[Pulp Fiction]

I'll be the first to say it.... tonight at the Expo was collectively the best overall night of basketball the 15th region tournament has ever seen. Some people probably won't agree, but if you were there., you know what I mean...... everybody got their $7.00 worth tonight. The Expo, even though I don't like it, was a great venue for tonight's games. Last number we were told was over 5,000 tickets sold. The crowds brought it for all three games.


The girls game between JC and Paintsville was tight the whole game. Paintsville is going to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1932. Nobody could really pull away, nobody could make a run. Cross-town rivals going toe to toe for 32 minutes in the regional championship game is what makes high school basketball great. Paintsville won 39-36. JC had their chances down the stretch, but Paintsville would answer and make the big plays when they needed to. Paintsville proved they were the best team in the 15th region... winning the All-A regional and the 15th regional, now they need to go represent at the Sweet 16.


The boys semi-final game between JC and Lawrence County was AMAZING!!!!! The 88-87 score shows just how close this game was. Lawrence County led by 11 with 1:38 left in the 3rd qtr. There was 5 ties and 6 lead changes.
Lawrence County was 12/26 from behind the 3 point line. Dalton had 28 points, Wellman has 25 points, Dotson had 21 points.... those three carried Lawrence County.
JC was 12/31 from behind the 3 point line. Blair had 40 points, Crace had 16, Davis had 12.
This was a GREAT game.
Back and forth, up and down.... 3 balls, fast breaks, turnovers, double Technical fouls... you name it, this game had it. Lawrence County missed their big #4 late in the game and they really missed Dalton down the stretch. JC stayed calm, weathered the storm and made some major baskets late in the game. JC never could hit Dagger shot to put Lawrence away. Lawrence kept battling back, JC made a great offensive play with a very short amount of time left, then made a game winning stop as time expired as time expired. You could see the expressions change on the JC players and coaches faces as the horn sounded. As big of a JC homer as I am, Lawrence County was the better team tonight. No shame in saying that either. Lawrence County played the best basketball game they could have asked for.
Johnson Central needs to hit their knees and say a prayer. Beating a team four times in a season hardly ever happens. No way the JC coaching staff would let the players over look Lawrence County, they just didn't play like they did the past three games. In tournament time, it's survive and advance.


South Floyd vs. Pikeville.... as a fan with no connection to either team was incredible to watch. Both teams played good the 1st half. Nobody pulled away, just exchanged baskets. Oh but the 2nd half was awesome to watch. South Floyd played like a team possessed. They didn't want their schools basketball history to end with an L. Big 3's, rebounds and nice moves in the post brought the Raider Nation to their feet. Pikeville hit some 3 point shots from U.S. 23.... I mean some DEEP shots in the 4th qtr. IMO, South Floyd had some players try to be too much of a hero too early in the 4th. Taking crazy long shots and trying to make hero passes when they didn't need to. When they started doing that is when Pikeville was able to pull away. The 82-75 score is a good representation of the overall game. Pikeville was able to take advantage of South Floyd's miscues late in the 4th and grind out a win.

We get a rematch of the 2000 15th Region tournament championship game between JC and Pikeville. JC won 66-54. JC's head coach Tommy McKenzie was JC's starting PG that year and JC's official statistician, Clinton Hackney, was their starting PF. That team made it to the Elite 8 for the first time in school history that season.







Nights like tonight is why we love high school basketball.