[HCS]

Biggest upset in regional tourney history

[Corbin]

A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

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A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

Charles Thomas I would imagine although Michael Jones could be a sneaky answer.

---

Does anyone have access to old state top 25 rankings? I know Corbin and Harlan for the biggest part of 94 and 95 held the #1 spot depending on the week. However I seem to recall a poll that had Corbin, Harlan, Clay, Jackson County, and Knox Central all in the top 15 during the same season. I’ll never forget those Corbin/Harlan battles. The crowds were electric and I’ve never seen the atmosphere matched since but dang the 13th was loaded in those days.

[Old School Hound]

A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

---

A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

Charles Thomas I would imagine although Michael Jones could be a sneaky answer.

---

Does anyone have access to old state top 25 rankings? I know Corbin and Harlan for the biggest part of 94 and 95 held the #1 spot depending on the week. However I seem to recall a poll that had Corbin, Harlan, Clay, Jackson County, and Knox Central all in the top 15 during the same season. I’ll never forget those Corbin/Harlan battles. The crowds were electric and I’ve never seen the atmosphere matched since but dang the 13th was loaded in those days.

I'm sure you remember the game Pietrowski hit the shot at the buzzer to beat #1 ranked Harlan.  That  game atmosphere was electric!!!!

[Corbin]

I can remember Gilliam Gym being absolutely packed full. Fans were standing on the stairs, aisles, sitting on those little overhangs where the radio crew work, and were 5 deep watching through the windows on the catwalk which overlooks the gym.

[Old School Hound]

I can remember Gilliam Gym being absolutely packed full. Fans were standing on the stairs, aisles, sitting on those little overhangs where the radio crew work, and were 5 deep watching through the windows on the catwalk which overlooks the gym.

I rushed the court after the game winner.  LOL

---

A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

---

A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

Charles Thomas I would imagine although Michael Jones could be a sneaky answer.

---

Does anyone have access to old state top 25 rankings? I know Corbin and Harlan for the biggest part of 94 and 95 held the #1 spot depending on the week. However I seem to recall a poll that had Corbin, Harlan, Clay, Jackson County, and Knox Central all in the top 15 during the same season. I’ll never forget those Corbin/Harlan battles. The crowds were electric and I’ve never seen the atmosphere matched since but dang the 13th was loaded in those days.

You've just inspired another trivia question. Stay tuned.

[HCS]

Jones graduated in 94, so he wasn't around for the 95 championship

[Old School Hound]

To illustrate just how incredibly talented the 13th region was in '94 , we had three 1st team All-State players,  one  2nd team All-Stater,  one 3rd team All-Stater , and four  Honorable Mentions on the All-State team.


How many of the nine can you name?

[Corbin]

I could be wrong but let’s say Michael Jones, Charles Thomas, and Todd Cox of Harlan, Tony Pietrowski of Corbin, Chris McKissick of Clay, Madden at Jackson?, Keith Sloan of Cumberland? McDaniel or Bennett of Corbin? Maybe an Elam from Knox?

[Van Hagar]

Biggest regional upset was Pineville over Cawood when Pineville had only won either two or three games all year and Cawood was really good. It was in the mid 70s, HCS will have to supply the exact year.


Another stunner, although the team that pulled the upset was good, was Jackson Co. over Corbin in mid-90s in a game at Clay Co. Jackson had Mitchell Madden and Chico Baldwin, and they just kept making bombs, it went I think two overtimes and both teams went over 100 points. One of the most exciting regional games I ever witnessed.

[Old School Hound]

Biggest regional upset was Pineville over Cawood when Pineville had only won either two or three games all year and Cawood was really good.  It was in the mid 70s, HCS will have to supply the exact year.


  Another stunner, although the team that pulled the upset was good, was Jackson Co. over Corbin in mid-90s in a game at Clay Co. Jackson had Mitchell Madden and Chico Baldwin, and they just kept making bombs, it went I think two overtimes and both teams went over 100 points. One of the most exciting regional games I ever witnessed.

That game was going to be the next one I was going to talk about. I was at that game at Clay Co. High School. Corbin, led by senior guard, Tony Pietrowski,  was one of the top ranked teams in the state and was the tourney favorite.  Jackson was pretty good in their own right, led by Jeff "Chico" Baldwin.   Jackson County caught fire and was hitting everything they threw up. Corbin came back and then the game was back and forth, back and forth, regulation, first OT , second OT, with the Generals finally pulling the game out in overtime number three. It was a devastating loss for Corbin, who had very real expectations of competing for a state title. I vividly recall seeing a lot of the Corbin moms in tears, consoling their downtrodden sons, who were physically and emotionally drained, as were us fans as well.  

As soon as the game ended I caught sight of the old ball coach, Coach Keith, waving his arms in absolute jubilation, like a Pentecostal preacher after a fiery sermon and just before the snake-handling was to begin.  As someone who had just had their hoop dreams(and visions of sugar plums and a state title) ripped out from under him, I didn't take the gesturing in the light of friendly competition as I should have. I found the legend a few minutes later, and with as much respect as I could muster at the time, said, "Coach, why are you so happy? You didn't win anything."  With a sardonic grin, reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's Cheshire F***ing Cat, the coaching God of KY basketball said wryly, "Son, maybe I did." [mic drop]  He couldn't have pounded my a$$(and my broken psyche) anymore had he been Buford Pusser swinging his damned stick.  Of course, Coach K(the real one) realized what I would have known as well, had I not been so pissed off. Clay Co. had been the winner that night.

With the highly-ranked Redhounds vanquished from the House of Keith like an insurrectionalist  from the Capitol, the homestanding Tigers could now lay seige to another  13th region title.  The old coaching legend was right, an upstart group of Generals did his bidding that night. Coach Keith and the Tigers were the ultimate victors of Jackson's upset victory over Corbin.  They went on to win the 13th region tourney a few nights later over those same Jackson County Generals 64-45, after knocking off Charles Thomas and Harlan in a one point barnburner in the semi-finals.   Clay then went on to take eventual state champ Fairdale, led by Rashawn Morris,  down to the wire in a 77-75 loss in the first round game of the state tourney, a game that Clay led by five after three quarters. 

Corbin, meanwhile, got a small measure of revenge a year later in '95 , knocking Keith and the Tigers out of the regional in the semi-finals. But, as usual, Coach Keith and his Tigers weren't done causing me more pain. Corbin hosted the region in 1996, after steamrolling its 50th district tournament opponents by an average of 33 pts. a game.  Clay lost in the finals of the 49th to Jackson Co.  That set the stage for a first round matchup at Gillium Gym between Corbin and Clay. Corbin , the favorite, now had Henry Garrison in its backcourt after he had transferred over from Clay County. With boos reigning down on the traitorous (at least in the minds of the some of the Clay contingent) Garrison from the Clay Co. fans, the Tigers stunned the homestanding Redhounds 63-54 and sent me home pissed again.  The Hounds and Tigers would meet up in the region the next two years, with Corbin winning in '97 and Clay sending the Hounds back to Corbin in '98  with a  1 pt. OT loss in the "Manchester Miracle ."  More about that some other time...

---

Biggest regional upset was Pineville over Cawood when Pineville had only won either two or three games all year and Cawood was really good.  It was in the mid 70s, HCS will have to supply the exact year.


  Another stunner, although the team that pulled the upset was good, was Jackson Co. over Corbin in mid-90s in a game at Clay Co. Jackson had Mitchell Madden and Chico Baldwin, and they just kept making bombs, it went I think two overtimes and both teams went over 100 points. One of the most exciting regional games I ever witnessed.

Cawood had lost only one game all season and were stunned by a Pineville team that limped into the  '78 regional tourney with only nine wins .  The Lions pulled off the biggest shocker in regional history, winning by something like six or seven points.

[HCS]

I'll be real impressed if anyone knows the other team to beat Cawood in 1978...

[Old School Hound]

I'll be real impressed if anyone knows the other team to beat Cawood in 1978...

I bet you would. I would be impressed with me to. Was it an out of state team?

[HCS]

No

[Old School Hound]

I'll be real impressed if anyone knows the other team to beat Cawood in 1978...

Let me say I don't know the answer to this but I'm going to take a guess based on a couple of things I do know.

I do know that Cumberland had some pretty good teams in the seventies, right up there with Cawood.  The logical answer would be Cumberland. In fact, those two probably had the most 52nd district titles in the seventies.  So, if my life depended on me getting it right I would say Cumberland. But my life doesn't depend on it. So, I'll go another direction.  I also know Lone Jack had some pretty decent teams in the late seventies and early eighties. I know they made the regional about every year during a span of four or five years around that time. So, in '78, they might have been competitive enough to upset a strong Cawood team.  But I'm going with a darkhorse. I graduated in '80 and so I know for a fact that the Lynch Bulldogs entered the regional tournament that year as a champion of  the 52nd. Not sure how good they were in '78  but I know they were in the region tournament as district winner or runner up several times during the seventies and eighties.  Just a  somewhat educated guess, I'll go with Lynch . If not them, Lone Jack.

---

I could be wrong but let’s say Michael Jones, Charles Thomas, and Todd Cox of Harlan, Tony Pietrowski of Corbin, Chris McKissick of Clay, Madden at Jackson?, Keith Sloan of Cumberland? McDaniel or Bennett of Corbin? Maybe an Elam from Knox?

Pretty darn good. You nailed five of them.

---

To illustrate just how incredibly talented the 13th region was in '94 , we had three 1st team All-State players,  one  2nd team All-Stater,  one 3rd team All-Stater , and four  Honorable Mentions on the All-State team.


How many of the nine can you name?

First Team:

Michael Jones (Harlan) ;    Charles Thomas (Harlan)  ;   Tony P. (Corbin)

Second Team:

Chris McKissic


Third Team:

Ryan Wilson(Wburg) - one of the state's top scorers AND rebounders


Honorable Mention:

Jeff "Chico" Baldwin(Jackson Co.) ;  Todd Cox (Harlan)  ; 

Casey Lester (Harlan)   ;     Allen Sharpe(KC) -one of the best long-range shooters I've ever seen

[HCS]

I think Cumberland played Cawood pretty close a couple of times that season, including the district finals (63-58). The Redskins ended up being regional runner-up that year. Cumberland won four straight districts from 70 to 73, then Lynch won two straight, then Cawood won three straight, then Harlan in 79.
Cawood lost to Hazard that year in the regular season - I think a Christmas tournament.

---

Rodney Woods
Mike Deaton

HCS , you know your 13th region basketball.  I'm gonna have to step my game up a notch. lol

Both Coach Woods and Coach Deaton coached at Corbin.

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Coach Bobby Knight leads all 13th region coaches with  767 career wins, all at Clay Co.   Only one other coach won more than 700 HS basketball games, all with 13th region teams. Who is he?

I'll be real impressed if anyone knows the other team to beat Cawood in 1978...

Let me say I don't know the answer to this but I'm going to take a guess based on a couple of things I do know.

I do know that Cumberland had some pretty good teams in the seventies, right up there with Cawood.  The logical answer would be Cumberland. In fact, those two probably had the most 52nd district titles in the seventies.  So, if my life depended on me getting it right I would say Cumberland. But my life doesn't depend on it. So, I'll go another direction.  I also know Lone Jack had some pretty decent teams in the late seventies and early eighties. I know they made the regional about every year during a span of four or five years around that time. So, in '78, they might have been competitive enough to upset a strong Cawood team.  But I'm going with a darkhorse. I graduated in '80 and so I know for a fact that the Lynch Bulldogs entered the regional tournament that year as a champion of  the 52nd. Not sure how good they were in '78  but I know they were in the region tournament as district winner or runner up several times during the seventies and eighties.  Just a  somewhat educated guess, I'll go with Lynch . If not them, Lone Jack.

---

I could be wrong but let’s say Michael Jones, Charles Thomas, and Todd Cox of Harlan, Tony Pietrowski of Corbin, Chris McKissick of Clay, Madden at Jackson?, Keith Sloan of Cumberland? McDaniel or Bennett of Corbin? Maybe an Elam from Knox?

Pretty darn good. You nailed five of them.

---

To illustrate just how incredibly talented the 13th region was in '94 , we had three 1st team All-State players,  one  2nd team All-Stater,  one 3rd team All-Stater , and four  Honorable Mentions on the All-State team.


How many of the nine can you name?

First Team:

Michael Jones (Harlan) ;    Charles Thomas (Harlan)  ;   Tony P. (Corbin)

Second Team:

Chris McKissic


Third Team:

Ryan Wilson(Wburg) - one of the state's top scorers AND rebounders


Honorable Mention:

Jeff "Chico" Baldwin(Jackson Co.) ;  Todd Cox (Harlan)  ; 

Casey Lester (Harlan)   ;     Allen Sharpe(KC) -one of the best long-range shooters I've ever seen


We had a long debate on Facebook last year about the best talent in 13th Region history - mid 90s or mid 80s. I will go with mid 80s.

[Old School Hound]

What is the only school to have won a  50th District Championship  AND  a  51st District Championship   AND  a  52nd  District Championship ?

[Old School Hound]

Ashland Blazer finished last season 33-0 before COVID put an end to the Tomcats bid to defend its undefeated campaign in the Sweet Sixteen. The year before, John Hardin entered the Sweet Sixteen with a 35-0 record  before losing by a point in the opening round.  What was the last mountain team to enter the Sweet Sixteen with an undefeated record?   


Bonus:   Who ended their undefeated record in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen?

[Van Hagar]

I don’t know if it was the last mountain team, but Clay Co. entered the 1989 state tournament undefeated. This was the year AFTER Farmer and Chadwell had graduated, Clay was led by Russ Farmer, Boxhead Rawlings and Rodger Simms. They lost in the first round to Marshall Co. who had Vandy signee Dan Langhi as their star.

This was also the year when Barbourville pulled one of the biggest district tournament upsets in 13th region history, beating a wildly talented Knox Central team (that included current coach Tony Patterson) by two to end their season. Clay had beaten Knox Central three times that year, all in very close games, and I don’t think anybody was looking forward to seeing them again.

[Old School Hound]

I don’t know if it was the last mountain team, but Clay Co. entered the 1989 state tournament undefeated. This was the year AFTER Farmer and Chadwell had graduated, Clay was led by Russ Farmer, Boxhead Rawlings and Rodger Simms. They lost in the first round to Marshall Co. who had Vandy signee Dan Langhi as their star.

  This was also the year when Barbourville pulled one of the biggest district tournament upsets in 13th region history, beating a wildly talented Knox Central team (that included current coach Tony Patterson) by two to end their season. Clay had beaten Knox Central three times that year, all in very close games, and I don’t think anybody was looking forward to seeing them again.

You are correct, VH.  It was indeed the very talented Russ Farmer-led Clay Co. team. They were 33-0 entering the '89 Sweet Sixteen. They fell to Marshall Co., I believe, by four points in the opening round. Ironically enough, the last team to finish the season undefeated and win the Sweet Sixteen was Brewers( from Marshall County) in 1948.    Prior to Brewers accomplishing the feat, Ashland won the state title in 1928, finishing with an unblemished record of something like 37-0.

Btw,  "Spider" Thurman's  1953 Clay Co. team entered the Sweet 16  at  34-0  before losing to eventual state champ, Lafayette, in the quarterfinals.

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What is the only school to have won a  50th District Championship  AND  a  51st District Championship   AND  a  52nd  District Championship ?

Corbin wo the inaugural 52th District tourney title in '32  , won the 51st  in '36(the year they won the state title),  and lead the 50th district schools with 43 titles.

 
DISCLAIMER:   Upon further research, I discovered that Barbourville also has won all three district titles. The Tigers won the 52nd in '33 and '34 ,  the 51st  in '35 , and the  50th (for the first time) in '44.

[Old School Hound]

A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

---

A 13th Region school won back-to-back All-A State Titles, with the same player receiving the MVP awards both years.  What school and what MVP?




Bonus:   What two opponents did they beat in  the title games in winning those back-to-back titles?

Harlan and Lex Cath and UHA

Charles Thomas I would imagine although Michael Jones could be a sneaky answer.

---

Does anyone have access to old state top 25 rankings? I know Corbin and Harlan for the biggest part of 94 and 95 held the #1 spot depending on the week. However I seem to recall a poll that had Corbin, Harlan, Clay, Jackson County, and Knox Central all in the top 15 during the same season. I’ll never forget those Corbin/Harlan battles. The crowds were electric and I’ve never seen the atmosphere matched since but dang the 13th was loaded in those days.

The Corbin Redhounds enjoyed one of the most remarkable three-week stretches in Kentucky high school basketball history in December 1993.  Billy Hicks' squad went 12-1 over a 20-day period, including a noteworthy week where they won six contests in seven days in Clearwater, Florida and Louisville.  The Hounds played in Florida on December 17, 18, and 19, where they were runners-up at the prestigious Clearwater Checkers Invitational.  CHS flew directly to Louisville, where they knocked off Boyle County, Bryan Station, Montgomery County, and Christian County in three days to claim the Derby City Invitational of Champions title. After a four-day break for Christmas, the Redhounds polished off Oneida (TN), Lithia Springs (GA), and Clay County to win their own Cumberland Falls Invitational Tournament.  Eventual Mr. Basketball finalist and current CHS head coach Tony Pietrowski was named the MVP at all three December tournaments.  Double figure scorers Kerry Sipple, Jason McDaniel, and Donnie Allen provided plenty of help for the Redhounds.  The torrid stretch would put Corbin atop the Louisville Courier-Journal's Litkenhous Ratings on January 5.  The Redhounds went on to finish the campaign with a sterling 31-4 mark but were upset in the 13th Region tournament opening round by Jackson County.


Here's the LIT ratings on Jan. 5, 1994 :


[Image: https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t...e=6060DD53]

[Old School Hound]

 Reed Sheppard has already had multiple 50 point games in his HS career.  He is likely to go for  60 or more before he's finished.

  There have been four 13th region players to go for more than 65 points in a single game(one of those four was fairly recent).  

How many of the four can you name?   Two should be pretty easy; the other two, not so much.

[Corbin]

Who all played on those Cumberland and Lynch teams in the 70’s? I recall the teams but some of the names escape me.

[Old School Hound]

Who all played on those Cumberland and Lynch teams in the 70’s? I recall the teams but some of the names escape me.

HCS  would be the guy for that info.   I know Cumberland had a good team in '85  with Lewis Morris , Freddie Maggard, and future Globetrotter, Paul Gafney.

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What school won its only 13th region title in 2003, despite entering district tournament play with a sub .500 record of  11-13 ?

[HCS]

Larry Cockrel was the first great player from Cumberland I remember in the early to mid 70s. i think he went to Sam Houston State.
Others I found in all-state honorable mention lists include Grady Wilson, Ron Alexander, Major Griffey, Leon Brown, Robert Barnes, Sam Hazen and Dwayne Brock.

Bruce Mitchell was an all-stater at Lynch in 81, the last year the school was open.
Forrest Pearson was really good in the mid 70s. Kenny Austin and Tracy English played in the late 70s. James Price, Howard Jordan and Curt Stewart played earlier in the decade.

[Old School Hound]

 Reed Sheppard has already had multiple 50 point games in his HS career.  He is likely to go for  60 or more before he's finished.

  There have been four 13th region players to go for more than 65 points in a single game(one of those four was fairly recent).  

How many of the four can you name?   Two should be pretty easy; the other two, not so much.

I will list the two that are difficult and let you guys think some more about the other two.

Bob Slusher of Lone Jack lit up Pineville for  83 pts. back in '57.

Roger Bolton of Lynn Camp hung  78  on  St. C   in '68  .

The other  65+  games occurred in  1943 (68 pts.)  and in  2016 (67 pts) .   Can you name the two guys  had these high-scoring games?

[Corbin]

Larry Cockrel was the first great player from Cumberland I remember in the early to mid 70s. i think he went to Sam Houston State.
Others I found in all-state honorable mention lists include Grady Wilson, Ron Alexander, Major Griffey, Leon Brown, Robert Barnes, Sam Hazen and Dwayne Brock.

Bruce Mitchell was an all-stater at Lynch in 81, the last year the school was open.
Forrest Pearson was really good in the mid 70s. Kenny Austin and Tracy English played in the late 70s. James Price, Howard Jordan and Curt Stewart played earlier in the decade.

You’re a wealth of knowledge. Many of those names do ring a bell. It seems that Cawood and Harlan get all of the love from many but Cumberland and Lynch probably have had as much it not more talent than anyone in the county. Didnt Cumberland and Lynch have a big knock down drag out back in the mid 70’s?

[Old School Hound]

The '83, '84 & '85  Cumberland teams won 74 of 90 games but never captured the big one , the regional title, during that stretch.

[Corbin]

I seem to recall Bobby Keith saying that the 85 Cumberland team was the best team he ever coached against and considered beating them a huge upset.

[Old School Hound]

I seem to recall Bobby Keith saying that the 85 Cumberland team was the best team he ever coached against and considered beating them a huge upset.

Yep. And Coach Keith was usually right.  Let's not forget, however , that his '85 Clay County team came within one bucket of winning the state championship. So, they were pretty damned good as well.  Cawood and the great Nick Sanford wasn't exactly chopped liver. The '85 and '86 Trojans teams went  45-11.

[HCS]

Keith told me that 85 Cumberland team was as good as the Hopkinsville team he lost to in the state finals. I didn't ask him about how they ranked all time, but he may have said that.

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Harlan had a great run in the 60s but didn't win that much in the 70s.
Cawood made its first ever appearance in the regional in 1976, so they struggled the first 10 years the school was open.
Cumberland and Lynch were the top teams in the first half of the 70s.