Poor shooting dooms Rams

Rams rally within 3 points twice, but fall to unbeaten Madison in  D-III sectional final.

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By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer 1:47 AM Saturday, March 6, 2010

DAYTON — Nick Argentati saw plenty of missed shots Friday night, March 5, but that was nothing new.

His Badin High School boys basketball team has been a peaks-and-valleys crew all year shooting the ball, and that inconsistency ended its season in the Division III sectional finals.

The Rams rallied from a 16-point deficit to get within three twice against unbeaten Madison, but they shot just 32.7 percent from the field and fell 52-47 at the University of Dayton Arena.

“You saw what can happen in the second half when we started making some shots, but we’ve been like this all year — that’s why we’re a streaky team,” Argentati said. “We missed a lot of close shots, especially early in the game. The bottom line is putting the ball in the basket.”

Badin converted 18-of-55 field goals and was 4-of-4 at the foul line, while the Mohawks shot 54.3 percent from the floor and sank 12-of-21 free throws.

Scott Purcell had 14 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals in his final game for the Rams, who finished 12-11.

“We had higher expectations,” Purcell said. “It’s a terrible feeling because we could’ve won the game. But give credit to Madison. They played well.”

Badin trailed 14-2 in the first six-plus minutes and was down 31-15 early in the third stanza before rallying.

The top-seeded Mohawks (23-0) hindered their own cause by committing 22 turnovers, twice as many as the Rams, and making only 4-of-13 foul shots in the fourth quarter.

“I was thinking, ‘I’ve seen this movie before in the sectional,’ ” said Madison coach Jeff Smith, whose squad captured its first sectional title since the 1972-73 campaign. “We tried to give it away, but we hung in there.”

It was 46-42 in the final minute when the Mohawks turned consecutive Badin turnovers into a pair of Mark Maloney layups. The Rams could get no closer than four from there.

Josh Foster, a junior point guard, paced Madison with 19 points, six assists, three steals and three rebounds. The Mohawks will meet either Shroder Paideia or Madeira in a district title game on Thursday at UD Arena.

“I thought (6-foot-9 Justin) Brunswick dictated their defense, and Foster just kept driving the lane,” Argentati said. “They were sitting in their zone and laying off everybody but Scott. They were just daring everybody else to shoot.”

David Morner totaled nine points for Badin — he hit a trio of treys and Brian Wells added two in the second half. Colton Mehlman marked 12 points and eight rebounds for the Rams.

Matt Combs also earned Argentati’s praise for his hard-nosed play.

“I knew we were going to battle and come back,” Purcell said. “We just needed to make a few more plays when it got close.”

Argentati said it was a successful year and credited his seniors: Purcell, Morner, Combs, Ryan Snodgrass and David Moore.

“Anytime you can have a winning record against the schedule we play, that’s pretty good,” Argentati said. “But we feel like we can do better. We’ve got a lot coming back next year.”

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