Bluegrassrivals

Game 5: Oldham County holds off Purples
Published March 15, 2012 Basketball Closed
Oldham County hit 20 of 24 free throws and held on to beat Bowling Green 55-48 in the first round of Sweet Sixteen Thursday afternoon in Rupp Arena.

Sam Gruber made four three-pointers and led the winners with 16 points. Tyler Wesley had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Jacob Kopp added 13 points.

Bowling Green was led by Scooter Hollis’ 14 points. Jalen Hunter had 12 points and 7 rebounds, and Nacarius Fant had 11 points. The Purples were 5-for-12 from the foul line.

Congrats to the Colonels! Way to represent the 8th!

I thought the Purples would win this game. Got that pick wrong.

So did I GetChili. I honestly did not expect Oldham Co to win but, Congrats to them!

LEXINGTON, KY. — In the state tournament for the 15th time, the Oldham County High School boys’ basketball program has a long history of success.

But it had been nine years since the Colonels had won a game in the PNC/KHSAA Sweet 16, a drought they ended Thursday.

Sam Gruber scored a game-high 16 points and Jacob Kopp and Tyler Wesley also had big games as Oldham County knocked off Bowling Green 55-48 at Rupp Arena.

The Colonels beat Powell County in the first round of the 2003 Sweet 16 but had lost their past three games in the event, including first-round losses in 2007 (Scott County) and 2011 (Clark County).

“We talked about doing something special for the school,” Oldham County coach Jason Holland said. “When opportunity knocks on your door, you better answer it because it’s not there all the time. I told them to knock the door down and go and play.”

Gruber hit 4 of 9 3-point attempts to lead the Colonels. Kopp added 13 points, and Wesley chipped in 12 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals.

Oldham County (30-5), No. 11 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings, advanced to face the Knott County Central-Boone County winner in Friday’s 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal.

“We knew we couldn’t come up here two years in a row and just throw it away,” Wesley said, referring to last year’s first-round loss. “Our school and everybody in our community is counting on us.”

Scooter Hollis (14 points), Jalen Hunter (12 points, seven rebounds) and Nacarius Fant (11 points, six rebounds, four assists) had big games for Bowling Green, which came in averaging 69.5 points per game.

Coach D.G. Sherrill said Oldham County’s ability to slow the pace was key.

“We have to play fast,” Sherrill said. “Oldham County wanted to play a slower game in the 40s, and that’s what they got. We’re not going to win a lot of basketball games scoring under 50 points.”

The Purples trailed 36-29 late in the third quarter after going nearly five minutes without a point but pulled even at 36 on Fant’s basket with 6:42 left in the game.

After a Bowling Green timeout, Oldham County set up an offense against the Purples’ 1-2-2 press and found Gruber wide open in the left corner for a 3-point shot. He nailed it and gave the Colonels the lead for good, 39-36, with 6:29 left.

“I moved Sam and put him the corner because I felt like it would be open down the side from watching film,” Holland said. “And he made it.”

Devin Hayes’ 3-pointer pulled the Purples within 45-43 with 2:13 left, but Wesley answered 25 seconds later with a 3-point play that made it 48-43.

Oldham County sealed it at the free-throw line, making 8 of 10 in the fourth quarter and 20 of 24 (83.3 percent) for the game.

Meanwhile, the Purples shot just 33.3 percent (9 of 27) in the second half as their quick guards had trouble getting in the paint against the bigger Colonels.

“When we did get inside, it just seems like we couldn’t get the ball in the net,” Hollis said. “A lot of shots rimmed out that we usually hit.”

Gruber said the experience of playing in last year’s state tournament was a key for the Colonels on Thursday.

“I think last year was like we were taking it all in,” he said. “We didn’t know what to expect and were kind of shell-shocked. This year we’d been under the bright lights and knew what to expect.”

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