The Silver Knights (14-0) are No. 1 in the Associated Press Division III state poll, while Cincinnati Christian (12-3) received votes in Division IV. Both lead their respective divisions of the Miami Valley Conference.
“We had never beaten Summit in my four years, so we wanted to come out and show them we aren’t just a good ballclub in D-IV, but we can also play with D-III or whoever,” CCS coach Carl Woods said. “We felt confident in our game plan, and we came out focused, but something happened at halftime. They didn’t listen or take heed to what we were communicating and they came out flat.
“We told them the first three or four minutes of that quarter would be the key, and we just came out and didn’t focus, didn’t execute.We made a couple lackadaisical passes that led to traps and some transition points for them, and they executed and got a lead. You can’t play catch-up against a ballclub like that.”
The Cougars took their first lead at 4-2 and didn’t trail until the second quarter, which saw the lead change hands five times.
Summit went to the locker room with a 28-27 advantage, then outscored Cincinnati Christian 14-2 in the third period, allowing a lone basket by Dylan Woods a little more than a minute into the period.
“Offensively in the first half, we were just lucky to have made one more shot than them honestly,” Silver Knights coach Pat Cosgrove said. “We shot the ball so quick, we were on defense the entire first half. They were getting a lot of open looks, and they are a really good shooting team. They executed stuff in the half court, and if you let them cut and pass, they are going to score on you.
“The defense we played the third quarter is the way we try to play it, but you can’t play it if you’re really tired from playing defense the whole time. The third quarter we had a couple good possessions on the offensive end, we had our legs on the defensive end, and we pressured a little more. But that’s the way we’re supposed to play.”
After an eight-minute scoring drought that included six of the team’s 12 turnovers, the Cougars got back to business, taking the first two buckets of the fourth quarter and eventually drawing within eight, at 44-36, on a Brady Roberts 3-pointer with 5:40 left.
However, that was as close as they could get. Dylan Woods led CCS with 12 points, four assists and two steals, while Roberts added 11 points. Christian Keese had six points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Sam Martin scored a game-high 17 points for Summit.
“We fought and played with them for three quarters, but that third quarter was our Achilles heel,” Carl Woods said. “You aren’t going to beat a top-ranked team in the state with them outscoring you by (12) points in one quarter. We started off great. We just have to finish the job. It’s something we can build upon, but we will look at film and learn some lessons and see what we can improve on, and we’ll go from there.”
The Cougars will travel to Clark Montessori on Friday, while the Silver Knights host New Miami.
Summit Country Day 16-12-14-14—56
Cincinnati Christian 16-11-2-12—41
SUMMIT COUNTRY DAY (14-0): Xavier Johnson 3 0 6, Allen Waltz 1 0 2, Akex Dahling 2 2 8, Tyrice Walker 4 3 11, Andrew Bissmeyer 1 0 2, Zaim Davis 3 2 8, Henry Schertzinger 1 0 2, Sam Martin 7 0 17. Totals: 22-7-56
CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN (12-3): Riley Reutener 2 0 4, Josh Oates 1 0 2, Dylan Woods 5 0 12, Elijah Taylor 0 2 2, Nick Hesselgesser 2 0 4, Christian Keese 3 0 6, Brady Roberts 4 0 11. Totals: 17-2-41
3-pointers: S 5 (Martin 3, Dahling 2), C 5 (Roberts 3, Woods 2)
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