Who:   North Oldham (17-12) vs. #13 Woodford County (27-5)

What:   8th Region championship

When:   Tuesday, 3/8/2022   Tipoff 7 pm

Where:   Henry County HS, New Castle, KY

Broadcast:   Free, live hi-def video coverage starts at 6:30 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com

Series:     Series is tied, 2-2, all-time.    Woodford won the most recent matchup, 63-54, on 1/11/2020

North Oldham is led by 8th Region Player of the Year runner-up, junior Dallas Roberts, who is averaging 17.8 ppg and who is a 4th-year starter.    Roberts, an All-8th Region pick, should become the school's all-time leading scorer sometime next year - surpassing his coach, former Mustang Daid Levitch.    Roberts is the #3 free throw shooter in the region at nearly 82%.

The Mustangs also have 6'6" junior forward Ian Higdon, another All-Region performer, who nearly averages a double-double with 12.7 ppg / 9.1 rebounds. 

The Mustangs were the pre-season #1 in the region in the www.bluegrasspreps.com preseason rankings.   With no seniors among the team's five starters and top sub, North will likely be the pre-season favorite to win the region in 2023.  

This is only North's second appearance in the region finals; they lost to Oldham County in last year's championship game.   North has never won a region title.

Woodford County is in its third season in the 8th Region, and this year's wins over Grant County and Oldham County in rounds 1 and 2 represent the Yellowjackets' first wins ever in the region 8 tourney.   The only ranked team in tournament (#13), Woodford has posted the most wins of any 8th Region team this year (27).

Woodford rides into the title game on a 7 game winning streak.   The Jackets are deep, and a strange mixture of experience and youth.   Freshman Jasper Johnson leads the team in scoring at 13 ppg; 6'8" junior center John McCrear is a human eraser on the inside, and 6'7" power forward Jackson Twombley provides inside-outside punch.       The Yellowjackets will go 8 deep, and "chaos" best describes the pace they play at.

The Yellowjackets averaged over 60 ppg this year, and their margin of victory of over 10+ was the largest in the region.

A 54.5% shooting team, the Yellowjackets are the top -shooting team in the region.

This will be the second straight year that the top 2 ranked teams in the 8th Region Preseason ranking in www.bluegrasspreps.com made the finals.     ?

 

pregame show starts at 6:30 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com

 

on air now.....www.pegasussportsky.com

North has four starters in the scorebook

28 seconds left in the first

North Oldham 18

Woodford County 8

 

dominant first quarter for North

Grant Neal with a 3 at the buzzer

North Oldham 21

Woodford County 8

North 8 of 11 overall.....3 of 4 beyond the arc     2 of 2 at the line..... end of first....

31-13 North   5:13 left in the half

HALF
The rout is on

North Oldham 45

Woodford County 19

STUNNER

North Oldham is 17 of 24   70.8%      6 of 10 beyond the arc   60%     4 of 4 at the line  100%

 

Wow!

I’m honestly surprised they missed 7, didn’t feel like it.  Even if North Oldham we’re to go stone cold this half (not likely), I don’t think Woodford is built to come back from a big deficit. 

3:07 to play in the third

Woodford with a little mini-run

North 52

Woodford 29

end of three

North cold; Woodford cuts into the lead

North 52

Woodford 35

North has scored as many points as Woodford normally allows in a full game

Woodford has pulled it to 13

North just 7 points in the second half

52-39