Lanier’s three lifts Pickerington North
Pickerington North coach Jason Bates marvels at how Matt Lanier spends an extra 30 minutes after practice every day shooting jump shots.
"You've got to prepare for your moment when it comes, if it comes, and it sure paid off for Matt," Bates said after Lanier's 25-foot three-point shot with 1.5 seconds remaining gave ninth-seeded North a 59-58 upset of second-seeded Newark on Saturday in a Division I district final at Ohio Dominican.
It was the first district title for the Panthers.
Newark (24-2) had taken the lead on a basket by Justin Carter with 23 seconds left.
The Panthers drew up a play with several options. The original play for Lanier in the corner was snuffed out. Lanier dribbled back to the top of the key and passed to Tyler Potts, who immediately kicked it back to Lanier for an open look behind the top of the key.
"I knew as soon as it left my hand it was in," said Lanier, who came in averaging 5 points and hit only one other shot. "I'm most happy for my team. We really wanted to make history."
Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush pleaded successfully to have 0.9 of a second placed on the clock, but the Wildcats' length-of-the-court inbounds pass was intercepted.
"I don't know how far back he was when he made it, 25 feet," Quackenbush said. "I just told the kids if that shot doesn't go, we're in a totally different thinking."
North (20-6) will face Upper Arlington (24-2) in regional play at 7 p.m. Thursday at ODU.
Neither team had a lead of Pickerington North’s Matt Lanier, right, gets a hug from teammate Ty Wiley after making the winning shot.
more than four points in the second half. Things looked ominous for the Panthers when junior standout Jerome Hunter — who had 24 points and 10 rebounds — fouled out with 57.8 seconds left. He and Newark standout BJ Duling, who was carrying four fouls, bowled over one another all afternoon.
"Of course, I was trying to foul him out. He's a great player," Hunter said.
Upper Arlington 61, Hilliard Bradley 48
With Dane Goodwin kept under wraps by Hilliard Bradley, Upper Arlington's support players came to the rescue.
Will Grabovac scored 16 points, Matt Bailey and Max Martz 12 each and Andy Hummer nine to help
fourth-seeded UA beat Bradley for its third district title in four years. Goodwin, a junior Ohio State commit, was limited to 10 points, 16 shy of his average.
Instead of forcing the offense to run through Goodwin, UA (24-2) made the extra pass in its motion offense for open looks.
"Actually, I thought Dane played a great game, UA coach Tim Casey said. "When he became the primary focus of their defense, he didn't force things and he made it possible for us to get high-percentage shots. When we get highpercentage shots, we're usually very efficient."
Braden Norris hit four straight three-pointers, launching Bradley to a 16-5 lead and prompting Casey to call timeout.
Neither Norris nor his sharpshooting Jaguars teammates made another three, and UA gradually asserted its physical presence.
Isaiah Speelman had 18 points and Norris 13 to pace Bradley.
Pickerington Central 65, Dublin Coffman 57
Coach Eric Krueger and the Pickerington Central crowd didn't exactly seem excited about a fifth district title in six seasons. The top-seeded Tigers (24-2) allowed 18th-seeded Coffman (13-11) to hang around until the final two minutes before prevailing.
"We didn't play as great as I'd like, but it's been a grind and we've had a target on our back all year," Krueger said. "Even though we're the top team team in the area, we've still got to battle."
Sterling Manley and Juan Elmore scored 19 points each to pace Central.
Coffman freshman Dominiq Penn scored 24 points.
St. Charles 37, Hilliard Davidson 19
Tavon Brown and Braden Budd scored 12 points each and St. Charles limited Hilliard Davidson to 8-of-40 shooting from the field in winning its first district title since 1995, when coach Jacob Daniel played for the Cardinals.
"Davidson definitely had an off shooting night, but we've been playing some excellent defense," Daniel said. "We also rebounded well. I'm awfully happy for our kids. It's been a long time for us."
Center Nick Muszynski grabbed 13 rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked three shots for the Cardinals, who jumped ahead 8-2 in the first three minutes and were never threatened.