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The win matches Springfield (21-4) against Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (23-3) in a regional semifinal at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday at Xavier University’s Cintas Center. Wayne (24-1) will play Princeton (23-3) in the other semi at 8.
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The winners return to the Cintas Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday with a regional championship and spot in next week’s state final four in Columbus at stake.
Moeller defeated host Springfield 56-39 on Feb. 3 in the regular season.
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This was the last of four D-I district finals. Two last-second free throws was the difference in Princeton’s 53-51 dodging of Greater Miami Conference rival Lakota East. Moeller shut down Fairmont 65-50 and Wayne throttled Oak Hills, another GMC rep, 68-54.
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Leading throughout, Leonard Taylor’s layup pushed Springfield’s lead to 46-41 with 2:15 left. Elder’s Trevor Estep responded with a 3-pointer and layup to cut the margin to 46-45. Sam Towns’ free throw bumped the Wildcats’ advantage to two, then Wallace took over.
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Wallace led Springfield with 13 points in the defensive struggle. Towns and RaHeim Moss each added nine points. Zach Harp led Elder (14-12) with 20 points.
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