CJ tops Alter, secures district final spot; T-M also moves on
Daniel Nauseef jumped high for a chest bump with teammate Anthony Solomon at halfcourt. He ran toward the Chaminade Julienne bench pumping his arms and shouting, As he left the floor, he looked at the student section, gave a big roar and pumped his right arm.
Friday night’s 69-60 victory over arch rival Alter in the Division II district semifinals meant as much to him as any game he’s ever played.
Two years ago the Eagles were seeded No. 1 and were blown out by Alter in the second round of the sectional. Nauseef was a sophomore on the bench, and he saw his brother Jack, who was a senior, lose his final game.
“I had that game two years ago on my mind the whole time,” said Nauseef, who scored seven points, grabbed important rebounds and blocked shots. “Jack has been a huge influence in my life. He can’t play anymore, and in the same situation he lost, so I knew I had to step up. I knew if I had energy and kept my team in the game, kept talking, kept keeping them focused, I knew we could win.”
The fifth-seeded Eagles (125) will get to play for a district title March 6 against Cincinnati
Woodward or Wyoming, who played Saturday. The Eagles last played in the district final in 2017 when they lost to Trotwood-Madison. CJ’s last district titles came in 2014 and 2015.
“They’ve been playing a lot better at the end of the season, and they’re a totally different team than when we first played them,” said Alter coach Eric Coulter.
The Knights (15-8) beat the Eagles 62-40 in December in the Eagles’ second game, which came after a Covid layoff. CJ won the second meeting 66-65 on Jan. 30.
Game three was nothing like the first two. CJ jumped out to an 11-0 lead, then got up 31-12 before settling for a 31-17 lead at the half. CJ coach Charlie Szabo said it was the Eagles’ best half this season.
“We knew how big this game was for us, so we knew we had to come out with a lot of effort and just be ready,” said CJ freshman Jonathan Powell, who scored a gamehigh 25 points.
Powell and junior Luke Chandler each made four 3-pointers and the Eagles made 10 as a team. Chandler scored 14 points, and Solomon added 10 points and two 3-pointers.
“To beat us and the matchup zone that we’ve had for many, many years, you have to shoot the ball well,” Coulter said. “They shot the ball really well.”
When CJ led 51-42 with over four minutes to play, Alter started fouling. The Eagles shot 56 percent from the foul line this year, so the Knights started by fouling junior Kylan Tucker who had made only five of 15 free throws this season. Tucker made five of six in the quarter, Powell made seven of eight and the Eagles made 15 of 20 as a team in the fourth.
“It was really big of those kids to step up and hit them,” Szabo said. “We preach being strong at the end of the game and closing out games. It’s very satisfying at this stage that we pulled that off.”
Szabo was pleased with the defense. He said in the first Alter game his players struggled to guard the Knights, but he’s seen improvement.
“This was our best example of actually sitting down, being fundamentally sound and competing every possession,” he said.
AJ Leen led Alter with 19 points, Anthony Ruffolo had 14 and Jacob Conner and Gavin Geisel had 10 apiece.
Trotwood-Madison 70, Oakwood 62: Rocky Rockhold’s roster isn’t the same as it was at the start of the Rams’ season — which was early January — so he’s still trying to figure it out. One thing he saw Friday night that he liked was balanced scoring.
Tymier Blanton and Tim Carpenter scored 15 points apiece and Damontay Raglin and Anthony McComb scored 13 apiece. McComb is a guard, the others are forwards. McComb, who transferred from Thurgood Marshall, averaged 26 a game this season and had a run of seven straight game of 30 points or more.
“We’re better off balanced because we’re getting it from our inside guys,” Rockhold said. “Teams have really keyed in on Anthony. And I think he hit a wall a little bit. We’re asking him to do things that he hasn’t done in his entire career – really get out and pressure and play full court for 32 minutes. At Thurgood he didn’t have to play that way and they had a little deeper bench.”
The top-seeded Rams (106) will play in the district final March 6 against Cincinnati McNicholas.
Oakwood (17-7) hadn’t won a tournament game since 2016 and won two this year. The Lumberjacks were led by sophomore Will Maxwell with 21 points, junior Keon Wright with 16 and junior Jack Epley with 10.
■ Also in D-II on Friday, second-seed Tippecanoe beat Carroll 51-42. The Red Devils (20-1) face the Ross-Indian Hill winner in the district finals on March 6.
Much has changed in the almost half century that has passed since Linda Evans competed in her first state championship, but one thing remains the same — her love of the game.
The 74-year-old Springfield resident — who bowls in two leagues a week — will compete in her 45th United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championship in March. Evans missed the state tournament only two times in the past 47 years, once because of her husband’s illness and, last year, as a result of COVID19 cancellations.
“I don’t know where the time has gone, I really don’t,” Evans said, smiling. “I’ve loved every minute of it.”
As a member of the Springfield Clark County USBC,
Evans will also be working at this year’s tournament, which begins an eight-week run March 6 in Springfield. Singles and doubles events will be contested at Victory Lanes while Northridge Lanes will host the team event. This is the fifth women’s state tournament held in Springfield since Evans joined the board as an officer in 1992. She currently serves as a vice president and treasurer.
“I have met so many good friends through bowling over the years,” she said. “Bowling is really like a big family.”
There are 413 women’s teams registered for this year’s event, down a bit from past years. The tournament will look a bit different as the state and local associations are taking extra steps to ensure the health and safety of the bowlers, employees and volunteers. All tournament workers and bowlers will be required to wear masks. And the Ohio USBC has requested that spectators do not accompany bowlers to the 2021 Open or Women’s championships.
Evans knows, firsthand, the tremendous impact COVID-19 has had on her sport and knows a few bowlers who lost their lives to the virus. She, herself, was diagnosed with it last year and still has not regained her sense of taste.
Some of her fellow senior bowlers have not yet returned to the lanes. But Evans looks forward to league bowling — even if her average has dropped a few pins this season — and is optimistic that the tournament changes will not take away from the experience.
“It’s going to be different and a little trying,” Evans said. “There won’t be any high fives but, at least, we get to bowl and, hopefully, see friends we haven’t seen in quite a while.”