Saturday, March 24, 2001
Elder stuns No. 1, makes title game
Panthers win before record crowd
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Elder's Scott Benken and Phil Bengel salute their fans.
(Jeff Swinger photos)
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COLUMBUS — The game film of Elder dismantling Columbus Brookhaven in the Division I boys state basketball semifinals Friday could be used at a basketball clinic.
Elder, in an exhibition of how to play every aspect of the game, handed the No. 1 ranked and previously undefeated Bearcats a 68-50 beating at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center. The game was watched by a tournament record crowd of 17,421, including thousands of Elder's loyal, vocal fans.
The Panthers (21-6) go for the school's fourth state basketball championship at 8:30 p.m. tonight against Cleveland St. Ignatius (24-2). It's a rematch: Elder beat St. Ignatius 82-67 at Elder on Feb. 3, when Ignatius was ranked No. 1. Ignatius had played a tough game against rival St. Edward in Cleveland the night before (Feb. 4 story). Ignatius won its Friday night semifinal over Massillon Jackson 61-47.
The Panthers have now beaten three No. 1-ranked teams this season; the other was St. Xavier.
Elder fans try to distract a Brookhaven foul shooter.
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Elder got balanced scoring from Tim Schenke (15 points), Scott Benken (13), Jake Bazeley (12) and Mike Kroeger (10).
Elder trailed only once, at 1-0, in a game the Panthers took control of early. They converted 5-of-6 shots for an 11-5 lead extended it to 19-12 at the quarter break. It was 31-22 at halftime.
Jake Bazeley reacts after he was fouled by Brookhaven's Kieran Johnson.
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“One of the biggest things we wanted to eliminate was giving Brookhaven easy baskets,” Elder coach Joe Schoenfeld said. “They excel at offensive rebounding and we had to guard and stay in front of them, which we did well.”
Brookhaven coach Bruce Howard said his team was beaten in all phases of the game.
“Elder's a good defensive team and they shot well,” Howard said. “They got back on defense and stopped our transition, which is a big part of our game. It was a very physical game, and we didn't do a good job getting second shots.”
A review of the statistics reveals the Panthers' dominance.
Elder shot 55.6 percent from the field and held Brookhaven to one of its worst games, 19-of-53 for 35.8 percent. The Bearcats' leading scorer, 6-4 junior guard Ronald Lewis (17.2 points a game), took only two shots and went scoreless.
Nick Mullen and Bill Poland chase down Brookhavenıs Brandon Foust at mid court.
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“Tim (Schenke) did a good job guarding him,” Schoenfeld said. “We told the kids that any team 26-0 has good players. We didn't want to let them drive to the basket. If they were going to beat us, it would be from the outside.”
Schenke was unaware that Lewis only took two shots and didn't score.
“I had plenty of help-side defense from Phil (Bengel) and Scott (Benken),” Schenke said. “He tried to drive, so I stayed low and tried to be quicker than him.”
Entering the game, Brookhaven had outrebounded every opponent. But the Panthers taught Brookhaven a lesson in boxing out and won that battle too, 32-30.
Elder was also superior running the back-door play and getting the ball to the open shooter. The Panthers had 15 assists, with point guard Bazeley getting six and Benken four. Brookhaven had only six assists.
Benken muscles Foust.
(AP photo)
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Elder, besides shooting well from the field, also was excellent from the free throw line, converting 17-of-22 (77.3 percent). Brookhaven was 9-of-17 (52.9 percent).
Elder broke the game open with a 9-4 run to start the third quarter, which gave the Panthers a 40-26 lead. Kroeger scored four points during the decisive run.
“Coach always tells us that the first part of the third quarter is important,” Benken said. “We felt we had to make a run early and that's what we did.”
Brookhaven made a run to start the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 56-45 with 2:10 remaining. But Schenke sank a field goal and Stephen Miller added two free throws to break the run.
“We could never get over the hump,” Howard said. “We started the game going inside and we were pretty successful. We then got away from it. I guess I have to take the blame.”
Elder's defense forced 16 turnovers and also held the Bearcats' second leading scorer, Raheem Moss (14.2 points per game) to four points, all in the second half.
Elder won state basketball championships in 1973, '74 and '93, and also has won 11 baseball, five cross country and two volleyball state titles.
The Panthers will try to become the third straight GCL South team to win the Division I crown. St. Xavier won last year and Moeller won in 1999. LaSalle, the other member of the GCL South, won in 1996.
ELDER (68) — Benken 5-7 3-4 13, Schenke 6-9 3-4 15, Mahon 1-4 0-0 3, Bengel 3-5 0-2 6, Bazeley 4-10 4-4 12, Miller 0-0 5-6 5, Wiehe 1-2 0-0 2, Kroeger 4-7 2-2 10, Arszman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 25-45 17-22 68.
BROOKHAVEN (50) — Leiws 0-2 0-0 0, Moss 2-4 0lyles 0-2 0-0 4, Foust 3-3 0-2 6, Murphy 3-7 1-3 7, Edwards 0-5 0-0 0, Spencer 0-2 0-0 0, Lyles 0-2 0-0 0, Lavener 2
8 5-6 11, Patterson 6-14 1-2 14, Johnson 3-6 2-4 8. Totals: 19-53 9-17 50.
Elder ....... 19 12 15 22—68
Columbus Brookhaven ....... 12 10 6 22—50
3-pointers: E (1-5) Mahon; B (3-16) Lavender 2, Patterson. Rebounds: E 32 (Schenke 12, Benken 9, Bengel 3); B 30 (Murphy 7. Turnovers: E 13, B 16. Assists: E 15 (Bazeley 6 Benken 4, Schenke 3); B 6. Blocks: E 2, B 1. Steals: E 4 (Bazeley 2); B 4. Official: Joseph Horvath, Robert Lee, Randall Prince. Attendance: 17,421.
St. Ignatius next for Elder
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Elder stuns No. 1, makes title game