1st Region Tourney Continues with Boys Quarters

The 1st Region Basketball Tournament continues Monday night at Murray State University's CFSB Center with two boys Quarterfinal games. 

Carlisle County takes on Paducah Tilghman at 5:30 pm. Then it's Murray and Mayfield at 8:00 pm. Monday night's winners will move on to Friday night's semifinals.

Here's a look at both match ups.

Carlisle County vs Paducah Tilghman

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Carlisle County: 1st District Champions – Defeated Fulton County 54-37
Paducah Tilghman: 2nd District Runner-up – Lost to McCracken County 69-43

TEAM CAPSULES:
Carlisle County
Head Coach: Brian O’Neill
Team Record: 14-11
Team Record Against 1st Region: 12-10
Points Scored: 1,470
Points Scored/Game: 58.8 points/game
Points Allowed: 1,478
Points Allowed/Game: 59.1 points/game
Field Goal Percentage: 43%
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 29.1%
Total Free Throw Percentage: 72.2%
Total Rebounds: 600
Leading Scorers: Garrett Hayden (Junior, 450 points), Blake Elder (Senior, 303 points), Isaiah Keeling (Junior, 156 points), Zack Grogan (Sophomore, 127 points), Evan Oliver (Junior, 121 points)

Paducah Tilghman
Head Coach: Greg Overstreet
Team Record: 17-5
Team Record Against 1st Region: 11-3
Points Scored: 1,457
Points Scored/Game: 66.2 points/game
Points Allowed: 1,133
Points Allowed/Game: 51.5 points/game
Field Goal Percentage: 51.3%
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 37.9%
Total Free Throw Percentage: 66.1%
Total Rebounds: 615
Leading Scorers: Eli Brown (Senior, 372 points), Mian Shaw (Junior, 292 points), Tragen Arthur (Senior, 186 points), Jackson Goodwin (Senior, 164 points), Landon Fitzgerald (Senior, 137 points)

SEASON SERIES: Paducah Tilghman defeated Carlisle County 79-53 on March 4th at Paducah Tilghman.

PREDICTION: There are two keys in competing against Paducah Tilghman. Taking care of the basketball and defending, especially senior guard Eli Brown. Paducah Tilghman will frequently look to create offense through their full court pressure defense and the Blue Tornado often succeed in that task. Can the Comets take care of the basketball and defend the high-power Blue Tornado offense? I think the Comets will stick around well into the 2nd half but I think Tilghman pulls away late to advance to the semifinals.

Murray vs Mayfield

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Murray: 4th District Champions – Defeated Marshall County 61-46
Mayfield: 3rd District Runner-up – Lost to Graves County 69-68

TEAM CAPSULES
Murray
Head Coach: Dior Curtis (4th season at Murray)
Team Record: 15-7
Team Record Against 1st Region: 11-3
Points Scored: 1,375
Points Scored/Game: 62.5
Points Allowed: 1,120
Points Allowed/Game: 50.9
Field Goal Percentage: 50.8%
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 34.1%
Total Free Throw Percentage: 63.9%
Total Rebounds: 628
Leading Scorers: Grant Whitaker (Sophomore, 449 points), Charqwan McCallister (Junior, 251 points), Trey Boggess (Junior, 233 points), Gabe Taylor (Senior, 206 points), Zavion Carman (Freshman, 75 points)

Mayfield
Head Coach: Payton Croft (2nd season at Mayfield)
Team Record: 11-8
Team Record Against 1st Region: 10-8
Points Scored: 1,204
Points Scored/Game: 63.3 points/game
Points Allowed: 1,023
Points Allowed/Game: 53.8 points/game
Field Goal Percentage: 46.2%
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 28.2%
Total Free Throw Percentage: 58.6%
Total Rebounds: 554
Leading Scorers: Colby Kennemore (Senior, 257 points), DeAngelo Brooks (Senior, 245 points), Race Richards (Senior, 195 points), Sam Stone (Junior, 129 points), Nolan Fulton (Sophomore, 88 points)

SEASON SERIES: Murray defeated Mayfield 74-50 at Mayfield on March 5th.

PREDICTION: The Murray Tigers boast one of the most dynamic offenses in the First Region. The Tigers feature four players at or near at least 10 points/game, led by sophomore Grant Whitaker. Whitaker averages just over 20 points/game for the Tigers. Fellow guards Charqwan McCallister and Gabe Taylor also average at or just above double digit scoring per game, and junior forward Trey Boggess averages 11 points per game. The Tigers also shoot the ball well overall, shooting just over 50% from the field this season. The Cardinals have improved drastically as the season has continued. Coach Croft’s crew lost twice in February to archrival Graves County by 11 points each game but had the Eagles on the ropes in the 3rd District Championship, leading by eight points in the fourth quarter before Graves County made a feverish comeback to win on a buzzer beater. Look for the Cardinals to keep this game close, but I expect Murray to advance to the semifinals. Murray wins by 12.