[-STAT-]

Coming off a tough loss at Martin Co, doesn't get any easier for Paintsville as they go across the creek to take on a Johnson Central team who is playing really good ball right now. 

Tigers took them down by 10 at Paintsville a few weeks ago, but everyone knows it's tough to get a win at JC, and emotions seem to always be high whenever these 2 teams play there, and I'm sure it won't be any different tomorrow. 

So, what's everyone's thoughts & predictions.

[FballFan67]

I think it will be another close one. I think it comes down to how well Shepherd and McKenzie shoot the ball. Because if they are hitting shots it really limits how much you can help on Slone. I think early in the season Slone was trying to rely too much on his jump shot but now he is back in attack mode and he is really tough to handle when he is doing that. Being at JC I am going to say JC wins in a close knockout drag out 56-52. But wouldn't be surprised to see it flipped. Paintsville bout got Martin last night so they are playing good ball right now as well.

[Ralph Furley]

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

[Quincy]

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

[billymoore8123]

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

IMO Cole is better than Shepard. Had 38 last night at Martin County and when I watched on the live stream I maybe saw 2 missed shots by him the whole game.

---

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

IMO Cole is better than Shepard. Had 38 last night at Martin County and when I watched on the live stream I maybe saw 2 missed shots by him the whole game.

And not to add him, kinner, and Woods looked like the 3 best players on the court in the first match up. All had around 20 and was all very efficient in getting those buckets.

[BasketballFan2025]

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

IMO Cole is better than Shepard. Had 38 last night at Martin County and when I watched on the live stream I maybe saw 2 missed shots by him the whole game.

---

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

IMO Cole is better than Shepard. Had 38 last night at Martin County and when I watched on the live stream I maybe saw 2 missed shots by him the whole game.

And not to add him, kinner, and Woods looked like the 3 best players on the court in the first match up. All had around 20 and was all very efficient in getting those buckets.

[Blue_Bird96]

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

Shephard can hold his own as long as he’s hitting. Next couple of season and I think he will become a more consistent shooter night in and night out but very hard to put anyone besides maybe Slone over Cole. Those are your top two scorers on the floor. I do see Kinner as the most consistent perimeter shooter between the two programs then probably Shephard. Outside shooting over all I would give the nod to JC. Montgomery is a very capable shooter along with Slone and Shephard. Down low it’s tough to outmatch Paintsville’s 3 bigs. Being that the game’s at JC, it’s tough to call. It’s no coincidence that every home game the opposing teams fans are fit to be tied. lol. I didn’t have a pick in the Martin co/JC game but that definitely had to be a rough one for Martin co fans to watch unfold.

[Card2000]

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

Ethan Cole for Paintsville may be the most impactful player in the 15th region. He absolutely got whatever he wanted against MC last night and if not for the cards hitting 3s they would’ve lost the game.  Kid is a baller.

---

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

Ethan Cole for Paintsville may be the most impactful players in the 15th region. He absolutely got whatever he wanted against MC last night and if not for the cards hitting 3s they would’ve lost the game.  Kid is a baller.

---

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

Ethan Cole for Paintsville may be the most impactful players in the 15th region. He absolutely got whatever he wanted against MC last night and if not for the cards hitting 3s they would’ve lost the game.  Kid is a baller.

---

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

Ethan Cole for Paintsville may be the most impactful players in the 15th region. He absolutely got whatever he wanted against MC last night and if not for the cards hitting 3s they would’ve lost the game.  Kid is a baller.

---

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

Ethan Cole for Paintsville may be the most impactful players in the 15th region. He absolutely got whatever he wanted against MC last night and if not for the cards hitting 3s they would’ve lost the game.  Kid is a baller.

[Mr. D]

Like I said during the first game Paintsville is better at 4 of the 5 positions and they play defense. Central is horrible on the defensive end. I look for Woods to have a big game against Rose and Woods will control the boards. Slone is the best player on the floor for both teams and he will get his points but Paintsville’s defense will keep the other 4 on the floor in check.

Paintsville 75
Central 62

Who do you think is a better player than Shepard? I think JC has the 2 best players on the floor but after that Paintsville is better.

Shephard can hold his own as long as he’s hitting. Next couple of season and I think he will become a more consistent shooter night in and night out but very hard to put anyone besides maybe Slone over Cole. Those are your top two scorers on the floor. I do see Kinner as the most consistent perimeter shooter between the two programs then probably Shephard. Outside shooting over all I would give the nod to JC. Montgomery is a very capable shooter along with Slone and Shephard. Down low it’s tough to outmatch Paintsville’s 3 bigs. Being that the game’s at JC, it’s tough to call. It’s no coincidence that every home game the opposing teams fans are fit to be tied. lol. I didn’t have a pick in the Martin co/JC game but that definitely had to be a rough one for Martin co fans to watch unfold.

Kinner on the season from 3: 36/88 for 41%
Shepherd on the season from 3: 75/155 for 48.5%. 

I don't see how you can say Kinner is a more consistent or better shooter than Shepherd. Shepherd has made double the 3s on the season and shoots for a much higher %. Almost 50% from 3 on the season is as consistent as it gets. He has also had some huge games this year 2 games where he has scored 35+ and another game 40+. Kinner had an incredible game when JC played at Paintsville. He is a great player and really good leader, but I don't think you can say he is a better shooter than Shepherd. 

On Austin Slone, I think it was a conditioning thing. The first month of the season he settled for a lot of jumpers due to being tired. He is back in basketball shape now and is relentlessly attacking the basket. 

Overall, both teams are playing very well. Cole, Woods, Slone, Shepherd are all playing their best. JC has home court advantage, but I think Paintsville strengths matchup really well with JC's weaknesses. JC needs to gain rebound to keep Woods and Cole off of the boards. Shepherd, Mckenzie, and Montgomery need to stretch the court and knock down shots.

[ReginaPanther08]

Paintsville 74 JC 69

[averagejoe01]

This should be a very close game. I don’t expect JC to come out and play flat at home after losing at Paintsville. I would also have to imagine central has a plan to keep kinner from getting wide open shots unlike last time. I want to say central by 15 or more as they send a message to the region they are firing on all cylinders but I just can’t so it. Paintsville wins and creates a very interesting matchup when Martin comes to town next week. 

Paintsville 76
Johnson Central 71

[-STAT-]

The first meeting against Paintsville, was when Slone really started showing his real style on offense, driving to the basket, absorbing contact and living at the free throw line, sounds like he is back into his regular form now which has gone along with how well Central has played lately. Other than Slone, Central struggled in the first matchup, Mckenzie played a solid game, but didn't get much contribution from Shepherd, and Rose had some early foul trouble which took him out of the game. They still kept hanging around trying to make a game of it but kept trading baskets with Paintsville.

Have to wonder what the mood is for Paintsville after losing 2 nights ago in a game they practically won. Just a day turnaround to prep and scout for Central. These teams matchup against each other very evenly, 2 legit go to guys in Slone & Cole, great surrounding casts for both teams also. They both play with a very disciplined style offensively, Paintsville really had them all out of sorts defensively the first meeting, I'm sure coach Slone will go in with the same gameplan and will have something different dialed up if coach Mckenzie has figured things out since then. Despite the Tuesday loss, Paintsville is still playing great basketball at the right time, so is Central. This one is always drama filled & emotional, greatest rivalry in the state in my opinion.

I think Paintsville bounces back in a big way and takes this one on the road.

Paintsville- 76
Central-71

[averagejoe01]

The first meeting against Paintsville, was when Slone really started showing his real style on offense, driving to the basket, absorbing contact and living at the free throw line, sounds like he is back into his regular form now which has gone along with how well Central has played lately. Other than Slone, Central struggled in the first matchup, Mckenzie played a solid game, but didn't get much contribution from Shepherd, and Rose had some early foul trouble which took him out of the game. They still kept hanging around trying to make a game of it but kept trading baskets with Paintsville.

Have to wonder what the mood is for Paintsville after losing 2 nights ago in a game they practically won. Just a day turnaround to prep and scout for Central. These teams matchup against each other very evenly, 2 legit go to guys in Slone & Cole, great surrounding casts for both teams also. They both play with a very disciplined style offensively, Paintsville really had them all out of sorts defensively the first meeting, I'm sure coach Slone will go in with the same gameplan and will have something different dialed up if coach Mckenzie has figured things out since then. Despite the Tuesday loss, Paintsville is still playing great basketball at the right time, so is Central. This one is always drama filled & emotional, greatest rivalry in the state in my opinion.

I think Paintsville bounces back in a big way and takes this one on the road.

Paintsville- 76
Central-71

Crazy how we pretty much post at same time and pick identical score.

[-STAT-]

This should be a very close game. I don’t expect JC to come out and play flat at home after losing at Paintsville. I would also have to imagine central has a plan to keep kinner from getting wide open shots unlike last time. I want to say central by 15 or more as they send a message to the region they are firing on all cylinders but I just can’t so it. Paintsville wins and creates a very interesting matchup when Martin comes to town next week. 

Paintsville 76
Johnson Central 71

@averagejoe01 I swear I didn't steal your score prediction 
Great minds think alike!

[EKY Hoops]

I’ll take JC in a barn burner 75-72

[JCFan2000]

I think JC will win in a back-and-forth game.

JC-74
Painstville-68