“The kids have stuck with it and worked through the tough days,” Thompson said after the Rams whipped North College Hill 53-31 at Western Brown. “This is what we kept talking about. It’s coming Saturday.”
Eighth-seeded Badin (10-14) will return to Brown County at 6 p.m. on Saturday to face Greater Catholic League Coed rival Purcell Marian for a sectional title.
The Cavaliers (16-8) defeated the Rams twice during the regular season, 68-61 and 60-55. Third-seeded Purcell bashed Blanchester 81-41 on Thursday.
“We want to beat them in the most important one,” Badin junior forward Mitchell Raley said. “We definitely feel like we can win. We’ll be ready.”
Cavaliers coach Scott Kerr said he’s been expecting this matchup since the tournament draw.
“The first two games against Badin could’ve gone either way, but that’s a different season in my book,” Kerr said. “It’s the tournament, and we’re just trying to win one more game. The other games are irrelevant.
“There’s two keys against Badin. No. 1 is containing (Zach) Larkin, really making him work for his shots. No. 2 is making those ballhandlers really work to bring the ball up the floor and letting our pressure really take its effect.”
Purcell has won five of its last six games. The Cavaliers’ tournament wins over Felicity-Franklin and Blanchester came by a combined score of 169-60.
“I think we’re doing some good things, but obviously, the two teams that we’ve played so far are not Badin,” Kerr said. “Badin’s going to challenge us in a lot of different ways.
“There’s a reason we knock heads 10 times a year in the GCL, in packed environments against really, really good teams and coaches. You hope it prepares you for the tournament.”
The Rams conquered Purcell to win a sectional crown last season. Badin went 0-10 in GCL Coed play this year, but Thompson likes the look in his players’ eyes right now.
“The two teams that jumped on us — Williamsburg and NCH — are done, and we’re moving on,” he said. “Now we’re looking to win our first GCL game of the year. We’ll show up Saturday and play our butts off.”
The Rams shot 51.4 percent from the floor against North College Hill and got 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks from Larkin. Philip Dozier (12 points, seven boards) and Jordan Rutherford (10 points) were among the point leaders.
Badin struggled to record a 45-41 road victory over the Trojans on Jan. 17, but the rematch was never really a game.
NCH (11-12) led 2-1 in the opening minute. By halftime, it was 31-11 in favor of BHS.
“I expected more full-court stuff out of them, but we came out and executed really well in the halfcourt,” Thompson said. “We played the way we’re capable of playing in the first half. Thank God we had school today so everybody wasn’t getting up at 1 o’clock for a 3 o’clock bus.”
The second half was ragged both ways. The Rams totaled 22 turnovers and made 14 of 27 free throws, but the ninth-seeded Trojans never found any kind of offensive rhythm.
“We kept them off the boards and kept them out of the lane,” said Raley, who grabbed eight rebounds. “We went through warmups hard. We were ready to go.”
At 6-foot-4, he’s one of the tallest players on Badin’s roster. Raley doesn’t look to score a lot and marked three points Thursday. Rebounding is his thing.
“I feel like it’s my role on this team to crash the boards,” Raley said. “I take it personally to keep the other team off the offensive boards. It’s just boxing out and effort.”
The Rams had a sizable advantage on the glass against NCH, with Kris Banks getting six rebounds and Kenny Thompson five for the Trojans.
Thompson scored a team-high eight points in a game that saw North College Hill sink 7 of 19 foul shots and commit 16 turnovers.
“We wanted the game to go up and down, but when you’re not successful converting baskets, you can’t really set up the press,” NCH coach Shannon Minor said. “If you turn the ball over to set up your press, that’s even worse because you’re not scoring.
“We weren’t ready to play. They were a lot better than us. When I was a player, I was always ready to play, but it’s hard to get guys to play with that same fire. It bothers you, but there’s not much you can do. We’re an 11-11 team for a reason.”
The Trojans finished 3-7 outside the Miami Valley Conference. NCH’s nonleague slate included Moeller, Dunbar, Western Hills, Woodward, Roger Bacon, Vandalia Butler and Columbus Beechcroft.
Minor, completing his first year at the North College Hill helm, said it wasn’t a bad season for his squad.
“At the beginning of the year, I probably would’ve taken our record as long as we got better as the year went on, and I think we did,” Minor said.
North College Hill 4-7-9-11—31
Badin 14-17-9-13—53
NORTH COLLEGE HILL (11-12): Kenny Simpson 1 1 3; Kris Banks 2 1 6; Brian White 1 0 2; Khairi Harris 1 0 2; Mi’rell Englemon 1 2 5; Charles Swain 1 0 2; Kameron Thompson 1 1 3; Kenny Thompson 3 2 8. Totals: 11-7-31.
BADIN (10-14): Andrew Hetterich 0 1 1; Philip Dozier 4 4 12; Zack Keene 3 0 6; Zach Larkin 6 4 16; Mitchell Raley 1 1 3; Logan Heintzman 2 0 4; Sergio Berrios 0 1 1; Jordan Rutherford 3 3 10. Totals: 19-14-53.
3-pters: N 2 (Englemon, Banks), B 1 (Rutherford)
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