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Whoa! March Madness arrived a few hours early at Henry County High School.

The first night of the boys’ Eighth Region Tournament was rockin with two sensational games on Wednesday.

Collins won the first game 69-63 over South Oldham, while Gallatin County rallied for a dramatic 56-55 victory over Simon Kenton in the night cap.

Here’s a recap and a few thoughts:

• One of the biggest shots of the season – to this point – came from Jordan Morris. The senior hit a pair of three-pointers in a 32-12 fourth-quarter surge by Gallatin County, including a 25-footer just before the buzzer for the one-point win. Morris sprinted down the right side of the floor, point guard Travis Davis drew the defense to him on the left and dished to Morris, who calmly lifted up and drained the three. It was a sweet shot.

• Gallatin County coach Jon Jones said his team was “awful” in the first three quarters. But even when he wasn’t playing very good, I could tell junior guard Kristian Morgan is a player. The 6-foot Morgan scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. He was very active even when his shot wasn’t falling.

• Simon Kenton senior Cody Chambers led his team with 16 points, while I liked the play of junior Andrew Sampson, who finished with 13.

• Collins was very impressive in the first game, getting a monster 24-point, 15-rebound performance from 6-8 center Brian Stone. The senior was 12-for-12 from the field in the game. He gets the ball inside, it’s going in the basket. Junior Dez Marshall is really active and had 17 points, while junior Buddy Johnson had three three-pointers and 13 points. Michigan transfers Terez Smith and Norvis Smith both passed the look test. Terez is a 6-6 junior and played a lot, scoring 11 and getting five rebounds. Norvis is a 6-4 senior and didn’t play a ton but is a great-looking athlete. I wouldn’t be surprised if Collins wins the region. I picked Oldham County but Collins has the team to make a run into the Sweet 16 and win a game or two if it can get there.

• South Oldham was gritty and battled down to the wire. The Dragons will be a team that can win the region next season with all five starters being juniors. Jack Sherry, the quarterback in football, was impressive with 16 and had four three-pointers. Junior guard Shea Goodlett had 17 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Drew Greenwood had 10. Sophomore Kyle Young is another sophomore to watch.

• Speaking of a player to watch, Collins eighth-grader Malik Manica could be a future star. The 5-foot-9 guard came in and played 10 minutes and looked like a veteran at times. He only made 3 of 7 free throws but had three assists.

http://blogs.courier-journal.com/jodydem...ing-night/