Two years as a member of Toledo’s City League, and Lima Senior now owns two boys basketball championships.

In a showdown of Spartans Thursday night, Lima Senior used effective defensive pressure in building a 28-12 halftime lead, then cruised to a 60-35 victory over Start in the CL playoff championship game at the Waite Field House.

Lima coach Quincey Simpson’s Spartans (18-2) — considered as one of Ohio’s top Division II teams — got 15 points apiece from sophomore Shawn Foster and junior Willie Foster, plus 10 from junior Amari Addy in the second meeting with Start’s Spartans (11-8) this season.

“We've been practicing the last couple weeks on [attacking] box-and-ones and zones, and defenses [aimed] particularly on me,” Shawn Foster said. “We were ready to go when it came at us again.

“That [Lima's defensive] pressure is what made the difference. We know that the whole [city of] Toledo wants to see us lose, so we just came out here ready to play. We were making shots and we ready to defend. We wanted to get a championship and head back home.”

In defeat, Start was led by 14 points from junior Aiven Porter, who hit four 3-pointers, all after halftime. The Spartans also got 10 points and six rebounds from senior team leader J’siah Jefferson.

“They wanted to slow us down by playing the zone, and they probably wanted us to take some ill-advised shots,” Simpson said of Start's scheme. “But we know, at this juncture of the year, the possessions are going to be a little bit longer.

“We did a good job of having poise and did a better job when they went to a box-and-one [defense] on Shawn. We got him open by moving the ball. In the second half, we did a much better job of attacking the gaps and putting pressure on the rim.

“We expect to see box-and-ones and zones in the tournament, and we've just got to execute and be able to win games to the 50s and 60s instead of the 80s and 90s.”

Lima had previously romped to an 82-52 win at Start in league play back on Jan. 9. After that outcome, first-year Start coach B.J. Raymond opted to try a different scheme this time around, with his team looking to slow the game’s tempo with a very active zone defense, and clamp down on leading scorer Shawn Foster.

That strategy didn’t exactly backfire, but Lima Senior simply adjusted with its own perimeter pressure, which made clean looks at the basket for Start a rarity, especially in the first half.

Lima also remained patient offensively in taking a 13-7 edge after one quarter, pushed its lead to 16 points by halftime, and then to 39-20 after three quarters before Start kind of needed to increase its tempo in a late attempt to rally.

Raymond’s Spartans hit three 3-pointers early in the final quarter, getting within 13 points on a bucket from Connor Meikle to make it 44-31 with 3:56 remaining.

But that was as close as that comeback bid came, as the more talented Lima crew closed the game on a 16-4 run.

“I think our inability to handle their pressure and give them live-ball turnovers really hurt us in the first half,” Raymond said. “But, I want to give all the credit to Lima Senior. We played our game plan, and we played at the pace we wanted to, and they still came out with the win.

“We can play a little bit better offensively, and we can protect the ball a little bit better. But, at the end of the day, clearly we were going to need to play great to beat them. Hats off to them. They were the better team tonight.”

In an efficient showing, Lima Senior was 26 of 49 (53 percent) from the field, including 4 of 14 on 3-pointers, was 4 of 6 at the line, and outrebounded Start 33-23.

“This means a lot to the group,” Shawn Foster said. “It gives us a lot of momentum and positive energy going into our next two games, and going into the tournament. I think we have a really good shot at winning it all. We're going to be ready to go for whatever is ahead of us.”

Start, which committed 16 turnovers to 14 for Lima, was a much less accurate 14 of 46 (30 percent) from the field, including 6 of 18 on 3-pointers, and just 1 of 3 at the line.

“Any time you can win a championship its good for our program, good for our city, and for our school district,” Simpson said. “Playing in this conference, we want to win every game, and we want to win championships if we can.

“I want to tip my hat to Start. They had a pretty good game plan and they were poised with [doing] what they wanted to do. Their kids executed as best as they could. They're a really good team and very well coached.”

First Published February 14, 2025, 2:47 a.m.