Shorts story: Uniform adjustment aids Hiland
Berlin Hiland coach Mark Schlabach had a plausible explanation for why senior guard Kendall Hochstetler found his shooting stroke in the second half of a Division IV state semifinal against St. Henry on Friday.
“We discovered at halftime that he had his shorts on backward,” Schlabach said.
Hochstetler, who went 0 of 4 (0 of 3 from three-point range) in the first half, made a pair of three-pointers in a 11-0 run in the fourth quarter as the Hawks downed St. Henry 57-50 before a big crowd at Value City Arena.
“Coach said, ‘Keep shooting. They’ll fall,’ and I trusted him,” Hochstetler said.
The game included 12 lead changes and four ties. The run gave the Hawks their biggest lead, 45-36, with 5:49 left.
St. Henry answered with a final rally of its own, pulling to 49-47 with 1:23 left on a threepointer by 6-foot-6 Caden Niekamp.
Top-ranked Berlin Hiland (28-1) made 8 of 10 free throws the rest of the way and advanced to a title game matchup with Convoy Crestview (27-1) at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. The Hawks will be shooting for their fourth championship.
Sam Habeger had 17 points, Andy Miller 14 and Hochstetler 11 to pace Hiland, winner of 21 straight games.
“That was a really hard-fought game,” Schlabach said. “We haven’t had many close games this year and, frankly, that concerned me coming in. But we hit some big shots when we needed them and we were tough in the paint and on the boards against a bigger team.”
Jay Knapke (17 points, seven rebounds) and Niekamp (13 points, eight rebounds) topped St. Henry, whose 16-game win streak ended.
Convoy Crestview 59, Richmond Heights 49
After going scoreless in the first half, Javin Etzler scored 25 points and added 12 rebounds as Crestview used a 14-1 run in the third quarter to pull away from Richmond Heights.
“I felt like we made them crack a little,” Crestview coach Jeremy Best said. “Defensively, we’re mostly a man team but we’ve got some different pieces and we tried to keep them on the perimeter.”
Derick Dealey added 18 points for the Knights, who used their 6-8, 6-7 front line to their advantage in getting to the free throw line.
Cincinnati Moeller 72, Lakewood St. Edward 52
Top-ranked, defending state champion Moeller shot a blistering 66.7 percent from the field (26 of 39) and blew away St. Edward in a Division I semifinal.
Alec Pfriem had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Moeller (28-0), which has won 48 straight games. The Crusaders outrebounded St. Edward 29-19.
“Our guys understand where their shots are and are patient enough to get him,” Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. “It’s a luxury to have a veteran point guard (Miles Mcbride). We’re thrilled with how we played, but we think we can play better.”
Moeller came into the game shooting at astounding 55.7 percent from the field. With exquisite ball movement and passing, the Crusaders started 16 of 20 in building a lead they never relinquished.
Grant Huffman and Devontae Blanton scored 15 points each for St. Edward (19-9).