North Oldham (0-1) hosts Frankfort (0-0) in Goshen.

 

The Mustangs struggled early this week in their road opener against a veteran Iroquois team. Early foul trouble put star PG Justin Rose on the bench, and the inexperienced Mustangs got an opportunity for some December education on the court....which actually may have been very good for a squad that features a number of seniors, but only one returning starter (Rose) and only two other players with any kind of varsity experience.

 

Besides Rose, who's a legitimate region 8 player of the year candidate, the Mustangs feature two coaches' sons who were varsity subs last year: Justin Burton, the head coach's son, and Dylan Yates, the son of assistant coach Pat Yates. All three players are solid perimeter shooters, and Rose's height - 6'4" - allows him to play all five positions on the floor.

 

The Mustangs are hoping a bevy of big men will be able to hold down the middle against a slew of highly-regarded 8th region bigs this year; Burton thinks it may well turn out to be a "post by committee".

 

Shooting was a problem for North in the loss as well.

 

Rob Burton enters his fourth year at North; at the end of this season, he will be tied for the longest tenure of any Mustang boys coach.

 

At Frankfort, Nick Barton starts his fifth season at the helm, and this may well be the year that breaks a long cold spell for the Panthers, who last had a winning record in 2010-11, when they went 21-9. Last year's team only went 11-22, but they finished 5-5 over the final ten games and became the first Frankfort team since 2007 to make it to the region 11 tournament.

 

The reason for optimism is simple: These seniors have been with Barton for four seasons, and they know the system. Plus, the top six scorers from last year were all underclassmen and are returning for their senior / junior years.

 

On the inside, junior John Tillman figures to be a force. Tillman averaged 12.6 points per game and 9.9 rebounds last season. Junior guard Juanya Frank is the leading returning scorer (14.0 ppg last season).

 

I will be posting updates, but don't expect a "play-by-play" as I did during football season. I will update as I get breaks in our broadcast.

 

The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN (live / archived video)

 

Colonel Mike

OK, I know this isn't really an update of the varsity game, but....JV game has two minutes left and the score is North Oldham 50 Frankfort 22.

 

Varsity game should start right on time at 7:30.

 

Broadcast pre game starts in four minutes.

 

CM

North starters for the varsity game:

 

Justin Rose

Justin Burton

Dylan Yates

Layne McIntosh

Grant Addelson

 

Frankfort has not confirmed their starters

OMG

 

Frankfort gave us a list of players / numbers. There are at least five guys warming up with numbers not on the list.

 

This should be fun.

 

CM

North in their home whites / teal trim

 

Frankfort wearing all gray, with orange trim and numbers.

ten minutes to tip

Update on Frankfort.

 

The top returning scorer, Juanya Frank (14 ppg) is no longer with the team. Nor is DaJuan Davis, who averaged 9 points and 5 boards last year.

 

Starters:

 

Cody Carter senior

Nate Cox senior

Bryce Gabehart junior

John Tillman Junior center 12.6 ppg 9.9 rebounds last year

Ethan Dunigan

end of first Frankfort 11 North Oldham 10

North on a huge run. The Mustangs have outscored Frankfort, 10-0 to take a 20-12 lead with 5:01 left in the half. Justin Rose three for three during the run with two three pointers.

1:29 left in half

 

North Oldham 27

Frankfort 20

 

Tillman has been a non-factor for the Panthers, settling too often for threes.

 

He just went to the bench with his third foul.

 

Justin Rose with 14 for North

end of half

 

North Oldham 29 Frankfort 20

unofficial North Oldham stats:

 

FG% 11 / 27 40.7%

threes 5 / 12 41.7%

FTs 2 / 4 50%

 

Scoring: Justin Rose 16, Justin Burton 8, Dylan Yates 3, Zach Butler 2

unofficial halftime Frankfort stats

FG% 8 / 25 32%

threes 0 / 11 0%

FTs 4 / 6 67%

 

scoring: Nate Cox 8, Cody Carter 6, Bryce Gabehart 2, John Tillman 2, Ethan Dunigan 2

Rebounds: North Oldham 13, Frankfort 10

 

Turnovers: North Oldham 5, Frankfort 4

North misses a quick three, and turns the ball over to start the third, and Frankfort has a quick 4-0 run to pull to within 29-24. Timeout North