Prep basketball: Fairfield isn’t ducking top seed

Leifheit Brandon Murphy of Fairfield scores in front of Marcus Oliver of Hamilton during a game Friday. contributed photo by Robert Leifheit

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer 11:43 PM Sunday, February 12, 2012

CINCINNATI — The Fairfield Indians received the highest seed among local teams at the Division I boys basketball sectional draw Sunday afternoon, and coach Tim Austing wasted little time jumping in the same bracket with the highest seed of all, La Salle.

“It was as simple as picking from a bunch of evils, because they’re all good,” Austing said. “We didn’t want to play anybody in the (Greater Miami Conference), so that kind of scratched off Middletown and Mason and left us with the choice of Moeller or La Salle.”

Fairfield (15-4), the No. 8 seed, will open sectional play Feb. 25 at 3:30 p.m. against No. 29 Woodward (6-13) at Lakota West. If the seeds hold in that bracket, the Indians would play No. 1 La Salle (18-1), the defending state champion, for the sectional championship March 3 at Xavier University’s Cintas Center.

The Lancers received 27 of 32 first-place votes to finish well ahead of Moeller (16-2) for the top seed. Middletown (14-5) was third, followed by Mason (16-3) and Walnut Hills (17-2).

Lakota West (13-6) earned the No. 9 seed, and coach Sean Van Winkle’s thought process was similar to Austing’s.

“We wanted to stay away from the other GMC schools,” Van Winkle said. “I think all the GMC coaches respected each other and tried to stay away from each other. In the three years I’ve been a D1 coach, this is the toughest sectional I’ve seen. It’s really impressive.”

West will play No. 28 Loveland (6-12) at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 at Hamilton. If the seeds hold, the Firebirds would face Moeller in the sectional championship March 4 at the University of Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena.

Matt Wilhelm’s Ross team earned a lot of respect despite being in Division I for the first time. The Rams (13-5) are the No. 13 seed and will face No. 16 Oak Hills (7-11) at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Lakota West.

“I’m real happy with that seed,” Wilhelm said. “I think the kids worked hard for that spot, and I think they deserve it. Now we need to play well in the tournament to prove we deserve it.”

If Ross can beat Oak Hills, No. 10 Winton Woods (15-3), which swept the Rams in the regular season, would be next.

In other opening-round matches, No. 19 Lakota East (7-12) will open against No. 12 Western Hills (12-6) at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Hamilton; No. 27 Hamilton (4-15) will play No. 2 Moeller at 5 p.m. on Feb. 25 at Lakota West; and No. 31 Talawanda (7-11) will face No. 3 Middletown at 8 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Lakota West.

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