Oldham County 62 North Oldham 56 (8th Region Finals)

[Randy Parker]

Final per the update thread.

[ColonelMike]

Great game.....it was an all-Oldham County affair as the North Oldham Mustangs and the Oldham County Colonels - the two 29th district representatives - battled it out on the hardwood.

In the end, the Colonels won their 11th straight game over the Mustangs, increasing their lead in the all-time series to 22-8, and winning their third over North this season.

But this one was super-close.

Oldham led by 8 after one, but North outscored the Colonels in the second, and took a 25-24 lead into the locker room.   Oldham rallied late in the third, and it was Oldham that had a four-point advantage at 41-37 heading into the fourth..

The key point came midway through the third, with North holding its biggest lead of the game at 32-28.   Oldham's Xander Wagner-Rose scored on the inside to pull Oldham to within 2 at 32-30, and then Oldham came up with a steal.    Sam Campbell missed a close-in shot on the fast break, but Oldham's 6'10" junior backup center Hayden Burgess, trailing the play, banked the ball back in to tie the game at 32.   As North brought the ball upcourt, Dallas Roberts had the ball backtipped away by either Tyler Slone or Grant Gibson, and Deaton Oak scored on a spinner in the lane to give OC the 34-32 lead.

Tied at 34, Oldham got a big lift when Tyler Slone scored inside, and then, after a charging call against North's Thomas Ashton, the Colonels got a huge play from Sam Campbell as he scored from the right side on a driving shot that hung on the rim and rolled in.   Campbell, fouled, hit the free throw to push OC out to a 39-34 lead.

The Colonels would settle for a four point advantage at the end of three.

North would hang close the rest of the way, but Oldham always had a scoring answer to hold the Mustangs at an arm's length.

With 18.2 seconds to play, Deaton Oak hit two free throws to push the Colonels' advantage back to four points at 58-54.   Oldham practically allowed Dallas Roberts to go coast-to-coast, and Roberts scored on a layup with 13.6 to play, making it 58-56.   

Following a timeout, the Mustangs fouled Oak, who hit two free throws with 10 seconds to play to make it 60-56.  

Roberts missed an off-balance shot, and Ian Higdon missed a follow-shot at the other end.   Oak rebounded the missed shot, and was fouled with 1.6 to play.    Oak made both FTs for the final margin of 62-56.

For Oldham, the Colonels - who were playing in their fourth straight 8th Region championship game - won their second title in four years, and fourth in 11 seasons.

For North, the Mustangs fell short in their first-ever appearance in the region final, but the Mustangs served notice that they would be one of the region contenders next year, with several key players returning, including Roberts - a surefire contender for POY honors next year - Higdon, Luke Anderson, and "Rico" Carr-Cole returning to the starting unit.

North finishes at 7-11 on the year; Oldham improves to 14-4 and advances to a Sweet 16 First round matchup on Wednesday, 3/31, at 8 pm against Tenth Region Champ George Rogers Clark.

Pegasus Sports (www.pegasussportsky.com) will cover all of Oldham County's games in the Sweet 16 and will go on air Wednesday at 7 pm ET.