For Troy, the Trojans claimed their deepest playoff push since 2012 by pulling away from a feisty Miamisburg 64-49.
Though the Vikings (5-18) entered the outing with just five wins for the campaign, they gave the Trojans fits before some hot shooting from Aiden Luis midway through the second stanza helped Troy (13-11) take the lead for good.
“(Miamisburg) comes from the (Greater Western Ohio Conference), so they are battle-tested — that schedule is relentless,’’ said Troy coach Mark Hess. “They play a tougher schedule than us, so we knew they would be tough and well-coached. We didn’t even talk about (season) records with our kids.’’
While the Vikings had difficulty putting the ball in the basket, their defense kept them close — until Troy became more patient on offense, which resulted in more looks for Luis, who nailed back-to-back treys to push the Trojans ahead 21-15 with just over two minutes remaining before intermission.
“I was frustrated with how we started the game offensively,” Hess said. “But Aiden just got hot. He’s a great set shooter and he continues to shoot the ball really, really well. We talk about getting layups and, for him, an open 3 is like a layup.”
Still, Troy’s cushion was slim at 25-20 at halftime before the Trojans took charge with a 17-0 surge to start the third quarter. That spurt featured four trifectas, including one more from Luis, who led all scorers with 23 points.
The Vikings placed three scorers in double figures, paced by Gavin Sudimack with 11.
Troy advanced to face Cincinnati Aiken in a D-II district final game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Xavier’s Cintas Center.
In the nightcap, Northmont, just like Troy did earlier, struggled a bit early on against an underdog Fairborn club with just three victories on the campaign.
But the Thunderbolts flashed their depth and defensive tenacity to strike quickly and efficiently en route to an 84-41 victory.
Northmont, coached by Allen Spears, is seeking its first district championship since 1962. They’ll face Loveland at 8 p.m. Friday at the Cintas Center.
In almost a repeat of the opening contest, the Bolts (15-8) were tied with Fairborn (3-20) at 7-7 with under two minutes left in the first quarter before Spears had seen enough.
Flashing his deep bench, Spears pushed the substitution button to perfection while implementing a full-court pressure defense with the hopes of energizing his club — along with creating a slew of turnovers.
“No matter how much you try to build it up, kids can look at the standings, and they know the record of the other team,’’ Spears said. “It’s hard to convince them that they need to come out and play with intensity from the start. It’s difficult, and we failed at that.
“But that’s the beauty of having a second group — those guys were more ready because they know their opportunities are less. I’m thankful to have those guys."
Spears is also thankful to have Josiah Williams on his roster, as the sophomore, who hadn’t scored to that point, delivered 14 points in the second quarter, and what had once been a tight outing seemed more comfortable at halftime with the Bolts rolling at 38-20.
Northmont then opened the third period with an 11-0 run to all but seal the victory.
As a true testament to their wealth of options, the Bolts showcased 10 different scorers, led by Williams with 17.
“Depth is something we work tirelessly on,” Spears said. “My assistant coach was just talking the other day about how well our second group has been playing in practice — really pushing our starting five. When you have other guys you can call on, you can press, and you can wear down (an opponent). It can play a role."
That’s exactly what Spears hopes will happen this weekend in the district finale.
“There would be some historical stuff going on here if we can go (to Xavier) and cut some nets down,’’ Spears said.
Fairborn’s leading scorer was Brayden Lambros with 22 points.
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