Friday, March 17, 2000
St. X finishes off Elder
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
Nick Larsen and Andy Larkin celebrate in the final moments.
(Steven M. Herppich photos)
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DAYTON, Ohio — The setting was UD Arena, but the game was pure backyard basketball.
In a game driven as much by neighborhood pride as tournament glory, St. Xavier used a 9-2 run in the final 1:21 to put away for a 55-45 victory over Elder in a Division I regional semifinal before 6,500 spectators Thursday night.
St. X advances to the regional final at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Beavercreek. Tickets will be on sale from 8 a.m. to noon today and Saturday at St. X.
The meeting was the third between the two teams, which split their regular-season series.
“By far, this was the most intense of the games,” St. X star Nick Larsen said. “This atmosphere was great. You play basketball to be in situations like this.”
Larkin dives for a loose ball.
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Elder (19-5) fell well behind St. X three times. As outstanding as the Bombers are on defense, overcoming that was asking a lot of the Panthers' offense.
“We got off to a poor start because of their defense,” Elder coach Joe Schoenfeld said. “We made some good comebacks, but even when we did, it seemed we didn't stop them often enough.”
St. X led 15-4 late in the first quarter, but Elder trailed just 26-24 at half. And when Elder's Mike Kelsey hit his second straight 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the third quarter, the Panthers had their first lead, 30-28.
That's when the challenge shifted back to St. X's defense.
“We knew it was a game of runs,” said St. X guard Steve Sollmann, who was defending Kelsey. “We needed to keep their run short. (Kelsey's) going to get his shots and get his points. You just hope he doesn't score 30 on you.”
Mike Kelsey
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Kelsey wouldn't score again for more than eight minutes and St. X held Elder scoreless for nearly that long, dominating the end of the third quarter by pressing the Panthers on defense and crashing the offensive boards. By the end of the quarter, St. X had opened its lead to 38-33.
“Things happen with different lineups and matchups,” St. X coach Scott Martin said. “They went with a little more quickness and Nick Larsen is very quick and aggressive. He does all the things no one notices.”
Larsen came off the bench to key St. X's third-quarter defense. He also scored 10 points in the game, including six in the final 3:17.
“I know whenever Coach Martin puts me in he's looking for a spark,” Larsen said. “I just had to shut down Joel (Wainscott), help out on Kelsey, who was on fire at that point, and help out on the boards.”
Elder put together another run to pull back to within 38-37 on a floating layup by Kelsey with 5:26 to play. Martin called a St.X timeout, then point guard Steve Callahan hit a 17-footer off a called play that seemed to put St. X back in control.
The lead grew to seven, but a couple of 3-pointers by Elder gave the Panthers hope late. Kelsey had a potential game-tying 3-point attempt that missed with 1:21 to play, then St. X scored the game's next six points from the foul line to take a 52-43 lead with 41 seconds remaining.
In the end, Elder had no more offensive answers.
“What I told the kids is I'm not sure I coached my best game tonight. I'm not sure I gave them the best chance to win,” Schoenfeld said. “They just seemed to have us a little out of sync.”
Callahan led St.X with 17 points, including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Jordan Cornette added 14 points.
Second-half defensive stars Larsen and Sollmann, like many of the St.X players, knew many of the Elder players from as long ago as first grade.
“Everyone knows everyone in this game,” Larsen said. “They knew our plays; we knew theirs. It was a matter of execution and intensity.”
Kelsey led Elder with 21 points, including 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.
“Just to get here is great,” Sollmann said. “Now, there's no question we want to go all the way.”
ELDER (45) — Bazeley 1-3 2-4 5, Wainscott 0-4 0-2 0, Benken 2-3 3-4 7, Kelsey 7-14 2-2 21, Rowland 3-4 2-2 8, Schenke 0-2 0-3 0, Renzenbrink 2-4 0-0 4, Murphy 0-0 0-0 0, Mahon 0-1 0-0 0, Bengel 0-0 0-0 0, Rapien 0-0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-35 9-17 45.
ST. XAVIER (55) — Cornette 5-10 4-6 14, Cronin 1-2 0-0 2, Larkin 2-6 2-4 6, Kennedy 0-2 0-0 0, Callahan 5-10 4-4 17, Larsen 3-4 4-4 10, Bast 0-1 0-0 0, Sollmann 2-5 2-6 6. Totals: 18-40 16-24 55. Elder 8-16-9-12-45 St. Xavier 15-11-12-17-55
3-pointers: E 6-12 (Bazeley 1-2, Kelsey 5-8, Renzenbrink 0-1, Mahon 0-1), SX 3-9 (Cornette 0-2, Kennedy 0-1, Callahan 3-6). Rebounds: E 22 (Rowland, Schenke 5), SX 28 (Larkin 9). Assists: E 6 (Rowland 4), SX 8 (Larkin, Sollmann 2). Attendance: 6,500. Records: SX 22-2, E 19-5.
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