Beavercreek juniors Kaden Ellerbe (12) and Isaiah-Michael Williams celebrate Ellerbe’s put back slam during the second half of Thursday’s 65-50 D-I sectional win against Tecumseh at Centerville High School.
Beavercreek junior Owen Roether (14) scans the floor against pressure from Tecumseh’s zone defense.
Beavercreek senior Liam Gluck (11) led the team with 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
Beavercreek was able to force more turnovers after halftime which led to several transition opportunities, including one ending with this dunk for junior Isaiah-Michael Williams (22).
CENTERVILLE — Panic never set in before or after halftime for Beavercreek despite trailing at the break.
Experience and size was on their side. It eventually won the day in a 65-50 victory Thursday against Tecumseh to open Division I sectional tournament play at Centerville High School.
Beavercreek was certainly tested in the first half. The No. 2-seed in the North portion of the Southwest District faced the best effort Tecumseh could have possibly brought with them as the 17th seed of 20 teams.
“They played their hearts out,” Beavercreek head coach Isaiah Williams said. “They maximized everybody that was out there. They hit shots when they needed to. They might just not have enough, but whatever they had they gave it their all and you definitely have to salute that. Hats off to them.”
Beavercreek (17-6) led throughout the opening quarter but Tecumseh stayed close. The Indians grabbed its first lead at 19-17 early in the second quarter by controlling the rebounding battles and stifling Beavercreek with a 2-3 zone. Timely shooting helped too such as getting a three from the corner by Chase Stafford as part of his game-high 22-point night to keep Beavercreek at bay.
Tecumseh, which entered the game with a 5-17 record, built its lead to seven with 1:07 left in the half as its bench and crowd grew louder. Beavercreek eventually called a timeout with 32 seconds left in the second quarter after spending more than 30 seconds during a possession unable to do anything but pass along the perimeter.
“I just kind of wanted to let them this time figure it out on their own,” Williams said. “Instead of getting down on the them or making a big speech because at the end of the day the destiny of the game is in their hands. All I can do is put them in the right position.”
The Beavers would get a layup from Isaiah-Michael Williams before the half ended to trail 29-24 at the break, but Tecumseh left the court feeling good as its players screamed in excitement as they entered the locker room.
Beavercreek came back on the floor in a collected manner and used its typical starting five for the first time all night which it never subbed off during the third quarter. That group flexed its muscle, starting the half with a 21-4 run through numerous aggressive drives into the paint against the undersized Indians to take control of the game.
“The message [at halftime] was that we weren’t playing our style of basketball,” Williams said. “We were settling instead of attacking. Defensively we just knew what to do and were going to do what we know how to do. Let’s pressure the ball a little bit.”
Tecumseh began forcing contested shots from long range as the lead got away from them and couldn’t keep up in transition.
Beavercreek during the third quarter scored more than double compared to what it did during the first half to lead by 15 heading into the fourth and ended up cruising down the stretch.
Liam Gluck finished with 17 point for Beavercreek. Williams had 16 and Kaden Ellerbe scored 14.
Beavercreek advances to face No. 18 Springfield at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright_.
