The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Raiders advance with win over Smithville
Columbia’s Fisher scores game-high 25 points, Borling chips in 23
In a back-and-forth game, the difference between winning and losing can come down to a few plays.
Sixth seeded Columbia (116) experienced that first hand after staving off visiting and 10th seeded Smithville on Feb. 26 in a Division III sectional final.
With the win, the Raiders advance to a district semifinal on March 2 vs. second seeded Norwayne.
“It’s amazing to move on,” Raiders junior Cody Davis said. “We played Norwayne before the tournament. It just feels great to move on.”
With the game hanging in the balance and the Raiders up 71-70 with under 20 seconds remaining, Davis came up with the biggest play of the game. Smithville’s Carter Piatt drove down the lane and attempted a layup to give his team the lead but it was blocked by Davis.
“I’m usually playing back on defense to guard the paint,” said Davis. “As soon as I saw No. 12 get into an open space, I knew he wasn’t scoring. I had four fouls and just had to leave it all on the floor so I was just going for a block.”
Columbia’s Trevor Hottell corralled the loose ball and was intentionally fouled. The senior split a pair of free throws to put the Raiders ahead 72-70 with 9.2 seconds remaining in the game.
Smithville had one last chance to tie or win the game and came up empty on the other end, sealing the win for Columbia.
“In the end, we made enough plays to survive and move on to Tuesday night,” Columbia coach Larry Babics said. “In tournament time, that’s all that matters. It doesn’t have to be pretty, you just have to be able to pull it out and move on.”
Another key moment in the game came with 5:43 left in the fourth quarter and Columbia trailing 5756. Raiders guard Brandon Fisher was fouled in the act of shooting and Smithville coach Corey Kaufman disagreed with the call. Kaufman was assessed a technical foul, which gave Fisher an additional two free throws on top of his two from the shooting foul.
The senior stepped to the line and calmly sank all four shots, putting the home team ahead 60-57.
“It was huge for us,” Fisher said of the sequence. “We started getting down and the momentum started going their way. I think that helped pick us back up, especially hitting all four free throws. That gave the team some confidence and we got back going again.”
Columbia was also granted possession following the free throws and took full advantage. Fisher drove down the lane and scored two of his game-high 25 points to extend his team’s lead to 6257. The senior scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
“He’s our guy,” Babics said of Fisher. “He’s a senior and there are no more tomorrows. He’s unselfish and wants to get the other guys involved. (We told him) in a big game, you get yourself going and the other guys will follow. He did that tonight.
“He wanted the ball in his hands. We made him guard one of their best guys so he had to do it on both ends tonight. The kid is a good player and if you are going to win in tournament time, your good players better play great and he did tonight.”
Smithville struggled to make free throws down the stretch, missing five attempts from the stripe in the fourth quarter. The Smithies were led by Caleb Keib (18 points) and Piatt, who scored a team-high 20 points.
Columbia also received key contributions from senior Caleb Borling, who made four 3s and scored 23 points.
The game was tight throughout and it was a back-and-forth affair with both teams trading leads often. Smithville led 17-14 after one quarter, while Columbia led 37-36 at the break. Smithville’s Carter Fath drained a 3-pointer a the buzzer to give his team a 53-49 lead after three quarters.
The Raiders fought back in the fourth, took the lead late and didn’t relinquish it. As a result, the Raiders are moving on.
“It took a minute to finally get into the game because of the crazy atmosphere and everything going on,” Fisher said. “Once we got into the zone, I think we did a pretty good job of executing.”