New Castle, KY – Don’t be deceived by the score. Despite shooting 63.8% from the field and 72.7% from the line, Oldham County needed a huge fourth quarter run to put away a feisty Grant County squad that had already beaten the Colonels once during the season.

That loss had been the Colonels’ only home loss – on Homecoming night, no less – of the entire regular season. The Braves, who needed a last minute putback of a missed layup to win that one, 65-64, sought to make it two in a row over the Colonels in the first round of the boys’ Eighth Region Tournament.

Oldham County, ranked #20 according the Litkenhous ratings, was favored, but the Grant County Braves were definitely the best District runner-up to make the Regional field of 8. Although their 16-12 record was somewhat pedestrian, the Braves had already beaten Shelby County and Lexington Catholic -–along with Oldham – during the season. Unfortunately, the Braves were totally unpredictable, and had lost to a number of teams of lesser caliber. A major question was this: Which Braves team would show up?

After Eric Johnson hit a three to start the game, Oldham slowly built a first-quarter edge. The score was 9-7 – Eric Johnson had scored seven of Oldham’s nine points – when the Colonels got five quick points to put a little distance between themselves and the Braves at 14-7. And when Johnson buried a long three at the buzzer to end the first quarter, Oldham had staked out their largest lead of the night at 21-13. By that time, Johnson – the Eighth Region Player of the Year – had hit four of four shots, including two threes, and had ten points.

When Donta Smith scored to start the second period, Oldham’s lead had reached double digits at 23-13, but the Braves scrapped back. A smaller, but very quick, team, Grant repeatedly found ways to penetrate the Colonel defense for layups. When they didn’t get the layups, they got fouled and hit free throws. By halftime, Oldham County was accumulating fouls, and Grant had hit 12 of 13 free throws. And despite the height disadvantage, the Braves often found ways to get to the ball quicker than the taller Colonels, and they held their own on the boards in the first half.

Starting with a Jason Combs basket with 6:43 to go in the half, Grant County went on a 13-2 run to capture the lead at 26-25 on two Tyler Jones free throws with 4:52 to go in the period. The two teams swapped the lead four more times before Marcus Smith scored on a putback for Oldham County to give the Colonels the lead at 32-31. As it turned out, Grant County would never catch up.

Oldham led at the break, 38-34, after Nathaniel Johnson hit a basket at the buzzer.

The third quarter was a war of attrition, with neither team gaining an appreciable advantage. Grant County cut the lead to two once at 38-36, and to three on a couple of occasions – the last time at 50-47 – but never caught the Colonels and Oldham slightly extended the lead at the end of the third period at 58-52.

A bit of excitement arose late in the period. After a monstrous dunk by Donta Smith, the talented junior celebrated, bouncing up and down in front of the Oldham County fans. A somewhat questionable technical was called on Smith – who was not taunting the Braves’ fans or team – and Tyler Jones hit both free throws to trim the lead to six at 58-52. However, the Braves were unable to cash in on the ensuing possession, and the quarter came to a close.

After three quarters of nip-and-tuck basketball, what happened next couldn’t have been predicted.

Baskets by Nathaniel Johnson and Eric Johnson pushed the Colonel lead to ten for the second time with 6:42 to go, before Jones responded with a free throw to trim the lead to 62-53. Travis Liedtke and Eric Johnson followed with two more baskets, and Grant called time out with 5:47 to go. The 8-1 run had propelled Oldham to a 66-53 lead, and everyone in the gym could begin to sense the beginning of the end for the Braves.

The Braves scored on the ensuing possession, on a Jones putback of a missed shot, to cut the lead to eleven. Eric Johnson and Jones then traded baskets, with Jones cutting the lead to eleven once again with 3:39 left at 68-57. That, however, was to be the final points of the game for Grant, as the Colonels limited them to five fourth-quarter points, all from Jones. Meanwhile, Oldham finished by hitting 8 of 13 free throws, and Matt Jacobson scored the final two points on a short shot in the lane to end the contest.

Fortunately for the Colonels, they shot an unbelievable percentage. Unofficially, Oldham County shot 63.8% from the floor on 30 of 47 shooting. The Colonels were 2 of 6 from beyond the arc for 33.3%, and 16 of 22 from the line for an impressive 72.7%. If there was anything that concerned head coach Gary Forrest about the shooting, it might be that the team hit only 8 of 13 free throws in the final three minutes of the game, after hitting 8 of 9 through the first three quarters.

Among the players with hot hands: Eric Johnson hit 9 of 11 shots; Travis Liedtke hit 5 of 5; and Donta Smith hit 6 of 7 shots.

Oldham County improved to 25-5; Grant County fell to 16-14. The Colonels will play BULLITT CENTRAL (20-9) in the semi-finals of the boys’ Eighth Region on Friday night at approximately 7:30 pm (immediately following the Shelby Co.-Scott Co. game)

NOTES: The Colonels have shot over 50% in each of their three post-season games, all wins. Oldham shot over 51% from the floor during the season, among the state’s best. Oldham has shot over 70% from the free throw line in all three contests.

Defensively, the opponents have all been held below 50% shooting from the field, and both South Oldham and Grant County shot below 40%. Grant hit 38% of their shots. (Unfortunately, they were 18 of 20 for 90% from the foul line!)

Oldham County has won their three post-season games by an average of 23.3 points.

UNOFFICIAL SCORING:

Oldham County – Eric Johnson 27, D. Smith 16, Liedtke 11, Heimke 7, N. Johnson 6, Viehmann 4, Cotton 2, Koenig 2, M. Smith 2, Winters 1

Grant County – T. Jones 27, Shafer 10, Maddox 9, Riley 4, Combs 4, Schlueter 2
 
 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT, March 7, 2001

Girls’ Eighth Region first round:

Bullitt Central (29^th District champ) vs. Trimble County (31^st District runner-up)

Scott County (32^nd District champ) vs. Henry County (30^th District runner-up)

Pregame show begins at 5:30 pm on WTHQ "Thunder" 101.7 FM and WYKY "Y" 105.7 FM.

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