The Cougars would come all the way back and eventually tie the Lumberjacks early in the fourth quarter, but Oakwood displayed some veteran savvy down the stretch — with some help from a fantastic freshman — to eventually hold off Kenton Ridge 75-68 at Xenia High School.
The Lumberjacks (17-6) advanced to a D-IV district semifinal game this Tuesday against Urbana, also at Xenia.
Kenton Ridge, which showed spunk the entire way before coming up short, ended its campaign 15-9.
If any teams in the state tournament are familiar with each other, it’s Kenton Ridge and Oakwood as this was the third consecutive year they had met in the postseason.
KR claimed the first conquest in 2024, only to see Oakwood return the favor last February courtesy of a last-second shot from Owen Hoersting, who would once again play a big role in the rubber match. To add to the familiarity factor, the clubs even played in a preseason scrimmage back in November.
Hoersting and his mates had little difficulty early on, flowing seamlessly in their half-court offense while handily attacking the Cougars’ full-court pressure defense.
By the time ninth-grader Drew Woeste scored in transition, the Lumberjacks appeared to be well on their way to advancement, clutching a commanding 28-14 cushion with three minutes remaining before intermission.
But KR’s Mason Amato and Will Rastatter nailed clutch treys to spark a 13-8 surge that brought the Cougars, riding a wave of momentum, back to within 36-27 at the break.
“We kept hitting shots, and (the Cougars) would come right back and hit theirs,” said Oakwood senior center Tristan Provancher. “We thought we were doing something, and then (the Cougars) could come back and hit a three. So we just had to keep grinding and keep working. We just couldn’t quite put them away.”
Oakwood’s stress level became even more intense in the second half as Kenton Ridge’s full-court pressure defense began to force a sea of Lumberjacks’ turnovers. But Oakwood seemed to have an answer for every KR run — until the Cougars evened the score at 58-58 courtesy of an old-fashioned three-point play from Xavier White off a steal in the backcourt.
“I felt like we had a lighter press in the first half,” said Kenton Ridge senior Caleb Hall. “We were a lot more physical with the press in the second half, and we were able to get back in the game.”
With its season on the line, Oakwood rediscovered its half-court offense excellence down the stretch, countering the Cougars’ spurt with an 8-0 run that featured a pair of layups off set plays, along with a clutch three from Woeste.
Within a two-minute stretch, the Lumberjacks had re-established control, and Kenton Ridge would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
“(Coach Paul Stone) put some good sets in for us, and we were able to get some easy layups,” Hoersting said. “He slowed us down and got us organized in the halfcourt.”
Said Provancher: “Coach Stone reminded us that this might be the last time for us to do something, and we didn’t want to go out on a bad note.”
Provancher was a factor the entire way in the paint and led the Lumberjacks with 17 points. Woeste was just one notch behind with 16 markers.
While Oakwood’s veterans have once again come up large this season, the addition of Woeste on the wing has added another element to the Jacks’ game — a player who can dribble, pass, run through screens and bury shots.
“We hang out with (Woeste) outside of school and invite him to dinner and things like that — trying to make him feel like a part of the team,’’ Provancher said. “We know that, if he’s open, we get him the ball. He’s a great shooter. So really, we have just tried to treat him like any other senior player.”
Hall, in his final career game, paced the Cougars with 20 points. Hall is one of only three seniors on the KR roster, so who knows? Kenton Ridge and Oakwood could very well meet in the playoffs again next year.
“The guys on this team — I’ve grown up with them my whole life,’’ Hall said. “We’ve been battling together since we were in third-fourth grade. We almost got it done today — just came up a little short. Both us and (Oakwood) have gotten better and better each year. They were just a little better today."
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