Buckner, KY – There was to be no upset on the Oldham County Colonels’ home court in the 31^st District boys’ final; no revenge for the 65-32 trouncing that the Colonels tagged the South Oldham Dragons with on 1/5/02; no reversal of last year’s District 31 Championship results (a 73-55 Oldham win over South).

But on the other hand, the South Oldham Dragons came to play, and the Colonels didn’t capture their second straight district title without an old-fashioned dogfight.

Oldham County entered the contest the heavy favorite after having beaten the Dragons soundly in January. Winners of five straight, the Colonels got a boost when the doctors cleared Donta Smith to play just prior to game time. Even without Donta, the Colonels seemed to be in a groove; their 62-31 semi-final win over Trimble County with Smith on the sidelines had been nothing short of spectacular.

South entered the game on a high note of their own. The Dragons had won 8 of their last 11 games, and at 16-11 were the third-winningest team in South Oldham history. Unlike the previous year, when South seemed to have a "we’re just glad to be here" attitude when they reached the district final, the Dragons arrived with the intention of winning it all, and with sharpshooters like sophomore Brad Cofer and senior point guard Travis Foley, the Dragons had the ability to score with most teams. In their semi-final matchup against Carroll County, the Dragons had allowed 87 points…and scored 95.

The Dragons were also hoping to shake off the burden of a five-game losing streak at the hands of Oldham County. The last Dragon team to defeat a Colonel squad was the 1998-99 squad, coached by Jeff Griffin, which beat Oldham County on 12/19/98, 64-53.

The Dragons took the early 2-0 lead on a ten foot jumper from senior Steven Combest. That was to be the only Dragon lead of the ballgame, but it would be a while before Oldham would draw away in this contest.

Following the Combest bucket, Oldham hit their first three shots – including threes from Travis Liedtke and Donta Smith – to jump ahead, 8-2. A Bret Watson basket pulled South to within four before the first ominous sign appeared for South Oldham. Travis Foley picked up his second foul just 2:57 into the contest, and had to go to the bench. One of the critical cogs in the Dragon machine, Foley’s absence was felt in all areas of the South game. As point guard, Foley ran the floor show. He was also the second-leading scorer for South at 15.2 ppg. Perhaps most amazingly, he was the Dragons’ leading rebounder – a guard! – at 5.2 rebounds per game. He was also the team’s leading assist man at 4.5 assists per contest. Finally, his accuracy at the free throw line – he was 111 of 125 on the season for 89% heading into the district – ranked him 6^th in the state of Kentucky.

Despite the loss of Foley, South cut the lead to two at 8-6, before Oldham scored the final six points of the period to take a 14-6 lead.

Oldham County finally appeared to be putting some room between themselves and the visitors from Crestwood after a Donta Smith dunk – his second of the game – to push the lead to ten at 18-8. But Smith drew a technical after the dunk for taunting. Back in the game for the Dragons, Foley nailed both free throws, and Kenny Richard scored on the ensuing possession to draw the Dragons back to within six at 18-12.

Over the next four minutes, as Oldham struggled to hit their shots from the floor, South slowly crawled back into contention. The Dragons got point production from players who normally don’t score much: Kyle Jaracz hit two baskets and a free throw, thereby equalling his game average in just four minutes, and Bret Watson (4.2 ppg) hit his second field goal of the night. After Jaracz hit a bucket, was fouled, and converted the free throw with 1:36 to go in the half, South was within four at 25-21.

Matt Jacobson and Donta Smith keyed a 6-1 run for Oldham to push the lead to nine at 31-22, and it appeared that Oldham was going to head into the locker room on an uptick. But Cofer hit a long three, was fouled by Brock Neal, and hit the free throw for a four-point play to pull South to within 31-26 at intermission.

Fortunately for Oldham County, seniors Brad Koenig and Donta Smith stepped up in what was otherwise a very poor second period showing. Oldham hit just 5 of 14 shots from the floor in the second, but Koenig hit both of his shots, and was two of two from the line. Donta was 3 of 5 from the floor and 3 of 4 from the line. Together, they accounted for 15 of Oldham’s 17 second quarter points.

South, meanwhile, hit seven of twelve shots in the second period, and five of six shots from the charity stripe. Five different Dragons had scored in the frame.

When South’s Kenny Richard opened the second half with a three pointer from the far right corner to pull South to within 31-29, the Dragon fans began to smell an upset. Seconds later, Travis Foley launched a three from the left wing that would have given the Dragons the lead for the first time since 2-0, but the missed shot was rebounded by Oldham County, and the Colonels finally found their groove.

A Donta Smith dunk ignited an 11-0 Oldham County run that featured seven points (including two dunks) from Smith. Down by double digits for the first time, South didn’t score again until the 3:35 mark in the third period. By then, they trailed, 42-31, and the momentum was firmly in Oldham’s corner. Smelling blood, the Colonels pressed their advantage; Brock Neal scored underneath and Matt Jacobson – who hit just 1 of 7 shots in the first period, but hit all five of his second period shots – scored on a three pointer to push the lead to 47-31. Then, with 2:30 to go in the period, Kenny Richard picked up his fourth foul for South

A Foley basket momentarily stopped the bleeding, but Jacobson scored and hit a free throw to make it a 17-point game. Then came the play that seemed to take the remaining starch out of the Dragons.

Kyle Jaracz stole the ball near mid-court, and steamed for what appeared to be a quarter-ending layup. But he got too far under the basket on his attempt, missed the shot, and Travis Liedtke rebounded for Oldham. Instead of passing the ball, Liedtke surprised the South defenders by putting it on the floor and racing upcourt. His coast-to-coast drive and buzzer-beating layup staked Oldham to a 19-point bulge at 52-33 as the quarter came to a close.

Brad Cofer did his best to rally the Dragons, scoring 8 of his team-high 18 points in the final period. But Oldham always had an answer, usually in the form of Matt Jacobson, who was unstoppably in the second half.

After Cofer scored, was fouled, and hit the free throw to start the period, Jacobson hit two free throws. Cofer responded with two free throws of his own, only to see Jacobson nail a three-pointer. Foley hit two free throws, but Jacobson again scored, and the lead was 59-40 with about six and a half minutes to play.

At this juncture, the 6’5" Jacobson had scored thirteen of Oldham’s last fifteen points.

After Liedtke and Watson each hit two free throws for their respective teams, Donta Smith went on a personal 7-0 run to put the game well out of reach. He first hit two free throws, added a basket, then stole the ensuing inbounds pass, scored, was fouled, and hit another free throw. Bret Watson fouled out on the final play with 4:39 still remaining.

Smith’s one-man show pushed Oldham to their biggest lead of the night at 68-42, and the Colonels cruised to the victory.

Oldham County improves to 25-2; South falls to 16-12. The Colonels will play a district runner-up in the first round of next week’s 8^th Region Tournament in New Castle (Henry County HS); South will play a district champion.

NOTES: Oldham County had one of its best shooting nights of the season, hitting 54.3% of their shots overall, 50% of their threes (4 of 8), and 90% of their free throws (18 of 20). Matt Jacobson hit just 1 of 7 shots in the first half and scored four points. He hit all five second-half shots, including two threes, and finished with 21 points. Donta Smith was unstoppable at both ends of the court. He scored fourteen in the first half, and sixteen in the second half for a game-high 30 points. The Oldham County defense held the Dragons to below ten points in two quarters; they’ve now held opponents to under ten points in 10 of the last 20 quarters. Twelve Colonels played and seven scored. South Oldham also had a tremendous night at the line, hitting 14 of 15 free throws. The Dragons weren’t so prolific from the field, however, hitting 14 of 33 shots overall and just 4 of 18 three pointers.

Oldham County – Smith 30, Jacobson 21, Liedtke 11, Koenig 6, Neal 2, Huddleston 2, Kuiper 2

South Oldham – Cofer 18, Foley 12, Richard 7, Watson 6, Jaracz 5, Wardlaw 3, Combest 2, Walcott 1

Saturday, March 2, 2002 - 7 pm – Girls’ 31^st District Final: Oldham Co. (13-14) vs. South Oldham (19-8)

COMING UP: Complete coverage of every game in the boys’ and girls’ 8^th Region Tournaments on Sporszone AM 1600:

Monday & Tuesday, March 4 & 5 – Boys’ first round games

Wednesday & Thursday, March 6 & 7 – Girls’ first round games

Friday, March 8, 2002 – Boys’ semi-finals

Saturday, March 9, 2002 – boys’ final

Monday, March 11, 2002 – girls’ semi-finals

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 – girls’ final

The first game of each doubleheader night will probably begin at about 6:30 pm. Championship games times have not yet been determined.