First Posted: 3/12/2015
ADA — It is now officially survive and advance time and that is exactly what Lima Central Catholic did Thursday night in Division III district semifinal action against Coldwater at Ohio Northern University.
The Cavaliers (13-10) were able to slow down the Thunderbird express in the second half and missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime but LCC hung on for a 52-49 win.
LCC (22-2) got off to a good start and grabbed leads of 15-9 after one period and 31-20 going to the half-time break thanks to 13 first half points by Josh Dixon.
The Thunderbirds still by led 10 points at 43-33 going to the final period of play and appeared to be in control.
But Coldwater got back to with-in 45-41 with 4:54 left to play when a loose ball resulted in bodies hitting the floor and a foul was called on Coldwater. That player slammed the floor in frustration and was assessed a technical foul.
From the LCC stand point it was a costly play. Cobbs, who missed the last regular season a first tournament game with a shoulder injury, went to the bench in obvious shoulder pain. Cobbs would re-enter the game with less than two minutes and convert four key throws down the stretch for LCC.
“We were trying to penetrate and weren’t hitting the open shots.” Cobbs said. “It’s survive and advance time and I didn’t want to let my team down.”
The Thunderbirds converted one of two free throws on the technical and then made two more free throws when Jake Williams was fouled on the ensuing possession. LCC grew the lead to 48-41 but Coldwater wouldn’t go away.
The Cavaliers got to with-in 50-49 with five seconds to play before Cobbs made two free throws and Coldwater missed a last ditch 3-point shot that would have tied the game and LCC advances to the district final where they will meet St. Henry, a 51-31 winner against Liberty-Benton, at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“My biggest fear was us not going inside out and we didn’t do a good job the second half getting the ball inside.” LCC coach Frank Kill said. “Those Coldwater kids are winners and grinders and Brunet (6-foot-8) hit 7-of-8 from the field; he’s a hard problem to solve but credit Tre for hitting those free throws at the end.
Coldwater got 14 points from Brunet, 13 by Aaron Harlamert and 10 from Derek Thobe.
The Thunderbirds went the entire fourth quarter without a field goal but were able to convert 9-of-10 from the free throw line to hang on for the win.
Cobbs scored a game-high 17 points to pace the LCC attack while Dixon added 14 and Walton finished with 8 points.
St. Henry 51, Liberty-Benton 31
St. Henry built a 30-20 halftime lead and then added to it in the second to advance to play LCC.
Mitchel Stammen (16), Jesse Niekamp (15) and Ryan Mikesell (13) all scored in double digits for the Redskins (22-2). The Eagles finished their season at 18-6.
