First Posted: 3/19/2015
TOLEDO — This time was going to be different. Very different.
That became apparent early in Lima Senior’s 62-41 win over Toledo St. John’s in a Division I boys basketball regional semifinal Thursday night at Savage Arena.
The Spartans (23-3) dominated from beginning to end against a team that beat them twice earlier this season, had beaten them all eight times they’d played each other since entering the Three Rivers Athletic Conference and was dominant the last two times they’d played in tournament games.
Lima Senior will play defending Division I state champion Lakewood St. Edward (20-5) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the University of Toledo for a trip to the state tournament. The Spartans will be attempting to be the first Lima Senior boys basketball team to reach the state tournament since 1992.
Lima Senior led 26-10 at halftime after holding St. John’s to two field goals in the first 16 minutes and forcing 13 turnovers.
There was no recovering from that, not even by a team that brought a 21-4 record into the game with the four losses all coming against district champions.
“We really got rocked back on our heels by their aggressiveness and never really recovered from it,” St. John’s coach Ed Heintschel said. “They’re a heck of a team and they’ve got a lot of talent.”
Elijah Pughsley scored 17 points, Xavier Simpson had 15 points and 6 assists and Ruben Flowers finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Lima Senior shot 61 percent (24 of 39), forced 19 turnovers and out-rebounded St. John’s 24-21.
The Spartans’ coach, Quincey Simpson, said the two earlier losses to St. John’s were a motivating factor, but not the whole story.
“It was motivation to a certain degree. They beat us twice. There were no ifs, ands or buts about that,” he said. “We wanted to prove to ourselves that we were who we said we were from Day 1. And I think we did that.
“My guys played tough. And if you play tough at this level you have an opportunity to win,” he said.
He also pointed to Flowers as a difference-maker in the third match-up with the Titans.
“That’s the Ruben Flowers I’ve always known. When Ruben plays the way he has the last month it gives us a different dynamic,” Simpson said.
Flowers said, “Coach Q always told me if we want to be a great team we have to be inside-out so I try to establish myself in the post and play hard.
“The whole week we just emphasized we were 0-2 against them and wanted to go out and play hard. When we’re at our best, we feel we’re the best in the state. We get better every game. We’ve made progress every game,” he said.
Lima Senior has won 22 out of its last 23 games.
The Spartans’ lead grew to as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Maybe the scariest moment of the night for Lima Senior came late in the second quarter when Quincey Simpson grabbed his right side and collapsed onto the bench and had to be helped to the locker room.
He returned to coach the second half and said he injured himself gesturing to a player after a mistake on the court.
“I tore something. I don’t know what it is but it was on fire. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t stand. It’s not better but at least I can stand and walk. I kind of got mad at Elijah and kind of waved my fist and heard something snap. I’m not as young as I used to be,” Simpson said.
