DaytonDailyNews.com

FAIRBORN — Alter's only problem was catching Dunbar at its best.

That, more than anything, accounted for the Wolverines' convincing 73-49 defeat of the Knights on Saturday at WSU's Nutter Center in a Division II boys high school regional basketball final before 3,000 fans.

Dunbar (22-4), featuring a loaded frontcourt and savvy backcourt, has jacked its game up several notches during the postseason and unloaded that 1-2 punch on the Knights.

Its reward is a third straight trip to the D-II state tourney at Columbus. The defending state champs will play Columbus DeSales (23-3) at 5:15 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals. DeSales advanced by beating Chillicothe 76-70 Saturday.

Key moment: Dunbar loaded its frontline with 6-foot-8 Aaron Pogue, 6-8 Anthony Oden and 6-9 Josh Benson for the third quarter. They scored all 17 of the Wolverines' points. Benson was best with 11.

"I don't think Alter knew what to do with that lineup," said Pogue, who scored 14 points and was unstoppable underneath.

"We had Benson up high, me down low and (Oden) on the other block. That's a three-headed monster."

Key stat: No getting around Dunbar's 41-15 advantage in rebounds. And no one was better than Pogue's 19. Seldom did Alter (21-3) launch a second shot, and seldom did Dunbar get off less than however many shots it needed. "Every time you got in there, it was an extra foot you had to get the ball over," said Alter senior guard J.J. Laumann, who led the Knights with 24 points.

"They're huge and they have those big bodies and they're not moving."

Key factor: Jordan Brown, the Knights' most reliable inside presence, was never a factor with early foul trouble. By 4:46 left in the second quarter, he was out with his third personal, and gone for good just seconds into the fourth.

Already outsized by 4 to 5 inches per player on the front line, Alter had no chance with Brown limited to 14 minutes, two rebounds and one point.

"We were in a little bit of foul trouble and we're not that big," Alter coach Joe Petrocelli said. "And with that quickness, that really hurt us."

Key points: Dunbar's punishing frontcourt made it easy for guards Norris Cole (16 points) and Daquan Walker (10) to strike from outside and penetrate at will. Alter's option was to pressure the Wolves' backcourt, but that would leave its down-low timber unchecked.

"Coach said that could be a good one-two punch with me and Daquan and the big fellas," Cole said. "We always want to establish the inside, because that makes it easier for the guards."

Notable: The game will be reshown on WRCX TV-40, Time Warner Cable Ch. 22 at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2381 or mpendleton@DaytonDailyNews.com.