BULLITT CENTRAL STOPS NORTH OLDHAM GIRLS, BOYS

Second Half Too Much for NOHS Ladies;

NOHS Boys Find Central Time Split Second Long

Shepherdsville, KY - The North Oldham Mustangs and Lady Mustangs travelled to Shepherdsville on Friday to tangle with two of the better 8th Region teams, but both came away with losses despite heroic efforts.

LADY COUGARS 54, LADY MUSTANGS 38 - Playing without starter Holly Overcash, the Lady Mustangs fell behind 7-0 to the heavily-favored Lady Cougars in the first half of the first period, before Emily Crutcher got the Lady Mustangs on the board with a three-pointer at the four minute mark. After a layup by Amy Etherton gave BC a 9-3 lead, NOHS scored the next six points of the contest to tie the game at 9 heading into the second period.

Kristine Mattern gave NOHS its first lead at 11-9 with two free throws to start the second, and the Lady Mustangs played toe-to-toe with the Lady Cougars for most of the second period. With 2:02 to play in the half, the Lady Cougars' full-court press was creating turnovers and forcing bad shots, but the Lady Mustangs' half-court defense was proving equal to the challenge as BC led by just two at 16-14. But two straight NOHS turnovers led to BC layups by Emma Hall and Kim Jacobs, and suddenly the lead was six at 20-14.

A basket by Crutcher and a free throw by Amelia Priest pulled North to within 20-17 with 14.3 seconds left in the half, but Jessie Mattingly scored just before the buzzer to give BC a 22-17 halftime lead.

Turnovers (28+ for the game) and poor shooting (4 of 21 for 19% in the first half; 11 for 46 for 23.9% for the game) ultimately doomed the Lady Mustangs, as BC used two runs to put away the visitors. With the lead still at five at 24-19, Bullitt Central put together an 8-0 run, using their size advantage inside and their defense to generate easy baskets. Brittney Anderson - an active 6'1 presence in the middle who scored the first six points of the period for BC - kicked the run off with a putback. Another basket by Anderson and two layups by Etherton pushed the lead to 32-19. The Lady Cougars ultimately pushed the margin to 16 at 37-21, before North put together a min-run of its own, scoring six straight to pull to within ten.

But just when NOHS appeared to be getting back in the contest, BC seemingly slammed the door shut with a three-pointer by Randi Gail Lutes and a follow shot by Anderson to make it 42-27 with one quarter to play.

Four consecutive points by Mattern pulled NOHS to within eleven to begin the final period, but BC had one more run in them, ripping off ten unanswered points to pull away to their largest margin at 52-31. Crutcher then scored seven straight points on two free throws, a three, and a two-point basket to single-handedly pull NOHS to within fourteen, before a layup by Emma Hall accounted for the final margin.

NOHS - 9 8 10 11 - 38

BCHS - 9 13 20 12 - 54

NOHS - Crutcher 21, Mattern 8, Siler 4, Priest 3, Cooley 2

BCHS - Anderson 12, Aubrey 10, Etherton 8, Jacobs 6, Hall 6, Lutes 5, Mattingly 4, Clayton 3

(BOYS) BULLITT CENTRAL 62, NORTH OLDHAM 61 - The Central time zone seemed a bit longer than normal on Friday, and the Cougars were able to avoid their second straight overtime game when Nic Owens hit a free throw with no time remaining to pull out the victory over the Mustangs.

BC jumped on top early, using an 11-2 run midway through the first period to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 17-10 lead. Clay Craddock, a 6'0 junior averaging 10.4 points per game, repeatedly found ways to score for the Cougars. By the time NOHS called time out with 1:31 to play in the first, Craddock had eleven of BC's seventeen points.

The lead grew to eight at 20-12 before Seth Hillyard nailed a three for North. But Kyle Baugh banked in a long three off the left wing at the buzzer - his second three of the period - that gave BC a 23-15 lead heading into the second quarter.

NOHS hadn't been a particularly strong team when playing from behind this season, but the Mustangs weren't about to give up on this one. Twice in the second period and once early in the third period the Cougars pushed the lead to nine, the last time at 40-31, but the Mustangs never let the lead become double digits.

Instead, the Mustangs began chipping away at the lead. Trailing 42-34 with 5:31 to play, NOHS outscored their hosts, 10-5, throughout the rest of the period. Scott Merrick scored six of his nine points during the run, and when Hillyard scored with three seconds to play in the quarter, the Mustangs trailed by just three at 47-44.

The fourth quarter was a series of Mustang rallies and Cougar parries. A John Wardlaw basket early in the period brought North to within one at 49-48, but Central scored five straight points to regain a six point edge.

Hillyard scored, tacked on a free throw, then scored again with 4:50 to play to once again pull NOHS to within one at 54-53, but again Central answered. Chris Goldsmith's layup with 2:35 to play made it 59-54.

North had time for one more rally. Danny Walcott scored and added a free throw. Hillyard then followed with a basket with just over a minute to play, and for the first time since 8-8, the two teams were tied.

Bill Crable's basket at the :43 mark nosed BC back in front by two, and NOHS Head Coach Gene Heffington called time out with 16.8 seconds to play. The Mustangs' play worked well - perhaps too well - as Kevin Allen floated into the lane and dropped in a basket with seven seconds to play, tying the game at 61.

Central had plenty of time to get off a shot to win.

BC took the ball just over midcourt, then called time out with 1.6 seconds to play. On the inbounds play, the ball came into Goldsmith, who threw up a three-point prayer that was blocked. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the ball careened into the hands of Nic Owens, who was fouled as time expired. Owens hit the first free throw to cement the game for the Cougars, 62-61.

The officials huddled prior to giving Owens the free throw, and it appeared for a moment that the second official would override the first. But the called stood, Owens hit the foul shot, and BC won its third straight game.

Of some small consolation to the Mustangs: A review of the game tape after the contest revealed that the foul did come after time expired.

NOHS falls to 13-9 on the season.

NOHS - 15 15 14 17 - 61

BCHS - 23 13 11 15 - 62

North - Hillyard 16, Walcott 13, Merrick 9, Allen 9, M. Spencer 8, Wardlaw 6

BCHS - Craddock 17, Crable 13, Baugh 11, Goldsmith 10, Owens 4, Frans 4, Jarboe 3

The next SPORTSZONE AM 1600 high school basketball broadcast will be this Friday, February 20, 2004, when the Oldham County Colonels entertain the Grant County Braves in Buckner. This re-match of last year's 8th Region Championship game will tip-off at 7:30 pm. WTSZ coverage will begin at approximately 7:25 pm.