Friday, March 12, 1999
Kings takes another step toward state
Knights whip Urbana to gain regional berth
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
DAYTON, Ohio — They pass the ball, thus, they live the dream. It's that simple in explaining Kings' Cinderella run through the boys Division II basketball tournament.
The latest step came Thursday with a 66-57 district final victory over Urbana that puts Kings (13-11) in the regional tournament for the first time.
Kings lost its first seven games this season before a complete turnaround. “It's unbelievable,” guard John Brose said. “I can't explain it, especially with how our season started. You can't explain how good this feels.”
Kings shot 54 percent for the game, a direct indication of how well the undersized Knights passed the ball to get good looks at the basket.
“I thought (Wednesday) we had one of our best practices of the year in terms of passing the ball,” coach Brian O'Connell said. “The kids remembered that in the fourth quarter. We always made that extra pass.”
Brose's exemplary stat line gives another indication of how well Kings is playing. Brose made 4-of-4 shots, including 1-of-1 three-pointers, 5-of-6 foul shots, grabbed three rebounds, dished out four assists and finished with 14 points, 11 in the second half.
“Against Eaton (a sectional upset of the state's No.2-ranked team), I don't think we took a shot outside of the lane the second half. We're playing as a team really well,” Brose said.
“This definitely hurts, but I want to commend Kings,” Urbana coach Tim Lacy said. “I thought their kids scrapped the whole time.”
Kings led for most of the game, but Urbana put on a 9-4 run in the middle of the third quarter to tie the game at 41-41. But Kings put its own 8-0 run together in the final 3:16 of the quarter to retake command of the game.
“When they got back in the ballgame, they got a lot of momentum,” O'Connell said. “We answered their run and cut short their momentum and said, "Hey, this is still our ballgame.'”
Urbana hurt itself by making only 12-of-27 foul shots. Star forward Jason Peterson had 14 points, but fouled out with seven minutes to play.
Zack Woods led Kings with 15 points. Ronnie Swearingen had 11 points, while Brad McCarty had eight points and seven assists.
“It's been comedy hour in the locker room before the games,” O'Connell said when asked if his team seems awed by its progress. “They're the ones calming me down. They believe they can win and that goes a long way here.”
Kings plays Kettering Alter in the regional semifinals 8 p.m. Wednesday at UD Arena.
KINGS (66) — Woods 7 0 15, Swearingen 5 1 11, Husband 1 2 4, Brose 4 5 14, McCarty 3 2 8, Paddock 1 0 2, Donovan 2 0 4, Armstead 2 0 4, Fay 2 0 4. Totals: 27-50 10-16 66.
URBANA (57) — Fox 2 0 4, Peterson 7 0 14, Underwood 2 1 5, White 2 0 6, Glessner 2 1 6, Scott 0 2 2, Woods 1 5 7, Humble 1 1 3, Myers 4 2 10. Totals: 21 12 57.
Kings ....... 18 15 16 17—66
Urbana ....... 15 15 11 16—57
Three-point goals: K — Woods, Brose; U — White 2, Glessner. Records: K 13-11, U 15-9.
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