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In the second game, eighth-seeded Catholic Central beat ninth-seeded Miami Valley School 39-33.
The Lions (21-2) will play the Irish (6-18) at 7 p.m. Friday at Troy High School with a trip to a D-IV district final game on the line. The Lions beat the Irish 62-53 on Dec. 27.
“Any time you can play somebody from the community in the sectional final, I think that’s a lot of fun,” said Lions coach Danny Moore.
Catholic Central is seeking its third straight trip to the districts after winning back-to-back titles.
“I’m proud of the guys,” said Irish coach John Detling. “I don’t think anybody thought that we’d make it back. I told the guys that we didn’t have the season we wanted to, but come tournament, everybody starts over with a clean slate. We’ve been able to make some noise here.”
Emmanuel Christian is looking to earn its second district appearance in three years.
The Lions came out sluggish in their postseason opener against a Legacy Christian squad they beat twice in Metro Buckeye Conference play.
The Knights went on a 9-0 in the second quarter to take a 16-13 lead, but Emmanuel went on a 7-0 run of its own to take a 20-16 halftime lead.
“We just weren’t crisp, it didn’t flow,” Moore said. “If you can get through a night and not flow well and win, we’ll take that.”
Lions senior Fred Shropshire scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the first half, keeping them in the game as his teammates struggled from the field.
With the score tied at 22 heading into the fourth quarter, Lions senior Jaden Nourse hit a key 3-pointer to give them a massive momentum boost. It was his only basket of the game.
“We can’t think about the next game and be scared about taking shots,” Moore said. “We’ve got to play how we play. If Jaden would’ve been scared to take that shot, maybe we don’t build that momentum. It was a big 3-pointer. That’s really what got us going.”
The Knights wouldn’t score until 2:15 remaining in the game. By that point, the Lions had extended its lead to 11 thanks to a steal and layup by Casey Swank (10 points).
Moore was happy to leave Troy with a victory, but he challenged his team to continue to get better before facing Central for a second time this season.
“I still don’t feel like this team has reached its peak,” Moore said.
Catholic Central also struggled in the first quarter against the Rams, but were able to turn it on in the second quarter. They led 20-11 at the break.
The Irish extended its lead to 10 on an old-fashioned 3-point play by freshman Tyler Galluch with 5:33 remaining.
The Rams hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to four points, but a quick basket by Galluch and another 3-point play by Cole Ray sealed the win for the Irish.
“They fought, got the W and we moved on,” Detling said. “I’m proud of the boys, but we’ve got to play better and harder against Emmanuel because they’re going to come ready. I’ll do everything I can to get them prepared.
“We’re looking forward to Friday night. Hopefully Springfield comes out and represents us well.”
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