Final 4 for T-V
By Jeff Higley – Palladium-Item
FAIRBORN, Ohio – Threes were wild and helped Tri-Village reduce its magic number to two Saturday at Wright State’s Nutter Center. The Patriots hit six three-pointers – each at key times – while sidelining Lockland 72-60 in the Division IV, Region 16 championship game.
The Patriots, 26-0, play Columbus Wehrle in the state semifinals Thursday at 3 p.m. at St. Johns Arena in Columbus.
Nate Lindamood was four-for-five from three-point range and scored 22 points to lead Tri-Village, Shane Bietry hit the other two treys en route to 16 points while Scoob Cook and Lee Brandon added 14 points each.
Lockland hit seven three-pointers but most of those came when the game was already decided – including a couple of 25-foot bombs in the closing minute. David Allen hit four threes and scored 30 points while Josh Havens hit three and scored 16.
“They were just too much for us with their outside shooting,” Lockland coach Bill Phillips said. “Every time we changed defenses they showed that they’re a senior team because they rotated someone to the weak side and got the open shot.”
Overall, the Patriots hit 50 percent (27 of 54) from the floor while winning for the 46th time in their last 47 games.
“That’s the problems all teams we’ve played have faced,” Tri-Village coach Lee Falknor said. “You can shut one or two players off but these kids find the open man for the open shot.” “Everybody was throwing it in today,” Lindamood said, “When you’ve got an open shot, you’ve got to take it. I don’t think about shooting threes too much, I’ve got the name as our three-point shooter but most of us can hit them.”
“The crowd like them,” Bietry added. “People get excited over three-pointers and when you hit one, it kind of gets the other team down. “We’ve been shooting good the last three or four games but we can’t expect to do it every night,” Bietry added. “It’s just that we get some wide open shots and you have to take them when you’re open.”
Falknor, who has admitted that he’s not particularly fond of the three-pointer, said he has confidence in his team when it comes to long range shooting.
“You don’t have to be a proponent of three-pointers to shoot them,” he said. “I’ve got four or five guys that at any given time can shoot it. They have the green light to shoot when they’re open. Our kids have confidence in each other that they’ll hit them.”
Lockland had an early 6-4 lead before Tri-Village reeled off 16 of the next 18 points to take a 20-8 lead after the first quarter, Lindamood nailed a pair of bombs during the run and the Patriots were really never seriously threatened after that.
Lockland closed the deficit to 20-13 with two quick buckets in the second quarter but Bietry squelched the run when he picked up a loose offensive rebound and nailed a 21-footer to give the Patriots a 23-13 edge. The Panthers closed to within six midway through the quarter but… Cook scored two straight baskets to give the Patriots a 35-23 lead with four seconds left in the half. Lockland, however, got a 24-foot jumper out of Havens to close the half trailing 35-26.
Lockland stormed out of the lockerroom and after Havens and Allen hit back-to-back three-pointers, trailed just 40-36.
Tri-Village then went on an 11-2 scoring spree over the next three minutes to take a 51-38 lead going into the final quarter.
The Patriots built a couple of 16-point leads in the fourth quarter by hitting all eight of their free throws in the final 1:49 after being fouled while in the four corners offense.
Allen hit a couple of shots that would have been worth three points in the NBA but Cook sealed the Patriots’ first-ever trip to the Final Four with a thunderous dunk in the waning seconds.
“They came down the floor in transition and we didn’t have enough people back,” Phillips said. “They would pull it out, then get the ball inside and then pop it back out for the open shot.” Brandon played a key for the Patriots off the bench.
With starter Dirk Lewis not shooting well (0-for-6 but he did dish out seven assists), Brandon stepped in and filled the void. vvvv“He could start, no doubt,” Falknor said. “He does a great job as our sixth man and handles it well. Everyone wants to start but we’ve really got six starters. Everyone sees a lot of time.”
Scoring by Quarters
Tri-Village 20 15 16 21 – 72
Lockland 8 18 12 22 – 60
Tri-Village
Lindamood - 22
Brandon - 14
Ward - 4
Cook - 14
Bietry - 16
Lewis - 2
Fisherback - 0
Totals - 72
Lockland
Wilschevick - 4
Allen - 30
Larkins - 6
Havens - 16
Tressler - 2
Cox - 2
Totals - 60
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