Buckner – It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the 20^th-ranked Colonels remain undefeated after the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Oldham County High School, thanks to a 70-58 come-from-behind victory over a stubborn group of Cougars from Grayson County.

Both teams entered the contest undefeated; the Cougars at 3-0 and Oldham at 2-0. Both teams featured senior-laden starting lineups (both started four seniors and a junior) and both head coaches tended to go very deep on their benches. Both coaches – Todd Johnston of Grayson County and Gary Forrest of Oldham County – stressed defense as the key to championships. The similarities, however, were supposed to end there. The Cougars – traditionally a run-and-gun team – were expected to utilize half-court sets and patient offense. Oldham County was expected to push the ball up and down the court.

Instead, the Cougars came out running.

And gunning.

Grayson County pounced on Oldham County like a predator in the first five minutes of the ballgame, racing out to a 13-2 lead. After an Eric Johnson jumper and a Ryan Heimke free throw cut the lead to 8 at 13-5, Grayson finished the quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 15 point lead at 20-5 into the second quarter. The Colonels and their fans looked stunned; Oldham shot barely 15% from the floor on 2 of 13 shooting in the first quarter, and seemed more than a step slow. Meanwhile, six Cougars scored, and Shaun Campbell – who averaged only 5.7 ppg and was known more for his defensive savvy – had two three pointers.

That, however, was to be Grayson’s high-water mark. Baskets by Heimke and Hank Garrett pulled Oldham to within 11 at 20-9, and then the Colonels’ defensive pressure began to pay dividends. Three consecutive trips down the court, the Cougars turned the ball over. After two of those turnovers, Eric Johnson scored. By the time Keith Escue of the Cougars finally scored and was fouled with 5:01 left in the half, Grayson had gone 2 minutes and 59 seconds in the second period without a point, and Oldham had put together an 8-0 run to cut the lead to seven. Escue’s basket pushed Grayson’s lead to nine, and after he missed the free throw, Nick Crawford grabbed the offensive rebound and scored to once again stake the Cougars to a double-digit lead at 24-13.

The Colonels, however, put together another run, this time outscoring Grayson, 10-0, to pull with one at 24-23, with Donta Smith scoring the last four points. After Chris Gaither of Grayson County hit a three pointer to make it 27-23, Donta Smith hit his third straight shot to make it a two point game, 27-25, at the break.

The Colonels kept the pressure on Grayson in the third period. After Hank Garrett hit a free throw to begin the period, Daniel Viehmann scored his only points of the night on a three-pointer that gave Oldham the lead at 29-27. Nick Crawford responded with an old-fashioned three point play on a basket and a free throw to push Grayson County on top one final time at 30-29, but Nathaniel Johnson’s jump-hook gave Oldham the lead for good on the ensuing possession. Nathaniel would later give Oldham a nine-point margin at 45-36, but the Cougars closed out the quarter with a 6-2 run to trim the lead to five with one quarter left.

By this time, the Cougars were showing signs of fatigue. The attacking Colonel defense was frustrating and infuriating the Grayson team – and its coach. Tempers began to flare on the Cougar sideline. Star point guard Chris Gaither – who came into the contest averaging 19 points per game – was losing the bounce in his step, and his shots began to reflect the heaviness in his legs. He finished with only 9 points. But Nick Crawford began to pick up the scoring slack, and Grayson began to chip away at Oldham’s lead.

With Crawford scoring six points, the Cougars outscored Oldham, 10-6, to pull to within one at 53-52. Two buckets by Eric Johnson and one by Heimke stretched the lead back to 59-52, but Grayson pulled to within three at 59-56 on a basket by reserve Adam Decker with about a minute and a half to play.

The Colonels then salted the game away at the line, hitting 11 of 12 free throws over the final 1:27, and holding Grayson County to one field goal. For the game, the Colonels were a torrid 19 of 22 at the charity stripe for an amazing 86.4%. They weren’t too shabby from the field, either, where they hit 51.1%. That number particularly looks good when you remember that they began the game with a 2 for 13 first quarter!

Grayson Coach Todd Johnston didn’t help his team’s cause when the Grayson County bench was hit with a technical for protesting a foul call with only 1:05 left and Oldham clinging to a five point lead. The Colonels hit four free throws to all but ice the game at 65-56 with barely a minute left.

Oldham County will meet Covington Holmes (1-2) in the second round on Saturday.

South Oldham (2-3), who lost to Owensboro Catholic in the first round, will face off against Evangelical Christian of Memphis, TN in the first game of the consolation bracket.

The Broadcast Schedule:

Note that the SECOND ROUND (Saturday morning, 12/9/2000) will be aired on 940 AM WCND instead of 105.7 FM WYKY. Third – round games will be aired on WYKY.

9:30 AM Saturday – South Oldham vs. Evangelical Christian (Memphis, TN)

approx. 11:30 am Sat. – Oldham County vs. Covington Holmes (immediately following South Oldham game)

FINAL ROUND:

Game times TBA: Broadcast on 105.7 FM WYKY

UNOFFICIAL Stats:

Oldham County 5 20 22 23 - 70

Grayson County 20 7 15 16 - 58

Colonels – Eric Johnson 19, Donta Smith 14, Heimke 13, Garrett 13, Nathaniel Johnson 6, Viehmann 3, Cotton 2, Liedtke 0, Jacobson 0

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