Final from Buckner

Both teams shot the ball well...

 

Oldham out of the gate fast, raced to a 13-2 lead to start the game...

 

SK rallied and briefly took a 1 or 2 point lead in the second period, but fell behind again at 28-27 and never caught up again.

 

Colonels pushed the lead back to 13 in the fourth before settling for the 7 point win. Niece hit a half-court buzzer-beater for SK to cut a 10 point deficit down to the final margin of 7.

 

Both teams struggled with fouls; both teams had a player foul out (Kelch for SK and Dewitt for OC), and the Colonels had two players with four fouls when the game ended (Harper, Henderson).

 

Both teams put on a clinic at the stripe, with Oldham hitting 85.7% and SK hitting 90% of their free throws. Oldham hit 17 of 19 at the line in the fourth as SK tried to get back into the game.

 

Rebounds tied unofficially 27-27.

 

Turnovers were key: SK 18 Oldham County 9 (unofficially)

 

Oldham played without leading scorer Jackson Gibson (hand) and key sub Gavin McClarty (ankle).

 

Good, entertaining game.

My thoughts on this game were, Niece came out during warm ups and didn't miss but one shot from the outside that I saw and I thought, ok....this kid is the truth, he's about to light it up. OC out arguably their best player in Jackson (idk how long he is out). SK gonna win this game by 10+ from the looks of the pregame. OC came out in their press and SK could not handle it. OC played with more energy and desire the entire game. Crashing the boards against a taller, bigger team. Turnovers and second chance points doomed SK tonight. If they can get that fixed SK wins by that 10 pt margin in a month @ the Roy. But with Jackson for OC the Colonels win by 17-18 pts. So I guess it could go either way. Niece is a nice player, just has some things to figure out defensively and how to control a game. He didn't get many clean looks from the outside but took it into the D a couple times and looked good. I was most impressed with the SK pg, (Kitchell maybe? ??). I left feeling like SK has the better potential but OC made them play their style of ball tonight and controlled the entire game, I felt like. SK was very rushed.

Simon Kenton losing to South Oldham without three starters and now losing to Oldham without their best player?? I question how good SK really is. Seems they are a little overrated on this board by some.

On an earlier thread about the top freshmen in the 8th region I mentioned that there were some freshmen that can play both sides of the ball. I'm getting the idea that Niece is a pure scorer and not great defender. Is that true?

Simon Kenton losing to South Oldham without three starters and now losing to Oldham without their best player?? I question how good SK really is. Seems they are a little overrated on this board by some.

 

Their losses are to quality teams. Can they make a run vs teams considered equal or better is the question. They should make it to The Roy, can they win three straight, we shall see.