The team he was proud of had just lost 67-56 to Cincinnati Purcell Marian in the Division III regional final at Trent Arena. The finality of it all was difficult. But so was how it happened.
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First, the Rockets (25-3) were outscored 18-6 in the second quarter to trail 34-23 at halftime.
“The second quarter really hurt us — long rebounds for them and breakouts, not being able to hit shots, didn’t seem like we got the ball moving quite like we normally do,” Barhorst said.
The Cavaliers (24-4) might not have been as quick as the Stivers team Anna beat Wednesday. But the Cavs were taller, longer and stronger. The Rockets committed only 11 turnovers, but getting some of the shots they wanted was never easy.
“Purcell Marian is long, they’re athletic, they get in the passing lanes, they’re intense on defense and it rattled us a few times,” Barhorst said.
Secondly, once the lead was in double digits the Rockets couldn’t make a run. The Cavaliers kept attacking the basket and the offensive glass whether Anna was playing zone or man-to-man defense. The lead hit 40-25 with 3:23 left in third on Alex Dotson’s steal and layup. In the fourth, the lead reached 58-40.
“We could never weather enough of that storm to get ourselves back within striking distance,” Barhorst said. “And usually we’re a team that gets back within striking distance. To them it probably felt like it was never in doubt. We were just waiting for that one run, and we could never get to that point.”
Purcell Marian was a challenge to guard. Center Bryan Warah came off the bench for 20 points and forward Javonta Lyons scored 14 points. Leading scorer Dotson was held to nine, but as the point guard he made things happen. And the Cavs were 22 of 29 at the free-throw line while Anna was 12 of 16.
“We knew they were going to be a better discipline team against the zone,” Barhorst said. “We knew we were going to have to go zone a few times, but man was going to have to be our main staple.”
Anna was playing in its first regional final since 2010 and hoping to reach its first state tournament since its only trip in 2008. They tied the school record for victories, and lose only two seniors. However, they are starters Griffin Doseck and Carter Elliott. Doseck, an all-Southwest District selection this year, scored a team-high 18 points. Elliott was the 3-point shooting star in Wednesday’s semifinal win over Stivers.
“To lose the two guys that gave us everything they did for four years in our program, it’s so tough,” Barhorst said. “That being said, these guys made huge accomplishments this year — probably one of the top three or four teams to ever come through Anna.”
Barhorst will have guards Bart Bixler (15 points), Riley Huelskamp and Isaac Lininger back to lead the team.
Purcell Marian will play Canal Winchester Harvest Prep in the state semifinals at noon Thursday at the Schottenstein Center at Ohio State.
Oregon Cardinal Stritch 68, Coldwater 58: The Cavaliers' run to a D-III regional final ended at Bowling Green State University's Stroh Center on Saturday. Marcus Bruns had 25 points to lead Coldwater and Cole Frilling 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Coldwater (18-10) began the season 0-4 and won five straight playoffs games, including a one-pointer over previously unbeaten Archbold in a district semifinal.
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