Staff report
VANDALIA — Sidney trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half but charged back in the second half, and came up big down the stretch to pull out a 70-65 thriller over Xenia in the Division 1 Sectional semifinals Tuesday night in boys basketball action at Xenia.
The win put the Yellow Jackets at 17-7 on the year and puts them in the sectional finals Friday night at Vandalia against the 14-10 Centerville Elks. The winner advances on to district play next week.
The first time the two teams met, Xenia rallied from five down in the last couple minutes to beat the Jackets 66-63 at Xenia.
This time, it was the Yellow Jackets roaring back, and the third quarter was the difference. Trailing 35-27 at the half, Sidney outscored the Bucaneers 21-11 in the third quarter.
“The start of the third quarter is always one of the most important times of the game, those first four minutes,” said Sidney coach Andy Slaughter. “And we came out and won that third quarter. Xenia is a great team, and is well coached, but we were just able to make some plays tonight we didn’t make the first time. And I think it shows that this team has grown.”
Freshman Andre Gordon was held to two points in the first half, but led the charge back with 18 in the second half. He came up with the big play of the game when Xenia was trying to run the clock down for a final shot, trailing by one. An errant pass wound up with Gordon, and he scored and was fouled. The three-point play gave the Jackets a 69-65 lead with 15 seconds left.
“It was kinda one of those things where he did pretty much the same things in the second half as the first, but he got the shots to fall,” said Slaughter of his freshman standout. “And we had some other guys who really stepped up for us in the second half.”
One of those was 6-foot-4 Lorenzo Taborn, who came out in the third quarter and got a stickback to start the scoring. After a Xenia bucket made it 38-29, Taborn hit a 10-footer, then Cameron Gallimore and Taborn hit back-to-back threes to make it 39-38.
Sidney finally took the lead on a bucket by Isaiah Bowser at 41-40.
The game was tight throughout the final period, with neither team holding more than a three-point lead until Gordon’s three-point play with :15 left.
Gordon finished with 10, 14 of them coming in the final period, including 4 for 6 from the line.
Taborn finished with 16 and Gallimore was his usual steady self with a dozen.
Devan Rogers hit three big free throws in the final period, in four attempts.
Xenia (65) — Naylor 2, Rocky James 24, Ray James 18, Curtis 9, Williams 2, Johnson 5, Salyers 5.
Sidney (70) — Bowser 8, McNeal 5, Gallimore 12, Taborn 16, An. Gordon 20, Al. Gordon 6, Rogers 3.
Score by quarters:
Xenia`18`35`46`65
Sidney`13`27`48`70
Three-pointers: Sidney 3 (Gallimore 2, Taborn); Xenia 7 (Rocky James 2, Ray James 2, Curtis, Johnson, Salyers).
Records: Sidney 17-7, Xenia 18-6.
Sidney’s next game: Friday, sectional finals at Vandalia, 7 p.m. vs. Centerville.
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Russia 70, Lehman 33
PIQUA — The first time Lehman and Russia met, it was in the holiday tournament at Piqua over Christmas break. The score that night was 70-36.
The rematch wasn’t much different, with the Raiders winning 70-33 with a lot more on the line — a chance to play in the Division 4 Sectional finals Friday night, again at Piqua.
The top-seeded Raiders are now 21-3 going into the championship at 7 p.m. Friday against Fort Loramie.
Lehman ends its season 4-19.
The Cavaliers shot well in the early going, hitting four of their six three-point attempts in the first quarter, including 3 for 3 from Max Schutt. His last one gave the Cavaliers an 11-9 lead with 2:51 left in the opening quarter, but the Raiders had some three-pointers of their own, and Jack Dapore’s gave them a 12-11 lead. They would not trail again.
Russia pulled ahead 19-14 after a quarter, but when Michael Bunker hit a free throw, the Cavaliers were down only 21-17 with 5:46 left in the half. From there, the Raiders went on a 12-2 run to open up a 34-19 bulge.
It was 34-21 at the half, and the Raiders then came out and scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to increase the lead to 46-21.
Dapore had 16 and Jake Gariety 14 to lead Russia. Trevor Monnin added nine and two others had eight. Gariety was 4 for 4 from three-point land, and Dapore 4 for 5.
The Raiders shot 50 percent5 from the field on 24 for 48 and 10 for 17 from three-point range, 59 percent. They were also 12 for 16 from the line and outrebounded the Cavaliers 32-18.
Bunker was the only Cavalier in double figures with 14. The Cavs were 13 for 35 for 37 percent and 5 for 12 from three-point range. Schutt was 4 for 4, however.
Russia (70) — Monnin 9, Cordonnier 2, Gariety 14, Tebbe 8, York 8, Counts 3, Poling 2, Ball 2, Cook 2, Borchers 4, Dapore 16.
Lehman (33) — Schutt 14, Monnin 2, Rodgers 4, Arnold 2, Lee 3, T. Scott 2, Kerrigan 1, Rourke 2, Smith 2, Bunker 1.
Score by quarters:
Russia`19`34`60`70
Lehman`14`21`28`33
Three-pointers: Lehman 4 (Bunker 4, Lee); Russia 10 (Gariety 4, Dapore 4, Counts, Monnin).
Records: Russia 21-3, Lehman 4-19.
Russia’s next game: Friday, sectional finals at Piqua, 7 p.m. against Fort Loramie.
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Loramie 58, Mississinawa 46
PIQUA — The Fort Loramie Redskins had a big second quarter to take control and went on to beat Mississinawa Valley 58-46 in the second sectional semifinal Tuesday night in D-4 action.
The Redskins continue their late-season improvement. The win was the sixth in their last seven games, with the only loss in overtime on the road to state-ranked Tri-Village.
After a 10-10 opening quarter, Cody Gasson’s three gave Loramie a 20-17 lead. Mississinawa answered each time until the Redskins score six of the last eight points of the quarter for a 28-22 halftime lead. The Redskins then came out with the first three points of the third quarter to make it 31-22.
Loramie’s lead was never fewer than six the rest of the way.
Tyler Siegel, Loramie’s post player, poured in 21 points for the Redskins, hitting 9 for 14 from the floor. Drew Wehrman added 11 points and was 4 for 5 from the line, Gasson finished with 10, and Evan Berning pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Redskins to a 34-31 edge on the boards.
Loramie was 18 for 44 from the field, 41 percent, to 16 for 46 for the Blackhawks, 35 percent.
Mississinawa Valley (46) — Bowman 12, Perkins 10, Nelson 14, Rinderle 7, Johns 3.
Fort Loramie (58) — Wehrman 11, Berning 7, Braun 9, Siegel 21, Gasson 10.
Score by quarters:
MV`10`22`32`46
FL`10`28`39`58
Three-pointers: FL 3 (Gasson 2, Wehrman); MV 2 (Perkins, Rinderle).
Records: FL 12-12, MV 16-8.
