“Everybody was just sluggish so I kind of knew it was going to be one of those games today,” Reaves said.
Fortunately for the Lions, it was one of those games for only a half and they trailed by only two points. Reaves scored 19 of his 20 points in the second half to lead Meadowdale to a 50-45 victory and into a district final for the first time since 1992.
“I feel good about it, but it’s got to keep going,” Reeves said. “I want to go far.”
The third-seeded Lions (14-8) will face Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (20-4), a No. 2 seed and 55-35 winner over Madeira, at 6 p.m. in the Division III district finals Saturday at the University of Cincinnati.
“It’s about building the culture,” Lions coach Dwayne Chastain said. “We’re trying to change the culture around here, and a win like this helps that process.”
Reaves scored 10 points in the third quarter to push the Lions to a 32-31 lead. But the Lions fouled Preble Shawnee (18-5) star Mason Shrout on a heave from beyond half court at the buzzer. Shrout made three free throws for a 34-32 Arrows led.
Shrout matched Reaves with 10 points in the third and entered the fourth quarter with 24 points. But he finished with 27 after Reaves took over guarding him.
“That Mason Shrout guy, he’s nice – I like his game,” Reaves said. “I was trying to slow him down and make him get uncomfortable and not get to his spots on the court.”
Shawnee led 44-40 with three minutes left before the Lions closed with a 10-1 run keyed by seven points by Reaves.
“The one thing about Kalerio he’s a gamer,” Chastain said. “I was actually surprised that he was having the first half that he had because he loves these moments. And it showed in the second half. He really stepped up his game.”
Lee Benson III added 14 points for the Lions and sophomore Sean Caldwell came off the bench to score 12, including two 3-pointers in the first to keep the Lions close.
Indian Lake 69, Dayton Christian 59: Caiden Nicol scored 18 points in the first quarter to fuel a 30-14 start, and the sixth-seeded Lakers (16-8) held off the No. 4 Warriors (18-5) in the fourth quarter. Nicol, a sophomore, finished with a season-high 28 points.
“They’ve got five guys that can shoot it, so we were concerned about the three,” Dayton Christian coach J.T. Holliday said. “But they were just in attack mode in the first quarter, and they got to the lane just as easily as the outside shot. They just came out so hot.”
The Warriors beat the Lakers last season and early this season, but they fell behind by as many as 25 and trailed by 19 entering the fourth. They cut the deficit to 11 with 3:13 left but got no closer.
Junior guard Jamison Bates led the Warriors with 27 points and 6-foot-8 senior Devin Dreier added 12.
Springfield Shawnee 49, Anna 48: The No. 10 Rockets trailed most of the game and rallied late as No. 5 Shawnee struggled at the free-throw line. But a late long 3-point shot by McKane Finkenbine was short of the rim and was harmlessly followed in with a second left.
Shawnee (16-7) made 14 of 26 free throws for the game, 8 of 17 in the fourth quarter and 4 of 10 in the final 42 seconds. Fortunately for the Braves they entered the final two minutes with a 44-38 lead.
Finkenbine led Anna (9-15) with 18 points. Patrick Fultz led Shawnee with 17.
Versailles 59, Miami East 54: The top-seeded and third-ranked Tigers held off the No. 8 Vikings behind 24 points from 6-7 junior Connor Stonebreaker. Sophomores Jacob Roeth and Wes Enis led East (16-7) with 19 and 17 points.
Versailles (22-1) faces Georgetown in a district final at noon Saturday at UC.
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