Elder shot 68.4 percent for the game and ran away with it for a 64-51 win Friday at Lakota West High School. The Panthers (19-3) advance to the Division I district finals March 6 against LaSalle, while Hamilton finishes 6-17 after an 0-13 start, thanks to the forfeits.
“Yeah (it was tough), but we got back to a sectional final two straight years, which hasn’t been done here in a while,” Higgins said after the game. “There’s a lot of positives. I mean people know obviously we went through the forfeiture thing and that stupid stuff, but their resiliency and what kind of character they are showed by getting here. They could have quit any time and didn’t. I’m proud of them for that. They are great kids. I’m just trying to get back to where we’ll keep knocking on this door and see if we can knock it down next year.”
Elder pulled ahead late in the first quarter for good with the help of eight straight points in a 90-second span, including back-to-back 3-pointers, but Hamilton kept within reach until the final three minutes of the third quarter.
After Big Blue senior Jackson Lewis drained a 3 to make it a six-point game, Elder responded with nine straight points and went into the fourth quarter with a 48-33 lead that quickly moved to a 20-point gap. Hamilton scored the game’s final eight points to make it a little more respectable, and Higgins was pleased with the effort but wasn’t surprised by how well Elder managed the game.
“We had some chances to flip momentum and we couldn’t do it,” Higgins said. “They are really good. We just couldn’t stop them. We tried. They just wouldn’t miss.”
“They are just really good,” Higgins added. “That might be the best team we played this year, them and the team from Indiana are probably the best two we played. We just couldn’t find a way to stop them. They were open, key pass and they would hit it, and they were killing us inside. They were just better.”
Early in the game, Elder forward David Larkins appeared unstoppable inside, but after he scored 10 points in the first half, the Big Blue tried shutting him down in the second half and that just freed up shooters on the perimeter.
The Panthers made 7 of 12 from behind the arc (58.3 percent), and Hamilton only shot 42.9 percent overall.
“Having an inside and outside presence was very important for us,” Elder coach Joe Schoenfeld said. “… Once we got a lead in the third quarter we could be a little more patient and that led to even better shots, and that’s when I think the layups came, which you’re not going to shoot whatever percentage we shot without getting a fair amount of things at the basket.”
Getting some stops during the final minutes of the third quarter was key as well. Hamilton at that point was starting to hit some 3-pointers, which enabled the Big Blue to cut the deficit to within six before the Panthers pulled away.
Larkin finished with a game-high 16 points, while senior Kareem Swain led Hamilton with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Lewis added 14 points and sophomore Breeon Ishmail had 11 points.
“Hamilton is so good,” Schoenfeld said. “They’ve got great outside shooters, they’ve got a good big guy and great rebounder. They play so hard, so we said we have to have five guys trying to guard the ball and I think we got some stops. I think that’s where the separation came from. It could have easily gone the other way if Hamilton got some stops and got out in transition, that’s where they are hard to beat when that happens. We limited our turnovers, got shots and got some stops on defense.”
Hamilton looks to get over the sectional final hurdle next year but will have five seniors to replace, including three of the top five scorers (Lewis, Quincy Simms-Marshall and Swain) and another starter in Tory Jett.
“We’ve got some talent (returning),” Higgins said. “It will be a different team, different group. A lot of young guys are going to have to play and step up. We’ve got to replace four guys that played major minutes, but that’s high school basketball.”
*** Lakota East and Lakota West also fell in Division I district semifinals on Friday night. The Thunderhawks dropped a 58-44 decision to La Salle, while the Firebirds lost to Mason, 59-46. Middletown played Moeller on Saturday night.
*** In Division II, Fenwick lost to McNicholas, 36-35, on Saturday afternoon. Ross played Indian Hill on Saturday night.
*** In Division IV, New Miami faced Cincinnati College Prep on Saturday night.
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