photo by: Andrew Grimm
Steubenville’s Will Taylor leaps up for a fastbreak layup against Tri-Valley during their Division II East/Southeast District Semifinals game Tuesday. Steubenville won, 73-60 to advance.
UHRICHSVILLE — The winning formula for Big Red’s talented roster all season has been simple — share the ball.
They did just that once again Tuesday night to advance.
Steubenville, the top seed, was one free throw away from having all five starters in double digits on the way to fending off Tri-Valley 73-60 in the Division III East/Southeast District semifinals inside a packed Claymont High School.
“We played hard from the tip,” Big Red head coach Mike Haney said. “I thought we did a great job. They’re really big … but I thought our guys battled, kept fighting and fighting and our defense prevailed.
“Our winning formula has been four guys in double figures and another close, and our defense helped. It was a great high school basketball game.
“Our fans really traveled well, it was great to see. They made it feel like a home game for us in here. It was a great atmosphere for tournament time.”
Big Red, the top seed in the East side of the bracket, racked up 14 assists as a team and had the needed responses every time the second-seeded Scotties seemed to be making a push.
“We told our guys they were going to make runs, they’re a great team, they came in here 19-4 for a reason,” Haney said. “We told them we just had to keep our composure and every time they cut it down we would go the other way and hit a big 3 or make a shot.”
Will Taylor led the quartet in double figures, tying for a game-high with 20 points while tallying three rebounds, two assists and a team-high four steals.
Aiden Davis and Santino Haney each racked up 17 points. Davis, the West Liberty commit, finished with a team-high five boards, two assists and two steals and the younger Haney dished a game-high eight assists to go with three steals and two rebounds.
Tre Wiggins netted 10 points and four steals, while Cole Bowers tallied nine points, three rebounds and two assists.
After a back-and-forth early going, Big Red (20-3) rattled off an 8-0 run late in the first quarter, capped by a Davis 3 that forced a Tri-Valley (19-4) timeout and put Steubenville on top by seven, a lead they would not surrender again from there.
After the Scotties cut into the margin early in the second, Big Red rattled off seven-straight to go up double digits for the first time and carried a 10-point lead into halftime.
Big Red led by as many as 14 in the third quarter, but the Scotties made a push early in the fourth, a Max Lyall trey cutting the deficit to six. Bowers, though, hit a key 3 the other way to end the run, then Taylor sunk another to put the lead back in double digits for good.
Lyall netted 20 for the Scotties, while Nohah Nichols tallied a double-double for Tri-Valley with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Scotties, who had a noticeable size advantage, held a 30-16 advantage on the boards, but Big Red’s outside shooting with 10 3-pointers was able to counter the advantage inside.
Steubenville advances to the East/Southeast District Championship game on Sunday afternoon in Athens at Ohio University’s Convocation Center.
They will face Miami Trace for a trip to the Regional 11 tournament with the opening tip set for 4 p.m. at the home of the Ohio Bobcats.
Miami Trace, which is now 23-0, fended off Vincent Warren 79-71 in the semi on the Southeast side of the bracket Tuesday night at Logan.
“It’s great for this group to have a shot at a district championship,” coach Haney said. “I tell the guys there’s not better time than tournament time and I am proud of all of them.
“It’ll be a great experience for these guys to go down there. Hopefully we can keep it going.”