Sunday, February 27, 2000
West Hi eliminates defending champ Moeller
Lakota East beats La Salle;
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
Western Hills, the preseason No.1 in Cincinnati, made a good tournament debut Saturday, ousting defending Division I state champ Moeller 71-49 in the Cincinnati Division I sectional at Mason High School.
Western Hills (18-3) advances to meet Amelia in the sectional semifinals at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday at UC's Shoemaker Center. Moeller ends its year 10-11.
Last year, Western Hills lost its first round tournament game to St. Xavier, from the same league as Moeller.
“We thought about that,” said junior point guard Malcolm Andrews, who led West Hi with 22 points on Saturday. “But (playing Moeller) was just the way it turned out this year. We knew we just had to play them and we didn't think they were as strong this year.”
Western Hills jumped out to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter, but had to call a time out after Moeller scored the first five points of the second quarter to pull within 17-13.
“I just told them we needed to continue doing what we had been doing that was successful,” said Western Hills coach Lannis Timmons, who felt his team's defense was the key on Saturday. “We gave up some uncontested looks and had to get back to doing what was working for us in the first quarter.”
Out of the timeout, Andrews hit a pair of three pointers to put his team back up by 10. He then made a steal which he took in for a fast-break layup. Steve Banks then added another three for West Hi, pushing the lead to 28-13 with 3:55 left before halftime.
Eventually, the Western Hills run grew to 13-0. West Hi led at halftime 35-17.
“They had some kids hit threes, and we helped that some because we were paying so much attention to their post guys,” Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. “They made us pay. They stretched that lead out and got us in trouble.”
WESTERN HILLS (71) — Andrews 7 4 22, Horace 4 0 8, Starks 3 1 8, Peterson 6 3 15, Banks 2 4 9, Smith 1 7 9. Totals: 23-55 19-26 71.
MOELLER (49) — Tabler 5 0 11, Byrnes 1 0 2, Monserez 3 0 7, Luther 3 0 6, Wood 1 0 2, Sylvester 5 2 13, Rosfeld 3 2 8. Totals: 21-46 4-6 49. Western Hills 17-18-18-18-71 Moeller 8-9-13-19-49
3-pointers: WH 6-12 (Andrews 4, Starks, Banks), M 3-15 (Tabler, Monserez, Sylvester). Records: WH 18-3, M 10-11.
• Lakota East 60, LaSalle 54, Division I Sectional at Oxford —
John Graves' play in the open court was the catalyst for a fourth-quarter rally that gave Lakota East a victory.
It was the first tournament victory for Lakota East (9-12) in the three-year history of the program and came at Lakota West, where the opening-round games of the Oxford Division I sectional are being played.
Graves had 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, helping East overcome a four-point lead LaSalle took by scoring the final seven points of the third quarter.
“John sometimes gets out of control and overhustles on defense,” East coach Dave Davis said. “Tonight, his overhustling helped us.”
East shot 57 percent from the field in the game by attacking the basket after beating LaSalle's full-court pressure. The Thunderhawks also converted 24-of-36 foul shots, compared to 9-of-15 for LaSalle.
LASALLE (54) — Bucheit 3 4 11, Djenge 6 0 12, Carrelli 2 0 4, Hornbach 3 2 8, Kruthaupt 6 3 17, Thinnes 1 0 2. Totals: 21-55 9-15 54.
LAKOTA EAST (60) — Williams 2 1 5, S. Graves 3 5 11, Woods 3 2 8, J. Graves 4 9 17, Day 2 3 7, Underwood 2 4 8, Small 2 0 4. Totals: 18-32 24-36 60. LaSalle 10-19-15-10-54 Lakota East 9-21-10-20-60
3-pointers: LaS 3-21 (Bucheit, Kruthaupt 2), LE 0-4. Records: LaS 10-1, LE 9-12.
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