Clark County hoping success against Oldham County bodes well for E-town game
Clark County brought back a number of the key players from its 10th Region title run last season who missed out on a Sweet 16 experience because of the pandemic.
They made the most of their second chance Wednesday with a 54-47 win over Oldham County to advance to the quarterfinals of the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16.
Sitting between senior Jared Wellman and junior Jerone Morton, Clark Coach Josh Cook couldn’t help but praise their commitment to defense even though Morton led the team with 19 points and Wellman chipped in 10.
“They were hungry to play here, and they’re leaders,” Cook said. “They make plays at the right time. Both of these guys can score a ton of points, but most nights, they are also guarding the other team’s best shooter or best playmaker.
The Cardinals (20-4) never trailed and although Oldham County cut into the lead at times, including toward the end of the game, Clark County kept it at arm’s length by holding the Colonels without a basket for long stretches.
“They’ve got some heck of a ballplayers,” Oldham County Coach Coy Zerhusen said. “They came out and took it to us a little bit and hit some shots and bothered us with their defense.”
Oldham (14-5) mustered only seven points in the first quarter and a mere six points in the third. When Oldham snapped out of it, Clark County answered. Samuel Campbell and Tyler Slone led Oldham with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Grant Gibson added 10.
“It took us a little bit, but once we got rolling in the fourth quarter, you kind of could see what we’re capable of. …” Zerhusen said. “It’s one of those you wish you could rewind it, and recreate that to be in the game, but give Clark County a lot of credit for that.”
The Cardinals signaled their intent from the outset, jumping to an 8-0 lead in the first few minutes on three-pointers from Wellman and Aden Slone and a pair of Slone free throws. Slone finished with 12 points.
A pair of steals in the final minute of the first half turned into a Slone layup and a buzzer-beating dunk by Morton to repel one of the Colonels’ runs and push the lead back to 31-22 at the break.
Morton scored 12 of his 19 points in the second quarter.
“My teammates started seeing me get open in their little 2-2-1 press,” Morton said. “That’s about it. I just got open shots.”
Success against a pressure defense will be key in the Cardinals’ next outing where they will take on an Elizabethtown team that blitzed Knott County Central 87-59 in the tournament’s opening game and forced 20 turnovers and 34 points off of them and 26 points on the fast break.
Cook said the key to playing Elizabethtown will be handling their pressure.
“I think I’ve got one of the better backcourts in the state of Kentucky,” Cook said. “We’ve got some size and we’ve got to use that to our advantage. … E-town’s really good. I’ve got to give them credit. They can get up and pressure the basketball and when they make shots, they’re really hard to guard.”
Another key will be getting a day off as the other first round games play out Thursday and saving their legs for an 11 a.m. start on Friday, Cook said.
“I think our guys are focused,” Cook said, noting that quick turnarounds on high-intensity postseason games are not easy. “Our guys only had two days to prepare for Oldham, so I’m sure our guys will be ready to watch film and get prepared (for Elizabethtown).”
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 11:46 PM.
