CENTERVILLE — A big defensive effort on Tuesday helped Sidney earn a berth in a sectional final.
Sidney held down Beavercreek for most of the game and earned a 56-45 win during a Division I sectional semifinal at Centerville. The Yellow Jackets advance to face Springfield in a sectional final at 7 p.m. on Friday at Centerville. Springfield beat Springboro 77-60 in the first semifinal on Tuesday at Centerville.
The Beavers scored 12 points over the first 12 minutes of the third quarter, during which time Sidney turned a 26-21 lead into a 46-33 lead. Andre Gordon scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half to help the Yellow Jackets pull away.
Gordon was 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Ratez Roberts scored 11 points and had several rebounds, while Devan Rogers tallied 11 points along with eight rebounds.
Sidney coach John Willoughby credited a strong defensive effort from every team member for the win. Rogers, a senior center, and Roberts, a junior forward, helped lead the effort. Both prevented Beavercreek from getting many shots in the paint. Roberts also had several blocks during the game.
“It was a great defensive effort,” Willoughby said. “(Rogers) sure came to play tonight. He was phenomenal. Using his feet and hands to defend. That lets our perimeter guys get going. And Andre was finishing baskets, finding open players for assists and scoring by himself.”
Ratez Roberts and Andre Gordon opened the third with back-to-back baskets to boost Sidney’s lead from five to nine points.
Jon Alessandro made a basket with 4:31 left in the fourth to bring Beavercreek within 34-26, but Gordon hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key a short while later to push Sidney’s lead to 37-26. Sidney’s lead stayed around 10 points the rest of the game.
Gordon nailed a jumper with 6:15 left in the fourth to put Sidney ahead 40-28. Beavercreek struggled with turnovers throughout the second half and had one that led to Gordon passing to Roberts for a dunk, which gave the Yellow Jackets a 42-28 lead.
Caden Grimm hit a 3-pointer later in the fourth to pull Beavercreek within 50-40, but Gordon once again found Roberts open, and he threw up an amazing shot. Roberts flipped the ball up from behind the basket with a good spin on the ball, and it went in nothing-but-net. The shot capped up a 6-2 run to put Sidney ahead 56-42.
Jon Alessandro led Beavercreek with 16 points, half of which came in the first quarter. Alessandro also had five rebounds.
“We were fortunate that Alessandro had just 11 in first half,” Willoughby said. “We tried to make other guys shoot the ball and that ended up working.”
Evan Saylor hit a 3 for Beavercreek to tie it 19-19 early in the second, but the Yellow Jackets finished on a 7-2 run to take some breathing room by halftime. Roberts made a three-point play with 4:13 left to start the run, then Gordon made a 3-pointer from the left wing with 3:38 left to put the Yellow Jackets up 25-19. Sidney led 26-21 at the break.
Sidney has scrimmaged Springfield each of the last two seasons. The squads last played in regular season in January of 2016, when the Wildcats used an 11-4 scoring advantage in overtime to win 80-73 in Sidney.
