Oldham County 81 North Oldham 72

[ColonelMike]

Oldham rides strong second half to the win.

[Mojocat]

Rumors circulating one of the OC players tested Covid positive this morning.  Not sure what that means for the two teams, but I suspect it means quarantine and missed games.  Momma always said believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.  We’ll see.  Hope it’s false.

[ConverseAllStar]

Did he test today after last night’s game, or did the result come back from an earlier test?  That could make a difference to the other players & refs. 

[ConverseAllStar]

4 hours ago, Mojocat said:

Rumors circulating one of the OC players tested Covid positive this morning.  Not sure what that means for the two teams, but I suspect it means quarantine and missed games.  Momma always said believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.  We’ll see.  Hope it’s false.

[Mojocat]

1 hour ago, ConverseAllStar said:

Did he test today after last night’s game, or did the result come back from an earlier test?  That could make a difference to the other players & refs. 

Confirmed.  Apparently woke this morning with chills and fever, got a rapid test and it came back positive.  South Oldham/North Oldham - originally scheduled for January 29 - is now set for February 4.

[ColonelMike]

Getting back to the game....

VERY impressed with both teams, especially considering how few games each had played (this was game #3 for both).

Oldham really showed their dominance on the glass....unofficially, the Colonels won the battle of the backboard by a wide margin, 33-15, with Xander Wagner-Rose collecting 8 rebounds for the Colonels.

Oldham's Tyler Slone was a monster, hitting shots from all levels, grabbing boards, and even helping out with the ball out front.  He led all scorers with 24 points.....

Sam Powell, 6'6" junior, was Oldham's super-sub....the Colonels have been looking for a spark off the bench and he provided that, hitting 5 of 6 shots.   Powell was a remarkable 4 of 5 beyond the arc and finished with 16 points, second only to Slone....

Oldham shot really well, hitting 50% overall and 40% beyond the arc.   The Colonels hit 21 of 27 free throws (77.8%)

Oldham's bench was a question mark coming into the season, but in a pressure-packed game against a county rival, the bench delivered.   Nine Colonels played, and 8 scored.   The bench contributed 25 points and hit 61.5% of their shots.

North Oldham showed that they may be - from top to bottom - the most athletic team in the region.    This team is fast    Oldham misjudged them in the first half, and North turned over the Colonels (unofficially) 9 times in the first half.     As a result, the first half was largely nip-and-tuck....a three pointer by Dallas Roberts at the buzzer pulled North to within 40-38 at the break.

Roberts was astonishingly good.    I say this as someone who has seen him throughout his high school career....he's always been an exceptional player, but I was amazed at the development from last year.   And the frightening thing is that he's just a sophomore!   Roberts had 23 points on a wide range of shots....he drove to the glass with speed and finesse, and bombed away from the outside from depths most defenders don't bother defending.    He hit a 27-28 footer in the first half that was jaw-dropping, and nailed one in the second half from a good 25 feet out.

Oldham did a really good job of bottling up Rico Carr-Cole, and the talented junior never really got going one game after tagging 30 points on Jeffersonville.    The official stats show Carr-Cole with 12 points, but OC hassled him into 4 of 11 shooting and he never was a real factor in the contest and was visibly frustrated.   You're not going to see that happen often this year; Carr-Cole has historically been at his very best in the big games.

Ian Higdon and Caleb Hawley both had solid games for North, combining to go 11 of 16 from the floor for 16 points (Higdon) and 9 points (Hawley).

North shot well, too, hitting 50% from the floor overall, but the Mustangs were just 30% beyond the arc, and struggled at the line, making just 10 of 18 free throws (55.6%).

The pace of the game was incredible, and the intensity was playoff-like.   Both teams played this game as if it were a "loser-goes-home" contest.    Very impressed by both squads.   This was a really, really fun game to watch.

For Oldham - North Oldham fans who missed the game, it is available on www.pegasussportsky.com to watch as an archive, and it might be well worth it.   Go to the broadcast page and scroll down until you find the game icon.

The game had real significance for so early a contest; Oldham claims the #1 seed in the District 29 tournament, which - in a three team district - means a bye to the championship game.   And that means Oldham has already qualified for the 8th Region tournament.

North Oldham and South Oldham will play in an elimination semi-final game for the right to face Oldham in the District 29 finals.