“How do you describe it? I’m kind of speechless right now,” said CCS senior guard Brady Roberts, who scored six of his seven points in the fourth quarter and hit 4 of 4 free throws in the last three minutes. “We’re one of eight teams left in the entire state.
“Nobody expected us to do this. It’s just that we invest in each other, we love each other, we play our game, and we’re winning. We’re loving it. If we believe, we don’t really care what other people think.”
The difference in the game was turnovers. Tri-Village (19-8) had 22 of them, while the Cougars (22-5) totaled just seven.
The Patriots were clearly flustered by Cincinnati Christian’s pressure down the stretch, and the winners finished the contest with six straight points.
“In the second half, we said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to speed them up. If we’re going to lose, we’re going to lose playing our style of ball,’ ” said CCS coach Carl Woods, whose team trailed 21-17 at the break. “We had to go after them, and it got them rattled.”
Christian Keese scored 17 points and Dylan Woods added 10 for the Cougars, who will return to Trent Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday to face Lima Perry (23-3) for the regional title.
“We just want to keep it going,” Carl Woods said. “The feeling is great. It’s very undescribable to get to this level. We put goals in place for the year, and the guys are continuing to achieve those goals.”
Gavin Richards (13), Jared Buckley (10) and Trace Couch (nine) were the top scorers for Tri-Village. Couch and Buckley collected six boards apiece.
“The first half was methodical, the way we wanted to play,” Patriots coach Josh Sagester said. “The second half, they began to trap the basketball and made our players have to make plays, and unfortunately they couldn’t make plays. If you can’t dribble and pass in a regional semifinal, you don’t deserve to win.
“They started running around doubling and tripling. We’ve worked on that in practice, and I know they’ve done that in the past. To their credit, it was a good adjustment, and we didn’t respond very well.”
Cincinnati Christian nearly got doubled on the boards as Keese pulled down a team-high four rebounds.
Carl Woods felt his team’s offensive execution and board work were lacking in the first two periods. Those subjects were covered in the halftime discussion.
“They flat-out outrebounded us, and that was one of the things at halftime I challenged the guys on,” Woods said. “We missed some shots, but we also did not get key rebounds that were momentum killers.”
The Cougars only led once (16-14) in the opening half.
“We kind of played their game in the first half,” Roberts said. “In the second half, we were like, ‘No more. We’re taking this into our own hands.’ I don’t think they see a whole lot of pressure like that in the conference they play in. When we play our game, we’re tough to beat.”
Keese said Cincinnati Christian’s second-half effort was more than just Xs and Os.
“It’s just about who wants it more,” the senior forward said. “You’ve got to face adversity. Basketball is a game of runs, and you’ve got to make it at the right time.”
Tri-Village was 7 of 9 from the foul line. CCS was 14 of 19 overall and 9 of 10 in the final stanza.
Roberts, who has signed with Taylor University to play golf, said his focus on the links helps him on the hardwood. Especially at the charity stripe.
“Once you make one free throw, it seems a little bit more natural and not as stressful,” Roberts said. “You’ve just got to know you can do it and knock it down. I haven’t been shooting well from the floor lately, but I’ve still got confidence in my preparation and the stuff that we’ve done all season long, so I’m not nervous. And I want to win for my team.”
Senior guard Elijah Taylor was among the defensive standouts for the Cougars.
“Elijah is what I call a gnat,” Carl Woods said. “He’s that bugaboo that’s going to be all over you and continue to be disruptive. That pressure, it wears on you. As a point guard, you don’t want someone in your face like that all game long.”
Tuesday’s game marked the first regional appearance for Cincinnati Christian. One more win will send the Cougars to the Schottenstein Center in Columbus next Thursday to face either Portsmouth Clay or the Columbus Wellington School in the state semifinals.
“It’s something I’ve dreamed about,” Keese said. “I’ve just got to go make it happen.”
Perry defeated Fort Loramie 52-50 in Tuesday's first regional semifinal. It was an emotional victory for the Commodores, who were playing one day after assistant coach Herb Lane was killed in an automobile accident.
Cincinnati Christian 7-10-17-15—49
Tri-Village 8-13-13-8—42
CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN (22-5): Josh Oates 1 0 2, Dylan Woods 4 0 10, Elijah Taylor 0 2 2, Nick Hesselgesser 1 0 2, Sam Wells 1 0 2, Christian Keese 6 5 17, Brady Roberts 1 5 7 Daniel Nimmo 1 2 5, Cameron Rogers 1 0 2. Totals: 16-14-49
NEW MADISON TRI-VILLAGE (19-8): Dillon McCullough 2 0 4, Jonny Wilson 1 0 3, Gavin Richards 5 2 13, Trey Frech 1 0 3, Trace Couch 3 3 9, Jared Buckley 4 2 10. Totals: 16-7-42
3-pointers: C 3 (Woods 2, Nimmo), T 3 (Wilson, Frech, Richards)
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