Who would win the rubber match between these two teams. Alter and Roger Bacon have both been to the top of the state. Only one could advance after today. Alter who has struggled most of this season seemed to have found themselfs towards the end and looked strong in the tournament. Bacon who is the states defending champion in DII, looked for the chance to be a repeat champion.
Early in the game Bacon seemed to be ready to advance. Starting with a 4-0 lead the Spartans held the Knights until 5:25 in the first quarter when Doug Penno hit for 2. Bacon would look to work the ball inside to its big men Monty St. Clair and Jon Newton looked stronger than the Knights in the first quarter. The Knights were settling for jump shots and missing. Penno would try a three at the end of the first period but missed and Bacon held a 12-5 advantage.
In the second quarter Bacon would be outscored by the Knights 9-6 and it all started with a three by Zach Freshwater. The junior came off the bench and seemed to spark the team just when it needed it most. Alter would cut the Bacon lead to 2 with 1:02 left but Bacon held the ball and worked for the last shot in the peroid. Alter working harder on defense blocked the shot but the ball went out of bounds and Bacon would have another chance with 6.7 sec. left. On the inbouds the Spartans found Leonard Bush cutting down the lane and in one motion he received the pass and hit a lay in as time expired. Bacon leads 18-14 at the half.
Coming into the game Bacon had a 20-5 record while the Knights came into the tourny with only 12 wins. Looking to extend its 4 game tournament streak the Knights were ready to make a move. At 6:45 in the third the Knights tie the game from the foul line when Adam Gill hits both shots. At 6:10 in the third Alter would take the lead on a basket by Andy Stichweh and the pressure was on Bacon. The Spartans would tie the game at 2:42 in the third on a three by David Johnson. But Freshwater was up to the challange and hit for two and the Knights led 23-21. The period would end 23-22 Knights and the 4th period would be a typical on many GCL games.
In the 4th the Knights looked to start fast and put the game away. But in most GCL games the teams will play hard defense and not look to score until someone is open. At the 3:49 mark the Knights held a 27-24 advantage and looked to Penno to help them advance. Penno the teams leader tried to give the Knights a bigger lead but came up short on his open shot, Stichweh was there to pull the ball out of the air and put it in for 2, Alter 29-24. Every move that Bacon made the Knights found a way to anwser. Bacon looked to its leader but found they had wated to long to have a chance. Forced to foul the Knights, Bacon was trying threes and hoping to get back into the game. The Knights had problems from the line but held up to the challange and pulled out a 34-29 victory and a ticket to the State Semi Finals in Columbus. The Knights will play at 5:00 next Saturday against the Athens regional winner.
After having seen several GCL teams play over the last few weeks. We feel the GCL deserves the credit of being called the best league in the State of Ohio.
OhioPrepScene wishes the Knights the best in its quest for a state championship. Also keep an eye out for stories from one of the Knights parents, as he gives us a insiders look at dealing with a child playing towards a championship.