First Posted: 3/4/2015
MT. BLANCHARD — At this point of the season, it’s all about moving on.
For Shawnee, Wednesday’s 59-54 Division II boys sectional semifinal victory over Kenton at Riverdale was a prime example.
After jumping out early on Kenton, Shawnee went ice cold from the field in the third quarter. However, the Indians made just enough plays in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.
With the victory, Shawnee (8-15) will face St. Marys (14-8) in a sectional final Friday at 6:15 p.m. at Riverdale. Kenton ends the season 6-17.
Shawnee jumped out to an 18-9 lead by the end of the first quarter, and led 35-25 by the break.
But in the third quarter, Shawnee made just 1-of-10 shots from the floor, as Kenton cut the deficit to 38-32 by the third stop.
In the final quarter, the Indians made 7-of-8 from the free throw line to stave off a Kenton comeback.
For the game, Shawnee was 15-of-22 from the charity stripe, while Kenton struggled, hitting 11-of-22 from the line.
“(In the) third quarter, they came out defensively; they just got after us,” Shawnee coach Mark Triplett said. “Not having the ability to score isn’t generally a problem for us. We held them to seven points in the third quarter and we lost some of our lead.
“They just did a great job of coming out on us and forcing us into some uncomfortable situations. We didn’t handle that very well. But, I thought we were resilient tonight. …We didn’t execute exactly the way we wanted to, obviously, in the third quarter. But when they got close, we made enough plays.”
Jaden O’Neal led Shawnee with 16 points. JaQuan Tucker scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Griffin Hites added 12 points, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Austin Phillips, a 6-foot-5 forward, led Kenton with 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. Colyn Blackford scored 14 points for the Wildcats.
In the first half, O’Neal paced the Indians with 12 points.
Shawnee’s largest lead of the game was 12, 37-25, early in the third quarter.
However, Kenton chipped away at the deficit and cut it to 42-39 with five minutes left to play, on an old-fashioned three-point play by Trevor Downing (eight points, three steals).
But, Hites was able to help put the game away for Shawnee at the free throw line.
“Griffin Hites did a good job at the free throw line down the stretch to kind of seal the game for us,” Triplett said. “We’ll take it. At this point in the season, it doesn’t have to be pretty. We just need to get the win.”
For the game, Shawnee shot 40 percent from the floor. Kenton shot 45 percent from the field.
Kenton won the boards, 33-24.
In the turnover department, Shawnee committed 12 turnovers, while Kenton turned it over 16 times.
“The first half really did us in,” Kenton coach Matt McCullough said. “We had some mental errors, defensively and offensively. In order to take the next step in this program, we’re going to need guys who first of all, get mentally prepared. And second of all, we have to be more fundamental.
“Free throws — we work every day on those at practice. Making layups on contact — we work on every day in practice. We just have to get better with those aspects.”
Added Triplett, “Shawnee hasn’t won a tournament game in five or six years. It was nice for our kids to experience a tournament environment. Now we’re going out there Friday night and hoping for the best.”
