15^th SUPER REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

“Super Saturday” action on WMDJ

Live from Prestonsburg High School

GIRLS – East Ridge vs. Prestonsburg – 1 p.m. on WMDJ

BOYS – Paintsville vs. Prestonsburg – 7:30 p.m. on WMDJ

Other “Super Saturday” games around the area:

GIRLS – Martin Co. at Pike Central, 2 p.m., Betsy Layne at Paintsville, 3 p.m. and Floyd Central at Shelby Valley, 5 p.m.

BOYS – Floyd Central at Shelby Valley, 6:45 p.m., Magoffin Co. at Phelps, 7 p.m., Lawrence Co. at Johnson Central, 7:30 p.m.

STANVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) – Where were you the night of the quadruple-overtime tilt between two of the oldest rivals in 15th Region basketball history?

In a matchup that could very well go down as the greatest 58th District Tournament game ever played, Betsy Layne edged out Prestonsburg to capture the championship, 83-80 at Junior Newsome Arena.

The game featured nine ties and eleven lead changes, with both teams refusing to back down until the fourth and final overtime period. A total of five players from both teams played 40-minutes or more, with two players from Prestonsburg, senior forward Connor Napier and sophomore guard Braxton Keathley, playing all 48-minutes of action.

Prestonsburg took control early, leading 13-8 after the first quarter and extending their advantage to 23-15 at halftime. Prestonsburg’s stingy 2-3 zone forced Betsy Layne to shoot 4-for-24 from 3-point range in the first half.

The Bobcats mounted a second-half comeback, outscoring Prestonsburg 17-9 in the third quarter to narrow the deficit to 39-32, thanks to sophomore guard Brayden Hall’s pair of 3-point buckets.

The fourth quarter saw Carter Parsons come alive, scoring clutch baskets to fuel a Betsy Layne rally. Parsons connected on his first 3-pointer in the third quarter, while sinking four more bombs in the fourth period. With seconds remaining, junior guard Isaiah Allen drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 55-55, sending it into overtime.

The overtime drama featured both teams ending three overtimes deadlocked. Betsy Layne briefly held a two-point lead in the first overtime after a three-pointer by Cameron Pente, but Kaden Allen answered for Prestonsburg. The game remained tied at 63-63 heading into a second overtime. In the second overtime, Betsy Layne pulled ahead 68-66 after another clutch Parsons three-pointer, but Prestonsburg responded once more, forcing a third overtime at 72-72.

The game was not without controversy as Prestonsburg senior guard Kaden Allen was scored as fouling out with 2:59 remaining, with the Blackcats leading 75-74. The official scorer and Betsy Layne’s team scorekeeper had Allen with five fouls, while the Prestonsburg scorekeeper only had four. All media members present also had Allen with four fouls. Allen was ultimately ruled as fouling out.

Following the foul, Betsy Layne’s Hall would make a pair of free throws to give the Bobcats a 76-75 advantage.

After a Keathley miss and a Betsy Layne turnover, junior Taegan Slone scored a fast break to give Prestonsburg the lead again, 77-76 with 2:30 remaining.

Hall would again connect from the outside and junior forward Ethan Lance hit one of two free throws to push the Bobcat lead to 80-77. Prestonsburg would tie the game with 1:13 left on a 3-pointer from 8th grader Graham Shutts at 80-80.

Betsy Layne would do as they did the first three overtimes and hold the ball for the final shot. This time Hall would connect with the game-winning three from the right side, his seventh-made 3-pointer on the night, giving the Bobcats the 83-80 win.

The game was truly historic as for the first time 515 contest ever played in the 58th District Tournament that a game went to four overtimes. Prior to last night, no game had ever went to triple overtime. Last night’s classic was only the third overtime championship in the 58th District Tournament ever played.

Betsy Layne overcame a cold start shooting, finishing 37% from the field and connecting on 16-of-44 3-pointers for 36%. Carter Parsons, named tournament MVP, led the way with 32 points. Brayden Hall scored 25 points. Isaiah Allen dropped 10 points and District Player of the Year Cameron Pente scored nine points and had eight assists and three steals. Ethan Lance grabbed 15 rebounds for the Bobcats.

Prestonsburg was led by Braxton Keathley’s 29 points. Kaden Allen finished with 18 and Graham Shutts tallied 10.

Betsy Layne will face the winner of Shelby Valley and Floyd Central on Saturday, March 8th at 8:45 p.m. at Pike County Central High School in the quarterfinals of the Super Regional Tournament. Prestonsburg will host Paintsville on “Super Saturday” tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. with the winner advancing the quarterfinals to face host Pike Central.

(Photo credit: Faith Lazar, In the Paint Studio)

PRESTONSBURG (80) – Napier 3, 1-2 7. Allen 7, (1) 3-3 18. Waller 3, 1-4 7. Keathley 9, (2) 9-9 29. Nairn 1, 2. Shutts 3, (2) 2-2 10. Slone 1, 5-8 7.

FG Pct: 36.5%. FT Pct: 75%. 3-PT: 5-21 (Napier 0-1, Allen 1-6, Keathley 2-7, Nairn 0-1, Shutts 2-3, Slone 0-3). Fouls 19. Fouled out: Allen. Rebounds 56. Assists 19. Turnovers 15.

BETSY LAYNE (83) – Parsons 12, (7) 1-7 32. Pente 2, (1) 4-4 9. Allen 4, (1) 1-2 10. Lance 3-8 3. Hall 7, (7) 4-4 25. Jarrell 2, 4.

FG Pct: 37%. FT Pct: 52%. 3-PT: (Parsons 7-21, Pente 1-4, Allen 1-2, Hall 7-17). Fouls 20. Fouled out: Pente. Assists 23. Turnovers 14.

Scoring by quarters:

Team:                         1          2          3          4          OT      OT      OT      OT      TOTAL

Prestonsburg          13        10        16        18        6          5          4          8          80

Betsy Layne              8          7         17        25        6          5          4          11        83

STANVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) – Lawrence County re-established their claim as the top team in the 58th District with a thrilling 61-56 victory over Prestonsburg, denying the Lady Blackcats back-to-back district tournament championships.

Lawrence County has now won five district tournament titles over the past six seasons, after being upset in the semifinals at the hands of Prestonsburg last season.

District and 15th Region Player of the Year Sophie Adkins continued to shine, finishing with 29 points on 7-of-18 shooting, 15-of-21 on the line, to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists.

Maddison Artrip added five clutch 3-pointers and scored 15 points. Jada Patton also tossed in 15 points and was 7-of-8 on the free throw line.

The Lady Dawgs led 13-9 at the end of the first quarter before Prestonsburg answered in the second, outscoring Lawrence 21-11 to claw back into the contest to take a 30-24 lead to halftime.

Lawrence County would rally tie the game at 43-43 at the end of the third quarter, setting up a showdown in the final period.

Prestonsburg took their final lead of the game on a putback by senior Ashley Tackett, making the score 47-46 with 6:20 to play. After a miss by Lawrence County, Adkins was able to pick off an inbounds pass from Prestonsburg converting a layup, giving the Lady Dawgs the lead for good at 48-47.

Lawrence County would be held without a field goal over the final 2:14, yet sealed the win on the free throw line.

The lead would exchange hands 20 times and the scored tied 10 times in the contest.

Prestonsburg will host either East Ridge or Martin County in “Super Saturday” play of the 15th Super Regional Tournament. Lawrence County advances to the quarterfinals of super regional play.

(Photo credit: Faith Lazar and In the Paint Studio)

Scoring by Quarters:

Team                          1st       2nd     3rd      4th      Total

Lawrence Co.             13         11       19       18           61

Prestonsburg             13           9       13       13           56

LAWRENCE COUNTY (61) - Adkins 7, 15-21 29. Maynard 0,0. Artrip 5, (5) 15. See 0,0. Patton 4, 7-8 15. Bloomfield 1, 2. Woods 0,0. Kitts 0,0. 

FG Pct: 37%. FT Pct: 71%. 3-PT 5-19 (Adkins 0-4, Artrip 5-11, Woods 0-1, Kitts 0-3). Fouls 21. Fouled out: Woods. Rebounds 27. Assists 11. Turnnovers 15. 

PRESTONSBURG (56) - Prater 2, 4-4 8. Tackett 3, 2-4, 8. Fitzpatrick 4, (2) 3-4 13. Howard 4, 3-4 11. Newsome 2, 4. Allen 0,0. K. Stephens 1, 3-4 5. Layne 0,0. Wright 1 (1) 2-2 5. L. Stephens 0,0. Slone 0, 2-2 2. 

FG Pct: 32.7%. FT Pct: 76%. 3-PT 3-12 (Fitzpatrick 2-6, Howard 0-3, K. Stephens 0-2, Wright 1-1). Fouls 27. Fouled out: Prater, Tackett, Fitzpatrick, Howard. Technical fouls: Tackett. Rebounds 41. Assists 7. Turnovers 19. 

STANVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) – In a game that saw 11 lead changes and eight ties, the Lawrence County Lady Bulldogs pulled off a nail-biting 48-46 victory over the Betsy Layne Lady Bobcats at Junior Newsome Arena on Monday night.

Betsy Layne held an early advantage, leading 15-14 at the end of the first quarter and led by as many as 10-points before Lawrence County battle back to tie the game at 28-28 at the half.

With under two minutes remaining, Lawrence County secured the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Maddison Artrip, giving the Lady Dawgs a 45-44 lead. Seventh grader Gracie Woods would follow a Betsy Layne miss with a layup giving Lawrence County their largest lead of the night, 47-44 with 1:28 remaining.

Betsy Layne made a late-game push with a layup by Jaden Pente, cutting the lead to 47-46 with 0:32 seconds left, however Lawrence County was able to play keep-away from the Betsy Layne defense to force a pair of fouls, sending Sophie Adkins to the line where she converted one free throw, giving the Lady Dawgs a 48-46 lead.

Betsy Layne would fail to get a clear shot in the end and fall in defeat.

Adkins led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the field while adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Artrip scored 13 points and connected on four 3-pointers for Lawrence County.

Betsy Layne’s Kinleigh Martin scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Shyla Kidd added 12 points and Pente finished with 10.

Betsy Layne moved on to Super Regional play in a “First Four” matchup against Belfry, defeating the Lady Pirates to advance to “Super Saturday”, where they’ll face a district runner-up on the road. Betsy Layne could possibly play Paintsville, Shelby Valley or Pike County Central.

Lawrence County advanced to the district championship facing Prestonsburg.

(Photo credit: Faith Lazar and In The Paint Studio)

Scoring by Quarters:

Team                           1st       2nd     3rd      4th      Total

Betsy Layne                15          13        9          9          46

Lawrence Co.             14           14        9        11         48

BETSY LAYNE (46) – Kidd 2, (1) 7-8 12. Pente 4, (2) 10. Jarrell 1, 2. Hall 1, (1) 3. Martin 8, (1) 2-2 19. Williams 0,0. Collins 0,0. Anderson 0,0.

FG Pct: 39%. FT Pct: 90%. 3-PT 5-19 (Kidd 1-3, Pente 2-4, Jarrell 0-5, Hall 1-2, Martin 1-2, Collins 0-3). Fouls 13. Fouled out: Jarrell. Rebounds 30. Assists 11. Turnovers 14.

LAWRENCE COUNTY (48) – Adkins 9, (4) 3-4 25. Maynard 0,0. Artrip 4, (4) 1-2 13. See 0,0. Patton 2, 4-10 8. Bloomfield 0,0. Woods 1, 2. Fitzpatrick 0,0. Kitts 0.0.

FG Pct: 40%. FT Pct: 44%. 3-PT 8-21 (Adkins 4-8, Maynard 0-2, Artrip 4-9, See 0-1, Kitts 0-1). Fouls 8. Fouled out: none. Rebounds 22. Assists 8. Turnovers 9.

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WMDJ) – No one should’ve been surprised on Monday night when the girls’ 58^th District Tournament started with an upset.

As was the story last year, Coach Brandon Kidd and his Prestonsburg Lady Blackcats pulled the rug out from under the top-seeded team in the tournament, as Prestonsburg staved off a late rally to defeat Floyd Central 61-55.

Prestonsburg started strong, building a 18-6 lead in the first quarter and extending their advantage to 39-22 by halftime. The Lady Blackcats’ dominance was due to defense, forcing the Lady Jaguars into turnover situations and building frustration.

The game also featured another gritty performance by injured senior guard Audrey Prater of Prestonsburg. Prater is playing with a torn meniscus and also suffered an odd oral injury during the game, causing her to wear a football mouthpiece to complete the contest.

Prater finished with 16-point performance on 2-for-6 shooting from the field, 12-of-14 from the free throw line, while dishing 3 assists and swiping 3 steals in just over 25 minutes of action.

Floyd Central cut into the Prestonsburg advantage, trailing 46-36 to start the fourth quarter, yet the Lady Jags never led the entire game and struggled with the havoc the Lady Blackcats created on the floor, turning the ball over 25 times, leading to 21-points off turnovers for Prestonsburg.

Freshman forward Maddy Engle led Floyd Central with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 1-of-2 from three-point range and 7-of-11 from the free throw line. Freshman Raegan Laferty contributed 11 points, shooting 5-of-16 while facing intense pressure from Prestonsburg.

The win was the second all-time for Prestonsburg against Floyd Central, both wins coming in the district tournament, when it counts the most.

Prestonsburg moved on to face Lawrence County in Wednesday's championship game. Floyd Central matched up with Magoffin County in a "first four" game in the super regional prior to the 58th District Girls' Championship, winning 67-47 to advance to play this Saturday. 

(Photo: Faith Lazar and In The Paint Studio)

Scoring by Quarters:

Team                          1st       2nd     3rd      4th      Total

Prestonsburg            16       17       13       15       61

Floyd Central            6          10       14       19       55

PRESTONSBURG (61) - Prater 2, 12-14 16. Tackett 2, 4. Fitzpatrick 3, (2) 2-4 10. A. Howard 4, (1) 6-6 14. Newsome 1, 2. K. Stephens 1, 1-5 3. W. Howard 2-2 2. Wright 1, (1) 3. L. Stephens 2, 1-2 5. Slone 1, 2. Layne 0, 0. 

FG Pct: 34.7%. FT Pct: 72.7%. 3-PT 3-12 (Fitzpatrick. 2-6, Wright 1-1, Prater 0-2, A. Howard 0-1, K. Stephens 0-2). Fouls 24. Fouled out: Tackett, Newsome. Rebounds 35. Assists 12. Turnovers 20.

FLOYD CENTRAL (55) - Moore 1, 2. Crase 3, 1-1 7. Engle 8, (1) 7-11 24. R. Laferty 5, 1-2 11. Rackey 1, 2-2 3. Adkins 0, 0. Sammons 1, 1-2 3. H. Lafferty 2, 4. Garcia 1-2 1. 

FG Pct: 39.6. FT Pct: 54.5. 3-PT 1-8 (Engle 1-2, Moore 0-3, Crase 0-1, Garcia 0-2). Fouls 26. Fouled out: none. Rebounds 36. Assists 18. Turnovers 25.

The 58^th District High School Basketball begins Monday on WMDJ live from Junior Newsome Arena at Betsy Layne High School

Monday, Feb. 24^th – Girls semifinals

(1) Floyd Central vs. (4) Prestonsburg – 6 p.m.

(2) Lawrence Co. vs. (3) Betsy Layne – 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 25^th – Boys semifinals

(1) Lawrence Co. vs. (4) Prestonsburg – 6 p.m.

(2) Betsy Layne vs. (3) Floyd Central – 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 26^th – Girls championship at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 27^th – Boys championship at 7:30 p.m.

EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – Floyd Central High School has named Trevor Hoskins as new football coach.

Hoskins spent the previous four seasons leading the Paintsville Tigers with a record of (22-26) including a (5-4) record in postseason play.

Hoskins was given the reigns of the program after Joe Chirico left at the conclusion of the 2020 seasons and the school’s first-ever state championship.

Hoskins brings a heavy resume of high achievement as a former player on both the high school and collegiate levels. Hoskins was a standout performer for Middlesboro High School where he was named 2006 conference Player of the Year. Hoskins threw for 2,106 yards as a senior with 24 touchdown passes and ran for 779 yards and 14 scores. As a sophomore, he was named all-state honorable mention as a wide receiver.

At the collegiate level, Hoskins spent a year as a redshirt freshman for Eastern Kentucky University before transferring to the University of Pikeville, where he finished with 7,481 career passing yards, which is 2,000 more than any other player, and threw 64 touchdowns, which is 25 more than the next arm on the list. 

Hoskins began coaching as a graduate assistant at UPIKE and later returned as an assistant coach for the Bears. He also spent a couple seasons as an assistant at Middlesboro.

Judging by his most recent stint at Paintsville and his standout play at quarterback, Floyd Central fans should expect to see a high-flying offensive attack with a strong passing game.