Thursday, March 15, 2001
Roger Bacon marches into regional final
By George Schutte
Enquirer Contributor
FAIRBORN — A talk with his players early in the first quarter was all Roger Bacon coach Bill Brewer needed to get them to play.
Afterward, Roger Bacon went on a 15-0 run to take control of the game en route to a 63-45 win over Columbus Mifflin in the Division II regional semifinals at Wright State.
Roger Bacon will play Greater Catholic League North rival Kettering Alter at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the regional title game; the winner goes to the state tournament. Alter won the two regular-season games by four points each time.
With the Spartans trailing 11-5 midway through the first quarter, Brewer called a timeout.
“We came out unorganized because of a lineup change,” Brewer said. “They weren't playing hard the first three minutes. I told them to go after the ball.”
During the run, Dave Johnson hit two 3-pointers as the Spartans took a 21-11 lead. Mifflin wouldn't get within 10 points after that.
“The early 3-pointers by No.10 (Dave Johnson) turned the complexion of the game,” Mifflin coach Gene Caslin said. “We were worried about their size and that's why we opened in a zone and then came out with pressure in the second half.”
Junior forward Frank Phillips scored 12 of his game-high 14 points in the first half as Roger Bacon took a 32-17 lead.
“We knew they could take the ball off the dribble,” Phillips said. “We just had to keep being aggressive going to the basket. And if we got fouled, make our foul shots.”
Roger Bacon again came out firing in the second half, with Johnson hitting another 3-pointer to get the quarter going.
“Tonight we had an off game,” Miflin's Kortez Booker said.
Outstanding shooting in the first half (13-of-21 from the field, including 4-of-6 behind the arc) lifted Bacon.
COLUMBUS MIFFLIN (45) — Booker 3-9 0-0 6, Sullivan 3-13 0-0 6, Darthard 2-4 0-1 4, White 3-11 1-2 9, Slaughter 4-12 0-0 10, Pinson 2-3 0-0 4, Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Woodfork 1-2 0-0 2, Jennings 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 20-56 1-3 45.
ROGER BACON (63) -- Wyrick 3-7 2-3 8, Phillips 6-8 2-2 14, St. Clair 3-7 1-4 7, Johnson 3-5 0-0 9, Meridy 0-1 0-0 0, Bock 1-1 0-0 3, Holt 0-0 1-2 1, Wyrick 0-1 0-0 0, Holt 2-4 0-0 5, Land 4-6 2-2 10, Huerkamp 0-2 2-2 2, Bush 1-1 0-0 2, Reed 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 23-45 12-19 63.
Mifflin ....... 11 6 7 21—45
Roger Bacon ....... 14 18 12 19—63
3-pointers: RB 5-11 (Johnson 3, Bock, Holt). M 4-11 (White 2, Slaughter 2). Rebounds: R 35 (St. Clair 9, B. Wyrick 8). M 27 (White 4). Turnovers: RB 14, M 11. Assists: RB 19 (Phillips 5, Huerkamp 5). M 5. Steals: RB 2, M 10. Officials: Greg Zink, Wane Blankenship, Bob Juliano.
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Roger Bacon marches into regional final
