Weather permitting, Oldham County hosts a resurgent Grant County squad Tuesday night in Buckner.

WHAT:  Oldham County (6-2) vs. Grant County (7-10)

WHERE:  Oldham County HS in Buckner, KY

STREAKS:   Oldham has won their last two, defeating Conner by 21 and Jeffersontown by 16.     Grant has won three of their last four games, with 

     their only loss during that stretch a 9 point defeat at the hands of Beechwood.  

WHEN:   Tuesday, 2/16/21    Game starts at 7:30 pm ET

BROADCAST:   Free live video coverage begins at 7 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com  ($7 fee if watching in high definition; standard definition is free)

Oldham County is playing really good ball right now, despite getting a late start to the season, and then briefly getting caught up in a quarantine situation.   Deaton Oak has broken out of his early slump and has led OC in scoring the past four games, with 23 against Seneca, 14 against Ballard, 17 against Conner, and 21 yesterday against Jeffersontown.   During that stretch, Oak's stats are staggering:  he is 11 of 18 inside the arc (61.1%), 13 of 25 beyond the arc (52%), and an incredible 14 of 15 at the stripe (93.3%).   He's averaging 18.8 ppg during those four games.    He's looking more and more like the player who many thought would contend for Player of the Year honors in the region.

The Colonels have also gotten good news in the form of point guard Grant Gibson, who is back in the lineup, which not only gives Oldham back their best ballhandler, but it also frees up Sam Campbell from PG responsibilities, getting him more time at his more natural spot, the #2 guard role.   In the two games since Gibson returned, Campbell - who was averaging just over 7 ppg - has scored 11 points (against Conner) and 10 (against Jtown), while hitting 56% of his twos and 50% of his threes.

The Oldham bench - something we all thought might be Oldham's biggest question mark coming into the season - is performing well.   Against Jtown on Saturday, the Oldham bench tossed in 26 points between four players, with super-sub Sam Powell, a 6'6" junior, contributing 14 points.

Powell is averaging 7.3 ppg off the bench for Oldham, but it is beyond the arc where he is really raising some eyebrows.   At 6'6", he's a nightmare for your typical guard to defend beyond the arc, and the junior is an incredible 16 of 33 beyond the arc over 8 games (48.5%).   He has made at least 2 threes in 5 of Oldham's eight games, and only in the first game of the season did he fail to connect on at least one trey.

GRANT COUNTY started the year knowing the season would have a steep learning curve.   The Braves returned just one starter and one top reserve - both sophomores.   Joe Utter brought one of the region's youngest teams to the table.    The season began much as it was expected to begin, with Grant losing 7 of their first 10.   But even then, the Braves were serving up hints that this young group might exceed expectations, with two of those seven losses coming in overtime on the road (OT loss by 2 at Collins and a triple OT loss at Cooper).   A competitive 12 point loss at Simon Kenton, and a win over a decent Owen County team opened eyes further, and then Grant started to turn the ship around.

Over the last 7 games, Grant County has gone 4-3, with a convincing victory over one of the top 31st district teams, Henry County, and a win over highly regarded North Oldham included.   Even Grant's three losses over the past seven games have shown the improvement; over the last 7 contests, Grant hasn't lost a game by more than 9 points, and the Braves fell to a good Walton-Verona team by just 2 points.

Sophomore Dylan Hammonds has led the way.   Hammonds - who is setting the stage for a run at Player of the Year, if not this year, then in the coming seasons - has become a statistical monster.   He's averaging 18.8 ppg and 9.7 rebounds, both team highs.    He's shooting 54% from the floor and 81% from the stripe.   He has led the team in scoring in 9 of the Braves' 17 games, and has six double-doubles on the season, including four in the last five games.

He's been so steady on the glass that he's missed a double-double by one rebound in three additional contests.   If he had claimed one more board in each of those three games, Hammonds would have recorded 7 double-doubles in the last 9 contests.

But as remarkable as Hammonds has been, he's had solid support.   Fellow sophomore Mason Guffey is averaging 14.6 ppg and has hit 33 of 81 threes (40.7%).   Junior guard Wayne Ziegler is just outside of double-figures, averaging 9.1 ppg.

In the first week of the season, this might have been a mismatch.   Oldham still certainly has to be the favorite, but Grant County is starting to find its rhythm.   This game may be far more interesting than originally thought by many.

 

FREE LIVE VIDEO coverage begins at 7 pm on www.pegasussportsky.com

Monday update....no word yet from the schools, but it sure isn't looking good for tomorrow night.   We'll see.   Maybe it'll all shift north (or south).

On the other hand, the forecast for sledding and ice skating is excellent!!  ?    ?⛸️

Oldham school system has closed for tomorrow.

That does NOT automatically mean the game is off....but it's not a good sign, either.  ?

Game CANCELLED.   Grant County cannot make it.