Royals beat Bishop Brossart 65-51 for Coach Kirk's 200th win

Cole Horch scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures as the Mason County Royals extended their winning streak to three games with a 65-51 victory over the Bishop Brossart Mustangs on Monday night in Alexandria.

It was the 200th career win for Mason County coach Brian Kirk.

Braeden Myrick scored 14 points, Garryon McClain had 13 points and Nazir Metts added 11 points.

Horch was 10 of 14 from the field,pulled down eight rebounds and dished out six assists.

Teegin Routt had seven points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

The game was tied 26-26 midway through the second quarter, but Mason County ended the first half with an 11-2 run and outscored Bishop Brossart 22-12 in the third quarter to lead 59-40.

The Royals scored on numerous backdoor plays and shot 59.2% from the field. They had 20 assists on 29 field goals.

Mason County (12-13) will travel to Cynthiana on Tuesday night to play the Harrison County Thorobreds.

Mason County            19 18 22 06 — 65

Bishop Brossart          17 11 12 11 — 51

Mason County — Routt 7, McClain 13, Metts 11, Myrick 14, Horch 20

Bishop Brossart — Kuntz 10, Mulberry 8, Boruske 7, Hadden 11, Steffen 3, Hesse 9, Combs 3

10th Region media basketball awards announced

Media members throughout the 10th Region voted for the region's players of the year and coaches of the year. Votes were compiled by WFTM sports director Travis Scaggs.

George Rogers Clark sophomore Ciara Byars is the girls' Player of the Year and GRC senior Jerone Morton is the boys' Player of the Year.

Pendleton County's Patrick Kelsch is the girls' Coach of the Year and Mason County's Brian Kirk is the boys' Coach of the Year.

Henry, Morton, Byars, Kirk and Brown win KABC 10th Region awards

Mason County senior Terrell Henry and George Rogers Clark senior Jerone Morton are the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches Boys' 10th Region Co-Players of the Year and Mason County Royals coach Brian Kirk is the KABC Boys' 10th Region Coach of the Year. 

George Rogers Clark senior Brianna Byars is the KABC Girls' 10th Region Player of the Year and Bishop Brossart coach Steve Brown is the KABC Girls' 10th Region Coach of the Year.

Henry is averaging 17.9 points and 6.9 rebounds a game while shooting 61.2% from the field. Henry was named Most Valuable Player of the Kentucky 2A Championships state tournament and is sixth on the Royals' all-time scoring list.

Morton is averaging 19.8 points and 6.9 rebounds a game and is the Cardinals' all-time leading scorer. Morton has signed to play for Morehead State University.

Byars averages 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds and is the Lady Cardinals' all-time leading scorer. She has signed with the University of Cincinnati. 

Region Boys' Players of the Year are finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award and Region Girls' Players of the year are finalists for the Miss Basketball Award.

Kirk has guided Mason County to the Kentucky 2A Championships state title and a 25-5 record this season. 

This is the second time Kirk has been named the KABC Boys' 10th Region Coach of the Year. He also won the award in 2021.

Brown guided Bishop Brossart to the 10th Region All "A" Classic championship last month. The Lady 'Stangs will enter postseason play with a 19-11 record.

Royals beat Woodford County 77-58

Mason County outscored the Woodford County Yellow Jackets 41-21 in the second half for a 77-58 victory at The Fieldhouse on Tuesday night to give Brian Kirk his 100th win as the Royals' coach.

Woodford County shot 82 percent from the field in the first half, but only had a one-point lead at halftime.

The Royals opened the third quarter on a 14-3 run and outscored the Yellow Jackets 25-16 in the fourth quarter.

KG Walton had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Riley Mastin had 18 points and seven rebounds and blocked four shots. Terrell Henry had 15 points and five rebounds. Henry moved past Russ Middleton into sixth place on the Royals' all-time scoring list.

Mason County (24-3) will travel to Alexandria on Friday night to play the Bishop Brossart Mustangs.

Mason County        12 24 16 25 — 77

Woodford County    14 23 05 16 — 58

Mason County — Henry 15, Walton 19, McClanahan 7, Mastin 18, Hamilton 8, Bierley 8, Horch 2

Woodford County — Wade 17, Smith 14, Jenkins 11, Nelson 10, Starkes 6

Feldhaus and Crawford added to Mason County boys' basketball coaching staff

 The Mason County boys' basketball program on Saturday announced two additions to its coaching staff: Deron Feldhaus as an assistant varsity coach and Owens Crawford as head freshman coach and an assistant varsity coach.

Feldhaus, a 1987 graduate of Mason County High School, is fifth on the Royals' all-time scoring list with 1,937 career points. He played for his father, Allen Feldhaus, who is the Royals' winningest coach. Deron was an "Unforgettable" for the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

Crawford, a 2016 graduate of Augusta High School, was the Panthers' point guard under coach Brian Kirk who is now Mason County's head coach. Crawford played college basketball at Kentucky Christian University and was a graduate assistant for Baylor University's 2021 national championship team. He was the junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant at Live Oak Classical School in Waco, Texas last season.

🔵⚪️STAFF UPDATE🔵⚪️

Excited to welcome Owens Crawford and Deron Feldhaus to our coaching staff! pic.twitter.com/5d8Aqef2fH

— Mason Co. Royals Boys Basketball (@MCRoyalsBBall) October 23, 2022

Jordan Gilbert promoted to Associate Head Coach of the Mason County Royals

The Mason County Royals basketball program announced today that Varsity Assistant Coach Jordan Gilbert has been promoted to Associate Head Coach.

Gilbert, a 2011 graduate of Mason County High School, joined Head Coach Brian Kirk's coaching staff in 2018. 

Brian Kirk named 10th Region Coach of the Year by the KABC

Mason County's Brian Kirk has been named boys' 10th Region Coach of the Year by the Kentucky Basketball Coaches Association.

Kirk was named the 10th Region Coaches Association Coach of the Year on Monday. Kirk has guided the Royals to 16-3 record. Mason County will begin postgame play Monday on an 11-game winning streak.

Scott Lady Eagles Coach Steve Brown is the KABC girls' 10th Region Coach of the Year.

Scott seniors Grant Profitt and Mya Meredith are the KABC 10th Region Players of the Year.

Royals lose to red hot Camels 74-51 in region semis

The Mason County Royals' season came to end with a 74-51 loss to the sharpshooting Campbell County Camels tonight in the semifinals of the 10th Region Tournament at The Fieldhouse.

The Camels shot 72.5 percent from the field and ran their winning streak to 15 games.

Campbell County led 34-13 in the second quarter. Mason County went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to the 13, but the Camels never cooled off and led 54-37 after three quarters and by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Campbell County was 8-of-10 from the field in the first quarter, 5-of-8 in the second quarter, 8-of-11 in the third quarter and 8-of-11 in the fourth quarter.

"Any team that is that disciplined, they go inside-out and shoot 72 percent, they're going to be a tough out," Mason County coach Brian Kirk said.

Kirk said he was very proud of how his team responded and the way it continued to battle.

The Royals finish with a 15-16 record in Kirk's first season. It's Mason County's first losing season since 1989-90.

"We knew it was going to be a process, it's definitely going to take some time, " Kirk said. "But I'm very proud of the way our kids handled all the changes that went into place here. I feel like we've got a good supporting cast around us, the coaching staff that I've got around myself included. I feel very confident in what we got to establish. As we look at this team, we're only losing one senior from this team. So, a bright future ahead."

The one senior, Jaylen Lofton, led Mason County in scoring with 16 points. Xylon Frey added 14 points.

Drew Wilson scored 24 points for Campbell County. Reid Jolly followed with 18 points and Jordan Gross added 13 points.

The Camels are headed to the championship game for the third straight year.

CC (28-4) Wilson 24, Gross 13, Jolly 18, Lawrence 4, Wirth 6, Helton 9

MC (15-16) Lofton 16, May 6, Jones 2, Brammer 6, Frey 14, Swolsky 7

CC  23 14 17 20- 74
MC 11 12 14 14- 51

Braden May's buzzer-beater corner 3 gives Royals a 67-66 win over Bourbon County

Braden May made a buzzer-beater corner three to give the Mason County Royals a 67-66 win over the Bourbon County Colonels in the quarterfinal round of the 10th Region Tournament tonight at The Fieldhouse.

Mason County made 5-of-7 three pointers in the first quarter and had a 11-point lead in the second quarter, but Bourbon County roared back and took its first lead of the second half at 59-57 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

That was the first of four lead changes in the closing minutes.

The game was tied at 59-59, 61-61, 63-63 and 64-64.

Billy Murphy made a layup to give the Colonels a 66-64 lead with 16 seconds to play.

Mason County called timeout and coach Brian Kirk said he told his team they were going for the win with a three-pointer.

May hit his second straight game winning basket.

Mason County shot a season-best 65.6 percent from the field and made 8-of-14 three-pointers for 57.1 percent.

The Royals have their first four-game winning streak of the season and are 15-15.

Jake Swolsky led Mason County in scoring with 19 points. Xylon Frey followed with 15 points, Carson Brammer added 12 points and Jaylen Lofton had eight points and eight assists.

The Royals will play the Campbell County Camels in the upper bracket semifinal game Friday at 6 p.m.

MC (15-15) Lofton 8, May 6, J. Jones 4, Brammer 12, Frey 15,

Swolsky 19, K. Jones 3

BC (21-11) Nakyir Joyce 14, Murphy 5, Myers 10, Collins 5, Wallace 12, Nakwan Joyce 16, Lukonga 4

MC 19 13 17 18- 67

BC  13 11 19 23- 66


(Updated to include Jaylen Lofton's points and assists,)

Royals lose to Highlands in Ft. Thomas

The Mason County Royals had a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but were outscored 20-11 in the second quarter and 25-14 in the third quarter of a 74-58 loss to the Highlands Bluebirds Tuesday night in Ft. Thomas.

"I feel like there in the first half our ball pressure put a lot of pressure on them," Mason County coach Brian Kirk said.

Jaylen Lofton hit a shot at the first quarter buzzer to give the Royals a 14-13 lead, but Highlands, with nine seniors, shot 52.7 percent from the field for the game and led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.

"I told our guys we were very proud of their effort, the intensity, and that's the way that, you know, we must play from here on out," Kirk said.

Lofton led Mason County in scoring with 16 points. Xylon Frey added 13 points.

The Royals play the Fleming County Panthers Friday night in Flemingsburg.

H (16-10) Vinson 6, Leigh 9, Sisson 20, Roberts 6, Starkey 12, Salmon 7, Hegge 14

MC (10-13) Lofton 16, Jones 5, Brammer 6, Frey 13, Swolsky 5,
Perry 6, Butler 4

H    13 20 25 16- 74
MC 14 11 14 19- 58

Mason County coach Brian Kirk and players Jaylen Lofton and Braden May at 10th Region Media Day

Royals coach Brian Kirk on SportsTalk

Mason County Royals basketball coach Brian Kirk was my guest on SportsTalk this morning. 

Here is a link to the podcast.

Brian Kirk named Royals basketball coach

Brian Kirk said it was a difficult decision to leave Augusta High School, but after three seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, Kirk was named the new boys' basketball coach at Mason County High School today.

Kirk, who had a 47-38 record at Augusta and led the Panthers to the 39th District championship in 2016, succeeds Buddy Biggs who resigned last month after three seasons as the Royals' coach.

Kirk is second on Augusta's all-time scoring list. He was named to the All-10th Region team in 2002, 2003, 2004 and is a member of  the 10th Region Hall of Fame.

Kirk played basketball at Union College. He was an assistant coach at Knox County Central for two seasons and served as head coach at Burgin High School for three seasons.

Augusta basketball coaches Robin Kelsch and Brian Kirk on SportsTalk

Augusta basketball coaches Robin Kelsch and Brian Kirk were my guests on SportsTalk Friday.

Here is a link to the podcast.

Robin Kelsch and Brian Kirk on SportsTalk

Augusta basketball coaches Robin Kelsch and Brian Kirk were my guests on SportsTalk this morning. Here is a link to the podcast.

Brian Kirk, Dana Bach and Brian Flaugher Jerseys Retired at Augusta High School

Augusta High School retired the jerseys of Brian Kirk, Dana Bach and Brian Flaugher tonight during a ceremony between the Augusta and Pendleton County girls and boys basketball games.

Kirk is the second leading scorer at Augusta and is in first season as the head coach of the Panthers.

Bach is a former Lady Panther player and coach. Flaugher is the longtime scorekeeper for the Panthers and Lady Panthers.

Augusta Basketball Coaches On SportsTalk

Augusta basketball coaches Terry Bray and Brian Kirk were my guests on SportsTalk this morning.
Here is a link to the podcast.