By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the Northern Kentucky boys’ basketball coaches poll with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Colonels, who started the season as the area’s top-ranked team, have won their last eight games to raise their record to 20-4. One of those wins came against Cooper, the top-ranked team in the previous coaches poll.
CovCath has the state’s highest overall shooting percentage (54.8) and the highest 3-point shooting percentage (44.4).
Jake Walter, a 7-foot-1 senior center, is shooting 73.9 percent from the field for the Colonels. The team leaders from behind the 3-point arc are senior guards Aiden Ruthsatz (50 percent) and C.J Fredrick (47.4 percent).
This is the sixth consecutive season that CovCath has reached the 20-win mark under head coach Scott Ruthsatz. He has a 185-45 record in seven seasons with the Colonels.
Cooper (17-5) dropped to No. 2 in the coaches poll, but the Jaguars did receive one first-place vote. Campbell County (19-4) remained at No. 3 and also picked up a first-place vote. The Camels lost to CovCath on a last-second tip-in on Jan. 23.
Walton-Verona (18-5) moved up a notch to No. 4. The Bearcats earned the promotion by upsetting Campbell County and then finishing second in the Kentucky All “A” Classic small-school state tournament over the last two weeks.
The coaches were also impressed with Beechwood. The Tigers were voted No. 9 after winning their first regional title ever in basketball by upsetting Newport in the 9th Region All “A” Classic championship game.
Beechwood (14-10) has games against CovCath on Feb. 2 and Holy Cross on Feb. 10 that will determine the seeds for the 35th District playoffs. If the Tigers make it to the district final, they’ll earn a berth in the 9th Region post-season tournament for the first time since 2009.