The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hornets fall to Falcons in D-III district semifinal
No. 1 seed Lutheran East, a talented team that is a favorite to make a return to trip to Columbus for the Division III state tournament, took advantage of a slew of early Kirtland turnovers to build a 37-24 halftime lead in a district semifinal matchup at Garfield Heights on March 4.
If fans in attendance thought the Falcons would simply cruise to victory in the second half, they had another thing coming.
The fired-up, never-saydie Hornets took Lutheran East by storm in the third quarter, compiling a 13-4 run to start the second half. Kirtland battled all the way to within 47-46 late in the third quarter, and were as close as 59-55 with 2:09 to play, but Lutheran East did enough defensively and was able to put the game away at the foul line to prevail in a game in which it never trailed, 68-60.
Lutheran East (168), which was led by E.J. Farmer’s 20 points and Jay Billingsley’s 18, advances to play either Elyria Catholic or Warrensville Heights in the district final at Garfield Heights on March 8.
Kirtland (16-8), finished with a higher shooting percentage (46 percent to 43), and won the rebounding battle, 31-21. But the Hornets connected on six fewer free throws (13-7) and committed 16 turnovers to the Falcons’ four.
Sean McGill paced Kirtland with 11 points and eight rebounds. Tommy Powers matched McGill with 11 points, and added five rebounds and four assists. Dominic Capretta scored 10 points, all in the second half.
“All year long our kids have battled and competed, and we talked about what we expect from Kirtland athletes, and that’s to compete,and to play hard to get everything they can for every second that they’re on the floor,” Kirtland coach Shawn McGregor said. “I think they absolutely did that tonight. We made some mistakes early, turning the ball over and not being aggressive offensively. Once they composed themselves and decided that they could compete with this team, they went out and really outplayed them for three quarters.”
Lutheran East’s combination of Billingsley’s size inside, and the outside shooting of Farmer and Jalen Knott — along with seven Kirtland turnovers — allowed it to take a 23-10 lead after one quarter. The Hornets adjusted to the speed of the Falcons enough to keep their deficit at 13 going into halftime.
Capretta scored eight points on a pair of 3s and a pair of free throws during Kirtland’s 13-4 run to open the third quarter, and Powers capped it with a steal and and-one layup to cut the deficit to 40-37. Dawson Cosgrove put back a teammate’s miss to draw the Hornets within 47-46 before Farmer sank a triple to give Lutheran East a 50-46 lead at the end of the third.
Adam Mueller’s and-one basket made it 52-49 early in the fourth, and Zach Samsa’s bucket off a Powers feed gave the Hornets a final opportunity, trailing 59-55 with just over two minutes to play. But Farmer, Billingsley, and Collin Albert connected from the foul line down the stretch to preserve the victory for the Falcons.
“We knew we were right there, we just had to keep playing physical,” Capretta said regarding the second-half rally. “We saw that there were times when they weren’t in their game, and we could really get after them. I’m proud of the way we all played, we played our hearts out, and that’s really all we can ask for in our last game.”
Capretta is one of 10 seniors who played their final game for the Hornets.
“We knew we had a special class coming in, and it was one heck of ride,” Capretta said of his four seasons at Kirtland and his senior class. “I’m proud of the way we all played, and how much fun it was.”
McGregor, the longtime former head coach at Hawken, had a memorable first season taking the reins at Kirtland.
“That’s as good as any team in the state, and (Coach) Sam (Liggins) does a great job with the guys at Lutheran East,” McGregor said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the 10 seniors that are on our team, and the whole team in general. The effort they gave was tremendous.”
“The players here and the community have been so good to my family. The kids play with my two young kids at practice, and they’re just amazing. The community is just superb, they’re my kind of people. Hard-working, good people that care about their kids.”