Buckner – The Colonels of Oldham County repeated as champions of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic at Oldham County High School over the weekend, beating previously undefeated Dixie Heights, 58-48, in the final. Meanwhile, the South Oldham Dragons lost their opening game, but came from behind to win their last two tournament games and earn fifth place.

Five Colonels and Dragons made the All-Tourney team: Donta Smith, Eric Johnson, and Ryan Heimke of Oldham County were joined by Matt Kennedy and Steven Hay of South.

Semi-finals

Oldham County 50, Covington Holmes 49 – After starting slowly against Grayson County in the first round, the Colonels came out blazing in the second round. After Justin Hill hit a three to give Holmes the early 3-0 lead, Eric Johnson of Oldham County scored seven consecutive points to push OCHS in front. A 6-0 run by the Bulldogs briefly put the team from the ninth region on top by two, but the Colonels closed out the period with an 8-0 run of their own to go back on top, 16-9 after one period of play.

Nathaniel Johnson and Eric Johnson each scored to push the lead to 11 at 20-9 to begin the second period, and the margin remained between 9 and 12 throughout the remainder of the first half. Eric Johnson – who had scored 19 points in the first round versus Grayson County – repeatedly dropped in soft jumpers from the top of the key, hitting 5 of 6 shots for the half and scoring 13 points to lead Oldham. When the home team headed to the locker room up 33-22, the heat in the gym was being generated by a sizzling shooting performance that saw the Colonels hit 76.2% of their first half shots.

Junior center Travis Liedtke scored to open the second half, giving Oldham County their biggest lead at 35-22. But he turned out to be all the offense OC would have in a disastrous third period, as he scored all five Colonel points. Thankfully, the Colonel defense played well and limited the Bulldogs to only ten points, and the Colonels led by six after three periods of play.

Buoyed by their defense, which had limited Eric Johnson (13 first half points) and Donta Smith (9 first-half points on four-for-four shooting) to just one missed shot in the third period, Holmes continued their rally in the fourth, outscoring Oldham, 9-2, to take the lead at 41-40 on a Jonathon Kornegay bucket. Liedtke hit one of two free throws to tie it at the 5:06 mark, but back-to-back threes by Holmes gave them their biggest lead at 47-41 with just 3:25 left.

Hank Garrett hit his second three of the night to cut the lead in half, and Eric Johnson followed with two free throws to pull the Colonels to within one, but Hill responded with a free throw to push the margin back to two at 48-46. Johnson again hit two free throws, this time tying the contest at the 1:39 mark, but Brandent Engelmon gave Holmes one final lead by hitting one of two charity tosses, with 43.1 seconds left.

Oldham called time out with less than 40 seconds to play to set up the winning shot. The Colonels ran the clock down below 15 seconds, then pushed it inside to Donta Smith. When the Bulldogs converged on the talented junior, he fired a perfect pass to Ryan Heimke, who was flashing along the baseline. Heimke’s layup with just ten seconds left regained the lead for Oldham at 50-49.

Momentarily, confusion reigned on the floor for the Bulldogs. James Jackson tried to call a timeout, but at least two, maybe three, of the Bulldogs didn’t see him and they inbounded the ball. With no real method to their attack, Covington Holmes’ last-minute shot missed, and Oldham had a date in the finals against Dixie Heights.

UNOFFICIAL SCORING: E. Johnson 17, D. Smith 9, Liedtke 8, Heimke 6, Garrett 6, N. Johnson 4, Jacobson 0, Cotton 0

FIFTH PLACE – South Oldham 77, Grayson County 72 – The Dragons had arguably the most exciting trip of any of the eight teams in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. After falling, 60-50, in the first round against Owensboro Catholic, the Dragons rallied multiple times to defeat Evangelical Christian of Memphis (TN), 87-85, in overtime.

Nothing, however, prepared anyone for the "Comeback of the Tourney" against Grayson County.

The prospects for victory in the fifth-place game against the Grayson County Cougars appeared dim for the weary South squad. While the Dragons had been battling a gritty Evangelical Christian team that morning in overtime, Grayson had cruised to an easy 59-42 win over the Trimble County Raiders, a game that wasn’t even that close. Cougar coach Todd Johnston pulled most of his starters early in the fourth quarter, giving them a chance to catch some much-needed rest prior to the 5^th place game with South.

When the ball was tossed up, however, it was the Dragons who appeared energized. Matt Kennedy opened the ballgame with a three-point field goal, and the Dragons raced out to a 9-4 lead. The Cougars, however, regrouped, and ultimately took some narrow leads before Troy Schultz scored to tie the game at 18 going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, though, James Gaither, Keith Escue, and Shaun Campbell took over for Grayson County. Gaither scored the first seven points of the period for the Cougars. His seventh point began a 9-0 Cougar run that vaulted the visitors from the third region from one point down to an eight point advantage. The Dragons were beginning to show some weariness, and they hit only 5 of 16 shots in the second period. With the Cougars leading, 38-29, Grayson put the exclamation point on the quarter with a 7-0 run that gave them a 43-29 half-time advantage.

Disturbingly, the Dragons were showing an inability to stop James Gaither and Keith Escue from scoring down low. On the other end of the court, South repeatedly settled for perimeter shots – a third of their first-half attempts were from beyond the arc – and as a result, the Dragons went into the locker room without a single free throw attempt.

The second half opened with more of the same, and Grayson extended its lead to its largest margin of the night – 18 – when Escue scored to make it 49-31.

The Dragons went on an 11-2 run to trim the lead to half at 51-42, only to see Keith Escue almost single-handedly reconstruct the lead by scoring back-to-back baskets. After Matt Kennedy drained his second three of the third period to trim the lead to ten, the Cougars made it 59-45 on buckets by Escue and Adam Decker.

A rare three by Troy Schultz and a field goal by Steven Hay pulled the Dragons to within 9 as the quarter came to a close, giving the Dragons the momentum heading into the fourth quarter.

About this time, Johnston had kept his starters on the bench, opting instead to go with reserves Kyle Cannon, Keith Escue, Bryan Langdon, Will Marshall, and Adam Decker. But it quickly became apparent that the subs weren’t going to be able to hold the lead. Led by T. J. Beisner – who scored all twelve of his points in the fourth quarter – South roared into the final period by outscoring Grayson, 10-2, pulling to within a point on two free throws by Matt Kennedy with 4:33 to go.

Johnston by now was re-inserting his starters, but it was too late. Had he had pulled them due to dissatisfaction with their play, or merely because he felt the subs could gain experience with the big lead? Regardless, by the time the regulars re-entered the game for Grayson, they were "cold", and the momentum was firmly in South’s corner.

After Chris Gaither momentarily stopped the bleeding with a free throw, Brad Cofer tied the game with 4:17 to go with two free throws. Twenty-three seconds later, Steven Combest pushed South on top for the first time since 16-15 with a free throw. After a Grayson turnover, T. J. Beisner nailed a three pointer to make it 66-62 and prompt a Cougar time out.

Another Cougar turnover was followed by a Dragon free throw, and when Grayson turned it over again, a technical was called on the Cougar bench. Kennedy’s two free throws completed a 9-0 run and staked South to a 69-62 lead with just 2:15 left to play. Grayson would get no closer than four the rest of the way. Although South would only convert on 4 of 8 free throws down the stretch, they repeatedly forced Grayson into off-balance, long-range shots, and the Dragon front line – in particular, Steven Hay – dominated the defensive glass. The Dragons would ultimately lead by as much as 8 at 77-69 before Shaun Campbell scored and added a free throw with 2.0 seconds showing on the clock to account for the final margin.

The win earned the Dragons fifth-place honors; Grayson County – who finished fourth last year – finished sixth. South’s record improved to 4-3, while Grayson fell to 4-2.

UNOFFICIAL STATS: Kennedy 22, Beisner 12, Cofer 12, Hay 10, Schultz 9, Combest 4, Richard 4, Foley 3, Watson 1, Losik 0

CHAMPIONSHIP – Oldham County 58, Dixie Heights 48 – Two undefeated teams (both 4-0) squared off in the championship of the second annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Oldham County COLONELS sought to repeat as tournament champs; the Dixie Heights COLONELS were guaranteed to improve on last year’s third-place finish.

Seeking to keep Oldham County from getting into their preferred uptempo game, Coach Scott Draud’s Ninth Region team slowed things down early. It took Oldham County 2:54 before Daniel Viehmann finally hit two free throws to tie the game at 2. The Bucknerites’ first field goal didn’t come until Eric Johnson scored from the field with 1:29 to go in the first, and Dixie Heights led, 7-4, after a snoozer of a first quarter.

By then, however, it had become apparent that only three of the Dixie players were actively looking for shots. The Oldham County defense clamped down, and the offense – which had hit a paltry 1 of 12 shots in the first period – began to produce, ripping off ten unanswered points in the first four minutes of the second period to take a 14-7 lead.

After going scoreless for nearly four and a half minutes, Dixie finally responded with two free throws from Russ Bramlege with 3:37 left in the half, and the two teams traded baskets the rest of the way until halftime, when Oldham went to the locker room ahead, 21-16.

The Dixie Heights offense continued to feature three players and not much more in the second half, but Joe Bramlage, Kory Lonergan, and Russ Bramlage pulled the visitors to within three at 28-25, before a mini 8-0 run by Oldham stretched it back out to double figures for the first time at 36-25. Russ Bramlege drilled a three to end the period to trim the lead to 8.

Scott Draud’s crew made one last run at Oldham early in the fourth. But after two free throws from Russ Bramlage pulled Dixie into a one-possession game at 38-35, the Colonels ripped off six unanswered points – four from Daniel Viehmann on his only two field goals of the night – to pull away. Dixie got no closer than five the rest of the evening, and the Colonels, who had hit only 4 of 11 free throws in the first 31 minutes of the game, nailed six of six in the final minute to ice the contest. Donta Smith’s emphatic dunk with four seconds to play off a long feed from Hank Garrett put the exclamation point on the victory, and Oldham County had their second consecutive Coaches vs. Cancer Classic title, 58-48.

Oldham County improved to 5-0; Dixie Heights fell to 4-1.

UNOFFICIAL STATS:

Eric Johnson 15, Donta Smith 15, Liedtke 7, Viehmann 6, N. Johnson 4, Heimke 4, Garrett 3, Cotton 2, M. Smith 2

UPCOMING BROADCASTS ON WYKY 105.7 FM:

Tuesday night, December 12, 2000 7:00 pm South Oldham @ Carroll County (boys)

Wednesday night, December 13, 2000 7:00 pm Oldham County vs. Eastern (girls)

Our next broadcasts will be the in 2001! Join us then!

Be sure to ask at your neighborhood businesses for either the Oldham County or South Oldham broadcast schedules, available at Dairymarts, Citgo, PNC (Peewee Valley), Inkworks, Papa John’s (Crestwood), Hometown Pizza (LaGrange & Crestwood), Dairy Queen (Lagrange & Crestwood), Movie Warehouse (Crestwood & LaGrange), Kroger, Wendy’s, Shell, Long John Silver’s, Superamerica, KFC, Taco Bell, Stoess Hardware, Craig’s Pharmacy, Dollar General Store, Jucy’s Bar-b-cue, and the Peewee Valley Veterinary Center. (Oldham schedules available in Lagrange and Buckner; South schedules available in Pewee Valley & Crestwood)
 

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