VANDALIA — Anna pulled out to a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter and pulled away in the fourth to a 74-48 victory over New Lebanon Dixie in a Division III sectional final on Thursday at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activity Center.
The Rockets took a 20-10 lead by the end of the first but the Greyhounds used a 21-12 scoring advantage in the second to pull within 32-31 at halftime.
Anna used an 11-8 scoring edge in the third to take a 43-39 lead, then pulled away with a 31-9 scoring edge in the fourth.
Riley Huelskamp led the Rockets with 25 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Bart Bixler scored 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Kamren Steward added 14 points.
Anna (20-4), which was the sectional’s No. 1 seed, advances to face No. 19 Benjamin Logan in a district semifinal on Saturday in Vandalia.
Jackson Center 24, Russia 12
The Tigers won a low-scoring Div. IV sectional final on Thursday at Piqua’s Garbry Gymnasium.
Jackson Center led 6-2 at the end of the first quarter, in which Russia held the ball for about the last half. The Raiders held the ball for almost all of the second and scored a late basket to cut the halftime gap to 6-4.
The Tigers came out of the zone defense in the second half and pulled away. They outscored the Raiders 6-2 in the third quarter and 12-4 in the fourth.
Aidan Reichert led Jackson Center with 11 points while Camdyn Reese scored seven.
Mason Dapore led Russia with four points.
The Raiders, which were the sectional’s No. 9 seed, finish 7-16 overall. The squad will lose seven seniors, including Dapore, who was an all-Shelby County Athletic League selection. The team will also lose Dawson Luthman, Logan Gray, Ajay Seger, Alex Seger, Caleb Monnin and Adam Dapore.
Jackson Center (19-5) advances to face No. 5 Troy Christian in a district semifinal on Saturday in Piqua.
• Girls basketball
Minster 54, Marion Local 44
Minster avenged a close regular-season Midwest Athletic Conference loss with a win in a D-IV district semifinal on Thursday in Wapakoneta.
The Wildcats took a 13-5 lead by the end of the first quarter but the Flyers came back and took a 25-23 lead by halftime. Minster used a 13-9 scoring edge in the third to take a 36-34 lead and then finished with an 18-10 advantage in the fourth.
Ivy Wolf led Minster with 20 points while Janae Hoying scored 18.
Minster (19-5) advances to face New Knoxville in a district final on Saturday in Wapakoneta. The Wildcats beat the Rangers (18-7) 33-25 in a MAC game on Feb. 6.
