Basketball

Ever since Mark White was announced as the new head coach of the Whitley County High School boys basketball team, he has had to contend with strict limitations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he has recently been able to meet with members of his team inside the gym, and he couldn’t be more excited to finally get to work. “This will be my 31st year of coaching,” the Logan County native said recently of his background in the sport. “I’ve had 15 years as an assistant, and 15 as a head coach. 27 of my 30 years has been spent in college ranks.” White said a desire to once again...

A press release from Whitley County Schools Tuesday said the following: The Whitley County School District announces the hiring of a new head boys’ basketball coach today. Mark White will be coming to Whitley from Grace Christian Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee where he led the Rams to the state quarter finals this year. White has also coached junior college teams in Florida and Mississippi and was an assistant coach at the Division I level under Rick Stansbury at Mississippi State University. White will be replacing Coach Jerry Overbey who resigned earlier in the year. When asked about his new position White commented,” Words cannot express my excitement for the opportunity to...

No coverage area team managed to make it past the first round of the 13th Region tournaments this year, but it was still a season full of spectacular performances on the court. Here are the News Journal’s selections for the 2019-2020 All-County teams in boys and girls high school basketball. Boys Most Valuable Player: Matthew Taylor, Senior from Corbin Taylor helped the Redhounds to 16 wins and a 50th District runner-up finish. He averaged 19 points per game, scoring 14 in the Corbin’s season finale last Wednesday against Harlan County in the first round of the 2020 13th Region tournament. Boys All-County First Team Josh Hibbitts (Jr. from Corbin), Alex Byrley (Sr. from Corbin),...

Whitley County schools officials have announced the resignation of Boys’ Basketball Coach Jerry Overbey . Overbey’s resignation came Monday after nine seasons of leading the Colonels, who finished the season on Feb. 25 with a 67-52 loss to South Laurel in the first round of the 50th District Tournament. The Colonels went 12-19 on the season, including 0-7 in the district. “I want to thank Coach Overbey for all of the time he has spent working with boys’ basketball. He has dedicated many hours to our student athletes involved in the Colonel Basketball Program,” said Superintendent John Siler. Overbey took over for Chris Baker following the 2010–11 season when the Colonels went 18-10...

This year's 50th District basketball tournaments are complete, and the South Laurel Cardinals reign supreme. On Thursday, the Lady Cardinals defeated the tournament host Whitley County Lady Colonels, 85-41. The loss drops Whitley to 15-17 on the year ahead of an appearance in next week's 13th Region championship tournament at the Corbin Arena. Friday evening's boys district title game at Whitley County High School between South Laurel and the Corbin Redhounds was close throughout, but in the end the Cards were able to make the plays necessary to pull out a 54-51 victory. The Hounds, now 16-13 overall, will regroup and set their sights on the upcoming 2020 region tournament. Brackets for...

We now know who will be playing for the 2020 50th District championship title later this week in the boys' bracket... In game one Tuesday evening at Whitley County High School, the host Colonels kept it closer than many expected them to against South Laurel. In the end, however, they fell to the Cardinals by the final score of 67-52. The loss ends Whitley's season with an overall record of 12 wins, 19 losses. In game two Tuesday, the Corbin Redhounds surprised many by dominating the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets, 90-50. This game was widely predicted to be very competitive based on earlier meetings between these two teams, but the Redhounds instead...

The following is a collection of the stories found inside the News Journal's 2020 50th District high school basketball tournaments preview special section. The section was included inside the February 19, 2020 print edition... Redhounds trying to avoid first region tournament no-show since 2004 The 2019-2020 season has had its fair share of setbacks for the Corbin Redhounds, but with tournament time now just days away, this is typically about the time that head coach Tony Pietrowski’s teams will kick it up a notch and take their play to another level. The Hounds have been led this season by senior Matthew Taylor, who has averaged nearly 20 points per game. Fellow senior...

Tuesday was a tough night for Corbin and Whitley County, but Williamsburg Yellow Jacket and South Laurel Cardinal fans were all smiles. At Corbin High School, the Redhound boys fell behind early against South Laurel. They fought hard, but were never able to mount a comeback, going on to lose their fifth straight game, 66-41. The Hounds (11-9, 2-2) will now have a few days off before hosting the Mercer County Titans this Saturday afternoon, February 1, at 3:30 PM. Corbin fell at Mercer County on January 17, 69-63, so they are hoping to return the favor this weekend. However, should they lose again in this rematch, it will be the...

When the newspaper begins hitting shelves and racks on the morning of January 22, the Williamsburg Lady Jackets basketball team will be just hours away from competing against the Glasgow Scotties in round one of this year’s All “A” state championship tournament at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena in Richmond. How did the Lady Jackets get here? The Williamsburg girls qualified for their second All “A” state tourney of the past three years by defeating four teams in the recent 13th Region All “A” Classic at Pineville High School. The Lady Jackets picked up wins over Barbourville, Lynn Camp and Pineville to earn their spot in the regional title game on January...

Friday night was a big one for area high school boys and girls basketball teams... The Williamsburg Lady Jackets are headed back to the All "A" state championship tournament after defeating Jackson County 58-47 at Pineville High School in the finals of this year's girls 13th Region All "A" Classic. The win improved the Lady Jackets to 11-4 on the season ahead of a game at Knox Central High School on Monday. As for the All "A" state tournament, that will begin on Wednesday, January 22 inside Eastern Kentucky University's MacBrayer Arena in Richmond. Williamsburg will face the champions of Region 4 in round one. Lady Jackets earning All-Tournament honors at...