Friday, March 19, 1999
Beavercreek outlasts Withrow
Beavers remain undefeated with 65-58 OT victory
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
DAYTON — Undefeated Beavercreek survived overtime with a Cincinnati team for the second straight game, ousting Withrow in a Division I regional semifinal 65-58 Thursday at UD Arena.
Beavercreek (25-0) advanced to meet Moeller (18-6) for the regional title at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. The Beavers beat Elder in overtime last weekend in the district title game.
Withrow took a 54-52 lead on Jon Hollingsworth's reverse layup with 3:22 to play in overtime but didn't score again until less than a minute was left to play.
“We turned the ball over,” Withrow coach George Jackson said. “We were running the same plays as in regulation, but we just didn't execute.”
Beavercreek, meanwhile, scored on four layups and one foul shot on its next five possessions to take control of the game 59-54 with 1:02 left in overtime. The Beavers kept control by hitting six of eight foul shots in the final minute.
“I thought in the last minute of the game, we got knocked a couple of times that could have been fouls, so maybe we wouldn't have had to go overtime,” Beavercreek coach Larry Holden said. “In overtime, we talked to the kids about not repeating that, and I thought we handled the ball very well.”
The game was sent to overtime when Withrow scored the final four points of regulation. The Tigers also had a final shot to win in regulation.
Trailing 52-48 with 41 seconds left, Withrow's P.J. Sanders made a pair of foul shots with 32 seconds to go. Then full-court pressure forced Beavercreek's Jamie Holden to step on the sideline trying to bring the ball upcourt, giving Withrow possession with 30 seconds to play.
Withrow tied the game on a great low-post lob from Hollingsworth to 6-foot-6 center Brandon Hunter, who laid the ball in with 16 seconds to play. Then Withrow's pressure again crossed up Beavercreek, with Hollingsworth tipping the ball loose from behind, sending it out of bounds to Withrow with 8.7 seconds left.
Withrow's final shot of regulation was a three-pointer from the corner by Chris Washington that hit the back of the iron and bounced away.
“We were hoping we could make one outside shot,” Jackson said wistfully, thinking of his team's 1-of-13 performance from three-point range. “But I don't like blaming losses on shooting — our defense just wasn't good enough to compensate today.”
Guards Jamie Holden and Ted Williams led Beavercreek with 21 and 16 points. The Beavers shot 55 percent in the game, including 58 percent after halftime.
Sanders paced Withrow with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Hunter added 12 points and nine rebounds. Withrow was hurt by foul trouble, with Washington fouling out and three starters finishing with four personals each. The loss ended a 13-game winning streak by Withrow.
BEAVERCREEK (65) — Williams 2-5 0-0 4, Smith 3-6 1-4 8, Renner 4-8 1-3 9, Holden 5-7 11-14 21, Williams 6-12 3-3 16, Eldridge 0-0 0- 0 0, Kayser 2-2 2-2 7, Bertke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-40 18-26 65.
WITHROW (58) — Orr 3-3 0-0 6, Sanders 8-16 7-7 23, Hunter 6-11 0-2 12, Hollingsworth 3-12 0-0 6, Sherman 2-6 0-0 4, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Washington 3-7 0-0 7, Gilbert 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-56 7-9 58. Beavercreek 9-14-15-14-13-65 Withrow 14-10-12-16-6-58.
Three-point goals: B (3-10)—Williams 0-1, Smith 1-3, Williams 1-5, Kayser 1-1; W (1-13)—Sanders 0-2, Hollingsworth 0-3, Sherman 0-4, Washington 1-4. Records: B 25-0, W 18-5.
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