Thursday, March 16, 2000
Elder, X take rivalry to regionals
Split in season; finished 1-2 in GCL South
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
The most evenly matched series of the basketball season yields the most anticipated matchup of the postseason tonight when Elder and St. Xavier meet in the Division I boys basketball regional semifinals.
These two heavyweight programs have never met this deep in the tournament. The last tournament meeting was in 1987, when current St. X coach Scott Martin was the Bombers' point guard.
“We're going into this as just the next game on our schedule, but it's automatic that you have to have in tensity to play in this game,” Martin said. “This was the league rivalry from this year.”
Game time is 6:15 tonight at University of Dayton Arena. St. Xavier, the Greater Catholic League champion, comes in with a record of 21-2. Elder, runnerup in the GCL South, is 19-4.
The teams split their regular-season series, with each team coming from behind to win at home. St. X came from 14 points down to score a 46-42 victory in January.
Elder returned the favor, overcoming horrible shooting in the first half to post a 48-45 win four weeks ago that denied St. X a city championship on the closing night of the regular season.
Game three isn't expected to be any different — close, loud, low-scoring and heavy on the defense.
“Rebounding is going to be one of the keys — they hurt us in the second game with that,” Elder coach Joe Schoenfeld said. “The other thing is any easy scores you can pick up, whether they come on out-of-bounds plays or transition scores. Anything where you don't have to grind it out.”
St. X causes matchup difficulties for Elder inside on defense with its front line of 6-6 John Cronin and the 6-7 pairing of Jordan Cornette and Andy Larkin.
“Because of their height, I go in there and bang but it seems like those guys are about a foot taller,” said Elder's 6-2 senior forward, Joel Wainscott.
Elder counters with an excellent set of perimeter players, led by the best pure shooter on either team in guard Mike Kelsey.
St. X brings backcourt sparkplug Steve Sollmann off the bench.
Both teams play tight defense all over the floor, both are balanced offensively and both can bring in extra firepower from the bench.
“Both teams are evenly matched,” Martin said. “It will be a game of who executes well for 32 minutes and especially down the stretch.”
The two teams have met five previous times in tournament play, with Elder holding a 3-2 edge. Elder edged St. X 52-51 in the 1973 district final, on its way to the first of its three state titles.
St. X is in regionals for the first time since 1986. The Bombers have never won a state basketball title but finished second in 1965.
“Playing St. X in the regional is amazing,” Elder's Wainscott said. “I think everyone is fired up. If you're not, something's wrong with you.”
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