Africentric coach upset with officiating after big win
LEXINGTON, Ohio — A victory by 39 points in a regional semifinal normally would be cause for celebration in moving one step closer to the state tournament, but Africentric girls coach Will McKinney displayed controlled anger minutes after his team walked off the court.
The Nubians got 18 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists from sophomore Jordan Horston, and 17 points and six rebounds from freshman Alexia Smith in overwhelming Mount Blanchard Riverdale 85-46 on Wednesday night in Division III.
Africentric (22-3) will play Archbold (26-1) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in its quest to win a sixth state championship.
Asked about a rough start, in which Riverdale led 14-13 with 2:13 left in the first quarter, McKinney went off on the officials for several minutes.
“The officials were so bad and the calls were so terrible,’’ McKinney said. “That’s why we held the ball (for about 90 seconds). They scored 20 points in the first quarter and 14 points were on free throws.’’
Four reporters did not ask a follow-up question about the officiating, but McKinney kept the diatribe going.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting good officials,’’ he said. “It was eight against five.”
Riverdale (14-13) was 22 of 25 from the free throw line and was called for 16 fouls. Africentric was 9 of 18 from the line and was charged with 13 fouls.
The game turned when the Nubians finished the quarter with 10 straight points to lead 23-14 on a follow by Horston.
The Falcons, who had two seniors, one junior, three sophomores and five freshmen on the roster, saw a storybook season coming to an end after Smith hit a threepoint play and senior guard Leah Morrow made four straight layups to make it 50-27 with 4:41 left in the third quarter.
Riverdale had 23 turnovers, mainly against half-court pressure defense.
Horston said the key for Africentric has been constant communication about maintaining focus.
“We talk to one another about playing hard all the time,’’ she said. “We had a meeting (before the regional) and said that there are four games left and that we had to focus and play through our mistakes. That’s what we did tonight.’’
Despite a 24-point, 15-rebound effort from Ohio University-bound Gabby Burris, Liberty Union (22-4) dropped a Division III regional semifinal to top-ranked Cincinnati Summit Country Day (27-0) at Springfield. The Silver Knights opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to take the lead and pushed the margin to as much as eight. A threepoint shot by Landon Collins pulled Liberty Union to 48-46, but the Lions couldn’t regain the lead.