DAYTON — Middletown Fenwick used hot shooting by senior forward Matt Burns and solid rebounding to take early command on the way to a 77-62 win over Mariemont in a Division III district championship game Wednesday night at University of Dayton Arena.

        By winning its first district championship since 1988, Fenwick earned a matchup with Waynesville in a regional semifinal next Thursday at 6:15p.m. at Wright State University's Nutter Center.

        Burns made five 3-pointers from four different spots on the floor on his way to 17 first-quarter points.

        “We knew he could shoot, but you've got to find him,” Mariemont coach David Wainscott said. “We didn't find him. Once he made a few, he put us in a position we hadn't been in all year. We like to stay in that zone and play a half-court game. They took us out of what we'd been doing.”

        “That's what Matt's done for us all year,” Fenwick coach Pat Kreke said.

        The Falcons led 23-12 go ing into the second quarter, and they expanded the advantage to as many as 19 points before settling for a 43-30 halftime lead behind senior guard Joe Kreke's nine second-quarter points.

        Burns was 6-for-9 on 3-pointers while scoring 23 points in the first half. He finished with 25. Senior forward Branden Fisher scored a game-high 28 points for Mariemont.

        Mariemont, which brought a nine-game winning streak into the game, outshot the Falcons 52.9 percent to 46.9 percent in the first half, but Fenwick took advantage of a 21-9 edge in rebounds — including 11-1 in offensive rebounds — to get 15 more shots than the Warriors in the first half. Sophomore center Michael Kleingers led the effort with eight rebounds and finished with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

        MARIEMONT (62) — Wilson 1 0 3, Gray 3 0 9, Clasen 1 2 4, Fisher 10 7 28, Weissman 2 1 6, Landes 5 2 12. Totals: 22 12 62.

        FENWICK (77) — Halcomb 1 0 2, Lueking 1 0 2, Munafo 4 0 10, McCormick 1 0 2, Martin 3 1 7, J. Kreke 3 2 9, Kleingers 7 3 17, Burns 9 1 25, R. Kreke 0 1 1, Rossi 1 0 2. Totals: 30 8 77.

        Mariemont ....... 12  18  16  16—62

        Fenwick ....... 23  20  21  13—77

        3-pointers: M—Gray 3, Wilson, Fisher, Weissman. F—Burns 6, Munafo 2, J. Kreke. Records: M 18-5, F 19-5.

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