“There’s a lot of kids that never win 20 games in a season or win a district championship, let alone two of them,” Graham head coach Brook Cupps said. “It’s neat (to return to districts) and our kids are looking forward to the challenge.”
Roger Bacon (18-5 and Greater Catholic League Central Division champs) is led by Jorian Hudson’s 14.9 points per game. The Spartans have strong wins against Cincinnati powers Moeller, St. Xavier and Elder, and no team has come within 15 points of them in the postseason.
But that kind of competition is to be expected at this level, Cupps said. The Falcons will respond, as they have all season, with a tough defense. Graham (20-3) allows, on average 42.0 points per game. Rebounds, and who gets them, will be a huge factor in tonight’s game.
“Defense is toughness,” Cupps said. “It’s just a matter of making yourself do it. ... The mental toughness and the physical toughness go together. Now our kids buy into it and they want to get stops. That’s our approach to it.”
This version of the Falcons is more physical than the previous two district champion teams, Cupps said.
“We are a year stronger, and that needed to be our mentality more than last year’s group because we were more skilled last year,” Cupps said. “This year, we had to do it a little bit different.”
Nick VanHoose leads the Falcons with 16.8 points per game, followed by Casey Crable’s 13.7 and Ethan Ward’s 11.9. Crable’s scoring average jumped to 18.0 in three tournament games.
The winner plays the winner of Shawnee vs. Thurgood Marshall in the regional tournament on March 18 at Fairmont High School in Kettering.
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