Staff report
PIQUA — When the 2017 version of the Piqua Division 4 Sectional came to a close Saturday night, it was the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds knocking off No. 1 and No. 2 to advance on the the district finals this week.
Friday, it was fourth seed Jackson Center edging 2-seed Fairlawn. And on Saturday, third-seeded Fort Loramie upset top-seeded County champion Russia, 59-50, to advance.
The Redskins upped their record on the year to 20-5 and will play for a district championship Friday at the University of Dayton Arena against Cincinnati College Prep. It will mark the second straight year Loramie has played for a district title.
Russia, meanwhile, saw its season end at 18-6.
The Redskins bolted out of the blocks and dominated from the start, leading 18-13 after one quarter and stretching it out to 31-18 at the half. They opened an 18-point lead in the third quarter and then held on for their first win over Russia this season in three tries.
Loramie set the tone early. The Redskins outscored Russia 24-2 in the paint in the opening half and 13-0 off turnovers.
“They just came out and took it to us,” Cordonnier said about the Redskins inside dominance, led by 6-foot-7 Tyler Siegel. “Give them credit. And we really struggled to score in the first half.”
That continued into the third quarter and when Siegel hit two free throws at the 6:12 mark of the third quarter, the Redskins led 37-19.
But Russia didn’t go away, and when Dylan Cordonnier converted a three-point play with 1:37 to go, the Raiders trailed just 55-49. But that’s as close as they would get.
Siegel had 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots for the Redskins, and Dillon Braun added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Cordonnier had 12 points and four assists for Russia, while Monnier and Jack Dapore scored nine points and Tebbe grabbed six rebounds.
Russia finished 14 of 39 from the floor for 36 percent, including seven of 21 from 3-point range for 33 percent. The Raiders made just 15 of 28 free throws for 54 percent.
Fort Loramie made 19 of 40 shots from the floor for 48 percent,— including one of seven from behind the arc for 14 percent.
The Redskins converted 20 of 27 free throws for 74 percent, and dominated the boards 34-18
Fort Loramie (59) — Berning 7, Braun 13, Gasson 3, A. Siegel 9, T. siegel 17, Brandfewie 7, Rosengarten 3.
Russia (50) — Cordonnier 12, Sherman 6, Tebbe 2, Dapore 9, Kearns 6, Monnier 9, Poling 1, Cohee 5.
Score by quarters:
Loramie` 18 ` 31 ` 43 ` 59
Russia` 13 ` 18 ` 30 ` 50
Three-pointers: Fort Loramie 1 (Rosengarten); Russia 7 (Monnier 3, Cordonnier, Sherman, Dapore,Cohee.
Records: Fort Loramie 20-5, Russia 18-6.
Next game: Friday, district championship at UD Arena vs. Cincinnati College Prep, time to be announced).
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Bethel 101, Anna 81
VANDALIA — Anna did a lot of things right Saturday night in its quest for a Division 3 Sectional championship in action at Vandalia Butler High School.
But nothing the Rockets did was enough to overcome the hot shooting of the Bethel Bees and a spectacular effort by Bethel junior guard Caleb South in a 101-81 loss.
The setback ended Anna’s season at 15-10, while Bethel moves on to district final play this week at 21-3.
Behind South, the Bees took command from the start, leading 26-13 after one quarter.
Anna made some adjustments and became much more aggressive on offense, but could do little to slow down the Bees at the other end of the floor.
South got a steal and a layup to start the second quarter to make it a 15-point bulge, but Anna came back with the next four. But South then hit a three, then converted off an Anna turnover and the lead was up to 36-19.
“I told the kids after the first quarter that we were giving up a lot of uncontested shots, and a lot of second and third opportunities,” said Anna coach Nate Barhorst. “I thought we made the adjustments in the second quarter, and got a real defensive spark from Riley Huelskamp. But there’s not a lot you can do when a team shoots that well.”
The Rockets outscored the Bees in the second quarter thanks mainly to taking the ball to the hoop. Bethel’s perimeter defense was good, but the Rockets, led by 6-foot-1 junior Austin Fogt, found the weakness and starting driving to the basket, resulting in numerous layup opportunities.
But the Bees’ offense was just too much to overcome.
Nathan Frilling drained five three-pointers for the Rockets and finished with 23 points, and Fogt did his damage inside and ended up with 19. Griffin Doseck added 15.
South, who came into the game averaging 28, finished with 46 for the Bees. Teammate Ryan Rose hit seven of the Bees’ 14 three-pointers and finished with 25 points.
Anna (81) — Frilling 23, Bensman 4, Bixler 5, Huelskamp 9, Doseck 15, Cathcart 4, Fogt 19, Hoehne 2.
Bethel (101) — Terry 10, South 46, James 2, Evans 6, Nickell 4, Rose 25, Anderson 2, Hagen 6.
Score by quarters:
Anna` 13 ` 35 ` 58 ` 81
Bethel` 26 ` 47 ` 78 ` 101
Three-pointers: Anna 7 (Frilling 5, Huelskamp, Fogt); Bethel 14 (Rose 7, South 4, Evans 2, Haben).
Records: Anna 15-10, Bethel 21-3.
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Versailles 54, Dayton Chr. 39
CLAYTON — After losing to Miami East in last year’s sectional championship game, Versailles was determined not to let it happen again this year, and came through with a 54-39 victory over Dayton Christian Saturday in D-3 action at Northmont.
Versailles will play North College Hill for a district title at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at U.D. Arena.
Dayton Christian provided a tough test for Versailles, but after a close first half the Tigers pulled away for a 15-point victory.
Early on Dayton Christian matched Versailles basket for basket and then finished the opening quarter on a 5-0 run to lead 13-8. Versailles trailed by as many as seven in the second quarter and was down 17-11 midway through the period when the Tigers got an emotional boost from a Justin Ahrens dunk. The junior then drained a pair of 3-pointers and his twin brother AJ Ahrens scored on a buzzer-beating putback to give the Tigers a 21-19 lead entering halftime.
In the second half Versailles was in complete control. Keaton McEldowney drilled a 3-pointer and Justin Ahrens made a quick basket to begin the third quarter, and Versailles led by two possessions or more the rest of the night. By the end of the third quarter Versailles was up by double digits, 35-24.
Justin Ahrens led Versailles with a game-high 24 points. AJ Ahrens and McEldowney each added eight points.
