Freshman Tre’Von Hodges led the Lions with 11 points as Meadowdale finished its season 15-9. The Lions cut the lead to single digits multiple times in the second half, but couldn’t pull any closer.
“When you see them win a district title and you see the excitement, you see where the sacrifice and the hard work is worth it,” said Meadowdale coach Dwayne Chastain Sr. “Just seeing their faces today and not being able to get it done for them, it makes you feel bad for them. We had a great year. I told them in the locker room to not walk out of here with your head down because we made history.”
Georgetown junior Carson Miles scored a game-high 25 points and senior Blaise Burrows added 13 as the G-Men improved to 21-2. They advanced to face Cincinnati Taft — a 57-41 winner over Cincinnati Mariemont in the other semifinal — in a D-III regional final at 1 p.m. Saturday in Kettering.
In the first quarter, the G-Men went 10-for-13 from the field, including two 3-pointers, to take a 26-4 lead. The Lions struggled in the first quarter, going 2-for-12 from the field with four turnovers.
“They came out extremely hot,” Chastain said. “I thought our defense was doing well, but they just shot the ball. There is anything you can’t do about that. We didn’t shoot the ball well and that didn’t help at all.”
In the second quarter, Meadowdale made a furious comeback, cutting the lead to eight points at 30-22 on a basket by Bryan Dobbs.
“I was proud of my guys because they didn’t give up,” Chastain said. “That’s the one thing about them. They’re not going to give up. They’re going to continue to play hard no matter what. Georgetown just shot the ball very well.”
The G-Men, however, went on a 7-0 run to end the half, taking a 37-22 lead into the locker room.
“It really hurt because we had the momentum and they took it right back,” Chastain said.
In the second half, the Lions pressured the G-Men all over the court, cutting the lead to seven points on a layup by Malik Thomas. On the next possession, Miles hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10 points. The Lions wouldn’t get any closer.
“(Miles) was very poised and handled our pressure well,” Chastain said. “I thought we would wear them down, especially when we started coming back in the second quarter. They came back strong in the second half as well.”
The Lions still have plenty to celebrate. Last weekend, Meadowdale beat Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy for their first district championship in 30 years.
“I was so proud of them,” Chastain said. “That was our main focus to get to the district finals, win the district and move forward from there. I was very proud of them. They worked hard.”
The Lions will graduate three seniors from this year’s squad and are expected to return all five starters. The loss in the regional semifinals will serve as motivation for next season, Chastain said.
“Now that they’ve got a taste of it, they’re going to want more,” Chastain said. “It’s going to fuel them to get into the gym a little bit more, get in the weight room a little bit more and hopefully come back stronger.”
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