Thursday, March 01, 2001
St. Xavier escapes Loveland
Down 14 in fourth quarter, Bombers win in OT
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Loveland's Kyle Partin and St. X's Jordan Cornette square off during a scuffle at the end of the game.
(Steven M. Herppich photos)
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One team had been there before. The other team had never experienced it.
Defending Division I state champion St. Xavier, which trailed by 14 points early in the fourth quarter, rallied for a 64-58 overtime victory over Loveland in a boys sectional semifinal game Wednesday night at UC's Shoemaker Center.
St. Xavier will play Withrow on Monday for the sectional championship, with the winner advancing to the district championship on Saturday, March 10, at the University of Dayton Arena.
Withrow defeated Lakota West 55-53 in Wednesday's opening game.
Seniors Jordan Cornette, Mike Grogan and Steve Callahan came through down the stretch for St. X, combining for 26 points.
Cornette blocks Kevin Schappell's shot.
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Loveland was hurt by poor free throw shooting in the fourth quarter. The Tigers converted only two of their 10 attempts from the line in the period and were 12-of-22 for the game.
“The game turned when (Mike) Grogan hit the two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter,” St. Xavier coach Scott Martin said. “This forced them to come out on defense and opened up the middle.”
With the Bombers trailing 49-36 with 4:59 remaining, Grogan nailed a 3-pointer, then made another with 4:03 remaining to cut the deficit to seven points, 49-42.
Another factor in the Bombers' comeback was their full-court press, which forced eight Loveland turnovers during the fourth quarter and overtime.
Mike Grogan
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“It's a 32-minute game,” Callahan said. “We played the entire 32 minutes and they didn't, and that was the difference.”
Besides scoring seven points during the game's final 11 minutes, Callahan also worked the ball in to Cornette during the final four minutes. Cornette, a 6-foot-7 center, scored seven points during the final 3:34.
St. Xavier took an early 8-2 lead only to have Loveland take control 14-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers led 31-25 at halftime.
“We couldn't buy a shot the first three quarters,” Martin said. “They were hitting a lot of tough shots, and we knew they would eventually stop falling.”
Loveland was in command throughout the third quarter, finishing it with a 43-31 lead. Kevin Schappell got the Tigers off to a good start in the fourth with a 25-foot 3-pointer.
But Loveland failed at the free throw line on its next three possessions, converting only one of six shots and allowing St. Xavier to stay within striking distance at 47-33.
Loveland ends the season with a 20-2 record. St. Xavier improved to 16-5.
ST. XAVIER (64) — Callahan 4 4 13, Grogan 7 0 16, Cornette 8 7 23, Williams 2 0 4, Heekin 2 2 7, Cashen 0 1 1. Totals: 23 14 64.
LOVELAND (58) — Manville 1 0 2, Kowatsch 0 1 1, Partin 3 0 7, Beck 2 0 4, Schappell 7 2 19, Lewis 0 2 2, VanBuskirk 5 7 17, Cripe 3 0 6. Totals: 21 12 58.
St. Xavier ....... 10 15 6 21 12—64
Loveland ....... 14 17 12 9 6—58
3-pointers: S—Callahan, Grogan 2, Heekin. L—Partin, Schappell 3.
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