ColonelMike

Don't forget, the Voice of the 8th Region, the Pegasus Sports Network, will be broadcasting the game immediately following Oldham County vs SK. Approximate tip around 7:30 - 7:45 PM ET. Coverage is FREE, live, and in hi-def video. www.pegasussportsky.com Mike Montgomery, who has called 8th Region tournament basketball since 1979, and former 8th Region coach Todd Gilley, have the call from New Castle.

Free live hi-def video coverage starts with a pregame show at 6 pm on www.pegasussportsky.com

If Amburgey is limited, Oldham probably has to get something of offensive significance from either Roush or Marcum. Roush is a slasher; his offensive game might not be well-suited to this matchup with the 7'2" Dynes guarding the back door for SK. Marcum is an interesting question mark. The 6'6" sophomore played very passively this year, offensively, but erupted from his shell in the district SF win over South Oldham, grabbing half of Oldham's rebounds and scoring a modest, but very effective, 8 points. Even at 6'6", he's significantly shorter than Dynes - but bulkier. If he can show the aggressiveness he found inside himself against South, the inside battle gets a lot more interesting. In the previous meeting against SK, Marcum had just one rebound. For Oldham to win, he has to dramatically improve on that tonight. I look for the SK guards to try to get very physical with Green the minute he comes across the timeline. If Green keeps his composure and let's the game come to him, he could have a big night. He's arguably the most extraordinary shooter from distance in the region - and Green's "distance" is a lot farther out than other elite three-point shooters. If not - well, Oldham probably can't afford to have him with just 9 points after three quarters, which was what North Oldham held him to in the district finals. (though Green finished with over 30 points after exploding in the fourth quarter, at one time hitting 6 threes in a row) Krohman really wasn't a huge factor in the first matchup. He scored 17 points, but had a rough night shooting. He was about the only Pioneer to shot poorly, though; the Pioneers, as a team, hit nearly 54% from the floor, over 45% from beyond the arc ( 10 made threes) and SK was a perfect 10 for 10 at the line. Isaac Gabbard hit six threes for a team-high 18 points. Dynes got a double-double with 12/12. Oldham did a fairly nice job of hassling Krohman into a subpar shooting night (5 of 16); if Krohman had managed a "normal" day at the office, SK likely wins the game more handily. SK won the battle of the boards handily, 31-18. Oldham shot well beyond the arc (9 of 20, 45%), but overall hit just 40% of their shots in the regular season matchup. 6'4" junior Abram Stinebruner hit 5 of 9 threes and led OC with 19 points; Green was held to just 14, one of only a couple of games this year when he was held under 20 points. Other than Stinebruner - who hit 6 of 10 shots overall - the rest of the team was just 12 of 35 shooting, with nobody over 50% from the floor. Hard to understate the importance of Luke Amburgey's health on the outcome of this game. If Green is Oldham's lightning, Amburgey is its thunder. He is one of the grittiest, hardest-working players in Region 8. His motor is constantly running at high speed, and he is remarkably athletic and rugged. This guy just doesn't take plays off. Really, really hard to replace a guy like that. Like SK, Oldham hit all of their free throws in the previous game, but the Colonels only attempted 5. The fifth-best free throw shooting team in the state - and possessing the state's top free throw shooter at 91% (Green) - OC needs to find a way to get to the line. The team is full of extraordinary free throw shooters. Trent Steiner has SK trending in the right direction; the Pioneers have won 4 of their last 5 games, including 2 against Top 20 teams (Mason County and Grant County).

Friday 3/3/23 at Gallatin County HS, Warsaw, KY South Oldham vs. Simon Kenton Both teams thinking they have a shot at getting to the finals - and they do. South Oldham got a HUGE game from freshman Maddie Young in round one; SK got it done by using waves of players, frequently subbing five at a time. Thoughts on this one? BROADCAST: The Voice of the 8th Region, Pegasus Sports, will broadcast each and every game in both the girls and boys' 8th Region tournaments. Coverage on Friday starts with a pregame show at 5:30 pm, with the tip for this game at 6 pm ET. FREE live hi-def video at www.pegasussportsky.com

Friday, 3/3/23 Tipoff at approximately 7:30 pm Broadcast starts at 5:30 pm ET with the South Oldham v Simon Kenton game, followed by the North vs. Grant game, on www.pegasussportsky.com FREE, live, hi-def video coverage North with their first-ever region 8 tournament win after going 0-20 in the district tournament and 0-1 in the region the first twenty seasons the school existed. Huge achievement - especially when you consider the dominant manner in which the Lady Mustangs handled the 3-time defending champion Anderson County Lady Bearcats, who had won 26 games this yer. Momentous achievement and one the North kids will be telling their kids and grandkids for many years to come. So- can North come back down to earth by Friday? Grant County has 19 wins under their belt - including a 10 point victory over North this year. Can they do it again?

try www.pegasussportsky.com unofficial 8th Region tournament channel for 26 years.

Down to 4.....the 30th and 31st districts are gone....for the first time since 2018, there will be an 8th Region champ from a district other than the 30th (Anderson won in 2022, 2021, 2020 and Collins won in 2019). Two district runner-ups remain, one in each bracket: SK and North Oldham. I would argue that all four teams remaining have a serious chance to win it all. Pegasus Sports on air Friday night at 5:30 pm at www.pegasussportsky.com All games will be broadcast FREE, live, and in hi-def. (games also archived indefinitely) Both SF games are very interesting matchups. South's transition game vs the wave of players SK puts on the floor (The Lady Pioneers platoon, subbing in 5 players at a time)......and Grant vs. North is intriguing. Grant beat North early in the season by 10, but so did Anderson County...

Having seen all four teams in the SF, I guarantee you that all four coaches believe that they have a great chance of winning the title. This one is officially up for grabs.

FREE, live, hi-definition video coverage starts at 6 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com

Shocker in Warsaw. The three-time defending 8th Region champions, the Anderson County Lady Bearcats - who entered the tournament as the 30th District champions and sporting the region's best record at 26-6 - were thoroughly handled by the runner-ups from the 29th District, the North Oldham Lady Mustangs. The loss ensured that, for the first time since 2018, a district other than the 30th will win the 8th Region championship. Anderson had won the last three titles (2022, 2021, 2020) and Collins won in 2019. With Spencer County, the 30th runner-up, falling to South Oldham by 2 last night, the 30th district representatives are all out of the tourney. North Oldham earned a lot of "firsts" tonight - it was North's first-ever victory, in six tries, over Anderson County, and it was also North Oldham's first-ever victory in the 8th Region tournament. North got that "first victory" over the team that came into the tournament as the heavy favorites to win a fourth consecutive title, something that hasn't been done since Oldham County won four straight region 8 titles from 1983-86, with the fourth title in 86 being followed by a Sweet 16 title. Stunningly, this one wasn't really close. With the score 5-5 in the first, North surged ahead to take control of the game with an 11-0 run that was finally broken just before the end of the quarter on a straightaway three pointer by 8th Region POY Lainey Johnson....but North pushed the ball downcourt, and Katelyn Vize found Saylor Hankins all alone under the basket for a buzzer-beating layup to give North a 10 point lead after one quarter at 18-8. All six North players who had played had scored, and the Lady Mustangs had shot a sizzling 90% from the floor (9 of 10) against one of the region's premier defenses. By the half, North had extended the lead to 14 at 31-17; it would balloon to as much as 20 points before Anderson pulled to within 18 at the end of three at 44-26. Anderson doubled their point total in the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points and outscoring North by 7, but it was far too little and far too late. The Lady Cats actually got the lead under 10 points, but Anderson was forced to foul, and North hit their free throws, connecting on 11 of 15 (73%) in the final frame to hold serve and win, 63-52. Gracie Sipes led North with 18; Liz Boyd and Katie Smith both had 14, and Katelyn Vize had 12, to lead NOHS. The Lady Mustangs finished by shooting 55.6%, overall and 4 of 7 (57.1%) beyond the arc. Jenna Satterly led Anderson with 19, despite being saddled with four fouls. Lainey Johnson had 15, but made just 6 of 26 shots. The Lady Bearcats shot just 29% from the floor, including 7 of 28 beyond the arc. North (18-14) faces Grant County (19-10) in the second semi-final in Gallatin County on Friday.

Todd Gilley will be joining me on the headsets Wednesday and Thursday at New Castle. PSN goes "on air" at 6 pm with our pregame show. www.pegasussportsky.com Pegasus has been airing 8th Region tournament games since 1979, but we have covered EACH and EVERY game in the tournament for 26 years years now.

FINAL North Oldham 63 Anderson County 52 WOW what a game by North

.46.5 to play AC fighting A three by Satterly makes it North 61 Anderson 52 TIMEOUT AC

2:14 to play NO 56 AC 44 North with the ball and a timeout

3:26 to play North Oldham 54 Anderson County 38

North 0-5 all-time against Anderson; the Lady Mustangs lost 41-31 to AC to open this season.

End of three. Stunner developing in Warsaw. North Oldham 44 Anderson County 26 Satterlyl on bench for AC with four fouls

Turning into a bit of a runaway. 2:33 left in the third North Oldham 39 Anderson County 21

North has never won an 8th Region tournament game. They won their first district tournament game ever last week. School opened 2003-4

HALF North Oldham 31 Anderson County 17

AC 4 of 19 shooting

5:03 to go till halftime North Oldham 20 Anderson County 11 AC's trap in the 2Q is causing NO issues, but the Lady Mustangs have still outscored AC, 2-1, to start the quarter. AC cannot throw it in the ocean right now, and just missed a layup and two follow-up attempts.

end of one North Oldham 18 Anderson County 8 All six NO players who have played have scored. Upset? This would be big. North has never won an 8th Region tourney game

That's it. Incredible year - both good and bad - for SK. The school blows up in the fall of the year, the kids have to go to school at the newly-built Scott High - and the basketball team wins the state championship. Wild.

That was luck of the draw. Not by design.