High School Basketball

2^nd region at Madisonville: Christian County got five three point baskets, four from Jarvis Irby in the first period as the Colonels defeated Webster County 73-61. Irby led Christian County with 24 points, followed by CJ Cotton with 16 and Korey Mosley added 14. Webster County was led by Jacob Scott’s 23 points. The Colonels move to the semifinals with a 9-21 mark, while Webster County finishes the season 20-11.

Madisonville won the opening game of the tournament over Lyon County 52-34. Daylyn Jones was the only double figure scorer for the Maroons with 17. Lyon County was led by Warren Sutton’s 20 points. Madisonville moves to 22-8 on the season, while Lyon County finishes 15-17.

4^th region at WKU: Bowling Green won over Logan County 75-59, Russell County defeated Barren County 68-54.

1^st region at Murray State: Fulton City defeated Lone Oak 58-45, Marshall County over Graves County 59-36.

3^rd region at Owensboro Sportscenter: Muhlenberg County edged Grayson County 47-45, Daviess County over Breckinridge County 67-56.

Tonight’s games

2^nd region: Livingston Central faces Henderson County at 6, with Hopkinsville meeting Caldwell County in the nightcap. Coverage of both games with the Heritage Bank pre game show at 5:45 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP and whopam.com.

4^th region: Russellville meets Warren Central and Glasgow plays Clinton County.

1^st region: St. Mary meets Carlisle County and Paducah Tilghman goes against Calloway County.

3^rd region: Meade County plays Butler County and Apollo goes against Ohio County.

College Basketball

OVC Tournament:   Austin Peay saw its season come to an end with a 75-70 loss to Jacksonville State. Former UHA standout Tyshwan Edmondson had 22 points, while former Heritage Christian Academy standout John Fraley added 10 for the Governors who finish 12-20 on the season.

Southeast Missouri won the other first round game over Eastern Kentucky 75-65. Former Christian County standout Corey Wilford had six points and five rebounds for the Redhawks who face Tennessee Tech today.

Austin Peay’s Lady Governors are still alive in the tourney, after an 84-83 double overtime win over Morehead State. The Lady Governors face Murray State at noon today in Nashville.

Elsewhere: Tennessee never led until overtime and held off LSU 74-69. Anthony Hickey had 12 points for LSU. South Florida upsets 17^th ranked Louisville on its senior night 58-51.

Tonight’s games: Top ranked Kentucky celebrates Senior Night hosting Georgia, with Eloy Vargas getting his first career start alongside Darius Miller. Pre game coverage at 6:30 this evening on Lite 98.7.

CBS Sports.com reports the nation’s top basketball recruit, Shabazz Muhammad, is being investigated by the NCAA. Colleges recruiting Muhammad, including Kentucky, have been contacted by the NCAA and made aware of financial dealings which could compromise his amateur status. Kentucky is one of six schools Muhammad is considering to play collegiately.

The SEC women’s basketball tournament begins play in Nashville today, with Kentucky and Tennessee among four teams with byes and will play on Friday.

PGA Tour

Franklin’s Kenny Perry and former UK golfer JB Holmes are in the field for the Honda Classic which begins today in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

HAPPY LEAP DAY!

Sports Weekly presented by Toyota of Hopkinsville airs from Madisonville this evening at 5:08 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP. Todd Hamilton’s guests will include Hopkinsville girls basketball coach Tonya Wells and previews of tonight’s boys 2^nd region tournament games.

High School Basketball

2^nd region girls: Hopkinsville held the ball for almost the entire third period, after Madisonville did the same in the first two periods, but in the end the Lady Tigers prevailed 30-14. Ashlee Cole led Hopkinsville with 12 points, followed by Christy Soldo’s 10. Hopkinsville improved to 29-4 on the season, while Madisonville ends 11-22.

Hopkinsville will face Henderson County in the second semi final game Friday night after the Lady Colonels routed Lyon County 61-31.

4^th region: Bowling Green over Russellville 63-31 and Monroe County defeated Russell County 68-38.

1^st region: Murray defeated Carlisle County 53-22 and Paducah Tilghman over Ballard Memorial 52-39.

3^rd region: Daviess County defeated Edmonson County 58-37 and Muhlenberg County over Meade County 60-41.

Tonight’s games

2^nd region boys at Madisonville:   The host Maroons open the tournament taking on Lyon County at 6, followed by Christian County and Webster County in the nightcap. Coverage of both games with the Heritage Bank pre game show at around 5:50 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP and whopam.com.

4^th region at WKU:   Bowling Green faces Logan County and Barren County meets Russell County.

1^st region at Murray State:   Fulton City takes on Lone Oak, while Marshall County faces Graves County.

3^rd region at Owensboro Sportscenter:   Grayson County takes on Muhlenberg County and Daviess County meets Breckinridge County.

College Basketball

In the SEC: Vanderbilt defeated 13^th ranked Florida 77-67. John Jenkins had 22 points and the win clinched the Commodores a first round bye in next week’s SEC Tournament in New Orleans.

Today’s games

OVC Tournament: Austin Peay opens play at 8 pm at Municipal Auditorium against Jacksonville State. Should the Governors win, they would face Morehead State at 8 pm Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Lady Governors begin action at noon facing Morehead State. Should Austin Peay win today, they would face Murray State at noon tomorrow.

Elsewhere this evening: SEC action has Tennessee taking on LSU, 17^th ranked Louisville hosts South Florida.

The Ohio Valley Conference has announced its post season awards, with Murray State and Austin Peay players and coaches being recognized.

Men's:  Murray State's Isaiah Cannan and Donte Poole were named First Team All OVC, while Austin Peay's John Fraley and Murray State's Ivan Aska were named to the second team.

Murray State's Isaiah Cannan was named the OVC Player of the Year, while Racer coach Steve Prohm was named Coach of the Year.

Women's:  Austin Peay's Whitney Hanley was named First Team All OVC, while Murray State's Erica Burgess was named to the Second Team All OVC and to the All Newcomer's team. 

NHL

The Nashville Predators lost at Carolina 4-3 last night. The Preds saw a six game winning streak over the Hurricanes come to an end with the loss. Nashville returns to action Saturday at the Florida Panthers.

The Ohio Valley Conference has announced its post season awards, with Murray State and Austin Peay players and coaches being recognized.

Men's:  Murray State's Isaiah Cannan and Donte Poole were named First Team All OVC, while Austin Peay's John Fraley and Murray State's Ivan Aska were named to the second team.

Murray State's Isaiah Cannan was named the OVC Player of the Year, while Racer coach Steve Prohm was named Coach of the Year.

Women's:  Austin Peay's Whitney Hanley was named First Team All OVC, while Murray State's Erica Burgess was named to the Second Team All OVC and to the All Newcomer's team. 

The OVC Tournament begins tomorrow at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville.  Austin Peay's Lady Governors face Morehead State at noon, with Austin Peay meeting Jacksonville State in men's play at 8 pm.

Madisonville North Hopkins High School is beginning its search for a new football coach.  The Madisonville Messenger reports Will Weaver resigned Monday after five seasons, citing personal reasons.  Weaver was 31-24 during his tenure, including a 9-3 record in the 2011 season.   Defensive coordinator Brock Shoulders has been named as interim coach.

Murray State basketballer Isaiah Cannan has been named the Ohio Valley Conference player of the week for the sixth time this season.  The junior averaged 21 points and shot 52 percent from the field--including 53 percent from three point range in wins over Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech last week.  The Racers will play in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament Friday night in Nashville.

High School Basketball

2^nd region girls at Christian County: University Heights saw its season come to an end as the Lady Blazers lost to Livingston Central 66-58. Dannika Prater led UHA with 25 points and Denayia Holmes added 17 as the Lady Blazers end the season 22-7. Livingston Central improves to 22-10 with the win and moves to the semi finals Friday night.

Webster County moves to the semi finals following a 62-41 win over Caldwell County. The Lady Trojans improve to 18-12 on the season, while Caldwell County finishes 16-13.

4^th region at WKU: Todd Central defeated Metcalfe County 51-29 to improve to 23-7 on the season. Ariel Johnson led the Lady Rebels with 22 points and Claire Hart had a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.   Glasgow defeated Greenwood in the other first round game 53-39.

1^st region at Murray State: Lone Oak over Graves County 50-40 and Marshall County defeated Hickman County 84-25.

3^rd region at Owensboro Sportscenter:   Grayson County over Owensboro Catholic 60-43 and Hancock County edged Ohio County 60-56.

Tonight’s games

2^nd region: Hopkinsville plays Madisonville for the third time this season. The Lady Tigers have won both regular season meetings and bring a 28-4 record into the game, while the Lady Maroons are 11-21. Tip off at 6, with the Heritage Bank pre game show at 5:45 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP and whopam.com.  

Tonight’s second game has Henderson County 24-3 on the season meeting Lyon County who is 15-16, with tonight’s winners to play in the second semifinal game Friday night.

4^th region: Bowling Green meets Russellville, while Russell County goes against Monroe County.

1^st region:   Carlisle County meets Murray and Paducah Tilghman plays Ballard Memorial.

3^rd region:   Meade County meets Daviess County and Muhlenberg County goes against Edmonson County.

College Basketball

Tonight’s game:   In the SEC—Vanderbilt meets 13^th ranked Florida.

Kentucky freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has caused quite a media stir after telling reporters following Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt he plans to stay in school after this year. The Courier Journal reports some NBA draft experts have Kidd-Gilchrist as high as the third pick in the first round if he comes out after this season. Most draft experts are impressed with Kidd-Gilchrist’s play except for one area, lack of a perimeter game.

Coach John Calipari says Kidd-Gilchrist has to convince him why he would want to stay another year at Kentucky.

By the way, Kidd-Gilchrist and fellow freshman Anthony Davis swept the SEC player and freshman of the week honors this week for the second time this season.

Kentucky remained number one in this week’s ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and the Associated Press polls. Murray State moved to ninth in the ESPN poll, 12^th in the AP poll, with Louisville 18^th in the ESPN poll and 19^th in the AP poll.

Western Kentucky University is pondering the future of its women’s basketball program. The Bowling Green Daily News reported Monday, athletics director Ross Bjork will make a complete evaluation of the program following the season. The story stated Bjork stopped short of commenting on coach Mary Taylor Cowles’s future.

The Lady Toppers have lost 20 games for the first time in the program’s history and have a losing record at home this season. Western faces Louisiana-Monroe in the first round of the women’s Sun Belt Conference tournament Saturday in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

College Football

The Courier Journal reports University of Kentucky linebacker Ridge Wilson was dismissed from the team Monday following his weekend arrest in Louisville on drug charges. A UK spokesman says coach Joker Phillips would have no further comment other than to confirm Wilson had been dismissed from the team.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats have hired a new wide receivers coach. Veteran assistant coach Pat Washington has been hired to replace Tee Martin, who recently left to go work at Southern California. Washington has coached at several schools, most recently at Southern Mississippi. His other stops include Tennessee and Mississippi State.

NHL

The Nashville Predators held off the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators play at the Carolina Hurricanes this evening.

The Predators were also busy on the final day of the NHL trade deadline, acquiring forward Andrei Kostitsyn from Montreal and Paul Gaustad from Buffalo.

Baseball

The Hoptown Hoppers are continuing to prepare for their first season in the Ohio Valley League. Christian County Chamber of Commerce president Carter Hendricks says the team is looking for families to host this year’s players.   Hendricks adds those who host players will be given season passes to attend the Hoppers home games. If you need more information, you can contact Hendricks at 348-6226.

Hendricks also says there is the possibility of two more former local high school players joining the team. Former UHA player Matt McGowan will be playing for the Hoppers this season.