Lowe lofted a pass toward the rim after catching Bowling’s eye, and the Badin senior slammed home a thunderous alley-oop dunk that served as the exclamation point on the Rams’ 60–28 victory over Turpin in a Division III district semifinal on Wednesday night at Princeton.
That was just one of many highlights capped by a dominant defensive performance for Badin, which forced turnovers, controlled the glass and extended its winning streak to 17 games.
“It was a good night,” Bowling said. “We were ready to play tonight. We knew it was going to be a big game. We were talking about statistically it’s usually hard for teams to win in the second round, especially being No. 1. So it felt good to come out and get that early.”
Eli Stroud led Badin with 16 points, while Cody Knapp added 13 and Lowe finished with 12. Bowling chipped in eight points, punctuated by the alley-oop connection from Lowe in the second half.
Turpin kept the game within reach early. The Spartans trailed just 14–10 after the opening quarter.
But the game quickly swung in Badin’s favor.
The Rams used a 22–5 run in the second quarter to seize control, capitalizing on Turpin turnovers and converting them into easy baskets. Badin carried a 36–15 lead into halftime and continued to widen the margin in the second half.
“We had, on every one of our scouts — there’s one right there — keys of victory,” Badin coach Ben Cosgrove said. “One of our defensive things is getting three kills a game. Three times where we get three stops in a row. We had nine of those tonight. Just relentless.”
Badin’s defense dictated the entire game. The Rams scored 32 points off 20 Turpin turnovers and did not allow the Spartans a single offensive rebound.
“Yeah, one and done, or turnover,” Cosgrove said. “That’s what it says on the board — one and done.”
Bowling said the alley-oop moment came from the chemistry the Rams have developed throughout the season.
“At first it’s kind of just as we built up that chemistry,” Bowling said. “We kind of made eye contact on the play, and that kind of just means throw it up. So I knew it was going up. We’d kind of been talking about it all game. It’s just make eye contact, we talk about it at practice, and we just threw it up and that was perfect.”
Turpin coach Connor Roberts said the Spartans (9-15) managed the early stages of the game but struggled once the Rams’ defensive pressure began to pile up turnovers.
“We were okay in the first quarter,” Roberts said. “It was like, settle down, handle the ball. We’re in a tough spot, too. Our point guard tore his ACL — that’s part of the reason we’re in this sectional to begin with. Ryan Doster was incredible for us all year. Then if you look at it, our sixth man, the next man up, he was out today with a rolled ankle. Our bench isn’t deep.
“But once it got to that second quarter, once you get those live-ball turnovers on them and when you give up that 10-2 run, I think mentally for us we visually saw the scoreboard, knowing what Badin has on the other end. It was hard to come back from.”
Badin (22-2) advanced to face Tecumseh in a district final game at 1 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena.
Bowling said the opportunity to play in Dayton adds another layer of excitement.
“I’m definitely super excited,” Bowling said. “I know the whole team’s excited. I wasn’t here the last two, so it’s my first time ever playing at UD. It’s definitely something big for sure. Hopefully we can win at UD, but we’re just going to keep taking it day by day.”
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