“The beautiful thing about team sports is none of you guys have to believe it,” Elks coach Brook Cupps said. “It’s just those guys in the locker room that need to believe it.”
The Elks (20-8) lost their final three games of the regular season and won no more than three in row until their seven-game tournament run. They will play for their second state title at 8:30 p.m. Sunday against Cleveland St. Ignatius, a 54-53 winner over Delaware Hayes. The Elks lost to Ignatius 94-92 in double overtime in January. Ignatius is playing without injured 6-foot-7 starter Sam Springer.
“They’re so dynamic scoring wise, they have so many guys that can hurt you,” Cupp said. “Their style of play is open and free, and those guys play like that. Their size is an issue. They’re really, really good, and so we have to be really, really good.”
Centerville’s emergence in the tournament is due on the offensive end to contributions from players other than leading scorers Jonathan Powell and Baboucarr Njie. They combined for 15 points.
“I’m not really focused on scoring,” Powell said. “When it comes to me, it comes me. I love when Eli and Bob and all my other teammates get going. We’re an unselfish team.”
With Powell and Njie limited in scoring opportunities, junior point guard Eli Greenberg scored 19 and had five assists and junior forward Jamar Montgomery scored 14. Montgomery had his second straight big game scoring underneath and creating assists for his teammates. He scored 13 in the district final against Middletown and 16 in the regional final against Cincinnati Moeller.
“Our success has always been built on multiple guys being good,” Cupps said. “We’ve had guys that could average 25 a game, and they just don’t because they try to share the ball. I just think you’re better that way. I think you’re harder to beat.”
That approach helped the Elks shoot 54% and make 5 of 9 3-pointers. Greenberg made two 3-pointers and his brother Ethan Greenberg made two.
“I was really worried about Eli Greenberg,” Whitmer coach Anthony Stacey said. “I thought he’s been the key to them all year being that third scorer, and he was huge tonight. He’s kind of under the radar, but he does everything that you need to win.”
The Elks’ defense played a major role as well, holding Whitmer (25-3) to 5 of 23 shooting on 3-pointers and 36% overall. The Panthers want to drive, kick and make about 10 3-pointers, Stacy said. But they missed open shots in the first half, and the Elks contested most of their second-half attempts.
“We were really good defensively probably more than anything,” Cupps said. “We were locked in to how we wanted to guard and made it tough for them.”
When the Elks closed the third quarter with a 7-0 run to build a 37-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter, they had taken control. Whitmer’s shooting struggles continued in the fourth.
The Panthers brought more defensive pressure, but the Elks handled better this time. In the regional final against Moeller, the Elks lost a 13-point lead in the fourth and had to win in double overtime.
“Experience matters,” Cupps said. “Being in that situation last weekend against Moeller, it matters. We got better from it. Our guys knew what was at stake, and I thought they did a great job of handling that pressure late.”
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