On a team that starts four seniors, it was the one junior in the first five that came up big, as Dallas Holmes led Southwood with 23 points and 9 rebounds as the Knights defeated Blackhawk Christian and earned a trip to the state finals.

 

While the Knights were outrebounded by the much larger Braves by 19, it was the 6’4 Holmes’ effort on the glass that kep that margin from growing even more. Faced with going up against the dual 6’8 frontline of Caleb Furst and Drake Thompson, Holmes routinely snagged defensive rebounds in traffic to end Blackhawk possessions. 

 

 

Caleb Furst picked up two fouls in the first quarter, which limited him to just 7 first half minutes. The Southwood lead would reach double figures with just over a minute left in the first half, but a Frankie Davidson triple would make the deficit seven at the break. Furst returned in the third quarter and made his presence known, scoring 9 points in the quarter and doing damage on the offensive glass. Six of Furst’s nine rebounds for the game came off of missed Blackhawk Christian shots.

 

 

The Braves had a two point lead heading into the fourth as Jalan Mull repeatedly knifed through Southwood’s zone defense, getting to the rim whenever he wanted. The lead changed hands multiple times in the last three minutes as each team struggled to get stops. A Dallas Holmes three along with free throws gave Southwood a three point lead with 16 seconds left. Jalan Mull would score with 10 seconds left to bring it within one, and after Carson Blair split a pair of free throws, Blackhawk would have a chance to tie. Mull raced down the floor but missed a left handed layup attempt. Caleb Furst would grab the rebound at the front of the rim, but his point blank shot hit the back of the rim and fell off as time expired.

 

 

Blackhawk Christian ends the season at 26-3 while Southwood moves to 25-3 and advances to the state finals where they will play Morristown.

 

 

 

 

In the 2A semistate contest, the size of Oak Hill proved to be too much for Westview as the Golden Eagles held on late thanks to going a perfect 15 for 15 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to advance to the state title game. Future Huntington Forrester teammates Caleb Middlesworth and Spencer Ballinger, in the town where they will play their college ball, combined for 38 points and 14 rebounds.

 

 

The teams would match each other throughout the first half as Westview was able to force turnovers and Oak Hill’s zone defense did a great job of negating the 5 man motion offense of Westview. Nick Rensberger and Caleb Middlesworth each had to sit out the finap few minutes of the half due to foul trouble as Oak Hill would take a two point lead into the locker room.

 

 

That lead would reach as many as 12 in the third quarter as Ballinger and Middlesworth would score 12 of the Eagles’ 18 points in the quarter. Westview would end the quarter on a 6-0 run as Charlie Yoder hit back to back threes for the Warriors. It was the Yoder and Hales show for Westview in the second half as the duo scored 31 of their 36 points in the last 16 minutes. Nick Rensberger, who averaged 11 points a game, was held without a shot attempt for the game and managed just 2 points on a pair of free throws thanks to the suffocating zone defense from Oak Hill.

 

 

Westview would cut their deficit to two points, but could never tie or take the lead as Oak Hill shot 15 of 15 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter to halt any Westview comeback attempt.

 

 

Westview ends their season at 28-2 while Oak Hill sits at 25-5 and will play Forest Park for the 2A state championship.

 

 

Westview  17  11  14  22  -  64

Oak Hill     14  16  18  22  -  70

 

Westview: Elijah Hales 31 points (9/21 FGs, 3/7 3Ps, 10/11 FTs), 7 asts; Charlie Yoder 14 points (5/13 FGs, 4/9 3Ps), 9 rebs; Josh Hostetler  8 points (3/9 FGs, 1/6 3Ps); Sam Sharp 4 points; Dennis Wingard 3 points; Nick Rensberger 2 points; Kenton Weaver 2 points

 

Oak Hill: Caleb Middlesworth 20 points (6/11 FGs, 1/5 3Ps, 7/7 FTs), 5 rebs; Spencer Ballinger 18 points (7/11 FGs, 4/4 fts), 9 rebs, 2 blks; David Arens 14 points (4/9 FGs, 1/4 3Ps, 5/6 FTs), 4 rebs, 3 asts; Tyce Frank 10 points (4/7 FGs, 2/4 3Ps), 5 asts; Konnor Cabe 8 points