13th Region Tournament: Best Showings of Day 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second day of the 13th region tournament kicked off last night at the Corbin Arena. The marquee matchup of the night featured the Harlan Independent Green Dragons and the North Laurel Jaguars. With a strong defensive showing from both teams, the Jags pulled out a 46-36 victory after the game being tied midway through the third quarter. Hats off to Coach Valentine and company for making it to the semi-finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second game of the evening featured a hard fought battle between the Corbin Redhounds and the Knox Central Panthers. What I saw in this game was a bunch of hard-nosed kids playing to win. The first half of this game was a defensive showcase with Corbin pulling away in the second half of the game to win by a score of 54-32. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are the players who I thought had the best showings of Day 2:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1558733"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69aaf6fc4dd05"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Reece is a Mr. Basketball candidate for a reason. He can do it all. He can shoot the outside shot, he can get to the rim, he can play defense, he hustles. Reece is the total package for Division 1 program, Liberty University. He finished the game with 18 points and 10 boards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2360963"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69aaf6fc4ddfa"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Corey had the task of guarding Harlan's best player. He was able to play lockdown defense whether it was around the perimeter or underneath the basket. Corey's long and lengthy frame helps him to jump in passing lanes to initiate fast break opportunities. Corey finished the game with 14 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2885748"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69aaf6fc4de90"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Evan was the man who Knox Central wanted to stop. Often times, Knox would run a diamond and one defense against Corbin with the one chasing [player_tooltip player_id='2885748' first='Evan' last='Ellis']. He was able to finish the game with 11 points. Ellis averages around 20 PPG. His midrange jumper is elite. His name is definitely one to look out for this summer and next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Trey Person ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Corbin High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69aaf6fc4dfe7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">While being a 3 sport athlete, Trey poured his heart and soul on the hardwood last night. He was the games leading scorer with 15 points. He played hard defense, got on the ground after loose balls, and was able to score around the rim. With the lockdown defense on [player_tooltip player_id='2885748' first='Evan' last='Ellis'], this gave guys like Person a chance to step up. He made the most of his opportunity last night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1558736"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69aaf6fc4e089"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Eli played like a senior who didn't want his season to end last night. He held Knox Central's second leading scorer to six points. He had 9 points in the win. Eli played with heart. He put the team on his back on the defensive end of the floor and was able to secure the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These were the guys who were able to secure their teams spot in the semi-finals of the 13th Region tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always, Keep working hard, fellas!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->