[Old School Hound]

Ashland barely escaped West Carter and Rowan just to get to Rupp.  No way Ashland is 36 points better than Boyle(or 18 points better than Knox, for that matter). The fact is, some teams shine when they land on the biggest stage and some teams fold.   Ashland appears to be one of those teams that welcome the limelight. Boyle and Knox withered and died.  Clay County under Keith always welcomed the grand stage of the Sweet Sixteen and weren't intimidated by anyone. Corbin won games under in Lexington under Hicks, Deaton, and Pietrowski and weren't intimidated by the likes of Fairdale, Eastern, and Scott County, even though they were well overmatched.  

Make no mistake ,Knox Central had the talent to compete with and beat Ashland but it appears the shining moment was too bright for them. Their two Sweet Sixteen appearances were abysmal.  Nevertheless, there's sixteen or so other schools in the 13th region  that would love to have accomplished what Knox did the last three seasons. They did step up and play their best ball in the region tournaments and captured a trifecta of titles that will forever remain part of 13th region history. They deserve credit.