New Castle, KY – The 20th-ranked Oldham County Colonels won their sixth straight game and improved to 27-4 with a 102-82 rout of the 19th-ranked Shelby County Rockets in the championship game of the boys’ 8th Region tournament at Henry County High School.

It was the first time since 1989 that Oldham had won the Region, erasing the sting of four losses in the finals during the 1990s, when Scott County reigned supreme in the region.

As head coach Gary Forrest noted his post-game comments, it was a team effort, as nine players saw significant playing time, and ten players scored. Not surprisingly, Eighth Region Player of theYear Eric Johnson led the way in scoring with 26 points, but the 6’2" senior had a lot of help.

It was Shelby County, though, that jumped out to the early lead at 6-3. Eric Johnson quickly tied the contest at six with a three-pointer, but with juniors Brian Silverhorn and Zane Williams each scoring twice, and Robert Daniels adding a basket, the Rockets outscored Oldham County, 10-4, to push ahead to their biggest advantage of the night at 16-10.

Oldham County countered with an 8-0 run, and Donta Smith gave the Colonels their first lead since 3-2 with a basket to make it 18-16. The Rockets pulled back into a tie when Brian Silverhorn scored his seventh and eighth points of the first period with just over a minute to go in the first period.

At that point, the game seemed destined to be a see-saw affair, as both teams’ offenses seemed to operating at high efficiency. It promised to be a fans’ delight.

It was – but only for the Colonels’ fans. After Silverhorn’s basket, Travis Liedtke hit two free throws to give Oldham County the lead – for good, it turned out – with 1:09 left in the first period, and the Colonels took a 24-20 lead into the second period.

The second quarter turned out to be decisive. Two baskets by Ryan Heimke pushed the lead to 28-20 before Shelby’s Mark Williams hit two free throws. Oldham stretched the lead to nine before Silverhorn and Zane Williams combined for five unanswered points to trim the Colonel advantage to four at 33-29 with 5:13 to go in the half.

That was when the dam broke. With the Colonels switching from their trademark man-to-man halfcourt defense to a 1-3-1 zone trap, Oldham completely shut down the Rocket offense. Meanwhile, the Colonels continued to hit big shots, and make big plays on the offensive end. The result was a 15-0 run by the Colonels, with five different Oldham County players scoring.

The lead ballooned to 48-29 before senior Josh Popp finally answered for Shelby County with a three pointer late in the period. The Colonels then went on an 8-3 run to close out the half, to take a 56-35 lead at the intermission.

At the half, the Colonels were shooting 58.8% from the floor and an amazing 91.7% (11 of 12) at the free throw line. Eric Johnson was living up to his Player of the Year honors, scoring 18 first-half points on 7 of 8 shooting, including 4 of 5 beyond the arc. Ryan Heimke, one of the "forgotten" seniors, who steadily chips in eight points a contest, already had eight points at halftime on 4 of 6 shooting, and Donta Smith had 11 points.

Even Hank Garrett, the senior "bomber" who was battling a shoulder injury and who had not scored in three games, had rebounded to hit a first half three from deep in the corner.

The Rockets were no strangers to the Regional finals, though, having played in each of the past two championship games (both losses to Scott County), and they immediately began chipping away at the lead in the third period. After Ryan Heimke scored the first three points of the third period to extend Oldham’s lead to 24 at 59-35, Shelby went to work. The Rockets outscored the Colonels, 13-6, to draw within 17 at 65-48 with 3:14 in the third.

The lead was still 17 at 67-50 when Oldham erupted for a 9-0 run to effectively put the Rockets away.

After Donta Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one, Travis Liedtke rebounded the missed shot and scored in the paint. Marcus Smith followed with a basket, then stole the ball on the ensuing possession, and scored on an uncontested layup. Moments later, Donta was again at the line and hit the first shot. But he missed the second, and this time it was Marcus Smith who rebounded the miss and scored, giving the Colonels a 76-50 lead with about a half minute left in the third period.

The Colonels would settle for a 78-55 lead going into the third, but Shelby had thrown their best punch, and Oldham County had actually stretched the lead during a quarter in which they shot a phenomenal 90.9% on 10 of 11 shooting from the floor.

The fourth quarter was somewhat anticlimactic, as the lead fluctuated between 17 and 25 points, but Oldham County never lost the stranglehold they had on the Rockets. The quarter took forever to play, as the Rockets tried to slow the Oldham onslaught by playing physical. As such, Oldham would shoot more free throws in the final period (26) than Shelby did in the entire game (23).

Soon, though, the only question was whether or not the Colonels would reach the century mark, which they did in the final thirty seconds on a layup by Brad Koenig. Koenig would also score Oldham’s final points on two free throws with 9.5 seconds left, giving the Colonels a 102-79 lead. Ricky Natalie hit a three for Shelby County at the buzzer to account for the game’s final points.

Oldham County improves to 27-4; Shelby’s season ended at 24-7.

For the fourth time in the Colonels’ five post-season games, they shot over 50% from the floor (62.3%). It was the second time in the Region Tournament that Oldham had hit over 60%. The Colonels also hit 50% from beyond the arc (5 of 10) and 72.1% from the line (31 of 43).

It was also the fourth time in the five post-season games that the opponent shot less than 50% (44.6%). Robert Daniels, who came into the game averaging 22.5 points per game (15th-best in KY), scored just nine points on 2 of 7 shooting from the floor.

On the other hand, you had to give the Rockets credit: Shelby County became the only team all season to score more than 69 points against Oldham County. The Colonels were allowing less than 55 points per contest, and in the previous five games had not allowed over 57 points.

The Colonels will represent the 8th Region at the boys’ Sweet Sixteen basketball tournament this coming week in Lexington at Rupp Arena. Oldham County will play on Wednesday night during the second session against #1-ranked Louisville Male. Male beat Ballard in the 7th Region final by 18 points.

Commonwealth Broadcasting will follow the Colonels as far as they go in the Sweet Sixteen on either WYKY 105.7 FM or WTHQ 101.7 FM. Stay tuned to this space and the radio for updates.

In an interesting twist of fate, Male ended Oldham County’s football season in the second round of the playoffs on their way to the 4A football championship. Will the Colonels reciprocate, or will basketball be a case of déjà vu?

UNOFFICIAL CBC RADIO SPORTS STATS:

Oldham County - 24 32 22 24 - 102

Shelby County - 20 15 20 17 - 82

Oldham County – E. Johnson 26, D. Smith 20, Heimke 13, N. Johnson 9, M. Smith 9, Viehmann 6, Liedtke 6, Garrett 5, Cotton 4, Koenig 4

Three point goals – Eric Johnson (4), Garrett (1)

Shelby County – Silverhorn 17, Z. Williams 16, Popp 13, M. Williams 11, Daniels 9, Miller 6, Natalie3

Three point goals – Popp (3), Silverhorn (1), Mark Williams (2), Zane Williams (1), Natalie (1)
 
 

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