HARLAN - A matchup between the tournament favorites and the defending champs highlights the opening round of the 13th Region Tournament as it kicks off this week at Cawood High School.

The host Trojans come into the tourney as solid favorites, owning a region-best 23-6 record, a 16-game winning streak, a perfect 17-0 mark against regional foes and wins over every team in the field except Barbourville and Pineville.

Rockcastle County (17-11) is in the midst of one of the most impressive runs of success in the history of the tournament. The Rockets have advanced to the regional finals in each of the last three years with two titles to their credit.

The Rockets were toppled in the 49th District finals by Clay County 49-47 on a last-second layup.

The tournament opens Monday with an intriguing matchup as Casey Lester leads Harlan (19-12) against Clay County (20-7). Lester played for Tigers coach Mike Jones on Harlan's regional championship teams in 1993, 1995 and 1996.

Pineville (11-15) will take on 50th District champion Corbin (17-10) in the second game Monday in another matchup with some history. While with Knox Central, current Mountain Lions coach J.D. Strange coached against Corbin head man Tony Pietrowski when he played for the Redhounds in the mid 1990s.

Bell County (16-9) will look to avenge an earl season loss to Barbourville (22-7) in the final first-round game Tuesday. The Tigers used a 24-point first-half lead to coast to an 89-75 victory in January.

In the girls' draw, Middlesboro continued its habit of finding first-round matchups with the powerful 49th District. The Lady Jackets have found themselves matched up with a 49th District foe in four of the last six tournaments. A 49th District team has ended Middlesboro's season in five of those six years.

Middlesboro (15-11) will open the girls tourney Wednesday against 49th District Champion Rockcastle County (25-4), defending regional champion and one of the top teams in the state.

Former Harlan assist coach Jennifer Parsons will lead Corbin (24-4) against her former team in the second game Wednesday. Harlan (15-13) fell to the 50th District champs 57-41 just two weeks ago. The Lady Redhounds come into the tournament with a 10-game win streak and have won 23 of their last 25 following a 1-2 start.

Upstart Pineville (14-15), arriving at the regional tournament as district champions for the first time in 21 years will play the opening game on Thursday, taking on 50th District runner-up Whitley County (17-13). Whitley saw its streak of five straight district titles snapped by Corbin on Friday.

Two of the most successful coaches in 13th region history will wrap up first round play Thursday night as John Bond leads 51st District champion Cumberland (19-9) against Donnie Gray's Clay County squad. The Lady Tigers come into the game as the best of runners-up with a 24-5 record. Three of their losses came at the hands of Rockcastle, the only 13th Region team to best the Lady Tigers.

Games begin at 6:30 p.m. each day with the second game slated to get underway at 8:20. The boys' semifinal will be played Friday with the gym being cleared after the first game. A split session may also be called for during the first round at the discretion of tournament directors. Teams will be notified on Monday of any plans for a split session.

The girls' semifinals will be held Saturday afternoon with the boys' final scheduled for Saturday night. The tournament will wrap up Monday night with the girls' championship game.

Admission for each game is $5.