New Castle, KY – The South Oldham Dragons were the heavy underdogs to the three-time defending Eighth Region champion Scott County Cardinals in the first round of the boys’ 8^th Region Tournament. On the other hand, Scott wasn’t the same Scott that had dominated the region for three straight years. And after all, Bullitt East had nearly upset Shelby County in the first opening-round contest…

But like the 31^st District final, in which they fell behind Oldham County, 16-3, to start the game, the Dragons opened poorly. The Cardinals scored the first thirteen points of the game, and the Dragons didn’t score until only 2:20 remained in the first period. Steve Hay’s basket was a momentary blip, however, and Scott scored the next six points of the period, and the first two points in the second, to go up 21-2.

The Dragons appeared to be in awe of the Cardinals. They took poor shots, turned the ball over, and got outhustled on the boards. Like the District final, however, they snapped out of their reverie in the second period.

Starting with a Brandon Losik three at the 6:49 mark in the first half, and ending with a Matt Kennedy three, the Dragons outscored the Cardinals, 22-9, over the next five minutes. Six different South players scored during the run, which ended with Scott County clinging to a six-point lead at 30-24. South Oldham might have closed the gap even more, had they not missed five of eight free throws during the run.

Scott finally recovered enough to score six of the final eight points of the half, closing out the second period with a dunk from 6’9" center Nate Austin to seize a 36-26 lead at halftime.

The continued similarities to the District final were eerie. In the 31^st District championship game, South cut Oldham’s lead to four at 36-32, only to see the Colonels score five of the final seven points of the half to claim an eight point lead.

All of which means nobody should have been surprised when the third period mirrored the District final, in which Oldham – led by Donta Smith’s seven third quarter points - rebounded to turn an eight point lead into a 16 point lead mid-way through the third. This time, the key individual was Coy Zerhusen, a junior forward who dominated the offensive boards and scored eleven third quarter points as Scott County pounded South, 15-6, in the period. It could have been worse, as the Cardinals missed four of five free throws in the quarter.

Scott went into the final frame leading by 19 at 51-32.

Scott County would ultimately lead by 25 at 59-34 and 61-36, before South rallied against the Cardinal subs to trim the final margin to 16.

Unofficial Scoring:

South Oldham (13-16) - Hay 13, Foley 10, Cofer 8, Kennedy 7, Beisner 4, Losik 3, Shultz 2, Shaffer 2, Team 2

Scott County (25-5) – Austin 24, Zerhusen 15, Brown 9, N. Reed 9, Hicks 4, Nick Reed 3, Cassady 2, Mulahalkovich 1
 
 

OTHER GAMES:

Shelby County (24-6) 82

Bullitt East (13-17) 63

Shelby County edged out to an early six-point lead, but Bullitt East wouldn’t let the lead balloon in the early going. Finally, with 4:40 to go in the first half, sophomore Travis Kotheimer hit the first of his three threes – his first shot since entering the game as a sub – and East was on top, 23-21. Bullitt East would ultimately build a five point lead at 39-34 with 4:10 to go in the third, but over the next two minutes, Shelby would run off ten unanswered points. Cory Miller put the Rockets back on top, 40-39, with two free throws. They would never look back.

The lead was just nine at 50-41 after three quarters, but the Chargers had lost their legs, and Shelby rolled to the victory behind 32 fourth-quarter points.
 
 

TUESDAY’S GAMES:

Oldham County (24-4) vs. Grant County (16-12)

Bullitt Central (19-9) vs. Anderson County (13-13)

The pregame show will begin at 6:30 pm, with the tip-off of the Oldham – Grant game at 7 pm and the Bullitt Central – Anderson Co. game immediately following.

Coverage will be LIVE on WTHQ "Thunder" 101.7 FM and WYKY "Y" 105.7 FM.

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