Article published March 14, 2008
Cowboys good enough: No momentum, but Libbey wins
Libbey's William Buford slams down two of his 21 points in the Cowboy's semifinal victory. (BLADE PHOTOS/JEREMY WADSWORTH)
 HACKENBERG: This time, the ball falls for Ham
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By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - The Libbey Cowboys didn't so much win their Division II state basketball semifinal yesterday as they avoided losing it.
Perhaps it was because St. Paris Graham forced its more deliberate style on the characteristically up-tempo Cowboys, or because Libbey didn't react well to the early (10:45 a.m.) start at Value City Arena.
Whatever the reason, the Cowboys had to feel fortunate to emerge with a 51-44 victory over the previously unbeaten and fifth-ranked Falcons in a game that was still in doubt (47-44) with 25.3 seconds remaining.
"I don't think we ever really truly had any momentum," coach Leroy Bates said. "We thought [late in game], if we could make them come out and play us, we could use dribble penetration and dishes to the block, and hopefully achieve some success there.
"To some extent we did that, but I was not pleased with our shot selection. We were forcing shots, and it wasn't necessary because we could have had wide-open layups."
Even the remarkably consistent William Buford - who was announced as Ohio's 2008 Mr. Basketball about 16 hours before tipoff - failed to produce one of his rubber-stamp superb performances.
Libbey's Lance Jones, left, and Julius Wells apply the pressure to St. Paris Graham's Ethan Ward at Ohio State University.
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The 6-5 Ohio State-bound guard turned in game highs with 21 points and 10 rebounds, but he hit just 3 of 12 shots from the field after a 14-point first half.
"We were getting good shots and good looks in the paint, but our shots just didn't fall," said Buford, who looks for improvement tomorrow. "We need to stay focused, listen to our coach and just keep playing aggressive and we'll win the state."
Regardless of how they got there, the win sends the Cowboys (24-2) into tomorrow's 10:45 a.m. D-II championship game against second-ranked Chillicothe (24-2). The Cavaliers advanced to the title game with a 78-70 win over top-ranked Poland Seminary (25-1) in yesterday's second semifinal.It will be the second meeting between these teams at Value City Arena. Libbey topped Chillcothe 73-56 on Jan. 6, 2007, in last season's Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic here.
The senior-dominated Cowboys trailed 13-11 after one quarter, squeezed ahead 22-20 at halftime, and held just a 29-28 lead after three quarters against this near all-underclassman Falcon squad that outrebounded Libbey 36-32 despite giving up better than two inches per starter.
Libbey's Buford looks for a way out as St. Paris Graham's Ward applies some defensive pressure.
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"We felt like our best chance to attack them was in the half court," Graham coach Brook Cupps said. "They are a tough team to attack.
"Our motion stuff was hard for them to guard, but they did a nice job of mixing their defenses back and forth between zone and man. They did some stuff that was effective for them in the second half."
The Cowboys hit just 37 percent (19-of-51) shots from the field, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range, and just 50 percent (13-of-26) from the line. Numbers like these don't normally point to a win.
"Graham did an outstanding job," Bates said. "Their kids played extremely well, and they did exactly what we expected them to do. That's a tribute to their coach and his staff.
Other numbers did point to success.
The Cowboys forced 19 Graham turnovers while committing just nine themselves, and 6-5 senior Lance Jones turned in a gem of a 32-minute effort as a stopper.
His assignment was to contain the Falcons' leading scorer, 6-2 junior Josh Schuler, a first-team All-Ohioan who averages 19.7 points per game.
| ONE TO GO |
• What: Division II boys basketball finals
• Who: Libbey (24-2) vs. Chillicothe (24-2).
• When: Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
• Where: Ohio State University's Value City Arena in Columbus
• TV/Radio: STO, BCSN, 1230, 1470 |
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Until 4:32 remained in the game - when he sank a pair of free throws to pull Graham (26-1) within 37-30 - Schuler was exactly 19.7 points under that average.
"It wasn't really frustrating that I wasn't getting touches," Schuler said, "it was that when I was getting open looks I wasn't knocking them down. That was frustrating because I knew my team needed me to hit those to have a chance to win.
"[Jones] was probably the most athletic guy that's guarded me all year. He did a good job."
Schuler, who finished with eight points after going scoreless for 27:28, hit just 2 of his 13 shots from the field in the game. Jones achieved this lockdown while committing just one foul. He added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and had no turnovers.
"I take pride in my defense, and so does the team," Jones said. "But I work extra hard at it and I think I played a great defense."
Equally important late in the game, Jones (6 of 8 at the line) sank four crucial free throws in the final quarter to help Libbey hang on. The first pair came at the 5:46 mark after an intentional foul call on Graham's Ethan Ward (14 points, six rebounds) to put the Cowboys up 33-28. The next pair came with 36.5 seconds remaining, extending a tenuous Libbey edge to 47-43.
In between, he threw down an impressive two-handed dunk off a feed from Buford to give Libbey its biggest lead of the game, 41-31, with 3:37 to play.
The Cowboys held Graham to 38 percent shooting (15 of 40) from the field, and the Falcons did not get their first fourth-quarter field-goal attempt off until 4:36 remained in the game. They did not make one in the final period until Schuler scored from 12 feet out along the left baseline at the 3:04 mark.
Brad Burton was valuable off the bench for Libbey, scoring all seven of his points after halftime, to go with five rebounds. Brad Sandridge scored five of his six points in the final 5:19.
Junior backup guard Brandon Ham pitched in solid defense in his 11 minutes of court time, which included a pivotal baseline drive for his only bucket for a 45-41 Cowboy lead with 1:15 remaining.
The early start didn't appear to help the Cowboys. "Ten forty-five, oh man," Bates said of the tipoff time. "We put 'em in bed at 10:30 [Wednesday] night. We took all their cell phones, and put 'em in my room, and people were ringing those things all night long.
"We got one more game like this, and I tell you it was a stretch for us to get up this early. I think they were ready to play but they just mentally couldn't get into it early on. They eventually got there. Hopefully this will help us."
NOTES: This is the Cowboys' second trip to a state championship game. In 1966 Libbey squandered a 44-29 lead after three quarters and fell 55-52 to top-ranked Dayton Chaminade in the big-school (Class AA) final at St. John Arena. …Libbey also lost to powerhouse repeat champion Columbus East 64-63 in the 1969 Class AA semifinals, and Bates' 2000 Cowboys lost 67-61 to Bedford in the D-I semifinals. …Libbey attempts to become the first team from Toledo's City League to win a state basketball championship since rival Scott beat Cincinnati Woodward 64-53 in the 1990 D-I final under coach Ben Williams. …St. Francis de Sales (Class AAA in 1983), led by Todd Mitchell, and Macomber (D-I in 1989), led by Jim Jackson, were the CL's other champions. St. John's Jesuit lost in D-I state finals in 1993, 1996 and 2004 since the last title was won.
Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com or 419-724-6461.
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