Wins vault Wayne, Franklin into district semfinal matchup
After falling at Springfield earlier this month, the Wayne High School boys basketball team was extra motivated to face its rival in the postseason.
The Warriors jumped out to an early 9-0 lead and never looked back, beating the Wildcats 71-60 in a Division I, Dayton 2 district second-round game on Monday night at Centerville High School.
Junior Lawrent Rice scored a game-high 25 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, as the Warriors improved to 16-7 overall. Sophomore Juan Cranford, Jr. scored 15 points and senior Mike Cole added 11 points for the Warriors, who lost at Springfield 59-51 on Feb. 12.
“We had a lot of motivation going into this game,” Rice said. “It’s a blessing to move forward and play for a sectional championship.”
Junior Tyron Barnes scored 21 points and sophomore Aaron Scott scored 19 as the Wildcats finished their season 5-12.
“It’s a rivalry game so both teams are going to compete at the highest level and I wouldn’t expect anything less,” said Warriors coach Nathan Martindale. “I was proud of our guys. I felt like that strong start really gave us an advantage. We were able to keep that seven-to12-point lead most of the game. That was pretty solid. Springfield didn’t quit, which I didn’t expect them to. Our kids kept battling and making plays.”
The Warriors led by as many as 12 in the first half and took a 37-29 lead into the locker room. In the third quarter, Rice scored his 1,000th career point, prompting Martindale to call a timeout as the crowd cheered.
“It’s crazy,” Rice said. “Looking back on it, it’s a blessing. I was just trying to take it in, but we still had a game to finish. I’m just thankful.”
After the win, Martindale called Rice “a special player.”
“It’s pretty special (to score 1,000 points), especially as a junior,” Martindale said. “There’s not a lot of guys out there doing that. He’s a special young man. I thought his leadership was really big for us tonight.”
Springfield cut the lead to 52-46 on a bucket by senior Eddie Muhammad with about five minutes remaining, but the Wildcats wouldn’t get closer.
The second-seeded Warriors advanced to face thirdseeded Franklin (19-4) in a D-I, Dayton 2 district semifinal at 7:15 Friday night at Centerville.
Wayne is seeking its second straight district final appearance.
“We know they’re a wellcoached team and they’ve got some really good players,” Martindale said. “We’re just thankful for the win tonight and we’re going to regroup, reload and try to figure out how to beat Franklin on Friday.”
Franklin 57, Northmont 48: Senior Pierce Baulerle scored a game-high 17 points, senior Noah Rich scored 16 and Nate Paarlberg added 11 as Franklin advanced to a D-I, Dayton 2 district semifinal.
The Wildcats went 27-of33 from the free-throw line, hitting five in the final minute to seal the victory.
“We hit some big free throws down the stretch,” said Wildcats coach Brian Bales. “I really thought the key to the game against Northmont was going to be rebounding. They’re so good at rebounding the basketball. I thought our kids really competed on the boards.”
The Wildcats used a 1-2-2 press and a 2-3 zone defense to slow down the Thunderbolts.
“We’re long so the zone plays into our hands,” Bales said. “Our 1-2-2 press was really just to slow them down. We weren’t trying to steal it, just really break their rhythm. I was proud of our guys. It was a big win for us.”
Freshman Jeremiah Landers scored 13 points and Dalin Wilkins added 11 for Northmont. The Thunderbolts cut the lead to two on a 3-pointer by Landers with about two minutes remaining, but Franklin pulled away.
“Give them credit, they made shots,” said Thunderbolts coach Darnell Hoskins. “They stuck to their game plan. I thought in the first half we didn’t do a very good job of imposing our will inside, which is where I thought we had the advantage. At halftime, we made a conscious effort to get the ball inside, but just didn’t finish or get fouled. Then when you look at the free-throw disparity, you say that’s the difference in the game. They went to the line 33 times and we went to the line 12, that’s a big difference.”
The Thunderbolts finished the season 13-11 after winning six games in the previous two seasons combined.
“We took major steps forward and what we’ve got coming back, I’m thoroughly encouraged about,” Hoskins said.