Saturday, March 25, 2000
St. X plays for title today
Bombers meet Bedford after semifinal victory
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Nick Larsen
(Steven M. Herppich photos)
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COLUMBUS — Senior Nick Larsen is best known at St. Xavier as an outstanding receiver for the football team. But Larsen, a 6-foot-2 senior, is making a name for himself as a basketball player.
Larsen came off the bench Friday and led St. Xavier to a 58-42 victory over Hilliard Davidson in the Division I state semifinals at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center.
“All year Nick has come off the bench to spark us,” St.X coach Scott Martin said. “He does all the intangibles but never gets credit. All teams need a player like Nick.”
The victory advances St. Xavier into tonight's state championship game against Bedford, a 67-61 upset victor over top-ranked Toledo Libbey in the other semifinal.
Andy Larkin
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This will be St. Xavier's second appearance in the state championship game, the last in 1965, when the Bombers lost to Columbus South 54-53 in the title game.
Larsen's play was key. He scored 10 points, pulled down a team high six rebounds, and forced five of the Wildcats' season-high 21 turnovers.
“If someone had asked in August about my senior year, I would have told them we would be playing for a football championship on Dec. 4,” Larsen said. “I never dreamed we would play on March 25 for the basketball title.”
Leading by one 29-28 at halftime, St. Xavier took control in the third quarter. The Bombers scored eight unanswered points, gave them a 39-33 lead they never relinquished.
The Bombers' defense in the second half limited the Wildcats to just 14 points. They forced turnovers 21 for the game, 11 in the second half, and limited Hilliard's leading scorer, Josh Lewis, to four shots and seven points for the game.
Jordan Cornette
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“Their defense has a lot to do with the turnovers, but we made a lot of mental errors,” Hilliard coach Steve DeDent said.
“St. Xavier ran the defense we expected but our kids didn't move well on offense. We only shot 23 percent the second half, and you don't win many championships commiting 21 turnovers and shooting that poorly.”
St. X's Steve Callahan hit one of the biggest shots of the game at the buzzer ending the third quarter. Taking an inbound pass with 4.3 seconds remaining, Callahan faked right, went left and launched the shot.
The 3-pointer by Callahan gave the Bombers a 42-35 advantage and appeared to deflate the Wildcats, who had rallied from an eight-point deficit.
“That was definitely a big basket for them,” Hilliard senior Mark Minnix said. “He (Callahan) made a great move and shot. It forced us to look at the fourth quarter a little differently, trailing by eight rather than five.”
Martin also saw Calahan's shot as a big factor in the outcome.
Dan Kennedy
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“Anytime a player hits a big shot, it's often hard for an opponent to rebound from it,” Martin said. “Our kids were mentally focused. We knew they were patient on offense and no matter how many passes they made, we didn't want to let them get open.”
St. X put the game away in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter with Jordan Cor nette, Steve Sollmann, Larsen and Dan Kennedy scoring for a 50-37 advantage.
Cornette led St. Xavier with 13 points.
HILLIARD DAVIDSON (42) — Nungesser 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 2-4 1-2 7, Minnix 0-2 2-2 2, Packer 2-6 0-0 5, Henry 1-2 0-0 2, Mueller 1-4 0-0 2, Haulser 0-3 0-0 0, Balmert 0-1 0-0 0, Faehnle 2-5 2-5 6, Rogers 2-3 0-0 4, Elsasser 5-6 4-5 14. Totals: 15-37 9-14 42.
ST. XAVIER (58) — Cornette 4-7 5-6 13, Cronin 3-4 2-5 8, Larkin 4-7 1-1 9, Callahan 1-7 1-2 4, Kennedy 1-4 0-0 2, Larsen 4-6 2-2 10, Bast 2-3 0-0 5, Waligora 1-1 0-0 2, Sollmann 2-6 1-3 5, Compton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 22-46 12-19 58.
Hilliard Davidson ....... 12 16 7 7 —42
St. Xavier ....... 12 17 13 16 —58
3-pointers: SX 2-15 (Callahan, Bast). HD 3-10 (Lewis 2, Packer). Rebounds: SX 22 (Larsen 6). HD 30 (Henry 6, Packer 5). Turnovers: SX 9, HD 21. Steals: HD 5, SX 12. Records: St. Xavier 24-2, Davidson 22-5. Officials: Joseph Toone, E.J. Davis, Sr., Terry Guice. Attendance: 12,849.
GAME ON TV: Norwood Cable and Waycross Cable will televise tonight's championship game at 8:15 p.m.
The Ohio News Network has the exclusive rights, but agreed to waive them so Cincinnati viewers can see the game live. ONN is only available in Middletown and Lebanon.
BEDFORD ON STREAK: A surprise 67-61 winner over Toledo Libbey in the Division I semifinals, Bedford lost four of five games in January, including a 78-64 setback to Elder in Bedford.
Since that losing streak, however, the Bearcats have lost only 73-70 to Warrensville Heights, Purcell Marian's opponent today in the Division II state championship game.
The turnaround by Bedford was the result of head coach Everett Heard going with a set lineup rather than shuffling 12 players in-and-out of the game, which often created havoc.
A run-and-gun team, Bedford averages 82.6 points and relies primarily on guards Antonn Melton (20.0 points) and Kamil Wilson (25 points) with forwards Jamin Birch (13) Pat Washington (12) the top inside player.
Center Evan Curry is primarily a rebounder, taking only five shots in the semifinal victory over Libbey. Although Washington averages in doubles figures, he failed to take a shot in Friday's game.
“They have some great rebounders,” St. Xavier coach Scott Martin said. “They also like to get up-and-down the floor in a hurry.”
This will be Bedford's first appearance in a state basketball championship game.
Friday story: Larkin's leadership carries St. X
Thursday story: Versatile Cornette leads St. X
Wednesday story: Coach, dad lead St. X to state
Saturday story: Sollman leads regional victory
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