Springfield South's Comeback Falls Short To Huber Heights Wayne 78-65

[SFIND]

By Bryant Billing

SPRINGFIELD- The saying goes "You can't dig yourself out of a hole." I don't know who was the first to say it, but if he was at Tiffany Gymnasium tonight, he would have been proved correct. The Springfield South Wildcats (10-10) cut a 20-point Wayne Warrior (18-2) to four points, but South could not come back all the way. Wayne went on to take back a double-digit lead and went home with the 78-65 win and a share of the GWOC Central Championship. The Wildcats fell short in their final home game ever and the last game at Tiffany Gymnasium.

It was close from the beginning.

Wayne took an early 5-0 lead, but the Wildcats responded with a 9-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. Both teams had trouble shooting the ball in the first. Wayne was missing a lot of shots, as it appeared they could not adjust. South, on the other hand, had a hard time penetrating. The game quickened towards the end of the quarter. Wayne retook the lead off of a Tyler Milligan three-pointer. The Warriors won the first 18-15.

Wayne then put some space between them and South.

After a back-and-forth four minutes saw Wayne up 25-22, Wayne lengthened their lead. The Warriors finished the quarter on an 11-2 run. Lamar Mallory finished the quarter with a two-hand slam that brought the Wayne fans to their feet.

South wasn't about to let its final home game ever be a blowout.

Wayne controlled the first few minutes of the third quarter, but then they relaxed. After the Warriors had built up a twenty-point lead, South turned it up a notch. Five quick baskets in one minute cut the lead in half. The Wildcats kept the quick pace up and attacked the lane. Wayne played sloppy on defense and sent South to the line. South did what they should and capitalized. Two Zack Burks free throws with thirty-five seconds left cut Wayne's lead to 52-48.

Wayne, however, was the one who finished the deal.

South kept themselves in it for a while by continuing to have success from the free-throw line. Wayne went back to a press and an in-your-face-man-to-man defense and caused South to turn the ball over. Wayne capitalized off them and built up a ten-point lead again at 69-59. A Troy Gilmer dunk with forty seconds left in the game sealed the deal for Wayne. The Warriors prevailed 78-65.

This was a good way to close out Tiffany Gymnasium. This was a game with a fast pace, man-to-man defense, and plenty of shooting. It looked like what South basketball has been like for the last twenty years. Unfortunately South came out on the short end of the stick.

South had trouble in the first half. It took them awhile to become adjusted. They had some costly turnovers and sent the Warriors to the foul line plenty of times. Wayne was able to find the gaps in South's defense, and that came underneath. The Warriors dominated the boards and had great scoring success underneath. Many times the Warriors were able to shoot uncontested inside.

Wayne could have won this big, but they were worn out. It didn't help the fact that they got to conservative on the defensive side of the ball. They let South control the clock and let them pass around too much. Luckily for them the twenty-point lead was big enough to keep South from coming back.

South just had problems against Wayne's defense. They would try to shoot over Wayne defenders underneath and didn't try to work around them. In the end, Wayne was just too physical.

There was a good crowd at Tiffany Gym for this one. Wayne fans acted very classy and respected the fact that it was the final game at Tiffany Gym.

With the win, Wayne won a share of the GWOC Central Championship with Centerville.

South is now preparing for their final game ever. The OHSAA statewide tournament starts this Monday, February 11, 2008. South will play the first game of the tournament when they play the Springboro Panthers that day at 5:30 at the University of Dayton Arena. This game has already taken place. It is a single elimination tournament. That means when South loses, they are out. If South wins, they will move on to play the Troy Trojans Friday February 15 at 8:30 at UD Arena.

Here's Some Stats: Scoring: South- Akeem Freeman 2; Doug Storey 15; Michael Cooper 13; Lucas Smith 4; Zack Burks 16; Brandon Boyd 10; Trey DePriest 5. Wayne- Jesse Solomon 2; Charles Winkfield 11; Troy Gilmer 14; Treon Lesile 17; Markus Crider 4; Dominique Fowler 2; Tyler Milligan 5; D.J. Lenior 12; Lamar Mallory 12.