Thursday, March 23, 2000
Purcell Marian reaches state final
Cavaliers beat Cambridge, 44-41, in semis
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
Keith Jackson of Purcell Marian
(AP photo)
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COLUMBUS — Talk about love-hate relationships.Purcell Marian hated the score of Thursday's Division II boys basketball state semifinal game against the patient Cambridge Bobcats. But at the same time, the Cavaliers loved it.
Despite producing their lowest scoring total of the season, the Cavaliers outlasted the Bobcats for a 44-41 victory before a crowd of 11,686 at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center that gave them a berth in Saturday's state championship game.
Purcell Marian (24-3), which scored just 10 points in the first half, will play Warrensville Heights (24-2) at 11a.m. Saturday at the Schottenstein Center. The Cavaliers will be shooting for their second state championship. They won the Class AAA title in 1985.
It didn't start out well for Purcell Thursday. The Cavaliers trailed 16-10 at halftime.
“I don't know if we've ever scored that low,” Cavaliers coach Mike Gergen said. “It was as slow as it could possibly be.”
Cambridge was feeling confident.
“I thought we were right where wanted to be at that point,” Cambridge coach Gene Ford said.
“We knew they would try to slow it down,” Cavaliers senior Jaime Cooper said. “That and starting at 11a.m., we just weren't all there. I told
the guys at halftime that this was not how I wanted to end my career. I told them that I'd worked too hard my whole life for it to end here.”
Cooper then went out and backed up his words. The 6-foot-3 forward scored seven consecutive points in the first 1:20 of the second half and 10 of his game-high 19 points in the third quarter to help the Cavaliers to a 29-24 lead. Purcell Marian expanded its lead to nine points but needed to weather a five-point play by Cambridge's Evan Keith (a 3-pointer and two free throws for being fouled after the shot) and Keith's 3-pointer at the buzzer to hold on for the win.
“We had some turnovers at critical times,” said Ford, whose team saw its 13-game winning streak snapped and finished 21-5. “I thought we did a nice job against their traps, and we talked about not going over the top, but talking about it and doing it are two different things. They've got five super-quick guys, and that really helps with your (defensive) rotation.”
The Cavaliers pressed the entire game in an effort to increase the tempo, but they shot just 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from the field in the first half.
“I don't know what was going on the first half,” said senior guard Brandon Salamone, who was 0-for-4 in the half, including 0-for-3 on 3-pointers. He finished the game with 13 points, including a 3-pointer from the left corner as the third quarter ended. “The shots just weren't there.”
“We were trying to speed up the game from the very beginning,” Gergen said. “I told our guys at halftime that we were back on our heels on defense. We had to get on our toes and pick the pressure up that way. That's what we've done all year.
“This is the same book, same cover that we've seen the entire tournament. The only team that went up and down with us was Dayton Christian (in the regional championship).”
Purcell Marian junior Keith Jackson, who was named second-team all-state in Division II by the Associated Press, scored just seven points. He fouled out while trying to contain his all-state teammate, 6-6, 250-pound Cambridge junior Adam Davenport, who finished with a team-high 15 points.
The total of 85 points was the lowest for a Division II game since the Ohio High School Athletic Association switched to a four-division format in 1988 and is the lowest for any tournament game since a Division I semifinal in 1996.
CAMBRIDGE (21-5) — Snyder 1 0 2, Lilienthal 5 2 12, Davenport 6 3 15, Suitt 1 0 2, Todd 0 2 2, Keith 2 2 8. Totals: 15 9 41.
PURCELL MARIAN (24-3) — J. Cooper 7 5 19, H. Cooper 1 2 4, Jackson 2 3 7, Salamone 3 5 13, Swann 0 1 1. Totals: 13 16 44.
3-pointers: C—Keith 2. P—Salamone 2. Records: C 21-5, P 24-3.
Thursday story: Tempo key for Purcell in state semis
Wednesday story: Salamone's move great for Purcell Marian
Sunday story: Purcell advances to state
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