The Oberlin Firelands Falcons and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions came into their Div. IV district semifinal contest in McGarry Gymnasium Feb. 25 with identical 15-8 records.
The Oberlin Firelands Falcons and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions came into their Div. IV district semifinal contest in McGarry Gymnasium Feb. 25 with identical 15-8 records.
The teams went at each other from the get go and battled, as expected. Slowly but surely, however, in normal NDCL fashion, the Lions were exerting their will on the Falcons, and in the second half really got down to business as several players stepped up in the solid 59-43 NDCL victory.
The Lions spread things around when needed. At the very start of this game it was Connor Hernan who did the dirty jobs. He grabbed missed shots of teammates and put the ball back into the hoop for a quick 4-0 lead.
That didn’t last.
Firelands Max Stinson showed some deadly long range shooting ability in the first half, hitting a trio of 3-pointers while scoring 11 first-half points.
The second half was a different ballgame, however. NDCL coach Pat Vuyancih stressed tightening up the defenses, using more pressure — and with contributions from everybody who played — the idea settled in well as Stinson did not get open looks in the second half and hit only one more basket as he led his team with 14 points.
The Falcons scored only 17 points in the second half as full court pressure at various points denied Stinson his shots, and nobody else was able to do much.
“We knew we had to use multiple pressure defenses against them,” Coach Vuyancih said. “We just needed to mix up our presses more in the second half with the intent of making him a driver and not a shooter. The kids just did a fantastic job of cutting him off as well as their inside game, too.”
Beside the early efforts of NDCL’s Connor Hernan, who gets into the mix at every juncture of every game to lead the way, several other Lions completed the task at hand defensively to wear down the frustrated Falcons.
In the early going it was Angelo Tamburrino keeping things from getting away as Firelands was right there from the start. Tamburrino had a trio of steals in the first period as the Falcons tried to force the ball inside to the hulk of a center, Ayden Fortner.
No matter which way he went, the Lions were sure to follow, led by Tamburrino and both Connor and Brendan Hernan.
In the second period, as the battle went back and forth, Connor was called for a couple quick fouls and went to the bench. No problem.
Brendan hit on four of five shots in the period. Tied at 26-26 with seconds to go before halftime, Connor found Brendan with a picture perfect pass and a layup that gave the Lions a 28-26 edge at the break.
Openings the third period, NDCL got the wakeup it needed as Fortner scored and Lucas Green did as well for a quick 30-28 Firelands’ lead.
A 7-0 run for the Lions, ignited by a Tamburrino 3-pointer, and with great ball movement in the second half that led to the Lions shooting 50 % from the floor on the night left no room for error for the Falcons.
Errors became plentiful, however.
Depth also was a huge thing in the favor of NDCL. A solid nine-man rotation kept fresh bodies on the floor, producing solid results along the way.
Of the 23 baskets for the Lions, 18 were fueled by good passes. Five players recorded at least three assists, led by the five of Mason Pesho along with four from Ryan, and three each from Tamburrino and both Hernans.
“A big key for us tonight,” Brendan said, “was for us to just keep running our offense all the way through each play until we got good shots. We had to just be patient and play good defense, too, and be ready for each opportunity we could get. They (Firelands) are a very good team.”
Connor Hernan was efficient in a huge way with 19 ponts, including 10 in the fourth period to seal the outcome. His nine rebounds also kept the ball alive and away from the hot shooting Stinson in the first half.
Brendan added 11 points, Tamburrino aded 8, and Luke Keep gave the Falcons another headache in the third period with all 7 of his points.
Pesho tallied 9 points as well, but a key factor that did not show up in the scorebook was the efforts of the lower end of the Lion bench.
Brendan Sawitke started and was solid, but sophomores Brady Capel and Wesley Jacobson both came off the bench to provide depth in special moments.
The Lions would lose to Hawken in the district championship, but the NDCL boys basketball program will build on a solid season next year.
