Throughout the entire high school basketball regular-season and into postseason play, the 2018 Fourth Region Boys’ Tournament has been anticipated to be a very interesting one.
The tournament draw, which took place Saturday morning at Warren East High School, certainly didn’t disappoint and resulted in some exciting quarterfinal matchups.
“I really think this is gonna be a really special region tournament,” Bowling Green coach Derrick Clubb said following the Purples’ 14th District championship win Friday over Warren Central. “I hope people come out and watch it.”
The Fourth Region Boys’ Tournament will tip-off at 6 p.m. Wednesday with a pair of quarterfinal games and continue until the championship at 6 p.m. March 6. All games will take place at Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
The champion of the Fourth Region will advance to the 2018 Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen, which is set for March 14-18 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Here’s a look at the opening-round contests:
Bowling Green vs. Clinton County, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Bowling Green – which defeated Warren Central 67-65 on a game-winning layup in Friday’s 14th District Tournament championship – has won four consecutive Fourth Region championships and will meet 16th District runner-up Clinton County at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The Purples (21-10), who are also the defending state champions, didn’t play Clinton (18-12) in the regular-season but are 11-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, with three of those contests – all Bowling Green wins – coming in the Fourth Region Tournament.
“We’ve gotta play hard. We’ve got to,” Bowling Green’s Jaylen Wardlow said. “We’ve just gotta play. Right now, our time is for region – we’re not worried about state. We’ve gotta win throughout.”
BG and Clinton County last met in the regional quarterfinals on March 6, 2015 – a 58-47 Purples’ win.
Bowling Green has seven different players scoring at least five points per game and is led by Jarius Key, who averages 18.6 points and 9.7 rebounds. Jackson Harlan leads the Bulldogs with 26.7 points per contest.
Todd County Central vs. Monroe County, 8 p.m. Wednesday
Todd County Central captured its first 13th District championship since 2003 with a 63-51 win Friday over Franklin-Simpson.
The Rebels (18-12) – led by Nolan Barrow’s 17.4 points per game – will meet 15th District runner-up Monroe County (19-10) at 8 p.m. Wednesday. It’ll be the two sides’ first meeting of the season.
Billy Michael Dyer leads the charge for the Falcons with 18.4 points per game, while Chandler Clements is averaging 17.7.
Russell County vs. Franklin-Simpson, 6 p.m. Thursday
After upsetting top-seeded Clinton County in Friday’s 16th District title game, Russell County travels to Diddle Arena for its quarterfinal matchup against Franklin-Simpson with much momentum.
The Lakers (12-20) – who are making their 12th consecutive appearance in the Fourth Region Tournament – will meet a Franklin-Simpson (7-22) team that has won just seven games this season but upset Logan County in the 13th District semifinals to earn its third straight trip to WKU.
Tate Richardson leads Russell County with 15.5 points per game, while Brayton Scales averages 14.8. Dee Ragland carries the Wildcats with 12.0 PPG.
Glasgow vs. Warren Central, 8 p.m. Thursday
When Glasgow and Warren Central meet in Thursday’s nightcap and try to earn the final spot in the Fourth Region semifinals, it could possibly be one of the best games of the entire tournament.
The Dragons (26-5) – which sport the best record in the region and are coming off a tough loss to Bowling Green in the 14th District championship – easily beat the Scotties (22-8) 72-49 early in the regular-season but will face a much more disciplined squad.
“We played them early and they were still young. They’re not young anymore,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said. “They beat Barren and Monroe, and that’s two big wins in their district. They’re playing well right now and we’ve got our hands full. We’ve just gotta keep playing how we’ve been playing.”
Glasgow returned to the Fourth Region Tournament this year by snapping a 13-game losing streak to Barren County with a thrilling 69-68, triple-overtime win in the 15th District semifinals. The Scotties then defeated Monroe County in the championship to claim their first district title since 2011.
Warren Central is 24-11 all-time against Glasgow and has won the last 12 meetings over the Scotties. The Dragons also sport a 4-1 record against Glasgow in the Fourth Region Tournament.
The four winners of Wednesday and Thursday’s quarterfinal games will advance to the Fourth Region semifinal round, which will be played on Monday, March 5 at 6 and 8 p.m.
–Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TMansfieldST.–
