WILLARD — Good teams take advantage of mistakes and momentum shifts.
Colonel Crawford did both in a hard-fought 59-49 win over Lucas in a Division IV District final Friday night in a packed Robert L. Haas Gymnasium.
“That’s a very good basketball team. I got the utmost respect for Taylor Iceman and his kids. They remind me of our kids. Tough. A good program,” said Eagles head coach David Sheldon.
The game started off a bit troubling for the Eagles when senior point guard Derek Horsley picked up two personal fouls as the first quarter ended with his team trailing 12-7. They battled back to take a 21-20 lead at halftime, but by then post player Jacob Maddy had picked up his second foul.
With the win Colonel Crawford (18-7) faces Dalton, a 71-58 winner over Warren JFK, at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse in a regional semifinal game. This is Dalton’s first regional trip in 21 years.
“It was a battle between two great teams,” Sheldon said. “They made a good run to start, and we withstood that. They put a lot of emphasis on the big fella Maddy with the double. He was very patient and showed why he’s a first-team all-District 6 player.”
Maddy ended up with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
“The first time he put on a show. This time we had more balance. Trevor had a great game and Derek did too. This is the epitome of Colonel Crawford basketball. Each player buying into their role. That’s what it’s all about,” Sheldon said.
Braxton Baker again led the way with 22 points and 8 boards. Trevor Vogt and Derek Horsley added 10 each.
Both teams played tenacious defense, which resulted in 11 Crawford turnovers to Lucas’ 9.
The Cubs see a stellar season come to an end at 21-5 and will lose 7 seniors to graduation.
Logan Toms had 14 and Andrew Smollen 13. Toms added 7 rebounds.
“We watched a lot of film, and it helped playing them the first time,” said Baker, who had 13 points in the mid-January non-league victory.
“I was a little bit more aggressive tonight. I re-watched the first game and really watched how they guarded me. I had to make pick moves.
“The rest of the team played great tonight. We made a switch for Trevor to guard Logan Toms, and he did a good job. Everyone has bought into their roles and did a great job tonight.
“We scout the other teams so well and coaches prepare us like no one else,” Baker said. “It’s awesome to be back in this position.”
Sheldon said last year Baker was the team’s third option.
“That’s where he has grown. Last year all he had to do was shoot. This year he’s being face-guarded and doubled. He dealt with their physicalness.
“In a district final Braxton Baker put his name in the books. I told him going in, ‘The great ones get to the regionals.’ Nobody remembers all-Ohio or all-district, but some day you’re going to talk about going to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens.”
Vogt hit a basket to push the Crawford lead to 35-27 entering the fourth quarter. Lucas struggled at the free throw line (6-of-11) and missed 4 in the final 8 minutes.
Cubs head coach Taylor Iceman was disappointed with the outcome.
“We made a run in the third quarter but couldn’t do much after that. They’re a good team. That’s why they’re here. They knocked down some threes (in a 10-0 run in the third quarter).”
In that span it went from the Eagles trailing 22-21 to a 31-22 lead.
Maddy’s putback and another basket, along with back-to-back threes from Horsley and Baker put Crawford in the driver’s seat for good.
“It was really big. We got some stops and then we converted on the other end. When we got the lead, we were able to hold onto it,” Sheldon said.
The 17-year veteran coach said this team has endured a great deal of pressure.
“Following one of the most successful teams ever, going to the regional finals for the first time, 58 games in a row over 2 and 1/2 years. And we had tough love throughout this year. There were many times we faced adversity and it paid off.
“This is why I love sports, especially team sports. In the game of life, you see adversity. Somebody on that team is going to get divorced. Something’s going to happen, and you’ve got to fight through it. I’m 47 years old and I have to fight every day with adversity and that’s what sports does is you learn those lessons,” he said.
Iceman also felt officiating played into the outcome.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t say the officials were terrible tonight. Like I said, they made a run. A bad call on top of them getting a three. You hate for it to be a factor in big games.
“Jacob is tough; we’re not very big and I thought Aidan (Culler) did a good job on him. Sometimes their way of getting it to him was to throw up a shot and they rebounded it,” Iceman said.
“That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. They made a big shot, and every questionable call went that way, every bounce went that way. Their guards made some shots, but you have to defend them that way with the two big kids inside. You have to double down and with our size and our makeup you leave someone open.
“I got a ton of respect for Colonel Crawford and coach Sheldon and their kids. They played great tonight and there was no animosity back and forth between the teams. It’s just disappointing.”
Heading into the regionals, Sheldon put the season into perspective.
“I couldn’t be happier for this group. We’ve been on a roller coaster, but we’re back to the Sweet Sixteen. We’re going to enjoy it tonight and get back to work tomorrow. We’re going to enjoy the now right now.”
After the game during the awards ceremony Sheldon acknowledged the Eagles faithful with a strong fist pump.
“Our community. The support we get is second to none. You saw it tonight. They’ve been spoiled the past 12 years.”
Box score
Lucas 12 8 7 22 — 49
Colonel Crawford 7 14 14 24 — 59
Lucas (21-5): Shots 18-41; 3-pt. shots 7-22 (Andrew Smollen 3, Corbin Toms 2, Logan Toms, Zach Diehl); Free throws 6-11; Rebounds 18 (Logan Toms 7); Turnovers 9. Scoring: Logan Toms 6 1 14, Zach Diehl 2 0 5, Aidan Culler 2 4 8, Corbin Toms 3 1 9, Andrew Smollen 5 0 13.
Colonel Crawford (18-7): Shots 19-32; 3-pt. shots 4-9 (Braxton Baker 2, Derek Horsley 2); Free throws 17-22; Rebounds 20 (Braxton Baker 8, Jacob Maddy 7); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Trevor Vogt 4 2 10, Ethan Holt 2 0 4, Derek Horsley 3 2 10, Braxton Baker 6 8 22, Jacob Maddy 4 5 13.