Bombers can't keep up with speedy Irish

Tourney run ends with 68-49 loss

COLUMBUS - St. Xavier's focus heading into a Division I regional semifinal Wednesday against Dublin Scioto was figuring out how it could best utilize its height to create a game dominated by halfcourt opportunities.

That strategy worked for a little more than a quarter before the Irish did what they do best: Lean on their speed and defense.

• Photos: Dublin Scioto 68, Bombers 49

The Bombers could not slow down Scioto throughout most of the second half, and had few answers offensively in a 68-49 loss in the Fairgrounds Coliseum. St. Xavier finished 14-10.

"They're extremely quick, and we knew that was going to be the issue," St. X coach Scott Martin said. "We've had problems all year with extremely quick teams. We were hoping to be able to get the ball inside, but we weren't able to get it inside enough."

Scioto, which improved to 24-1 and advanced to its first regional final, also shot well from the outside.

The Irish made 22 of 43 from the floor. David McKinley made five 3-pointers on the way to finishing with 17 points and Bradley McDougald had two 3s among his 21 points.

McDougald, who will play football at Kansas next year, had a pair of three-point plays in the first half as the Irish built a 27-19 halftime lead.

McDougald scored 11 more in the third quarter to help Scioto build a 50-28 lead.

Senior Erik Stenger, a 6-foot-7 post player, scored eight first-quarter points for the Bombers before the Irish adjusted defensively. Stenger finished with team-high totals of 19 points and nine rebounds, but the rest of his points came after Scioto built a 22-point lead.

"We had the right mix of keeping a fresh guy on Stenger all night," Scioto coach Tony Bisutti said.

A state semifinalist a year ago, St. Xavier's run to the regional this year came despite an 11-9 regular season. Along the way, the Bombers knocked off the state's third-ranked team, Middletown (69-58 on March 7), before beating Kettering Fairmont (57-42 last Saturday) in a district final.

"It was an awesome run to get this far," Stenger said. "We're a real close team and we knew we had the talent, we just needed that first big win to get it going."

Dublin Scioto (24-1) - McDougald 7-5-21, McKinley 6-0-17, St. John 0-1-1, Duzan 2-4-8, Olatoye 3-3-9, Stamets 1-3-5, Harrell 1-1-3, Mills 2-0-4. Totals: 22-17-68.

St. Xavier (14-10) - Stenger 9-1-19, Longi 2-2-6, Massa 4-0-12, Niehaus 1-0-3, Holcomb 1-0-2, Nurre 1-0-2, Vidal 2-0-5. Totals: 20-3-49.

Dublin Scioto	16	11	23	18	- 68
St. Xavier	11	8	9	21	- 49

3-pointers: DS - McKinley 5, McDougald 2. SX - Massa 4, Vidal, Niehaus.