Miami East surges to district title with true team effort
Momentum played the fickle friend to Miami East and Cincinnati Mariemont during Thursday night’s Division III district final at UD Arena.
But when Miami East needed to play with poise, when the season could end, momentum became a close friend, one the Vikings could count on. Specifically, the Vikings showed they could count on all five players on the floor, not just the firstteam all-Southwest District duo of Wes Enis and Jacob Roeth.
The way Enis put it — “big kids hit big shots” — it was clear the team’s two stars knew they wouldn’t have defeated Mariemont 53-49 to advance to the regional semifinals and be one of 16 teams left pursuing the state final four without their supporting cast.
“You got to have all five guys at one time,” said Enis, who averages 21 points a game and scored 12 because Mariemont’s face-guarding tactics worked well. “I can’t beat a team single-handedly. I got to have teammates. I feel like we’re a really good five, and we can compete with anybody in the state.”
Next is a Wednesday meeting with Preble Shawnee (223) at 8 p.m. at Trent Arena in Kettering.
“We all have this goal written down from the beginning of the season,” Enis said. “We’re not done either. We
got a good Preble Shawnee team next and we’re going to game plan for them and practice hard for them.”
To get to regionals, the
Vikings (24-2) needed a big fourth quarter.
Mariemont (15-10) led after every quarter and 38-33 heading to the fourth. Connor
Apple, who scored eight points, made a 3-pointer to put the Vikings up 42-40 with 4:06 left. Devon Abshire, who scored five points, hit a baseline jumper for a 44-42 lead with 3:29 left. Then it was Roeth, who scored 25, with two free throws and Apple with two free throws with 1:06 left to reclaim the lead at 48-47 at 1:06.
Roeth made two more with 48 seconds left for a 50-47 lead. After Mariemont missed from three-point range, Enis made two free throws. But Mariemont scored to cut the lead back to 52-49. A quick foul put Roeth on the line with 10.4 seconds left. He missed the first, but made the second for a four-point lead that was finally enough.
Vikings coach Justin Roeth said Apple’s 3-pointer to start the final four-minute takeover was the biggest spark.
“You could hear the crowd behind us just going absolutely nuts and our kids building off of that,” he said.
Enis and Roeth make the Vikings go, but it was clear that without the offensive and defensive contributions of Apple, Abshire, Mitchel Kemp, Bryce Haught and Camren Monnin the Vikings’ season would have ended.
“Our other guys were just as important tonight,” Justin Roeth said. “Our other guys made plays when they needed to, and that’s what you need. When you get to this point in the tournament, every game someone needs to step up and if it’s not one person, it’s two or three.”