Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
COLUMBUS — Eastern’s Tucker Leist was the best player on the court on Wednesday evening, and it wasn’t close.
The bigger the moment, the louder his game spoke, and the Eagles rode their horse into the Elite 8.
The District 14 Player of the Year dropped a near triple-double, leading his Eagles to a 71-55 win over Cardington-Lincoln with 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a Division VI regional semifinal.
“We primarily had a defensive game plan coming into the game since we knew Cardington had a number of guys that could really score the basketball,” Eastern coach Ethan Leist said. “There was a lot of work during practice about how to guard them. It’s one thing to have a game plan, but it’s another to execute it on the floor and the guys did such an amazing job following it to a tee.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Leist, a senior guard, has been the straw that stirs the Eagles’ drink all year long. And on the biggest stage of the team’s season, he made sure everyone’s impact was felt.
While he led the team in every category, he wasn’t alone as Boston Webb, Declan Davis and Cade Leist all finished in double-digit scoring figures.
“One thing we, as coaches, really wanted to lean on was trusting our depth. Sometimes, when the postseason comes, teams tend to shrink down the players and instead of playing multiple guys. They’ll play just seven,” Ethan Leist said. “We have nine guys that we firmly believe in to come on the floor, play their roles and hold their ground. Sometimes it can be a disadvantage, but we have complete trust in every guy who takes the floor and they all did fantastic tonight.”
Both teams spent the opening 7 1/2 minutes trading one bucket for another. Cade Leist opened with the first two scores for Eastern, and Tucker Leist had the last two.
But CL’s Warren Garrison splashed in a 30-footer at the buzzer, putting the Pirates ahead 13-10 after the first.
Tied 16-16 midway through the second, Garrison led the Pirates on a 6-0 run and connected on a triple off an Eagle turnover to put his team ahead 22-16.
However, Eastern (23-3) withstood the early jab and began to throw haymakers.
Webb, Tucker Leist and Carson Peters all hit shots as they combined for a 10-0 run that gave Eastern back the lead at 26-22, rounding out a 30-26 lead going into the break.
“Tucker played one heck of a game, and carried a lot of the weight. But everyone else did great playing their part when their number was called,” Ethan Leist said. “It was such a physical game, the way tournament basketball should be. Our guys have embraced the physical side of the game this year in ways we haven’t before.”
The Pirates (20-7) came out firing in the second half behind Kalin Briggs, Brayden Lackey and A.J. Brehm to regain some steam, tying the game 34-34.
But Eastern once again stepped on the gas, piecing together a 9-2 run behind Tucker Leist, Webb, Davis and Peters for a 43-36 advantage, before ending the third with a 46-40 lead.
The Pirates were searching for any type of answers to tie the game again, but it became apparent that they had run out of offensive steam.
Fatigue was starting to settle in, and Eastern smelled blood in the water.
Holding a 53-47 lead with less than six minutes left, Webb connected on a triple and it was followed by a bucket from Davis that extended the lead into double digits, where it remained until the final buzzer.
“We got our guys late to the season coming off a long football run, and we looked at that as a positive thing,” Ethan Leist said. “They were getting and having a winning experience, deep into a playoff run, which means they’ve been on a big stage and know what it takes to win, which plays a big part at this stage of the season. We did a great job controlling the glass, battling for loose balls and keeping our energy high from the opening tip to the final buzzer. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”
Following Tucker Leist’s final numbers, Webb finished the night with 18 points for Eastern. Davis ended with 10 points and four rebounds and Cade Leist added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Eastern returns to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Ohio Dominican University in a Division VI regional final against Monroe Central, who defeated North Adams to advance.
SPONSORED BY PURE BLISS AESTHETICS
