STALLION BASKETBALL - 3/20/21 vs. Dayton Chaminade Julienne

STALLION BASKETBALL

GAME TWENTY-SIX: DESALES 51; DAYTON CHAMINADE JULIENNE 34

Division II State Semifinal

(at University of Dayton Arena Tom Blackburn Court, March 20, 2021)

Season Record: Overall: 19-7; Central Catholic League: 5-3

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

HAIL TO THE DIVISION II STATE FINALISTS!

1 2 3 4 F

CHAMINADE JULIENNE 7 14 5 8 34

DESALES 13 14 13 11 51

Dayton Chaminade Julienne: Jonathan Powell 20, Daniel Nauseef 6, Anthony (AJ) Solomon 4, Luke Chandler 3, Kylan Tucker 1.

DeSales: Desmond Watson 21, Obed Achirem 10, Atticus Schuler 9, Austin Mann 5, Cruz Sanchez 4, Michael Walker 2.

Des Watson's 21 points increased SFD's all-time scoring leader's total to 1,699.

From The Columbus Dispatch:

by Bailey Johnson

March 20, 2021

DeSales Downs Chaminade Julienne, 51-34, to Advance to Division II State Championship Game

DAYTON — The first word that came to mind for Pat Murphy was "wow."

The DeSales boys basketball coach almost seemed unable to believe the effort from his players that led the Stallions to a 51-34 win Saturday in a Division II semifinal over Dayton Chaminade Julienne and a spot in Sunday's state championship.

"We were not gonna be denied today," Murphy said. "Just wasn't gonna happen. Our players showed so much resiliency and stubbornness and ferocity. Just so proud of them."

From the early moments of the game, it was clear that Des Watson had arrived at University of Dayton Arena ready to play. The senior standout for DeSales (19-7) didn't miss a shot or free throw in the first seven minutes and had 11 of the Stallions' 13 points by the end of the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Austin Mann found Watson on the fast break with a pass placed perfectly above the rim for Watson to slam it home. The dunk gave DeSales an eight-point lead over the Eagles (15-6) and set the tone for the rest of the game.

"(Watson is) an all-around great player," Chaminade Julienne senior Danny Nauseef said. "I think we could've stopped him but we just weren't there mentally."

Part of the reason the Eagles weren't there mentally may have been due to the Stallions' relentless pressure on defense. They pride themselves on embracing what they call a "junkyard dog" mentality and try to wear down their opponent every minute of every game.

"I feel like it's more of a mental thing," Watson said. "When you're physical with a team, I feel like it can wear down their mental. And when you wear down their mental, their physical shows (it). I feel like that's what we did."

Chaminade Julienne had two scoring droughts of over six minutes in the game, and its total of 34 points was its lowest output of the season. The Eagles scored just 13 points in the second half.

DeSales led all the way after the five-minute mark of the first quarter. Chaminade Julienne strung together a run in the second quarter that narrowed the gap, but as soon as the Stallions switched away from a zone defense, the Eagles' offense cooled down and DeSales pulled away for good.

"In our tournament run, we've been holding teams under 40 pretty consistently," Murphy said. "We lost some games earlier this year. We lost a (Central Catholic) league championship against some pretty good teams in our league because of some late defensive breakdowns. Our guys have really bought in to just sitting down in a stance and guarding, and, like we said, being stubborn."

With the win, DeSales advances to its second state championship game. The Stallions will play the winner of the semifinal between Lima Shawnee and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary at 5:15 p.m. Sunday looking for their first state title since 1987.

"We're excited to get a shot at all of our dreams tomorrow," Murphy said.

From ThisWeekSports Community News:

by Dave Purpura

March 20, 2021

DeSales 51, Dayton Chaminade Julienne 34

DESALES STALLIONS ROLL INTO DIVISION II STATE FINALSKIP

DAYTON – Having drawn to within two wins of its second state championship and first since 1987, the DeSales boys basketball team took control of a Division II state semifinal March 20 much as it had done throughout the rest of the postseason.

A methodical defensive game plan, alternating between man-to-man and zone looks, helped the Stallions establish an early lead and hold Dayton Chaminade Julienne to two lengthy scoring droughts in a 51-34 win at University of Dayton Arena.

Desmond Watson’s game-high 21 points as well as six rebounds and four assists paced DeSales, which improved to 19-7 and will play Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary in the state final at 5:15 p.m. March 21 at UD Arena.

Obed Achirem added 10 points and 12 rebounds and Atticus Schuler scored nine for the Stallions, who are in their first state tournament since 2009 and fifth all-time.

DeSales has allowed an average of 33.8 points in the postseason and held the Eagles to scoreless stretches of 6 minutes, 22 seconds in the second quarter and 6:10 to start the third in building as much as an 18-point lead.

“We live by ‘JYD’ (junkyard dog mentality),” Watson said. “It’s a mental thing. When you’re physical with a team, you can wear them down mentally. I feel like that’s what we do.”

Chaminade Julienne scored a season low in points and had just 13 after halftime.

“We were not going to be denied,” DeSales coach Pat Murphy said. “Our players showed so much resilience and stubbornness. We’re excited for the opportunity to get a shot at all of our dreams.”

Freshman Jonathan Powell’s 20 points led Chaminade Julienne, which finished 15-6. Half of those points came in the second quarter, when the Eagles closed within 27-21 before missing their first six shots of the second half.

“We didn’t do what we needed to do, especially in the first half,” Eagles coach Charlie Szabo said. “(Our problems on offense) were more mainly (because of) DeSales. They had a good plan on our inside game and we didn’t get the looks from the outside that we needed.”

From 270 Hoops.Com:

NOT DONE YET: DESALES DOMINATES DAYTON CHAMINADE JULIENNE, ADVANCES TO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

STALLIONS USE STIFF DEFENSE EN ROUTE TO FIRST TITLE APPEARANCE SINCE 1987

by Greg Glasser, 03/20/21, 1:45PM EDT

DAYTON, Ohio -- To kick off Saturday's state semifinals, DeSales arrived at Dayton Arena in a Division II bout against hometown Chaminade Julienne and made it clear it'll be a full weekend stay.

Stallions senior star Des Watson led scoring duties with a game-high 21 points, but it was DeSales' second half defensive team effort that held the Eagles to 13 points and prevented any chance of a comeback threat.

After a competitive first half that saw Watson score 16 points towards a DeSales six-point lead, the third quarter brought a combination of aggressive Stallions team defense along with the Eagles' inability to connect on any shot attempts. Chaminade Julienne was held scoreless until the 1:50 mark while DeSales created significant separation towards a double-digit lead that they would comfortably hold.

As usual, Watson was a difference maker. In addition to his 21 points, Watson remained in attack mode and did a good job of getting to and scoring at the foul line, where he went seven-of-eight. The Davidson commit added six rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Fellow senior Obed Achirem continued his fantastic postseason play with a double-double, with a game-high 12 rebounds and 10 points. Achirem's all-around contributions were massive. The Eagles had no answer to Achirem's attack on the offensive glass, as his four offensive boards led to a couple momentous put backs. Defensively, he was a constant physical force and created multiple turnovers.

Junior Atticus Schuler had a strong all-around performance and scored all of his nine points in the second quarter. Senior lead guard Austin Mann had lockdown defense along with an efficient three assists, no turnovers and five points.

The Stallions defense, which held the Eagles to under 30% field goal shooting, was ultimately the key difference in what was perhaps DeSales' most complete and well-executed game of the season.

For Chaminade Julienne, offense was hard to come by excluding the tremendous performance from freshman Jonathan Powell. The six-foot-three wing guard scored 20 points, which included all of the Eagles five third-quarter points.

DeSales moves on to their first state championship appearance since 1987 when they defeated Dayton Jefferson 71-64.

The Stallions play on Sunday at 5:15pm against the winner of Lima Shawnee and St.Vincent-St.Mary for the Division II state championship.

The location of the Stallions' 1987 title? Dayton Arena.

Like 34 years ago, DeSales will look to return to Columbus as state champions.

From Press Pros Magazine:

by Steve Blackledge for Press Pros

March 20, 2021

Watson, Defense Propels DeSales To Win Over C-J

DESALES PROVED TO BE BETTER ON BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT, AND DAVIDSON RECRUIT DESMOND WATSON WAS THE OFFENSIVE CATALYST AS THE STALLIONS MOVED PAST CHAMINADE JULIENNE TO THE DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Dayton, OH – Keenly aware that his team had a great chance to make another deep postseason run, DeSales coach Pat Murphy loaded up his schedule with the best competition in central Ohio, including nine Division I teams.

Although the Stallions (19-7) weren’t ranked in the final Associated Press state poll and their points-for/points-against average isn’t exactly dazzling, playing top-notch opponents has prepared them well for this moment.

“When we beat Pickerington Central (58-57) on Martin Luther King Day, I told our guys afterward that we’re not going to see another team with this much athleticism until the state tournament,” Murphy said.

Turns out DeSales played five games against district champions, losing to Division I state qualifying Westerville Central and Division I regional qualifier Olentangy Liberty, twice beating Division II regional finalist Watterson and also beating Division III regional finalist Johnstown. That merely complemented a rugged Central Catholic League slate in which it dropped three games. Twelve of their games were decided by four or fewer points.

“This schedule was designed 100 percent for the end of the year, and hopefully we’re seeing the dividends now,” Murphy said.

Indeed, Division II has proved to be a snap for DeSales, which rolled into its second state title game in program history with a 51-34 semifinal rout of Dayton Chaminade Julienne Saturday before 1,607 fans at the University of Dayton Arena.

The Stallions will face top-ranked Akron St.Vincent-St.Mary in the Division II championship game at 5:15 p.m. Sunday.

As fate would have it, DeSales won its only state title (in Class AA) in 1987 during one of the two years that the state tournament was held at UD Arena. The late Vince Chickerella coached that team. The Stallions also reached the final four in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

“We’ll play at Westgate Park. . . . we’ll play anywhere,” quipped Murphy, a West Side Columbus native who played at CCL rival Ready. “We’re ready. We’ve been on this journey since last March when our season was cut short because of COVID-19.”

Only two seniors graduated from that team that was heavily favored to win a regional at Athens before the sports world shut down due to fears of the impending pandemic.

Locked in from the opening tip, DeSales made short work of a young but talented Chaminade Julienne team with a rich history and an equally impressive 2020-21 resume.

Ohio Mr. Basketball candidate Desmond Watson scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the opening quarter when the Stallions raced to a 13-7 lead.

“I feel like as a leader of this team if I come out on fire, we start going as a team,” said Watson, a 6-foot-5 senior forward who has signed with Davidson College. He came in averaging 24.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He rolled up his DeSales career scoring mark to 1,699 points.

After making a 10-0 run en route to a 27-21 halftime lead, the Stallions whacked the Eagles with a 12-0 burst in the third, holding C-J scoreless for some seven minutes.

DeSales led by as many as 18 points before Murphy cleared the bench.

Ultimately, the 34 points represented a low-water mark on the season for C -J. The Eagles shot just 29.8 percent (14 for 47) from the field.

“I feel like in our tournament run, we’ve been holding teams under 40 pretty consistently,” Murphy said. “Our kids have really bought in. They’re getting in their stance and are really getting after it. We were really worried about No. 32 (Danny Nauseef), who’s a real special high school player, and they had two kids who shot 45 or 46 percent from three-point range. Honestly, it was a really hard team to prepare for defensively.”

Freshman Jonathan Powell scored 20 points with four three-point goals to pace C-J. But his teammates were a combined 6 of 28 from the field.

Chaminade Julienne coach Charlie Szabo conceded that DeSales played a big role in its offensive struggles.

“They had a good plan,” he said. They shut down our inside game and we couldn’t get the outside game going. They made it really tough on us, especially when they switched from zone to man in the second quarter.”

During one sequence, Nauseef double-pumped four times under the basket under intense pressure before shooting the ball off the underside of the backboard. That summed up C-J’s frustrations.

“They’re a big team . . . probably the biggest team we played all year,” Eagles guard AJ Solomon said. “Props to them. They played great defense.”

DeSales got a workmanlike effort from players not named Watson. Obed Achirem contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds, Atticus Schuler had nine points and numerous floor burns. Just 5-6 and 140 pounds, Austin Mann handed out three assists and played a vital defensive role.

“Defensively, we didn’t do what we needed to coming out of the box, but we shut Watson down pretty well after the first quarter,” Szabo said. “Watson is just so good, you’ve got to load up on him and get help. In our league, we get over and take charges when players like him get to the rim. We didn’t get some of those calls today. I give a lot of credit to their other kids, Achirem, Schuler and Mann. Those kids stepped up and played in the second half.”

Schuler said he grew up a Dayton Flyers fan and considered an opportunity to play for a state championship in the newly renovated facility “a dream come true.”

Murphy added that this opportunity is the culmination of his four years heading the program.

“Wow, we’re so very humbled to be here,” he said. “We weren’t going to be denied. These guys are showing so much resiliency. It’s finally sinking in that we’ve got a shot at achieving all of our dreams (Sunday).”

Also From Press Pros Magazine:

by Bruce Hooley | Features, Home Features

March 20, 2021

This Mann May Be Little, But He's Big In DeSales' Advance

THE STAT SHEET DOESN'T TRACK THE FULL MEASURE OF WHAT MAKES COLUMBUS DESALES A TOUGH OUT, AND THE STALLIONS HAVE MADE THAT MINDSET WORK FOR THEM ALL THE WAY TO THE DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

They don’t engage in any of the common exaggeration when it comes to the listed heights on the Columbus St. Francis DeSales basketball roster.

Stallions’ point guard Austin Mann really is a legitimate 5-foot-6.

His weight?

That, they don’t list . . . for Mann or any other player.

To do so would be an endeavor fraught with false advertising.

After all, the poundage on these Stallions fluctuates wildly, given all the skin they leave on the floor.

It’s a good thing they leave plenty of time to sanitize the court between games at the state tournament, given how many times Mann and his teammates wound up on the deck Saturday in pursuit of their 51-34 win over Dayton Chaminade Julienne in Division II semifinals.

Junior Atticus Schuler left the floor in the first half with blood on his jersey, and took a break in the fourth quarter to get another cut on his left leg cleansed and wrapped.

Mann left the locker room with ice strapped to his left calf.

That wasn’t surprising.

It was only surprising that he didn’t have additional bags of ice strapped elsewhere.

“It was a hard game,” Mann said. “We had to fight hard to win it. Our defense was amazing. We played our butts off. That’s what we do — play our hardest every game, Take charges, get on the floor, do all the dirty work. We’re JYD.”

Lest you think Mann whiffed on WWJD, he didn’t.

At DeSales, JYD stands for Junkyard Dogs, a defensive approach the Stallions adopted after coach Pat Murphy spouted it off-the-cuff when displeased with his charges’ approach several years back during a pre-season scrimmage.

Where it came from, Murphy can’t say.

“Maybe I watched too much Big-Time Wrestling as a kid,” he theorized.

There’s no disputing, however, where JYD has taken DeSales, now that it’s one win from the D-II state championship.

“We were not going to be denied today,” Murphy said. “It just wasn’t going to happen. Our players showed so much resiliency and stubbornness and just ferocity. I’m just so proud of them.”

Chaminade scored a season-low 34 points — six under its previous low — and shot just 30 percent from the field.

Other than wondrously-talented freshman Jonathan Powell, who shot 8-of-19 and scored 20 points, the Eagles were a collective 6-of-28 (21 percent).

“We live by JYD,” said DeSales senior Desmond Watson, his school’s career scoring leader and its top man Saturday with 21. “When you’re physical with a team, I feel like you can wear down their mental. If you wear down their mental, their physical shows. I feel like that’s what we do.”

DeSales (19-7) is 6-2 this season in games decided by three points or less, the kind that often hinge on making a key defensive stop.

But even though the Stallions were up big in the second half against Chaminade, they continued defending like each possession would determine the outcome.

Mann read an early fourth-quarter Eagles’ fast break and slid in front of speedy guard A.J. Solomon as he bolted over the mid-court stripe to draw a charging foul.

“The ball was in his left hand and he was coming really fast,” Mann said. “I just believed he was going left, so I stepped that way and was right there.”

Mann cut in front of a low-post pass 30 seconds later and stole what appeared another promising Eagles’ scoring opportunity.

“He might not be the biggest guy out there, but he might have the strongest mentality out there,” Watson said of Mann. “It doesn’t matter how big you are, he’s going to go after you. He’s going to attack you. He’s going to lock in.”

Similarly, the DeSales lead was well above 15 when Schuler dove on the floor and forced a jump ball, getting spun ankles over armpits in the resulting scrum with 6-7 Chaminade center Danny Nauseef.

“That’s JYD,” Schuler said. “That’s Junkyard Dogs. We definitely live by that. We track those points…diving on the floor, tough finishes, taking charges.”

Mann, by the way, estimated his weight at 140 pounds.

“That’s all heart,” he said of his penchant for literally having skin in the game. “I play my hardest every time out. I try my hardest every time out. It’s gotten me pretty far and our team pretty far. It’s why we have the opportunity play in the state championship game.”

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