County boys preview

First up this year are the girls in the Hancock County tournament. The pairings, again ... all games at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 29
Mt. Vernon (1-4) at Greenfield-Central (2-5)
Eastern Hancock (7-1) at New Palestine (3-4)
Thursday, Dec. 30
Consolation at Eastern Hancock Middle School gym
Championship at Eastern Hancock High School gym (LISTEN LIVE, 7:30 P.M.)
(FYI, the EHMS gymnasium is a long walk down the hallway from the EHHS gym).

The teams
Mt. Vernon (1-4)
The Marauders haven't played a lot of games, but they've played some incredible teams, falling to 4A No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern, 2A No. 2 Tipton, a Pendleton Heights team that should be receiving votes and a Hamilton Heights team that is. The one victory was over a solid Shelbyville team on the road. Steve Lynch's squad has been competitive in those games, and has an experienced leader in guard Quinn Williams. We saw him score 20 against Hamilton Heights and he's a hard guy to keep in front. Stephen Turner is a good scorer and is stepping up for the Marauders so far. MV is the two-time defending champ and has won the tourney three times in the last four years.

Greenfield-Central (2-5)
Just like the Marauders, don't be deceived by the record. G-C has a lot of experienced players back and the Cougars got a lot of confidence from back-to-back wins over New Palestine and Yorktown. 6-6 forward Tyler Stone and 3-point marksmanJosh Mayes provide a nice inside-out combo -- both are averaging more than 12.5 ppg. Brothers Derek and Jordan Conley are solid athletes, Jared Morris runs the offense nicely and coach Josh Johnson has everything on the right track. G-C is a legitimate contender to win its first county title since the inaugural 2003-04 season.

Eastern Hancock (7-1)
Record-wise, the Royals are the favorites. But the 1 loss was delivered by the team EH is playing on opening night -- New Palestine. The Royals would love to get past NP and play the title game on their home floor, where they're very solid and just posted an 80-73 win over a solid Blue River squad. EH is scoring -- 68.8 ppg as a team -- and Dustin Smith is as hot as any player in the state right now, scoring 40, 42 and 26 points in his last three games. He is averaging 25.1 ppg, making him one of the area's top scorers. Jared Pyle is also scoring in double-figures, and Smith, Pyle and wing Steven Stunda all total 5.4 rebounds per game. Throw in a solid point guard in Zach Kissick, a veteran crew with tons of game experience and an outstanding coach in Aaron Spaulding, and you've got the makings of a good team. If this were single-class ball, this would be the team everyone in the county (except, of course, that night's opponent) would be getting behind every night. The Royals have a chance to do a lot of special things this season, but beating two larger schools and winning the county title would be high on that list.

New Palestine (3-4)
The Dragons come into the tourney having won back-to-back games over Morristown and Beech Grove. They started 1-3 -- against teams who currently have a combined record of 26-3 -- and have since won two of three, with the lone stumble against Greenfield-Central on the road. Josh Penley (16.4 ppg) is leading the team in points, steals and is second in assists and is a solid all-around athlete. A strong FT shooter, he knocked down two at the buzzer to beat Eastern Hancock earlier this year. Taylor Rainey (11.9 ppg) is a solid outside shooter, and the inside players are athletic, with Michael Morris averaging a shade over eight points and a shade under seven rebounds per game, and Reid Clark throwing in 20 points in a win over Beech Grove Dec. 22. When EH and NP meet, the games nearly always come down to the wire. Every meeting since 2007 has come down to the final minute and has been decided by four points or less.

We're looking forward to a great tournament. Keep up with the scores on our blog, and on our Facebook & Twitter sites (be sure to subscribe!) on Wednesday, and listen to the title games on Thursday!