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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wilmington 57, Shawnee 43
Live updates from the Division II boys basketball district tournament game between Shawnee and Wilmington.
10:30 p.m.: Wilmington 57, Shawnee 43. Shawnee’s season is over with a 17-6 record.
Wilmington (21-2) will play Thurgood Marshall in the regional tournament.
10:27 p.m.: 57-40 Wilmington. 1:37 left.
10:22 p.m.: Shawnee is hanging with the Hurricane but can’t gain ground. It’s 51-37 with 3:32 left.
10:15 p.m.: Shawnee’s down 40-27 after three quarters. The Braves are having trouble stopping Jordan Berlin. He’s got seven points this quarter.
10:10 p.m.: Shawnee’s cut the lead to 33-23. Justin Williams has five points in the quarter.
9:50 p.m.: Shawnee’s down 22-14 after one half.
The Braves overcame some first-quarter jitters to make the score halfway close. But they’ll have a tough road in the second half if they wan to win this game.
Shawnee is shooting 5 of 25 (20 percent) in the first half. Wilmington has 24 rebounds to Shawnee’s 10. Wilmington’s turned it over 12 times to Shawnee’s four.
Justin Williams has six points for the Braves. Steven Sarven and P.J. Howell have four each. Wilmington’s Jordan Berlin has a game-high nine points.
9:38 p.m.: Shawnee’s down 13-2 after one quarter.
9:20 p.m.: I’m sitting at center court at UD Arena for the Shawnee and Wilmington Division II boys basketball district game. I’ll be providing live updates from the game.
We just tipped off. My 25 minutes prediction was a bit off.
8:45 p.m.: Thurgood Marshall just beat Roger Bacon 67-59. The Shawnee game should start in about 25 minutes after the award ceremony.
The winner of the Shawnee/Wilmington game will play Thurgood Marshall next week in the regional tournament.
Graham won’t see any of these teams until the regional final, should the Falcons get that far.
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Graham 50, Indian Hill 46
Here’s the live update from the Graham vs. Indian Hill boys basketball game district tournament game at UD Arena.
6:50 p.m.: Graham 50, Indian Hill 46. Ethan Ward made 1 of 2 free throws with 2 seconds left in the game to give the Falcons just enough edge to win the game. The No. 1 Division II team in the state moves on to the regional tournament next week.
6:46 p.m.: Indian Hill’s Ryan Murphy just hit a 30-footer. 48-44 Graham with 22 seconds left. Graham has made 8 of 9 free throws in the last minute of the game.
6:45 p.m.: 43 seconds left. Graham’s up 46-41. If the Falcons keep hitting their free throws, they’re going to win.
6:40 p.m.: Graham up 44-41, 1:18 left. Another timeout. Graham has the ball. Indian Hill’s Matt Griggs just hit a 10-footer.
6:38 p.m.: Graham still up 42-39, 1:31 left. And Graham has the ball. They’re playing the waiting game, passing the ball around and looking for fouls.
6:35 p.m.: We’ve got 1:52 left and Graham’s up 42-39. The Falcons just bled two minutes off the clock, punctuated with a layup by Ethan Ward.
6:30 p.m.: Graham’s up 40-39. Ben Rosenberger just picked up his fourth foul. Indian Hill is in the bonus.
6:20 p.m.: After three quarters Indian Hill is up 36-31. The Braves are making some crazy shots and hit three 3-pointers this quarter.
6:15 p.m.: Graham’s opened up a 31-26 lead. Ben Rosenberger just stuck a 3-pointer from the right wing, his second of the game.
6:05 p.m.: Halftime stats …
Graham has made 5 of 14 from the field (35.7 percent). Indian Hill has made 9 of 19 (47.4 percent). The Braves were on fire early, making 5 of their first 6 shots.
Ethan Ward has five rebounds (three points).
Graham has made 13 of 14 free throws (92.9 percent) but 1 of 6 3-pointers (16.7 percent).
6 p.m.: Halftime, Graham’s up 24-23. Josh Schuler has 10 points, six on free throws.
The Falcons played better in the second half and started crashing the boards (six rebounds to three). Schuler’s getting no breathing room. The Braves are running the floor as much as possible.
The Falcons are also in some foul trouble. Ryan Zook has three and Ben Rosenberger two.
5:50 p.m.: Graham’s down 20-16. Ryan Zook just picked up his third foul.
5:45 p.m.: Graham’s down 16-14. The Falcons had tied the game with the chance to go up, but turned the ball over.
5:40 p.m.: Indian Hill’s up 12-10 after one quarter.
The Braves made 6 of 11 from the field. Josh Schuler has four points for the Falcons.
5:32 p.m.: Indian Hill 10-6 after five minutes of play.
5:30 p.m.: Graham is down 4-0 two minutes into the game. The Falcons have missed their first four shots.
5:05 p.m.: I’m on the 50-yard line at the Graham High School district game against Indian Hill at UD Arena. But this isn’t football, it’s boys basketball. The sideline clock tells me it’s 20 minutes till tip-off.
The Indian Hill kids are already out warming up. Graham coach Brook Cupps was just giving a radio interview. People are pouring into the seats.
I’ll be providing live updates throughout the game as the game progresses.
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Daily Tournament Fix — March 11
Here’s your daily tournament fix for Wednesday, March 11:
Tonight’s games: D-II district finals — Graham vs. Indian Hill, 5:30 p.m., and Shawnee vs. Wilmington, 9 p.m., at UD Arena.
Short Takes: Graham (23-0) is the No. 1 ranked team in D-II. Indian Hill (21-2) is ranked No. 5. … Graham’s Josh Schuler averages 24.1 PPG, Ethan Ward 13.2 and Austin Jones 12.4. … Indian Hill loves to run-and-gun. They’ll full-court press and chuck shots from deep with hopes of getting rebounds. They average 76.9 ppg and shared the Cincinnati Hills League title with Madeira. … Shawnee (17-5) has won five of its last six games. Shawnee’s top scorers are Justin Williams (16.1) and P.J. Howell (12.2). … Wilmington is 20-2 this season. Wilmington finished No. 4 in the final state poll. The Hurricane shared the Fort Ancient Valley Conference Cardinal Division title with Walnut Hills. The team’s lone losses are to Walnut Hills and Lakota West. They beat GWOC Central Division champ Centerville 54-49 on Feb. 3.
District previews: Graham faces a tough task against Indian Hill, while Shawnee must rely on its defense against Wilmington.
No. 1 awaits SE: The Southeastern girls face a tough task against D-IV top-ranked Convoy Crestview in the regional semifinals on Thursday.
“They’re a veteran group that knows how to win,” Lightle said. “They play really good defense with what we’ve seen on tape and in scouting reports. They’re physical.”
“It always goes back to the same things: take care of the ball, handle the pressure, rebound, limit them to one shot and value every possession,” Lightle continued. “The farther you get the more important those possessions become.”
He’s also happy his team could return to regionals for the first time since 2006.
“It feels good to be playing in March,” Lightle said. “It makes every you’ve worked hard for worthwhile.”
The Trojans play Convoy Crestview at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 12 at the Vandalia Butler Student Activity Center. The winner will play the winner of the first game, Cincinnati Seven Hills vs. Fort Loramie, in the regional final at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Live blogs: We’ll be live-blogging both of tonight’s games from UD Arena.
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Live updates from Division II district tournamet
The Division II boys basketball district tournament begins at UD Arena today, March 11, with Graham and Indian Hill starting at 5:30 p.m.
I’ll be writing in-game updates from my front-row seat for the Graham game, and then again when Shawnee plays Wilmington at 9 p.m.
Graham (23-0) is the No. 1 team in the state and last year’s defending district and regional champ.
Shawnee (17-5) is back in the district tournament for the first time since 2003.
In between, Thurgood Marshall plays Roger Bacon. I’ll have a front-row seat for all three games.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Boys Basketball, Graham High School, Shawnee High School
On this date in area sports history …
Ten years ago on this date, March 11, 1999, the Graham boys basketball team lost by two points in the district championship. Complete story on the jump.
Published March 12, 1999
GRAHAM FALLS SHORT IN FRANTIC LAST MINUTE.
Byline: By Matt Thompson, News-Sun Sports Writer
DAYTON — For those who were parking the car and missed the first, oh, 31 minutes or so, there was still plenty to see in the final minute of Graham’s Division II district final Thursday night against Cincinnati McNicholas.
Sadly for the Falcons, however, a basket wasn’t one of them, as the Rockets managed just enough defense to hold onto a 45-43 decision at University of Dayton Arena, an NBA-distance three-point attempt by Graham’s Josh Jordan falling short as time expired.
“What a chain of events that was,” said McNicolas Coach Jerry Doerger, who looked more like an assassination attempt survivor than a victorious basketball coach. “I’m a believer that you’ve got to be lucky occasionally, to get a game you didn’t deserve to win … I’m not saying we didn’t deserve to win, but they outplayed us in a lot of ways.”
Still, that last minute — 42 seconds, really — left most in the crowd shaking their heads … or just plain shaken.
“A lot of different things were happening,” understated Graham Coach Dave Zeller.
A sampling:
The teams came into the final minute with the final score already set, the winning points coming at the 2:31 mark courtesy a Brad Cupito layup … a basket he converted off a bad Graham pass he intercepted.
Twice, potential go-ahead three-pointers by Falcon senior Derek VanHoose rattled inside the rim and bounced out. The last one, especially, looked good.
“I thought that one would’ve gone,” said Zeller.
With just over 30 seconds left, Cupito went to the line to shoot the front half of a one-and-one, and banged the ball off the front of the rim. Both Jordan and teammate Ryan Shamblin battled for the rebound, only to see it go out of bounds, right back to the Rockets.
- With 14.6 seconds on the clock and Graham scrambling to foul, McNicholas was called for a five-second violation, handing the ball back to the Falcons. After one failed inbounds attempt, Graham got it in to Shamblin, who was promptly called for an over-and-back violation.
“That was crucial,” said Zeller, who said he couldn’t tell if it was a good call or not. “That’s a crucial play.”
- With eight seconds left, Cupito missed yet another free-throw attempt, and the crazy rebound eventually fell into Shamblin’s hands, who bobbled it, fought off a Rocket defender, and somehow managed to get the ball upcourt to Jordan, who launched his off-balance three from the top of the key as time expired.
“At one point, I’d think we’d have it made,” Doerger said. “Then they’d get the ball again. Then I’d think we had it made again, and they’d get the ball back.
“It was just, hectic.”
As it was, Graham provided a much stiffer test than the 19-5 Rockets had expected. Averaging roughly 85 points a game so far in the tournament, McNicholas found one of its leading scorers, Ryan Ogletree, held to one basket and its 6-foot-6 center, Ryan Caldwell, held to 11 points of 4-of-16 shooting.
“They were a lot quicker team than my scouts told me,” said Doerger. “A lot better, really.
“Our press gave ‘em a little trouble, but not really the trouble we’ve given other teams.”
Graham, which played just five guys the entire game, did the most damage on first-half drive-and-dishes to Ryan Shamblin, who slipped in for easy layups and a game-high 18 points.
No other Falcon finished in double-figures, although Jordan, VanHoose and Brett Spriggs had solid games, particularly when solving — and penetrating — McNicholas’ full-court press.
Zach Schmidt, who was a perfect 5 for 5 on the night — including a 4-for-4 showing from three-point range — led the Rockets with 14 points.
Graham finishes the season 12-11.
CIN. McNICHOLAS (45) — Schmidt 5 0-0 14, Moore 2 0-0 4, Caldwell 4 2-4 11, Ogletree 1 0-0 2, Cupito 4 0-2 9, Brinck 1 0-1 2, Fullarton 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 2-7 45.
GRAHAM (43) — VanHoose 2 1-1 6, Jordan 2 2-2 7, Shamblin 9 0-1 18, Roberts 2 0-0 6, Spriggs 2 2-2 6. Totals: 17 5-6 43.
Cin. McNicholas18 23 38 45
Graham16 29 36 43
Three-point goals: Cincinnati McNicholas 7 (Schmidt 4, Caldwell, Cupito, Fullarton), Graham 4 (Roberts 2, VanHoose, Jordan)
Records: Cincinnati McNicholas 19-5, Graham 12-11
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