The Elks fell to Pickerington Central 63-59 in a Division I regional semifinal game on Thursday, March 12 at the Ohio Expo Center’s Taft Coliseum.
“We always say ‘the toughest team wins,’ and they were tougher,” Cupps said. “They went and got every loose ball. I don’t remember us coming up with a 50/50 ball that we had our hands on, that we got possession of and kept possession. I don’t remember us getting one of them and there were probably eight of them in the game. Those are huge plays. I think at least six points came off of loose ball layups for them. So you’ve got to finish those plays.”
Centerville freshman Julian Sam scored 20 points, junior Sam Keely had 12 and junior Ty Rohrer had 10 for the Elks, which finished their season 18-7.
Pickerington Central advanced to face Lakota West in the D-I, Region 3 final at 7 p.m. Saturday at Taft Coliseum.
The Elks led 30-28 at the half. The Tigers tied the game at 35 then went on a 6-0 run on back-to-back layups by senior Ayden Snyder and a dunk by senior Titus O’Neal to make it 41-35.
Centerville tied the score at 43 on two free throws by Rohrer. Pickerington Central junior Kevin Smith hit a layup late in the period to take the lead, but Elks junior Dash Craver answered with a corner 3-pointer to give his team a 46-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
A layup by O’Neal capped a 10-5 run by the Tigers, giving them a 56-51 lead. Elks junior Spencer Maxwell hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead two points with about a minute remaining.
Tigers senior Kavon Holmes made a free throw to make it 57-54 and Julian Sam was fouled on the other end, cutting the lead to one point with two free throws.
After a Centerville timeout, the Elks set up a full-court press. They trapped Tigers sophomore Elijah Smith in the corner, but a Centerville player was called for a foul and after the play was given a technical foul for unsportsmanlike behavior.
Smith hit four free throws to take a five-point lead. The Elks wouldn’t get any closer than three points the rest of the way.
While Cupps said the Elks must do a better job of keeping their composure, they wouldn’t have been in that situation if they were able to capitalize on grabbing loose balls and finishing possessions.
“We gave away enough for that (technical foul) to not be an issue,” he said.
The Elks entered the regional semis having won nine of their last 10 games, including a victory over D-II regional semifinalist Winton Woods.
“We’ve been playing our best basketball, which is what you’re hoping for and what you’re trying to get to,” Cupps said. “I don’t know if we did that tonight, but leading into this, I felt like we were playing as well as we had played all year. I’m happy with the group’s progress from the beginning to where we finished. But, you know, this thing’s a little (tough) because we left some stuff out there that we should be able to take care of, that we typically do a better job of. But credit to (Pickerington Central), they went and won the game and they made those plays.”
The Elks won their seventh straight Greater Western Ohio Conference title this season and a district title with a squad with no seniors. The goal, Cupps said, is to put themselves in a similar position next season.
“Hopefully they see they can win this game, and they can win the next game, and they can put themselves in a position to play for a state title,” Cupps said. “It’s what you’re hoping for. So we’ll see — it all depends on how everybody processes it, what everybody does between now and then, so hopefully we work."
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