Centerville, the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Division I sectional tournament, finishes the regular season 11-11 and outright American Division champs (9-4).
»RELATED: Friday’s high school roundup
Beavercreek, the sectional’s No. 2 seed, finishes 13-9 overall and 7-6 in the GWOC in head coach Steve Pittman’s first year.
Njie finished with eight points (including two two-handed dunks), five rebounds and two blocks in scaled back minutes. The three-star prospect (247sports) holds offers from Dayton, Xavier, Providence and Toledo.
“You can tell he’s not himself yet, but (Mo) not himself is still better than most guys,” Cupps said. “That was definitely a lift.”
“I’ve been sitting out for at least a month now and I knew I had to come out with some energy,” Njie said. “Our goal was to go out and win this thing.”
Centerville broke open a 3-3 game with an 8-0 first quarter run and led 26-16 midway through the second. The Elks held a 30-22 advantage at half.
Beavercreek whittled a 12-point deficit down to five (43-38) with two minutes to play in the third quarter, but Centerville closed the stanza with an 11-3 run – capped by Njie’s first slam.
Ahead 54-31 entering the fourth quarter, Centerville extended its lead to 19 twice.
“We played scared,” Pittman said. “I thought the difference was (Centerville) was a team that came in expecting to win and we came in hoping to win. All year long we expected to win, but for some odd reason we came into tonight and we were discombobulated.
“When I thought we were going to make that push like we usually do, they held off those runs.”
Said Cupps: “Our kids did a great job of keeping their composure.”
Freshman Gabe Cupps scored a game-high 21 points (one off his career-high) to lead Centerville. Sophomores Tom House (15 points), Rich Rolf (five points, seven rebounds) and Ryan Keifer (six points, five rebounds) all made crucial plays.
Sophomore Adam Duvall’s 18 points paced ‘Creek. Senior Yousef Saleh added 14.
Both squads open postseason play next Saturday at Butler. Centerville tips against Tecumseh (6-16) at 5 p.m., while ‘Creek faces Lebanon (6-16) at 8 p.m.
The Elks suffered four-, three- and two-point losses to Trotwood, Fairmont and Wayne in Njie’s absence.
“He’s such a factor around the basket,” Brook Cupps said. “In one or two possession games – he makes a difference.”
“I feel good,” NJie said. “It’s nice to bring this (title) home and not share with anybody.”
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