By Nick Brockman, Messenger Sports Reporter nbrockman@the-messenger.com
Hopes, dreams, seasons and for some high-school basketball careers will all be on the line during this week's 7th District Tournament at Caldwell County.
Boys and girls teams from Dawson Springs, Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins enter the postseason with the same goal: advance.
Storm coach Matt Bell said his team has already discussed the magnitude of a one-loss-and-out scenario.
"The one thing we talked about (Friday night) after our win at Apollo was that it's a new season and everybody has a record of 0-0, so you have to play one game at a time and you have to make sure you take care of business if you want to play another one," he said.
Central (20-8) will face Dawson (6-17) at 7:45 p.m. Monday for the second time in 10 days. On Feb. 13, the Panthers lost 87-42, but did so without senior Ethan Scott, who missed the game with a leg injury.
Scott scored a team-high 20 points in Dawson's 89-60 loss to Murray on Thursday and Bell said he understands the Panther forward has potential to have a similar impact during Monday's meeting.
"Scott brings them a little more ball handling with his size and passing ability, so he's able to see the floor and make plays," he said.
Boys and girls teams from Dawson Springs, Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins enter the postseason with the same goal: advance.
Storm coach Matt Bell said his team has already discussed the magnitude of a one-loss-and-out scenario.
"The one thing we talked about (Friday night) after our win at Apollo was that it's a new season and everybody has a record of 0-0, so you have to play one game at a time and you have to make sure you take care of business if you want to play another one," he said.
Central (20-8) will face Dawson (6-17) at 7:45 p.m. Monday for the second time in 10 days. On Feb. 13, the Panthers lost 87-42, but did so without senior Ethan Scott, who missed the game with a leg injury.
Scott scored a team-high 20 points in Dawson's 89-60 loss to Murray on Thursday and Bell said he understands the Panther forward has potential to have a similar impact during Monday's meeting.
"Scott brings them a little more ball handling with his size and passing ability, so he's able to see the floor and make plays," he said.
The Lady Panthers (1-18) will kickoff Monday's action at 6 p.m. against host Caldwell (17-7). Dawson's girls lost 66-33 in the pair's previous contest on Jan. 8.
The winner of that game will face the victor of Tuesday's 6 p.m. contest between Central (4-23) and North (13-8). The Lady Maroons defeated the Lady Storm twice in the regular season, but Central has shown great signs of improvement with two wins and two losses by five or less since hitting the floor after the ice storm.
Central lost 72-23 in the team's first matchup, but led as late as midway through the third quarter during the rematch on Feb. 14, before losing 63-39.
"They got off to a good start and from there on it was a dog fight," Lady Maroons coach John Paul Cummings said. "It was a little hostile and it was good for us. It was a great tournament atmosphere. You just have to learn to relax and stick to your game plan and execute. It took us a long time to do that in that game."
Lady Storm coach Jennifer Flener said her girls know who to key on for their best bet at victory.
"One thing we know that we have to do on Tuesday is our defense has got to be good, especially we have to stop their post play in Tayla Foster and KeKe Drake, DeDe McReynolds," Flener said on Saturday. "What we're focusing on in our next three days of practice is post defense, just trying to make sure we stop their play on offense in the post and make sure when a shot goes up, we box out and we don't give them second and third opportunities." North's boys (10-11) will complete first-round action when the Maroons take on Caldwell (2-16) at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. North sports seven seniors on its roster, more than any other Hopkins County team, and each game could be their last.
Jon Hood, North's leading scorer with 29.4 points per game, will lead the Maroons into battle, but complementary production from fellow seniors Robert Hatchett and Ryan Robinson will be key in the team's chances of advancing and repeating as 7th District champs.
The championship games will be held on Thursday with the girls contest to be held first at 6 p.m.
For teams that win on Tuesday, the turn around will be just two days, but Cummings said that's not a concern.
"For whoever advances, it's not going to be tough because these kids are used to playing," he said. "When we play these Christmas tournaments, we play four games in four days. These kids are pretty resilient and they're used to playing good competition night in and night out."
Cummings said he's not going to make the mistake of thinking about the championship game just yet though.
"I've been watching as many teams as possible in the region, but the only game that matters is that first game," he said. "I'm not real worried about Caldwell at this point until we can get through the first game with Central. Any time two rival teams play, you can throw the records out the door."
Central's Bell said he does not fear his players looking forward to a possible title game with North.
"All of our focus is on Dawson Springs and if we're fortunate enough to advance, then we'll have plenty of time to prepare for the next game," he said.
Meanwhile, Flener has been using the one-and-out tournament set-up to inspire her three seniors - Amber Coakley, Whitney Orange and Brittney Orten.
"I've been telling them for the past week, you've got a couple regular season games left to play, but once Tuesday comes around it's live or die," Flener said. "You either win or you're done."
The winner of that game will face the victor of Tuesday's 6 p.m. contest between Central (4-23) and North (13-8). The Lady Maroons defeated the Lady Storm twice in the regular season, but Central has shown great signs of improvement with two wins and two losses by five or less since hitting the floor after the ice storm.
Central lost 72-23 in the team's first matchup, but led as late as midway through the third quarter during the rematch on Feb. 14, before losing 63-39.
"They got off to a good start and from there on it was a dog fight," Lady Maroons coach John Paul Cummings said. "It was a little hostile and it was good for us. It was a great tournament atmosphere. You just have to learn to relax and stick to your game plan and execute. It took us a long time to do that in that game."
Lady Storm coach Jennifer Flener said her girls know who to key on for their best bet at victory.
"One thing we know that we have to do on Tuesday is our defense has got to be good, especially we have to stop their post play in Tayla Foster and KeKe Drake, DeDe McReynolds," Flener said on Saturday. "What we're focusing on in our next three days of practice is post defense, just trying to make sure we stop their play on offense in the post and make sure when a shot goes up, we box out and we don't give them second and third opportunities." North's boys (10-11) will complete first-round action when the Maroons take on Caldwell (2-16) at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. North sports seven seniors on its roster, more than any other Hopkins County team, and each game could be their last.
Jon Hood, North's leading scorer with 29.4 points per game, will lead the Maroons into battle, but complementary production from fellow seniors Robert Hatchett and Ryan Robinson will be key in the team's chances of advancing and repeating as 7th District champs.
The championship games will be held on Thursday with the girls contest to be held first at 6 p.m.
For teams that win on Tuesday, the turn around will be just two days, but Cummings said that's not a concern.
"For whoever advances, it's not going to be tough because these kids are used to playing," he said. "When we play these Christmas tournaments, we play four games in four days. These kids are pretty resilient and they're used to playing good competition night in and night out."
Cummings said he's not going to make the mistake of thinking about the championship game just yet though.
"I've been watching as many teams as possible in the region, but the only game that matters is that first game," he said. "I'm not real worried about Caldwell at this point until we can get through the first game with Central. Any time two rival teams play, you can throw the records out the door."
Central's Bell said he does not fear his players looking forward to a possible title game with North.
"All of our focus is on Dawson Springs and if we're fortunate enough to advance, then we'll have plenty of time to prepare for the next game," he said.
Meanwhile, Flener has been using the one-and-out tournament set-up to inspire her three seniors - Amber Coakley, Whitney Orange and Brittney Orten.
"I've been telling them for the past week, you've got a couple regular season games left to play, but once Tuesday comes around it's live or die," Flener said. "You either win or you're done."
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