Leading 35-34, the Firebirds watched Walnut Hills roll off the next six points to grab a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, enabling the Eagles to advance to a 7:30 p.m. sectional final Saturday against Lakota East back at Hamilton.
“(West) has a lot of seniors, a lot of experience. We have bunch of young guys, but we have experience in big games,” Walnut HIlls coach Ricardo Hill said.
D.J. Benson had all 12 of his points in the second half, nailing four triples, and Omari Peek had 15 for the eighth-seeded Eagles.
Walnut Hills recorded eight blocked shots while improving to 16-6.
The Firebirds, seeded 10th, received a game-high 22 points from Jacob Biehle, but West was undone by poor shooting and turnovers.
“We just struggled offensively,” Firebirds coach Matt Rooks said. “Obviously you can’t turn the ball over three of your last five possessions and win tournament games. We got good looks. We just couldn’t convert them.”
West hit 4 of 22 from the field in the first half and trailed 16-13 after the Eagles ran off the last eight points of the half.
The Firebirds finished 12 of 38 from the field to end their season at 15-9.
Biehle nailed a 3 to tie the game at 25 after three quarters, and his bucket to open the fourth quarter gave the Firebirds a quick lead.
Trailing 30-28, first Benson, then Peek hit long 3s to put Walnut up.
“That’s what (Benson) does,” Hill said. “He is a senior, a big-time shooter, and we expect him to hit those shots. (Peek), he is a big-time player.”
West came back to grab the lead 35-34 on a Biehle bucket, but the turnovers down the stretch killed the Firebirds.
Walnut Hills hit 7 of 12 from the free-throw line to close it out.
Walnut Hills 4-12-9-18—43
Lakota West 7-6-12-13—38
WALNUT HILLS (16-6) — Hunter Davidson 2, D.J. Benson 12, Khenyan Wilcox 2, Abba Lawal 4, Adam Goines 3, Omari Peek 15, Jordan Henderson 3, A.J. Fletcher 2. Totals: 14-8-43
LAKOTA WEST (15-9) — Jack Nguyen 2, Jacob Biehle 22, Payton Porterfield 2, Naa’il Mahdi 8, Mitch Webber 4. Totals: 12-10-38
3-pointers: WH 7 (Benson 4, Peek 2, Henderson), LW 4 (Biehle 3, Mahdi)
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