Final from Rupp Arena.

Congrats to Oldham way to represent the 8th Region!

My cousin Coy continuing to build a strong program and coach them up!

My cousin Coy continuing to build a strong program and coach them up!

Coy is doing a great job, but there’s nothing to build. OC has won a TON of 8th Region championships, done by many different coaches. He’s helping to continue the tradition.

Coy is doing a great job, but there’s nothing to build. OC has won a TON of 8th Region championships, done by many different coaches. He’s helping to continue the tradition.

 

16 Region titles total....Coy is the fifth Oldham County boys' coach since 1976 and the one common denominator is that all five - Dave Hart, Jr; Bob Hoggard; Gary Forrest; Jason Holland, and now Coy - have taken OC to the Big Dance at least once.

 

Coy has a great opportunity tomorrow....a win over Campbell County would make this Oldham squad just the third in school history to win 31 games (1980 squad under Dave Hart, Jr. went 31-3 and the 2012 squad under Jason Holland went 31-6).

 

CM

Kudos to McCracken on a marvelous shooting night (57% from the floor overall, and 9 of 14 for 64% from beyond the arc; 7 of 9 for 77.8% at the line), but in the end, the Colonel defense won the game with takeaways.

 

Mustangs had 17 turnovers, and Oldham scored 26 points off the turnovers.

 

Oldham also had more second chance points (6-0), points off fast breaks (6-2), and dominated with points in the paint (36-20).

 

Game tied at 24 at halftime, and the Mustangs appeared ready to break the game open late in the third, with 52 seconds left in the period and leading, 42-31. But Oldham turned up the screws with defensive pressure, and Campbell turned it over 4 times in the final minute, leading to two Andre Brewer three pointers, and three Travis Henderson free throws (after being fouled on a three pointer). The eleven point lead disappeared, and instead the Mustangs' lead heading into the fourth was just 2 at 42-40.

 

Oldham hit 8 of 10 shots from the floor in the decisive fourth period. With four minutes to play, the Colonels were clinging to a two point advantage, but the defensive continued to make plays, and the Colonels also hit 8 of 10 free throws in the frame to pull away to the seven point win.

 

Oldham County:

Zach Larimore continues his hot hand. He has scored in double figures in 11 of the past 12 games, and led the Colonels with 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting and 6 of 7 FTs. Others: Travis Henderson 18 points and a team high 7 rebounds; Jackson Gibson 14 points (10 in the fourth period); Andrew Brewer 9 points (all in the second half) and 6 assists; Christian Harper 2; Matthew Teague 2

 

McCracken County: Jackson Sivills (very impressive sophomore!) 17 points, 9 rebounds; Wes Belt 14, Cameron Cartwright 11, Nathan Stonecipher 8, Mitchell Guthrie 5, Trevor Winsett 3

 

The Mustangs had an insane shooting night, and held their own on the glass (Oldham won the rebounding battle just 23-22), but the 17 turnovers was fatal. Nearly all of the McCracken turnovers were forced by the Colonel "D", and with Mustang PG Winsett turning the ball over 6 times, the Mustangs were forced to move Cartwright over into the point guard role, restricting his offensive scoring opportunities.

 

Fouls were almost dead even (Oldham had 11 fouls; McCracken 13), but most of Oldham's fouls came out on the floor, whereas the Mustangs - who had four blocked shots - often fouled on interior shots, and the Colonels attempted 10 more free throws as a result. Both teams were superb at the line, but the Mustangs hit 7 of 9 while Oldham hit 15 of 19.

 

Kudos to both teams on a very entertaining game.

 

Oldham moves to 30-5 on the season; a win over Campbell County on Friday would allow this Colonel team to tie the 1980 squad (31-3) and the 2012 squad (31-6) for most wins in a single season.

 

Pegasus Sports will cover the game, beginning with a pregame show at 5:30 pm. The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN