PIQUA – It took the No. 10 seed Newton Indians a hard-fought 21-10 fourth quarter to earn a 41-37 OHSAA DVII first-round tournament win over the No. 8 seed Cedarville Indians.
“Coming in here at Piqua is never easy,” said Newton coach Michael Cantrell. “This is the gauntlet, and we have to push through it. Crazy things have happened, but you have to prepare kids and make them confident.”
Newton turned around a 27-20 deficit to open fourth-quarter play by playing zone defense, a first for Coach Cantrell in two years at Newton. Luke Cornett racked up 10 points, including a perfect 4-4 at the charity stripe, and Max Newhouse dented the fourth quarter board for seven points. Trenton Robinson drained a 3-pointer, and Brady Wackler popped in a free throw to ice the win, advancing Newton in tournament play.
“Defensively is how we win games,” Cantrell stated. “We have to keep these dudes in the 40s to have a chance because we are limited at times, but when it came down the stretch, doing what we do is what got us back into it.”
“We actually played zone,” continued Cantrell. “That slowed them down a little bit. In my two years, it’s the first time I’ve put in the zone, but you gotta do what you gotta do. When you play all guards, that’s what you must do.”
Cedarville took the opening period 14-8, and Newton took the second quarter 7-6. The teams went to the halftime break, with Newton trailing 20-15 in the low-scoring tournament game.
The third period continued to be a defensive struggle, with Cedarville winning the third quarter 7-5, giving the Indians from Cedarville what looked like a comfortable 27-20 lead.
The rest is history, as Newton scored more points in the fourth quarter than in the previous three periods, outscoring Cedarville 21-10 to advance in tournament action.
“Getting paint touches, getting Max (Newhouse) inside-out looks and getting looks at the rim, and getting our guards the looks we want on the perimeter,” said Cantrell. “Getting the stops, turning defense into offenses down the stretch.”
Newton was 14-27 (52 percent) at the free throw line, while Cedarville went 7-12 (58 percent).
“We got to the line; that’s what we wanted to do,” said Cantrell. “We wanted to make more than they attempt; that’s always a goal. Early on, I was, can we just buy a free throw, but it was good.”
Coach Cantrell took time to talk about his players following the victory.
“Luke really stepped up in the end and handled Van Loo pretty well,” Cantrell said. “He’s their motor. Luke made some plays down the stretch, and at the end of the day, players make plays. Max was a grown man underneath, especially towards the end, and he made some good plays. Brady Wackler came out and did great, and our guards Trenton and Cole guarded down the stretch, and that put us over the top. Hainline came out and did a great job with his defensive position and executed well.”
Newton will face Franklin Monroe, 58-28 winners over Fairlawn, on Tuesday, February 25th, at Piqua with a 7:30 p.m. start time.
BOXSCORE:
NEWTON 41, CEDARVILLE 37
NEWTON – L. Cornett 19, M. Newhouse 14, B. Wackler 4, T. Robinson 3, A. Kane 1 – TOTALS 12 14-27 1 41
CEDARVILLE – C. Hardy 10, B. Haemmerle 9, W. Mossing 8, N. Van loo 5, R. Reed 3, L. Pyles 2 – TOTALS 6 7-12 6 37
3-POINTERS
Newton 1 (T. Robinson 1)
Cedarville 6 (W. Mossing 2, C. Hardy 2, B. Haemmerle 1, N. Van loo 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
08-07-05-21 41 Newton
14-06-07-10 37 Cedarville
