By Tony Arnold
COLUMBUS – Jackson Center and top-ranked Lincolnview went back-and-forth most of the way before the Lancers used a fourth quarter surge to pull away from the Tigers, 52-39, in the Division 4 State Boys Basketball Tournament semifinals Friday at the Schottenstein Center.
The Tigers finish the year with a 24-5 record while Lincolnview moves onto the state championship game with a 27-1 mark.
The Friday afternoon contest featured a couple of the best defensive teams in Ohio.
“Lincolnville was what they were billed to be. They are an extremely good defensive team and they challenged us on every shot whether it be a perimeter jumper or a shot inside. Kudos to them. We take a lot of pride in how we defend and I think I would be remiss if I didn’t compliment them on their defense,” said Jackson Center head coach Scott Elchert.
In front of a crowd of 10,173, the Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The dynamic duo of Brady Wildermuth and Drew Sosby got JC going. Wildermuth scored the opening hoop and Sosby drove into the lane, pulled up to the Big Ten logo on the court and canned a 12-footer, and the Tigers enjoyed the early lead.
The Lancers countered with an 8-0 run but Jackson came right back.
The Tigers served notice that they wouldn’t go away. JC tied it up at eight a piece when Bryce Sosby stole the ball and senior sharpshooter Ethan Zorn drained a long range shot just a few feet removed from the Value City arena logo well beyond the three-point line. Zorn drilled another three ball and Jackson led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers kept raining threes. Trent Platfoot knocked home a trey to make it 14-10. A few moments later, Platfoot struck again and when his triple swished, the Tiger lead was 17-12.
The Lancers responded with an 8-0 run to regain the lead at 20-17, but Jackson pushed back. A hoop by Wildermuth trimmed the deficit to a single digit and after another steal by Bryce Sosby, Wildermuth scored and the Tigers regained the lead 21-20. The teams went into the locker room knotted up at 21-all.
“I felt like in the first half we were in good shape. To go in at the half tied after we left a lot of points out on the board,” elchert said. “We got some good stuff offensively and couldn’t get our bunnies to go, quite honestly. We just left too many points out on the floor. I felt like we recovered well in the third quarter, though.”
Early in the third, the Lancers built a 28-23 lead. However, Jackson once again came right back. A soft touch three-pointer by Wildermuth sliced the lead to a pair. A little later things were tied back up at 30 following a pair of free-throws by Wildermuth. Momentum appeared to be on the side of the Tigers after Platfoot took a charge on the defensive end. However, Lincolnview put together an 11-0 run that proved to be the difference-maker. After the surge that stretched into the fourth-quarter, the Lancers led 41-30.
“We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game,” said Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons. “Obviously the state semifinal game. We knew Jackson Center was going to be a tough opponent. We knew Brady and Drew were going to be extremely difficult to guard. We weren’t the greatest in the first half but I thought we came out and executed in the second half. Just like our previous 26 games, our defense hung tough and was able to pull through and get us the win.”
The Tigers continued to play. Drew Sosby swished a trey. Following another steal by Bryce Sosby, cousin Drew knocked in a spinner in the lane and JC trailed 43-36 with 3:34 remaining. The score was 45-39 after a free throw by Wildermuth, but the Lancers closed out the contest on a 7-0 run to seal the victory.
Wildermuth led the Tigers and all scorers with 20 points. He was 7 of 10 from the field.
Drew Sosby finished with seven points, 12 under his average. With the Lancers paying him a lot of attention, he had just two points in the first three quarters.
The Lancers placed three players in double figures including Chandler Adams with 14, Trevor Neate with 12, and Austin Leathe with 10.
“We rode their shoulders all year long,” said Elchert of Wildermuth and D. Sosby. “They carried a ton of the workload for us on both ends of the floor and to their teammates’ credit, they accepted that and their role. I can’t speak enough about the impact that both Drew and Brady have had on this team and the success that we had. We would not be sitting here today if it wasn’t for either one of these young men.”
The Tigers finished 14 of 43 from the field for 33 percent while Lincolnview was 19 of 33 for 57 percent.
The Tigers were outrebounded 27-19, though Jackson held an 8-4 advantage on the offensive boards. The Tigers also held a 12-6 advantage on second chance points.
“Probably the thing I’m most pleased with is the fact that we did a great job on the offensive boards. I felt that was critical coming into the game. If you would have told me you were only going to give up four offensive rebounds, I would have felt extremely good about our chances of winning that game,” said Elchert.
Lincolnview hit 10 of 12 from the free-throw line while JC finished 5 of 10, with Wildermuth the only Tiger to attempt a free throw.
Jackson forced eight turnovers including three each from both Drew and Bryce Sosby. Overall, the score was tied five times and there were five lead changes.
“We were very blessed to get here and everyone has value and stepped up. It will be good for years to come,” said Drew Sosby one of two senior starters on the team.
Jackson Center (39) — D. Sosby 7, Zorn 6, Wildermuth 20, Platfoot 6.
Lincolnview (52) — Leeth 10, Youtsey 9, Leiter 3, Adams 14, Ludwig 4, Neate 12.
Score by quarters:
Jackson`11`21`30`39
Lincolnview`10`21`32`52
Three-pointers: JC 6 (Zorn 2, Platfoot 2, D. Sosby, Wildermuth); Lincolnview 4 (Leeth 2, Youtsey, Leiter).
Records: JC 25-4, Lincolnview 27-1.
