BOMBERS HAVE GREAT TRADITION

Although Cincinnati St. Xavier has only three seniors on the roster, everyone in the program understands what it takes to excel at the highest level of basketball.

The 15-9 Bombers have won five consecutive Southwest District titles and earned berths in the Division I Final Four each of the last two seasons. Coupled with a state championship in 2000 and another Final Four appearance in 2005, the Bombers have made it to the big stage four of the last 10 seasons.

Coach Scott Martin entered this season with only a few key players returning from last season’s 23-3 team that lost 66-59 to Lakewood St. Edward in the state semi-finals. The Bombers play in the rugged Greater Catholic League – South with traditional state powers Elder, LaSalle and Moeller. They finished the regular season 11-9 and 5-5 in league play.

They opened the tournament with a 44-38 win over Cincinnati Colerain in the sectional final. A 68-59 upset win over #3 state-ranked Middletown propelled the Bombers into the district final on Saturday and they dropped Kettering Fairmont 57-42 to earn a berth in the Columbus Regional.

Leading a tall frontcourt is 6-7 Senior F/C Erik Stenger who averages 17.5 points and 8 rebounds a game. He scored 19 points against Fairmont and was a dominating presence on the back of the St. X zone. He is joined by 6-5 Junior G/F Luke Massa who averages 9.9 points and 4 rebounds. 6-7 Junior F David Niehaus averages 4.6 points.

The backcourt is led by 6-3 Junior Alex Longi who averages 8.1 points. He scored 10 points and had 5 assists against Fairmont. 5-11 Junior G Ben Holcomb rounded out the starting lineup in the district final.

Seeing significant time off the bench were 6-3 Senior G/F Kyle Rolfes, 5-6 Sophomore G Will Muething and 6-2 SO G/F Matthew Wayne.

The Bombers jumped out to a 25-11 halftime lead against Fairmont with a solid zone defense and zone press. While neither team shot well in the first half, St. X controlled the boards and the pace of play. The offense features the lanky Stenger who completed at least four dunks against the smaller Firebirds. Massa and Niehaus hit treys, but most of the scoring came inside.