Friday, March 19, 1999
Madeira digs out of 17-2 hole to reach region finals
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
Enquirer contributor
FAIRBORN — The final score points to an easy Madeira victory.
But considering that the Mustangs trailed 17-2 late in the first quarter, the 74-53 score reflects a furious rally past Bloom-Carroll in the Division III regional semifinals Thursday at Wright State University's Nutter Center.
Madeira advanced to Saturday's regional championship game against Finneytown, with the winner earning a berth in the state semifinals next week in Columbus.
“We've never been in this situation,” Madeira senior guard Todd Schlensker said of the 15-point deficit. “This was a real test, and we finally found out what we are made of.”
Hitting only one of the first 15 shots and getting beat badly on the boards, Madeira appeared in disarray and not ready to play. At the same time, Bloom-Carroll was playing with confidence and determination.
“Last week the team attended Bloom-Carroll's district championship game,” Madeira senior forward Jon Newberry said. “We saw them lose a 36-18 lead and go into overtime before winning it. We knew we could come back.”
It was senior guard Ken Fields who provided the spark that ignited the Mustangs offense. He scored with 49.2 seconds remaining in the first quarter and added a three-pointer with 13.6 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 12 at the break.
“I never thought were were out of the game,” Fields said. “I knew someone had to do something, and I happened to hit the shots.”
Schlensker took over for Madeira in the second quarter, scoring 10 points, including the first six. The uphill battle reached its climax when Fields hit a three-pointer to tie it at halftime, 28-28.
“I could sense fear when we started coming back in the second quarter,” Newberry said. “They killed us on the boards the first quarter, but we came out and rebounded, and then the shots started dropping.”
Bloom-Carroll coach Tom Petty made no excuses.
“We didn't handle the big lead and started to rush everything,” Petty said. “They started beating us down the floor, and that's why I went with a smaller lineup the second half.”
Petty pointed to Fields and Schlen sker as the keys for Madeira.
“We knew we couldn't stop them, and our goal was to contain them,” Petty said. “They were a load, and once they got it going, the whole team got into it.”
Nate Parkhouse and Schlensker scored field goals to open the third quarter, and Madeira never trailed during the final 16 minutes.
“We also had a slow start against East Clinton in the district but not this slow,” Madeira coach Jim Reynolds said. “I knew we could come back, but we had to take it a little at a time and start to rebound.”
BLOOM-CARROLL (53) — Carlisle 3-7 2-2 8, Richardson 2-7 0-0 4, Leu 2-5 0-2 4, Mitchell 2-8 0-0 6, Kosch 9-13 1-2 20, Petty 1-5 0-1 2, Wellman 1-4 0-0 2, Jennings 1-2 1-2 3, White 0-1 0-0 0, Berta 2-5 0-0 4. Totals: 23-57 4-9 53.
MADEIRA (74) — Parkhouse 1-4 1-2 3, Newberry 4-7 0-0 8, Dinsmore 2-8 4-4 8, Schlensker 10-21 4-6 24, Cohen 0-3 0-0 0, Tudor 0-0 2-2 2, Scheuer 0-1 0-2 0, Dooley 0-2 0-0 0, McConnaughey 0-1 0-0 0, Fields 7-16 1-2 17, Hern 0-1 0-0 0, Underwood 6-8 0-0 12. Totals: 30-72 12-18 74.
Bloom-Carroll ....... 19 9 14 11— 53
Madeira ....... 7 21 21 25— 74
Three-point field goals: M (2-13) Fields 2. BC (3-16) Mitchell 2, Kosch.
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