“It was just confidence and trusting the work that I put in, knowing that my teammates trust me and I trust my teammates,” Penrod said. “It was a great win overall.”
The Eagles (24-2) advanced to play Jackson Center in a D-IV regional semifinal at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Trent Arena in Kettering. Troy Christian beat the Tigers 42-35 on Jan. 6.
The key to Saturday’s victory, Penrod said, was what the Eagles did on the defensive end of the floor. The Eagles led 31-10 at the half, outscoring the Lions 21-4 in the second quarter.
“The first quarter we started out a little rough and not to our usual standard,” Penrod said. “We kept our head down and did what he had to do and it started on the defensive end. When we only allow 10 points in a half, there’s not a lot other teams can do to beat us. When we play defense like that, that’s when we’re at our best.”
In the second half, the Lions cut the lead to 36-22, forcing Eagles coach Ray Zawadzki to call a timeout.
“You’ve got to play 32 to earn 32,” Zawadski said. “I had to call timeout and get us back in line and focus on what our purpose is and our mission.”
The Eagles extended the lead back to 20 points in the fourth quarter, cruising to their second straight district title.
“I thought the kids were really locked in defensively,” Zawadski said. “I think the kids struggled a little bit early offensively, but when you play hard-nosed defense like we do, it can carry you through those situations. I thought we did an excellent job of setting the tone early.”
Penrod, who was named D-IV All-Southwest District Player of the Year earlier in the week, went 7-for-15 from the field, hitting four 3-pointers and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
“He’s a special kid,” Zawadski said. “The funny thing is that we’ve got to encourage him to be more aggressive offensively sometimes — not to a fault, but sometimes challenge him to take it to that next level. Without him, this program wouldn’t be where we are right now.”
Miami Valley Christian Academy finished 17-9.
Russia 88, Cincinnati College Prep Academy 54: The Raiders jumped out to a 41-20 halftime lead, cruising to a second straight district championship.
Russia junior Braylon Cordonnier scored 17 points, senior Felix Francis had 15, junior Benjamin York had 12 and senior Brayden Monnin added 11 as the Raiders improved to 25-1 overall.
Russia advanced to play Lancaster Fisher Catholic (16-9) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Trent Arena. The winner will advance to play either Troy Christian or Jackson Center in a D-IV regional final game at 7 p.m. Friday at Trent Arena.
A year ago, the Raiders beat Jackson Center 27-25 in a regional final game before falling to eventual state champion Richmond Heights in a state semifinal game.
Lions junior Jaymear Davis had a game-high 19 points as Cincinnati College Prep Academy finished 14-7.
Jackson Center 48, Lehman Catholic 41: Lucas Hartle had 18 points and Reed Platfoot added 12 points and nine rebounds as the Tigers won a district title for the second straight season.
Cavaliers senior Donovan O’Leary had 11 points and nine rebounds for Lehman Catholic, which finished 18-7. The Cavaliers were playing in a district final game for the first time since 2011.
Jackson Center, playing in the district final for the sixth straight season, jumped out to a 19-6 lead and never looked back.
The Cavaliers cut the lead to five points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get any closer.
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