Three Northern Kentucky boys basketball teams play regional semifinals Monday
While the boys basketball teams at Cooper and Newport have punched their tickets to the Ninth Region final in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association tournament, three other Northern Kentucky teams will try to join them in Tuesday's regional championship.
Northern Kentucky can have three teams in the KHSAA Sweet 16, which begins March 20 at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Here is a look at tonight's Eighth and 10th Region tournaments.
The Simon Kenton Pioneers upset defending Eighth Region champion Woodford County March 6 in the first round of this year’s regional tournament. SK won 58-53 over Woodford, who was ranked 14th in the statewide Kentucky Media Poll. Woodford who reached the state semifinals last season, finished 24-7.
Senior Travis Krohman scored 24 points to lead the Pioneers, six of them after they trailed by one in the fourth quarter. Junior post player Bode Stone added 16 points.
Krohman averages 17 points per game with 93 3-pointers entering Monday’s semifinal against North Oldham (26-5), who is ranked 13th in the statewide poll. SK lost by 26 at North Oldham, 72-46, on Dec. 8, but Krohman did not play in the game.
North Oldham averages 75 points per game on offense led by senior guard Grant Neal with over 21 per game. The Mustangs make almost 10 3-pointers a contest.
The semifinal matchup will start at 6:30 p.m.
Walton-Verona (23-10) will play Spencer County (23-9) in Monday night’s second semifinal following SK/North Oldham. WV will also look to avenge a lopsided loss, as the Bearcats lost to the Bears by 33, 76-43, on Feb. 9 in Taylorsville.
The Bearcats are led by Aaron Gutman with 21 points per game, Julian Dixon with 15 and Zach Smith with 13. WV averages 67 points per game and sinks eight triples a game.
Spencer averages 71 points per game with over nine 3-pointers per game. Luke Erhardt averages 20 points per game and has made 108 3-pointers. Camden Cox has 15 points per game and 95 triples. In the first game against Walton, the Bears were 10-of-19 from behind the arc. Ehrhardt scored 25.
The Eighth Region championship game is 7 p.m. Tuesday, also at Henry County.
Campbell County (24-6) will play in the 10th Region semifinals 7:30 p.m. Monday against George Rogers Clark (30-2) in the Mason County Fieldhouse in Maysville.
GRC is ranked 10th in the state.
The winner faces the winner of the night’s first game featuring Mason County (21-11) vs. Harrison County (16-14) in the championship game 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Mason County Fieldhouse.
Leading the Camels is senior forward Connor Weinel, who averages 15.5 points and 10 rebounds per game. He is a first-team all-10th Region pick. Broc Sorgenfrei averages 12 points per game and Garyn Jackson 11.
GRC averages 72 points per game led by five players averaging nine points or more. Senior guard Reshaun Hampton averages 17.6 points per game with 94 3-pointers. He is the 10th Region Player of the Year.
GRC beat the Camels 63-60 on Dec. 1. Campbell had four players in double figures. Hampton only scored five points. GRC has won five straight against the Camels since the Camels beat the Cardinals in the 2019 10th Region championship game.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky boys regional basketball: Northern Kentucky teams play semis
