Lexington, KY – A veteran Oldham County squad tipped off the 86^th annual Boys’ Sweet 16 in Rupp Arena today (March 19, 2003), marking their third straight appearance in the tournament. The experience of players such as Matt Jacobson, Jerriott Huddleston, Brock Neal, Brandon Berry, and John McCarthy – all of whom played in at least one of the past two tournaments – showed as the Colonels exhibited little nervousness from the opening tip.

Powell County, on the other hand, was making just their second Sweet 16 appearance, and the Pirates were looking for their first tournament victory. It wasn’t to be as the Colonels dominated all phases of the game, and outscored the Pirates in each quarter.

After Powell spurted out to a 5-0 lead to start the game, Oldham got down to work. A three by McCarthy broke the scoring ice, and the Colonels ripped off nine unanswered points to take the lead for good. With 6’7" junior center Max Kuiper scoring six points on three-of-four shooting, the Colonels built a 16-11 lead after one period.

After a Kuiper basket to start the second, Micah Drake sank a free throw and Jermaine Martin followed with a basket to pull Powell to within four at 18-14. But four Colonels – Jacobson, Kuiper, Berry, and Brock Neal – hit baskets as Oldham ran off another 9-0 run to push the lead to double digits at 27-14. Powell would pull briefly to within ten before the end of the half, but the Colonels stretched it to 16 at the break, 35-19.

Oldham County completely dominated the inside in the first half. Kuiper hit six of seven first-half shots, and Brock Neal and Matt Jacobson combined for 6 of 11 shooting. When the Pirates tried to slow the onslaught in the paint with a sagging 2-3 zone, John McCarthy and Brandon Berry bombed away from the outside. With McCarthy hitting two threes, and Berry one, the Pirates were forced to stretch the zone, leading to even more opportunities down low for Jacobson, Neal, and Kuiper. As a result, the Colonels hit 55.5% of their first-half shots, while limiting Powell – the 12^th-best shooting team in Kentucky – to just 8 of 31 shooting for 25.8%.

With 3:35 to go in the third, and Oldham leading, 42-24, Matt Jacobson picked up his fourth foul and left the ballgame. With their leading scorer on the bench, and point guard Jerriott Huddleston also in foul trouble, the Pirates had one last opportunity to cut into the lead. And when Dwayne Hatton scored to start the final period, Powell County had pulled to within 15 at 50-35.

Oldham, however, responded with a 10-2 run to put the game out of reach at 60-37. Reserves Brandon Gathof and Ryan Phillips each contributed two points in the run. The Colonels then cruised to the final margin, with head coach Gary Forrest emptying his bench and playing thirteen players, with nine Colonels scoring.

For the game, the taller Colonels dominated the glass, 41-32. Oldham shot 49.1% for the game, while holding the Pirates to just 31.7% on 19 of 60 shooting. The Colonels held Jeremy Jones, the Pirates’ leading scorer, to just 15 points on 7 of 21 shooting, well below his averages 22 points per game and 50% shooting. They avoided putting the Pirates at the line – Powell hit 71.6% at the line during the season, tenth-best in the state – and Powell struggled even then, hitting just four of nine free throws.

Oldham County improves to 26-6 and moves on to play the Mason County Royals, the highest-ranked team in the tournament, on Friday at 12 noon. Powell County ends their season at 25-6.

Friday’s game will be aired on SportsZone Radio AM 1600, beginning with the pre-game show at 11:30 AM.

Oldham County – Kuiper 23, Neal 14, McCarthy 8, Jacobson 8, Gathof 6, Phillips 4, Berry 3, Beaumont 2, Huddleston 1