For the third straight year, the Boys’ Second Region championship game will feature a pair of teams from the Eighth District.
University Heights and Christian County will meet for the fourth time Monday night at 7pm at Henderson County High School. Both teams, which shared the top spot in the YourSportsEdge.com region rankings at different points in the season, carry identical 22-7 records into the contest.
The Colonels beat the Blazers twice during the regular season – 84-75 on Jan. 31 in a game delayed due to moisture on the floor and completed at a later date and 74-64 a week later. UHA got their revenge with an 83-76 win over the Colonels in the Eighth District championship game.
Six times since 1960, teams from the same district have met for the region title. Four times, they have been Eighth District teams. In 1985, Hopkinsville was the district runner-up to Christian County but beat the Colonels in the region final.
It marks the first time since 1993 that Christian County and UHA have met in the region title game. The Colonels beat the defending state champion Blazers 55-49 to advance to the Sweet 16.
Christian County Coach Kerry Stovall is 23-2 in region tournament games. The last time he won a region title with the Colonels in 2011, the Colonels were the district runner-up but beat Madisonville to win the region title.
Christian County is 18-9 all-time in region title games, while University Heights is 6-2.
Regardless, an Eighth District team will represent the Second Region in the Sweet 16 for the 17th consecutive year. Christian County has been the rep seven of those times and UHA three.
Monday’s winner will play the Region 10 winner in the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena on Thursday, March 15 at 1pm.