Dragons and Trojans advance in opening round of 4th Region Tournament

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – After the 4th Region Girls Basketball Tournament opened the first two days of the week, it was time for the boys to get on the court of Diddle Arena on Tuesday night.

The opening round action featured the two top teams inside of the 4th Region, according to many local projections, and a pair of district runners-up.

The first boys game featured the 13th District runner-up Franklin-Simpson vs. the 14th District champion Warren Central.

The Wildcats led by two points at the end of the first quarter, but it was not long until the Dragons bulldozed ahead, largely thanks to Karaun Johnson.

The senior went off for five 3-pointers in this matchup, leading his squad with 19 points on the night.

At the half, Warren Central led 29-17 and its lead only grew from there, as well as its defensive energy.

Franklin-Simpson finished the game with just 27 points, which is the lowest Warren Central has ever held a team in the region tournament.

After the 67-27 victory, Dragons head coach Will Unseld praised his guys and the high-level defense they have played all year.

“ That’s what’s carried us all year,” Unseld said. “Some years it’s our offense, this year it’s been our defense. It’s kept us in games. Early in December, we were down in the twenties, and we were able to come back and win because of our defense. This is a team that can play in the thirties, the forties, seventies, eighties, just because of the way we guard and we’re going to have a run at some point where we’re going to make shots as long as we keep guarding.”

Game two saw the second-ranked team in the region, Clinton County, face off with Barren County, a rematch of the 2025 semifinals.

These teams also faced off more recently, with the Bulldogs winning in Trojan territory back on February 13.

Head coach Warren Cunningham and his team paid no attention to the noise and prior meetings, coming out of the gate hot.

Trojan Weston Shelton was on his A-game, scoring the ball at a very efficient rate early on, and through two quarters Barren County held all control with a 29-15 lead.

The advantage would keep growing for the Trojans, as they outscored the Bulldogs by nine points in the third quarter and by five points in the fourth quarter, leading Barren County to a dominant 77-49 win.

Shelton would finish with a game-high 20 points, followed behind by Kade Hardy with 16 points, Gavin Nunn with 13 points, and Cameron Pippen with 12 points.

The wins by Warren Central and Barren County on Tuesday night set up quite the storyline going into next week’s semifinals.

Just a year ago, the Trojans were able to upset the Dragons in the first round of region, ending a three-year streak where Warren Central had made it to the title game each season.

This time around, the matchup will feature a little more fire and even higher stakes, with a spot to the championship game on the line.

Tipoff between Warren Central and Barren County is set for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9.