Simon Kenton trailed 25-22 with 5:29 left in the third quarter in their boys Eighth Region quarterfinal against Oldham County at Henry County on Thursday.
Pioneers coach Trent Steiner said he did not like the looks in the eyes of the players or their demeanors when he called a 30-second timeout. So the 20-year veteran head coach challenged the Pioneers.
“I thought we played tight in the first half rightfully so I guess for kids in this crowd in a (potential) final game,” Steiner said. “They had a look of fear. This group hasn’t been afraid of much all year. I said pretty simple things. From that point forward, they took care of what they needed to take care of. It wasn’t some great words of wisdom from me. It’s just what our kids have inside of them truthfully.”
The Pioneers (22-10) dominated after that timeout, outscoring the Colonels 33-4 in what Steiner said was their best half of basketball on their way to a 55-29 victory. This marks the second win over the Oldham County (16-16) this year.
With Simon Kenton’s 2-3 zone defense and 7-foot-3-inch senior center Gabe Dynes in the middle, the Pioneers dominated the rebounding battle, 33-22 including a 27-14 advantage on the defensive boards. They also recorded seven steals.
“Good defense leads to good offense,” Dynes said. “We had to get our defense going. Once we got locked in, everyone was moving and cracked in where they should. There was not much for us to mess up.”
Simon Kenton also doubled up Oldham County 12-6 on assists. Simon Kenton outscored Oldham County 11-2 in points off turnovers, 10-0 on second-chance points and 10-3 in bench points. Dynes put up a double-double of 14 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots.
The Pioneers saw six different players score and committed just two fouls. Junior guard Travis Krohman led in scoring with 15 points, making 3-of-6 three-point tries. Senior guard Isaac Gabbard added 10, making two triples with sophomore point guard Jay Bilton and junior guard Miles Brown scoring six each and sophomore forward Brayden Polly adding the other four.
“We had a lot of energy and things played out,” Krohman said. “We try to stay true to ourselves – don’t get lazy, don’t get sloppy. We’re up that much for a reason.”
Simon Kenton hit 52% from the field, holding the Colonels to 25% shooting.
The Colonels had three players averaging in double figures coming into the game. Junior Max Green led Oldham County with 22 including 12 in the first.
“I thought we lost him a bit too much in that first half,” Steiner said. “He’s a great player. We did a little bit better job finding him in the second half.”
Senior Luke Amburgey and junior Abram Stinebruner came into the game averaging 13.4 and 12.2 a contest. But Simon Kenton limited them to four and zero points, respectively in this game.
The teams exchanged baskets in the first quarter. Dynes gave the Pioneers an 11-10 lead in the first quarter, hitting a jumper from the right post with 1:21 left.
The Pioneers did go up 15-10 after Krohman and Gabbard hit jumpers. But the Colonels came back to tie the game. Krohman hit a three to put Simon Kenton up 20-18. Green scored with 45 seconds left to tie the game at 20 at halftime.
Simon Kenton then outscored Oldham County, 16-2 in the final five minutes of the third quarter to go up 38-27 entering the fourth quarter. Gabbard scored seven to lead the Pioneers.
“(They just need to) take it all in,” Gabbard said. “Getting wins like this on the road against good teams like Oldham County is pretty nice. We really capitalized on how we are as a team.”
The Pioneers then put the game away scoring the first 17 points of the fourth quarter. Dynes finished the run with the two free throws with 1:29 left in the game.
Simon Kenton takes on Collins (25-7) in the region semifinals back at Henry County on Monday at 8 p.m. Collins won both meetings during the regular season, 55-48 in the championship game of the Ashland Invitational Tournament on Dec. 30 and 58-54 in the Henry County Classic on Jan. 21.
OLDHAM COUNTY — 10-10-7-2 — 29
SIMON KENTON — 11-9-18-17 — 55
Oldham County (29) – Green 22, Amburgey 4, Slechter 3
Simon Kenton (55) – Krohman 15, Dynes 14, Gabbard 10, Bilton 6, Brown 6, Polly 4