at 9.2. Tre Douglas kicks in 7.9 and Jacob Waller rounds things out at 6.2. But the Rams have several players who will roll in off the bench to produce when a starter leaves the floor, giving Bryan options down the stretch. Raceland has yet to play a 63rd District contest, which will consume much of the second half of the season for the Rams.
Russell and Elliott County are sneaky teams that if given the right night, could make some noise in March. After starting 3-1, Russell lost six straight but has since turned in wins over Lewis and Huntington Expression Prep to right the ship again. Caleb Rimmer leads the Devils with 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds a game with Ryder Burgess adding 12.1. Gabe Pridemore kicks in 9.8 a game but the scoring sharply falls off for Russell after that with little to no production coming off the bench.
Elliott is a youthful team with a ton of experience after Greg Adkins watched three key starters transfer to Morgan County three years ago, leaving him with a group of eighth graders and freshmen to carry the load for the varsity roster. Now, those same kids have a wealth of varsity minutes to build on and have the Lions out to a 7-3 start and the favorites to win the 62nd District. Lake Adkins paces the Lions with 18.3 a game and lights it up from anywhere on the floor. The sophomore shoots 60% from the field and 42% from long distance. Aiden Barker kicks in 13.9 a night while shooting 70% from the field and 56% from downtown. It's no secret the kids from Sandy Hook can shoot, but rebounding has been the bugaboo with only 19 a night on the glass.
The region is Ashland’s to lose and rightfully so until someone dethrones them in the biggest game of the season. With a bullseye firmly on their back, the Cats know they will take everyone’s best shot every night out. Still, Ashland is the cream of the crop until then.
If I had to pick today my 16th Region Tournament field, it would look like this:
61st: Rowan and Fleming
62nd: Elliott and West Carter
63rd: Lewis and Raceland
64th: Ashland and Boyd
With just over a month to play, we shall see how this list holds up come March when action shifts to Johnson Arena in Morehead. Regardless of how the final 5+ weeks shake out, the odds of some great basketball still lies ahead for the boys before the field gets set.
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