Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
COLUMBUS — South Webster is ready for its close-up.
The Jeeps are locked in, understanding that their goals are still well in front of them.
Patriot Prep is SW’s latest victim and, although the Eagles pushed the Jeeps deep into Thursday’s fourth quarter, the Jeeps powered through to notch a 58-44 victory in a Division VII regional semifinal.
“
Eli Roberts started the game red-hot for the Jeeps, scoring the night’s opening six points alongside a chase-down block. Then, Beau Stephens came up with a steal and a bucket, giving the Jeeps an early 8-1 lead.
Roberts later came up with a steal and dished to Hunter Barnard, who followed up with a triple from the corner to make it 13-3.
The Jeeps (21-3) continued to play lockdown defense, forcing nine first quarter turnovers as they took a 19-7 lead into the second.
Despite the lackluster quarter, Patriot Prep (18-7) stayed the course and weathered the storm.
The Eagles turned up their aggression and slowly climbed back into the game behind Benjamin Williams and DeShawn Crawford to cut the deficit to 21-13.
SW pushed the lead to 29-17 behind Roberts, Barnard and Christian White, but the Eagles responded with a 7-0 run from Mason Seward and Antonio Rogers to cut it to 29-24, ending at 31-24 going into the break.
Crawford buried a triple for the Eagles in the third, cutting into the lead down before Roberts threw down a two-handed flush to SW ahead 35-27.
Roberts continued to keep the Jeeps ahead, scoring seven more points in the frame to help extend the advantage to 45-33.
But Crawford banked in a half-court shot to end the third, trimming the lead to 45-36.
That shot gave the Eagles life, and Seward and Cameron Thomas opened the fourth with buckets to bring the score to 45-40.
However, the Eagles couldn’t capitalize in the end.
Although they managed to cut the deficit to four at 48-44, the Jeeps had too much firepower down the stretch.
Roberts dished out a pair of assists to Barnard and White, who also knocked down free throws, to end the game on a 10-0 run, closing the night with a spot in the Elite 8.
“They shot the ball much better than I thought they would, and they deserve credit for hitting shots in key moments,” Persin said. “We knew they were a great rebounding team, and that was our top goal to keep them off the glass and I thought we did a good job of that in the second half in the closing minutes.”
Roberts finished the night with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Branard added 14 points.
South Webster returns to action at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in a Division VII regional final at Ohio University against Notre Dame, who defeated Steubenville Catholic Central to move on.
SPONSORED BY SCHMIDT FAMILY RESTAURANT GROUP
