BOWLING GREEN (Crawford County Now) — One term best exemplifies Colonel Crawford’s 48-41 win in the Division IV regional semifinal Tuesday night at the Stroh Center on the campus of Bowling Green State University.

“Our physicality,” remarked head coach David Sheldon during the post-game press conference. “We talked about using our football mentality. We weren’t going to go out and high jump with them out on the track. We said we have to box out with bodies all night.”

Box out they did. And their rebounding stats were eye-popping, considering Maumee Valley Country Day has a 7-foot center, Ty Lewis.

The Eagles pulled down 48 rebounds to 20 for the Hawks. Payne DeGray had 15 boards, with 11 in the first half. Brayden Holt added 12 and John DeGray 11.

“It was phenomenal, and they only got 5 offensive rebounds. Our defensive effort all night was unbelievable. We’ve shown that throughout the year,” Sheldon said.

Crawford grabbed 19 offensive boards, led by Payne DeGray’s 7.

“They really locked into the plan. This team was a little different than anybody we’ve played throughout the regular season with their quickness and athleticism.”

Colonel Crawford (24-1) advances to Saturday’s regional final against Lima Central Catholic, who toppled previously unbeaten Patrick Henry, 43-35, in the second game. Tip-off is set for noon.

The Eagles raced out to a 12-8 lead after the first quarter and established themselves as the aggressors. Lewis, held to just 4 points and 1 rebound, was not a factor.

“Our physicality bothered him. When I watched his film … if you just allow him to roam or jump, you’re in trouble. But our physicality really helped us to negate him,” Sheldon said.

Getting off to a quick start certainly set the tone for Colonel Crawford.

“Logan Goddard hits a couple huge 3s out the gate just like last Friday in the district final,” Sheldon said. “And I thought we did a good job on their seven-footer inside when to attack and when not to attack. We talked a lot about being fundamental and disciplined.”

Kee’ran Stokes scored all 13 of the Hawks’ first-half points and finished with 25 and 4 steals. Despite that effort Colonel Crawford held a 24-13 lead at halftime.

Country Day ends its season at 17-9.

“Colonel Crawford is a really good team,” head coach Dontaviyon Fleming said. “I’m very proud of my boys in that locker room. We never gave up and they fought until the last second.”

Holt again showed why he was the Northern 10 Athletic Conference Player of the Year, scoring 23 points, dishing out 5 assists and getting 1 steal.

His ability to pull up and hit mid-range jumpers or drive to the basket made him tough to guard for the Hawks.

“They got it down to like a 3-point game (42-39) so when they were fouling us we knew we had to execute and extend the lead,” he said.

Holt made 10-of-16 free throws, including 4 straight with under a minute to play.

“We left some on the table and in the second half early. But we’ll take it. A win’s a win. It was tiring. It’s a big court and they’re up and down the whole time, 94 feet. It definitely was tiring,” he said.

Maumee Valley Country Day outscored the Eagles 15-12 in the third quarter and kept fighting back.

Nasir Wilson hit two baskets in the third quarter after the Eagles built a 40-30 lead. Holt’s basket late in the quarter allowed Colonel Crawford to carry a 36-28 lead into the final 8 minutes.

“Stokes is a special player. He hit some tough shots tonight and we had to make some adjustments on the fly early on. That just shows the discipline of this basketball team,” Sheldon said.

His coach also praised his player’s effort.

“We call him our ticket,” Fleming said. “When he goes, we go. He gave us his all and I think he woke up the state and everybody knows he’ll be back next year.”

Holt sealed the deal with 2 more free throws with 9 seconds left on the clock.

Sheldon knew the ball was in good hands.

“He’s shooting 85 percent line. He’s an unbelievable free throw shooter. Credit to them, they made a run late. But we never panicked. And one of the big things late was when we’re up four and John DeGray grabs one heck of an offensive rebound off a free throw — that was huge just to extend the possession.”

For the Hawks it’s time to reload for next year.

“I wasn’t surprised that we got this far, I saw it the whole season,” Fleming said. “I’m very confident that we’ll be back here next year. They got a little taste of this and they want more. We’re gonna work our butts off and do everything we can to get back to the Stroh Center and eventually — hopefully — get down to Dayton.”

Sheldon knows what it took to get this far, winning 24 straight, an N10 title and sectional and district championships.

“The older I get, the more sentimental it is. It’s so hard to even get to a regional, and to be the second (Colonel Crawford) team to get to the Elite Eight.

“We’re worried about Saturday, but you’ll look back on this after the season’s over and say, ‘Wow, what a run we made.’ But we have more work to do against a very good team come Saturday,” he said.

Box score

Country Day                 8         5      15      13 — 41

Colonel Crawford     12      12      12      12 — 48

Stats

Country Day (17-9): Shots 15-47; 3-pt. shots 5-23 (Keeran Stokes 4, Jeybrehm Price); Free throws 6-13; Rebounds 20 (Jeybrehm Price 10); Turnovers 5. Scoring: Sae Robinson 0 1 1, Keeran Stokes 9 3 25, Jeybrehm 2 0 5, Nasir Wilson 2 2 6, Ty Lewis 2 0 4.

Colonel Crawford (24-1): Shots 16-44; 3-pt. shots 3-111 (Logan Goddard 2, Brayden Holt); Free throws 13-25; Rebounds 48 (Payne DeGray 15); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Logan Goddard 2 0 6, John DeGray 4 1 9, Brayden Holt 6 10 23, Payne DeGray 4 2 10.