Moeller shoots 70.8 percent in rout
Moeller 83, Solon 65
Truth be told, coach Carl Kremer and his Cincinnati Moeller staff slept precious few hours Friday night stewing about a matchup against Solon in the Division I state championship game.
“Honest to goodness, we thought this was a bad matchup for us,” Kremer said. “We were really, really worred about how we were going to guard them with all their shooters.”
Kremer’s concerns proved to be unwarranted as Moeller flashed its “A” game in an 83-65 rout of Solon in Value City Arena to claim its fourth big-school title, and first since 2007. Few expected this kind of mismatch pitting the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the final Associated Press poll.
“We felt that Solon was so athletic we had to jam them in the first 15 feet of the floor and not let them get out in transition and play their tempo,” Kremer said. “Getting inside for highpercentage shots was a top priority.”
Moeller (27-3) shot 70.8 percent from the field (34 of 48) and scored an unheard-of 64 points in the paint.
“When you get dunks and layups, that’s going to get your percentage up,” Kremer said, winking.
Wright Statebound senior Jeremiah Davenport led the Crusaders’ parade with 22 points and eight rebounds. Texas signee Jaxson Hayes and Miles McBride each added 14 points.
“When we went through our walkthroughs this morning, we knew exactly what Solon was going to try to do,” Davenport said. “Coach was very emphatic what we needed to do win, and that was to get the ball in the paint and get it to the rim.”
Top-ranked Solon (27-1), which survived Pickerington Central 82-78 in a semifinal Friday with a barrage of three-pointers and foul shots created from penetrating into the lane and dishing, couldn’t get any closer than 11 in the second half.
First-team allOhioan Sincere Carry scored 27 points for Solon, but was limited to two assists and committed nine turnovers. The Comets shot 34.4 percent from the field, going 9 for 38 beyond the arc.
Solon came in averaging 83 points per game. Moeller was yielding 43.4.