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| Geovonie McKnight |
Middletown 41 Moeller 37: A slow start saw Middletown fall behind by double digits early but senior guard Geovonie McKnight made it perfectly clear the Wednesday night would not be his last game in the purple and white. McKnight scored several key buckets, in his usual variety of ways off of mid-range jump shots and strong takes to the basket, as he finished with a game high 21 points in the win. Middletown trailed by just five at the break and tied the game midway through the third quarter after junior wing Jalin Marshall caught an alley-oop dunk and then hit a three pointer to square the teams up at 22-22. Middletown would finish the quarter on a 12-2 run to take a three point lead into the final period, really exciting the strong support of the vast Middies crowd at Cintas. The two teams would battle over the fourth quarter and Moeller even took a brief lead at 32-31 with 2:28 remaining on a hanging jumper from junior wing Josh Davenport; but Middies senior guard Zach Edwards would give the boys in purple the final lead of the game seconds later with a jumper to put Middletown up 33-32. Over the last minute and a half Geovonie McKnight was able to beat Moeller defenders to the ball and draw fouls where he finished 11/13 from the line, ending all hope of a Moeller comeback. The Crusders were able to get as close as within two on a Tony Sabato tip-in with less then a minute to play; but couldn't come up with enough plays to draw even. With just twenty seconds left McKnight returned to the line and iced the game with another two free throws to make the score 41-34 Middletown and the celebration essentially started then. In addition to McKnight's 21 points the Middies got 12 points from Marshall and solid play from their supporting cast, which was crucial because Vince Edwards was held to just two points tonight by Moeller. The Crusaders were led by Davenport's 16 points while Tony Sabato and Keith Watkins each added 10. Middletown now advances to Friday's Regional Final.
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| Jeff Woods of Fairfield |
Fairfield 64 Withrow 55: After three even quarters Fairfield led by two heading into the final period. In the last eight minutes the Tigers absolutely imploded, allowing the Indians to build a lead as big as 13 at one point. Using a zone defense for the majority of the second half Fairfield was able to neutralize Devin Williams and some cold perimeter shooting from Withrow spelled doom as Fairfield built a three possession lead less then two minutes into the fourth which the Tigers were never able to recover from. Fairfield played out another great team performance on both ends of the floor, led by senior wing Jeff Woods who scored a game high 20 points (including 13/14 shooting from the foul line). Shaprshooting senior guard Kyle Smith hit some key shots and finished with 14 points for Fairfield while sophomore guard Tim Fleming did a great job controlling the pace on his way to 10 points and 4 assists. On the interior senior big man Brandon Murphy totaled 7 points and 6 rebounds for Fairfield but it was his defensive effort that was most impressive. Murphy was the catalyst behind a smart Fairfield strategy that limited Withrow star junior forward Devin Williams to just 12 points, and 10 shot attempts, along with 11 rebounds. Withrow was led by senior guard Kendall Beamon, who knocked down 3/4 three point shots en route to 13 points, and also got 10 points and 7 rebounds from senior forward Tyler Jordan. The Indians, by pulling off the mild upset, continue their magical run to the Regional Final where they will meet up with league rival Middletown on Friday night.
Roger Bacon 58 Columbus Academy 52: Sophomore wing Carlas Jackson had another great night in his young Spartan career by totaling a game high 20 points as Roger Bacon makes their return to the Regional Finals, last year they made the Division II Regional Final. Junior forward Erik Edwards added on 11 points to help the Spartans advance to a showdown with Summit for a trip to the State Semi Finals in Columbus next week.
Summit 61 Versailles 46: The Silver Knights pulled away late in the third quarter as they turned a single possession game into a ten point lead behind the hot shooting of the Kreyenhagen brothers, Tommy and Joey. Junior guard Kevin Johnson torched a talented Versailles team with 21 points, a game high, to lead Summit to victory; while senior post Holdy Hertzel provided timely buckets and did a great job defensively on the interior against a bigger Versailles front line.
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