Dragons, Spartans set for 4th Region title game

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The high school hoops action inside of Diddle Arena is nearly wrapped up, as two teams advanced into the 4th Region Boys Basketball Tournament title game on Monday night.

First up, Warren Central and Barren County went head-t0-head.

The Trojans upset the Dragons in the first round of region last year, and Warren Central was eager to get revenge.

Karaun Johnson and Ian Daniel led the charge from three-point land in the first quarter to help the Dragons go up by 10 points heading into the second quarter.

The score would only go up from there as Warren Central held a 29-point advantage at halftime.

Dominique Anthony finished with 14 points on the night and was a force inside for his team throughout the game.

Once again, the Dragons defense stole the show, holding Barren County to 38 points and forcing 26 turnovers.

After notching the 73-38 victory, Warren Central is back in the 4th region championship for the first time since 2024.

Postgame, the team spoke on how it felt to get the win over Barren County this time around.

“ Being here with my guys and getting the win, especially with how last year went last year, I don’t think it was supposed to go like that,” junior Armani Byrd said. “I’m just glad we got to regroup and come back and win.”

“That (loss las year) was part of it, but like I told them, that was a totally different team. We’re a totally different team,” head coach Will Unseld said. “I didn’t want us to go too crazy about trying to get that back and be out of sorts. They did a good job of managing that. They just played hard and I told them to play hard. We do have a better team.”

In the back half of the night, Monroe County and South Warren battled as both schools eyed their first appearance in the region championship.

Out the gate, the three-pointers were flying, with Monroe holding the edge for most of the first quarter, but South’s defense quickly changed the story.

The night as a whole saw the Spartans outscore the Falcons 19-1 on fast breaks, and not only did it help them secure a halftime lead, but it would push the team to lead through four quarters.

Brandon Perkins (18 points, 7 assists), Jax Decker (10 points, 5 rebounds) and Owen Shively (9 points, 2 blocks) paved the way for South Warren to defeat Monroe County 54-51 and live to fight at least one more night.

The championship game will be all-14th District as Warren Central and South Warren go head-to-head.

It will be the fourth time this season that the schools have met up, with Central winning all three of the prior meetings.

The Spartans, with a win in the final, would earn their first victory over the Dragons since January 15, 2019, and also earn the school’s first trip to Rupp Arena.

For the Dragons, after a year away from Lexington, a region championship would have the team back in a familiar setting.

Tipoff in the last 4th Region matchup of the season is set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10.