STALLION BASKETBALL - 3/11/21 vs. Chillicothe Unioto

STALLION BASKETBALL

GAME TWENTY-FOUR: DESALES 40; CHILLICOTHE UNIOTO 37

Division II Regional Semifinal

(at Chillicothe Southeastern, March 11, 2021)

Season Record: Overall: 17-7; Central Catholic League: 5-3

All-Time Series (1 game): DeSales leads 1-0

1 2 3 4 F

UNIOTO 6 7 11 13 37

DESALES 6 11 9 14 40

Chillicothe Unioto: Cameron DeBord 13, Isaac Little 7, Evan Park 7, Tayvion Galloway 6, DeSean Branson 2, Gunnar Greenawalt 2.

DeSales: Desmond Watson 19, Obed Achirem 10, Austin Mann 6, Michael Walker 3, Cruz Sanchez 2.

SFD improved its all-time record in Regional Semifinals to 8-0.

From ThisWeekSports Community News:

by Dave Purpura

DeSales 40, Chillicothe Unioto 37

Obed Achirem scored the eventual game-winning layup with 50 seconds left and made a steal at the other end moments later to help preserve the Stallions’ regional semifinal win at Chillicothe Southeastern.

Desmond Watson had 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead DeSales, which improved to 17-7 and will play Byesville Meadowbrook in the regional final March 13 at Southeastern.

Unioto committed two of its 10 second-half turnovers in the final 9.8 seconds and Watson made two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to seal the win.

“They gave us some trouble. They had some spurts where they were getting more rebounds and 50/50 balls and we weren’t finishing at the rim or hitting free throws like we usually do,” Stallions coach Pat Murphy said. “We didn’t follow our game plan as well as we wanted to but it's about toughness and grit and finding a way to win.”

Achirem finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Watson needs seven more points to surpass 2010 graduate Nick Kellogg as DeSales’ all-time leading scorer. Kellogg, who went on to play at Ohio University, finished with 1,654 career points.

Cameron DeBord’s 10 points paced Unioto, which finished 18-6. His four-point play with 1:20 left gave the Sherman Tanks their final lead at 37-36.

From 270 Hoops.Com:

SURVIVE AND ADVANCE: DESALES ESCAPES PAST UNIOTO TO PLAY FOR A TRIP TO THE FINAL FOUR

DES WATSON'S GAME-HIGH 19 AND OBED ACHIREM'S TOUGHNESS PUSH STALLIONS INTO THE REGIONAL FINAL

by Zach Fleer, 03/11/21, 8:45PM EST

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- It wasn’t easy, but where there’s a will there’s a way. DeSales found that way Thursday evening as they narrowly defeated Chillicothe Unioto 40-37 in a Division II regional semifinal.

The southeast district champion Shermans gave DeSales all they could handle for the full 32 minutes. In the end, it was Des Watson’s game-high 19 points and Obed Achirem’s toughness that willed the Stallions to the victory.

This Sweet 16 matchup was highly competitive and very physical. All the action picked up in the second quarter after both teams used the first quarter to settle in. The game was tied at just six after eight minutes of play.

DeSales doubled their points on the first two possessions of the second quarter as Michael Walker and Austin Mann both buried threes on assists from Watson.

Mann connected from behind the arc another time before the half closed, this time on a high level full court pass from Watson. DeSales took a 17-13 lead into the break thanks to their second quarter shooting.

The third quarter was more back and forth action as there were three ties and three lead changes. The Stallions were the beneficiaries of a couple of lucky bounces leading to scores that helped them take a 26-24 lead into the final quarter.

The final eight minutes did not disappoint as DeSales’ stars stepped up when it mattered most.

After Unioto began the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run to retake the lead, Watson proceeded to score eight straight points for the Stallions. Two threes and a pair of free throws after putting his man in a blender propelled DeSales to a 34-31 lead with four minutes left in the game.

The Shermans took the lead back however when Isaac Little found a wide open Cameron Debord on an elite drift pass. Debord knocked down the three while getting fouled and converted the free throw. Unioto regained the lead, 37-36 with just over one minute left in the game.

After that foul, the players on the floor for DeSales looked at each other, took a deep breath, and collectively reset.

To no one’s surprise, it was Achirem’s toughness that came up clutch for the Stallions. On the ensuing possession the senior wing finished through what should have been called a foul and gave DeSales a 38-37 lead.

He wasn’t done though as the hustle carried over onto the defensive end. On Unioto’s attempt to retake the lead, Achirem came up with a huge steal, essentially closing out the game.

Watson shut out the Shermans for good with two clutch free throws with just a few seconds remaining, securing DeSales spot in the Division II regional final.

DeSales will face the winner of Vincent Warren and Byesville Meadowbrook in the regional final on Saturday, March 13 at 3 p.m. back at Southeastern High School. The Stallions will be fighting for a spot in the Final Four after last year’s tournament run was ended early due to the Covid-19.

From The Chillicothe Gazette:

UNIOTO STANDS TOE-TO-TOE WITH DESALES BEFORE FALLING JUST SHORT IN REGIONAL SEMIFINAL LOSS

by Tom Wilson, The Chillicothe Gazette

CHILLICOTHE – All they wanted at the end of the game was an opportunity win.

In a tough, grind-it-out type of game where every point was earned, Unioto stood toe-to-toe with Columbus DeSales during Thursday’s Division II regional semifinal.

However, in the end, the Stallions were able to make one more play and pulled out a hard-fought 40-37 win at Southeastern High School.

“It’s hard to swallow, but you know when you come into these games, you are going to play a great opponent who is well coached and that’s what we ran into,” Unioto coach Matt Hoops said. “We preached all week that we just had to win for 32 minutes, we didn’t have to win a seven-game series.

“I thought our guys really bought in and stayed focused and did all the things that we asked them to do. We just couldn’t make that one more play. I felt like they made one more play than we did, and unfortunately, one of us had to lose."

With DeSales playing a 2-3 zone defense, it slowed the pace of the game way down, and on the other end, Unioto’s defense was outstanding. The Shermans never wavered against the athletic Stallions.

The biggest lead in the game for either team was five points. It came when the Stallions (17-7) scored seven unanswered points to erase a 31-29 Unioto lead midway through the fourth quarter, which gave the Stallions a 36-31 advantage with 3:20 left.

The Shermans (18-6) came right back and was able to take the lead. Cameron DeBord hit a jumper and then followed with a 3-pointer. He was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to give the Shermans a 37-36 lead with 1:20 left.

However, it didn’t take the Stallions long to regain the lead as Obed Achirem scored inside with a 1:05 remaining for a 38-37 lead.

Unioto couldn’t get a shot off in the final minute. They turned the ball over and after DeSales missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Shermans had another miscue with less than 10 seconds left. The Stallions’ Desmond Watson then converted two free throws with 3.2 seconds left.

“I thought we would be alright, defensively, guarding them and make it difficult for them, and we did,” Hoops said. “Our team defense was outstanding. When you face a team with so many athletes that are athletic and strong, scoring might be an issue at times, but we had a lot of good looks and I wouldn’t change a thing.

“Our guys put themselves in a position to win and that’s all we asked them to do. We just came up a little short. I can’t fault our effort at all.”

Unioto held the Stallions to less than 50 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded them 27-18. The one downfall that came back to bite the Shermans was turnovers. They finished with 13 for the game, but 10 of those came in the second half, including six in the fourth quarter.

With DeSales playing a zone defense, the Shermans were patient and would take over a minute off the clock on just about every offensive possession in the early going. At the end of the first quarter, things were all tied up at 6-6.

The Stallions connected three 3-pointers in the second quarter and that enabled them to take a 17-13 halftime lead.

Unioto started the second half on a 7-2 run thanks to a pair of free throws from Tayvion Galloway and Gunnar Greenwalt, and 3-pointer from DeBord, which gave the Shermans a 20-19 lead. It went back and forth the rest of the third quarter before DeSales took a 26-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

DeBord had a steal and converted it into a score and Evan Park followed with a 3-pointer to give the Shermans a 29-26 lead, but the Stallions’ Watson answered with a huge 3-pointer to quickly tie things up.

Unioto regained the lead when Galloway scored on a rebound bucket with 5:30 left, before the Stallions rattled off seven consecutive points.

DeBord led the Shermans with 13 points, Park finished with nine points and three rebounds and Little had seven points, four rebounds and two assists. Galloway added six points and eight rebounds and DeSean Branson chipped in two points, five rebounds and three assists.

“No one gave us a shot to win, but our guys hung in there,” Hoops said. “I do know our younger guys aren’t happy. Our senior guys are hurting, but our younger guys will follow the footsteps of that senior group.

“Those five (seniors) just came to work every day in practice and led us through this crazy season and they are going to be missed big time, but we feel like we belong on this stage and we want to get back here and try to get over this hurdle.”

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