Warriors’ defense does the job
Harvest Prep 48, Cincinnati Purcell Marian 41
Harvest Prep has come to be recognized around central Ohio as a free-wheeling, full-court-pressing, three-point shooting boys basketball team, akin to a high school version of the Golden State Warriors.
But having coached in the state tournament numerous times with Harvest Prep’s boys and girls, David Dennis knows that offensive juggernauts rarely come out on top.
“It’s all about defense, not turning over the basketball and shooting the ball well,” he said.
The Warriors certainly got the first part right while carving out a 48-41 win over Cincinnati Purcell Marian in a Division III semifinal Thursday at Value City Arena.
“Because of our scoring average (82.8), people probably didn’t expect this type of game, but I did,” Dennis said. “We don’t match up very well size-wise with them and we knew we had to spread them out and make them shoot outside, which isn’t their greatest strength.”
The strategy worked like a dream. The Warriors limited the Cavaliers to 43.6 percent field goal shooting (17 of 39), including 3 of 15 from behind the threepoint arc. Alex Dotson, considered Purcell Marian’s top player, made only one field goal (an uncontested layup in the waning seconds) and finished with three points.
“That definitely was a concerted effort to stop Dotson,” Dennis said. “He’s their motor. We tried to limit his touches. We tried to switch our defenses to keep them guessing.”
It was a two-possession contest down to the final 2:30.
Dotson missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer, Harvest Prep rebounded and got the ball out to Christopher “CJ” Anthony for an easy layup with 2:24 left.
“That was a huge possession,” Dennis said. To get the lead back up to three gave us a little comfort.”
Providing clutch play off the bench, Raymond Robertson hit a three-pointer at the 1:28 mark to stretch Harvest Prep’s lead to 42-38. He added another basket with 59 seconds left.
“If we could have gotten a lead there, maybe we could have put them in a different mode,” Purcell Marian coach Scott Kerr said. “They didn’t give us a quarter. They just turned up their defense more and we couldn’t get a bucket.
“Some might call it ugly basketball, but
I call it high-quality basketball. Both teams got after each other. I was really impressed with Harvest Prep. We talk about being on a mission. Well, so are they. They came here undefeated last year and probably expecting to win it and they came up short.”
Anthony had 17 points to pace Harvest Prep (27-2), which will face Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (20-8) in the title game at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Prep is seeking its first title after three runner-up finishes (one was later vacated because of Ohio High School Athletic Association-imposed sanctions).
Asked what stood out in scanning the statistics, Anthony said, “The win. That’s the only thing that matters.”
The Warriors shot only 41.5 percent from the field and 5 of 16 from three-point range but outrebounded the Cavaliers 29-23 and forced 16 turnovers.
Javonta Lyons scored 15 points for Purcell Marian (24-5), which endured a spate of long possessions with no quality shots.
“We knew we had our hands full, but heart has no size,” Dennis said. “We found a way today.”