SoutheasternOhioPreps.com

Lutheran East 76
Minford 73 a final

... Wow ... great game ... not sure I've ever been more proud of being from Southern/Southeast Ohio ... the Mighty Minford Falcons of Coach Shoemaker & staff, went toe to toe with the prohibitive favorite in today's semifinal ... a Lutheran East team that was making their 8th trip to the Final Four, a program that had 4 state championship trophies in their trophy case ... a school that had won the 'ship their last 2 trips to the FF ... BUT (and there's that "but" again) they were playing the 25-1 Minford Falcons - "Yes", any team from Above the Lancaster-Dixon Line DOES look at all teams Below the Line as "inferior"... the Falcons of Minford gave the "big" boyz all they could handle on this day ...AND if I might say, EVEN being down at multiple points in the game by as many as 11 points - the Southern Ohio boys HAD their opportunities to win this one - a goaltending call on a 5-8 guard ... a missed rebound of a missed FT attempt by LE with :05 on the clock & down 1 ... 73-74 ... a no call vs LE when the player was sidestepping the out of bounds line for literally 1/2 the court - out of bounds? traveling? ... with that said - the Mighty Minford Falcons lived up to their moniker even losing by 3 with a last second shot to tie the game that bounced off the rim ... a community who stayed in the stands long after the final buzzer cheering on/showing appreciation for TEAM & coaches, a community that embraced the effort of a group of players that were only underdogs in the minds of those that had never watched this team play ... Southern, Southeastern Ohio basketball IS the best in the state of Ohio - the players, the schools, the communities that follow/support their teams/their kids ... Minford lost only on the scoreboard today by 3 points to the opposing team ... the Falcons of Minford made a statement to the sports community outside of the Southeast District that gave them zero chance of being in this game, no less having the opportunity to win the game ... Southern/Southeast Ohio thanks you - the Mighty Minford Falcons - for the game played, the fan support in the stands, the community that said "win or lose we are proud of each and every one of you" ... Lutheran East 76 Minford 73 a final ...

... just as it has been in the 26 other games played this season by the Minford Falcons, the Big 3 carried the torch in the opening quarter as 6-6 sr Bennett Kayser hit a midrange jumper 2pts , 6-4 sr. Jackson Shoemaker scored in the paint going up against 6-8 TJ Crumble - 2pts ... Kayser drained a deep 3 from the corner 3pts ... the Falcons of Lutheran East countered with a steal/finish by 6-0 soph Chris Hill 2pts ... TJ Crumble followed with a trey from the right wing 3pts ... 6-3 soph. DJ Jenkins added 2pts from in the paint ... the 6-8 Crumble hit his 2nd triple of the quarter, covered on the next possession by 6-3 soph Jayden NellemsBey's 3 pointer ... timeout MHS ... 7-13 at the 4:33 mark of the 1st period ... Minford coming out of the timeout got a college range 3 from the Falcons' career scoring leader Myles Montgomery - 3pts ... MM followed up with an offensive board & putback bucket 2pts ... Kayser finished the MHS scoring with his second 15 fter - 2pts ... LE picked up 2pts from Hill in the paint ... Crumble was fouled in the paint on a miss - make/make for the big man ... NellemsBey hit his 2nd trey of the quarter 3pts ... LE went 4/6 from down town ... while Minford was 2 for 5 from beyond the arc ... Lutheran East 20 Minford 14 after one ... in post season basketball you have to wear blinders, as the deeper you go the better the opposition ... Lutheran East made a statement - hitting 67% from three point land ... the Falcons of Minford played a 2/3 zone which gave LE some open looks that they were able to spot up and hit ... Minford opened the 2nd period with a 10-3 run ... MHS got back to back treys from Curtis Glenn & Jackson Shoemaker ... Myles Montgomery did MM things as the 5-10 PG scored on a pair of perimeter drives & finishes 4pts ... a Ty Harrison three pointer for Lutheran made the score 24-23 Minford with 4:59 in the 2nd ... the MHS lead was short lived as Harrison hit his second triple of the quarter 3pts ... 26-24 LE lead with 4:40 on the clock ... the Falcons of Lutheran outscored the Minford Falcons 11-7 in the final 4 minutes & change of the 2nd period ... Jayden NellemsBey hit LE's 3rd triple of the qtr/7th of the half - 3pts ... 6-5 jr. off the bench Ocho Davis added a pair of buckets on the blocks after dishes from the 6-8 Crumble ... a bad Minford pass/handoff gave Chris Hill an open court to finish in transition - 2pts ... TJ Crumble after delivering 2 nice interior assists kept the ball and scored at the rim 2pts ... Montgomery for Minford continued to get down hill with 2 more finishes in the paint/ 8 pts in the qtr/13 for the half ... Kade Glockner hit a triple from the top of the key - 3pts ... Minford stayed within contact - a 2 possession game going into the locker room ... Lutheran East 37 Minford 31 after 2 quarters ... Minford was holding their own in the paint only down 1 rb to the bigger LE squad 11 to 12 on the boards ... LE led from behind the 3 point line hitting 7 of 11 treys while the Minford Falcons were 5 of 9 ... 2 treys difference ... down by 6 pts on the scoreboard ... each team with 5 turnovers at intermission ... coming out in the 3rd, Lutheran got 2 pts in the paint from Crumble, Zeigler was fouled on a drive - 1/2 from the line ... Minford answered with a solid 8-3 run - Montgomery was fouled on a drive through the paint - miss/make ... Bennett Kayser with a score at the rim - 2pts in the paint ... Montgomery with a beyond the college three point line trey - 3pts ...the one two punch of Montgomery & Kayser did it again as the 6-6 sr. swing forward drove the lane and finished at the rim 2pts ... 5:28 in the 3rd LE up 40-39 ... Ty Harrison with a deep right wing corner three 3pts to start an 8-0 Lutheran run ... Zeigler with another open triple for LE 3pts (his first of the game) ... Jenkins fouled at the rim for LE - make/make... 2:54 in the 3rd LE 48-40 ... Ocho Davis off the bench with a big offensive board and stickback 2pts ... Zeigler added 1/2 from the FT line to go with a putback bucket ( 7pts in the qtr for the 6-2 freshman) ... Kayser for Minford with another 15 fter - 2pts ... Montgomery fouled on a shot attempt in the lane - make/make ... Bennett Kayser raised the roof on the ECO Center as the 6-6 sr. threw down a 2 handed dunk in transition 2pts ... soph Ashton Reeder with transition bucket after one of LE's 5 third period turnovers - 2 pts ... with all of the back and forth ... the Falcons of MHS gained ground ... Lutheran East 53 Minford 48 after 3 ... Minford with first blood in the 4th and final 8 minutes as Kade Glockner hit his 2nd trey of the game 51-53 LE with 6:17 on the clock ... by 2:30 on the game clock the score stood at Lutheran 63-59 - Montgomery with another drive & score at the rim - fouled- & 1 ... Kayser with a drive and finish on another 2 handed flush 2pts ... Kayser with a deep 3 pointer over the outstretched arms of a closing Crumble - 3pts ... Crumble with an offense board & putback 2pts ... Zeigler with back to back treys his 2nd and 3rd of the game 6pts ... Chris Hill on a drive and finish 2pts ... 2:30 on the game clock ... LE with a parade of shots at the rim as Zeigler would score on 2 more drives to the rim 4 pts ... DJ Jenkins followed with drive down the lane for 2pts to score LE's last fg of the game ... playa's play when the lights are on - Myles Montgomery is a "playa" the 5-10 sr. drained a trey from St. Clairesville - 3pts ... Bennett Kayser took a three from deep - fouled - make/make/make ... Montgomery followed it up with the 4th three pointer of the quarter for MHS - 3 pts ... Jenkins for LE fouled/put on the line 1/2 ... Crumble make/make from the line ... :19 on the game clock 72-68 Lutheran ... Montgomery with a drive and finish 2 pts ... Crumble fouled - miss/make ... Montgomery a 3 attempt - fouled - make/make/make ... with :05 on the clock ... Crumble fouled, put on the line ... Montgomery & Co. had pulled to within one ... trailing 74-73 ... one possession game ...Crumble miss on the first ... miss on the 2nd - Lutheran's Chris Hill with the big board/fouled immediately - make/make ... 76-73 ... 4.2 to play ... Montgomery with a good look from 35 ft ... miss off the rim ... Lutheran East 76 Minford 73 a final ...

Quarter Breaks:

Lutheran East...20...37...53...76
Minford...............14...31...48...73

Pfloyd's official "UN-official" Napkin Stats - Minford

Scoring ... Myles Montgomery 33, Bennett Kayser 23, Kade Glockner 6, Jackson Shoemaker 5, Ashton Reeder 3, Curtis Glenn 3
3 Pointers ... 9/25 … Myles Montgomery 3, Kade Glockner 2, Bennett Kayser 2, Jackson Shoemaker 1, Curtis Glenn 1
FTs ... 11/16
TOs ... 7
PnP ... 13 fgs/ 26 points in the paint
PnT ... 1 fgs/ 2 points in transition
Pbk ... 2 fgs/ 4 points on putback buckets

Pfloyd's official "UN-official" Napkin Stats - Lutheran East


Scoring ... TJ Crumble 17, Dylan Zeigler 17, Chris Hill 11, Ty Harrison 9, Jayden NellemsBey 9, DJ Jenkins 7, Ocho Davis 6
3 Pointers ... 11/17 ... Dylan Zeigler 3, Ty Harrison 3, Jayden NellemsBey 3, TJ Crumble 2
FTs ... 12/23
TOs ... 12
PnP ... 15 fgs/ 30 points in the paint
PnT ... 2 fgs/4 points in transition
Pbk ... 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback buckets

11 for 17 was the difference and Minford shot well from 3, but that 11 for 17 opened up the driving lanes for LE

Like Coach Shoemaker said to me after the game, they had to give up something and based off of what they had seen on film, LE didn’t look capable of knocking down 50% or better from deep…but, a banked in 3 and a 3 that bounced all over the top before falling in helped push LE over the top.

A great game by two outstanding teams and Minford certainly proved to the rest of the state what we’ve known about the Falcons over the past couple of years, that they are for real.

danicalifornia wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 12:03 am 11 for 17 was the difference and Minford shot well from 3, but that 11 for 17 opened up the driving lanes for LE

Like Coach Shoemaker said to me after the game, they had to give up something and based off of what they had seen on film, LE didn’t look capable of knocking down 50% or better from deep…but, a banked in 3 and a 3 that bounced all over the top before falling in helped push LE over the top.

A great game by two outstanding teams and Minford certainly proved to the rest of the state what we’ve known about the Falcons over the past couple of years, that they are for real.

... 2 losses by a total of 5 points ... 2 pts to Warren and the 3 pts today to Lutheran East ... never out of a game ... great season, one of the best TEAMS in the history of the SE District ...

pfloyd wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 12:09 am

danicalifornia wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 12:03 am 11 for 17 was the difference and Minford shot well from 3, but that 11 for 17 opened up the driving lanes for LE

Like Coach Shoemaker said to me after the game, they had to give up something and based off of what they had seen on film, LE didn’t look capable of knocking down 50% or better from deep…but, a banked in 3 and a 3 that bounced all over the top before falling in helped push LE over the top.

A great game by two outstanding teams and Minford certainly proved to the rest of the state what we’ve known about the Falcons over the past couple of years, that they are for real.

... 2 losses by a total of 5 points ... 2 pts to Warren and the 3 pts today to Lutheran East ... never out of a game ... great season, one of the best TEAMS in the history of the SE District ...

I know they came up short and I know I can (and probably will if we’re being honest lol) look it up, but was Myles’ 33 the best performance ever for a kid from the SE in the Final Four?

I know Clifford Howard from Ironton had a massive game against North College Hill in 2005 and Humpty Hitchens did in Chillicothe’s title win over Libbey. I’m just not sure either got over 33.

They also really short changed Bennett’s blocks, I had him for 6, which was probably too high, but they only had him for 2. Let’s go with 4 lol

What a run and almost beat an All Star team.

Congratulations Minford on a fantastic season.

Found some other outstanding performances

2006 Nick Aldridge had 34 in the title game for South Webster
2008 Ray Chambers with 31/17 for Chillicothe in the Semi’s
Camden Miller and Clifford Howard each had huge games, as did Trey Fletcher.

Always good to find some of those in the years after, even though I’m sure their communities never forget.

danicalifornia wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 12:13 am

pfloyd wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 12:09 am

danicalifornia wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 12:03 am 11 for 17 was the difference and Minford shot well from 3, but that 11 for 17 opened up the driving lanes for LE

Like Coach Shoemaker said to me after the game, they had to give up something and based off of what they had seen on film, LE didn’t look capable of knocking down 50% or better from deep…but, a banked in 3 and a 3 that bounced all over the top before falling in helped push LE over the top.

A great game by two outstanding teams and Minford certainly proved to the rest of the state what we’ve known about the Falcons over the past couple of years, that they are for real.

... 2 losses by a total of 5 points ... 2 pts to Warren and the 3 pts today to Lutheran East ... never out of a game ... great season, one of the best TEAMS in the history of the SE District ...

I know they came up short and I know I can (and probably will if we’re being honest lol) look it up, but was Myles’ 33 the best performance ever for a kid from the SE in the Final Four?

I know Clifford Howard from Ironton had a massive game against North College Hill in 2005 and Humpty Hitchens did in Chillicothe’s title win over Libbey. I’m just not sure either got over 33.

They also really short changed Bennett’s blocks, I had him for 6, which was probably too high, but they only had him for 2. Let’s go with 4 lol

Or his blocked shot that they called goaltending and wasn't with 1:40 to go in the game.

Congrats Minford and another great right up Pfloyd

danicalifornia wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 12:34 am Found some other outstanding performances

2006 Nick Aldridge had 34 in the title game for South Webster
2008 Ray Chambers with 31/17 for Chillicothe in the Semi’s
Camden Miller and Clifford Howard each had huge games, as did Trey Fletcher.

Always good to find some of those in the years after, even though I’m sure their communities never forget.

Nick also cracked the 2000 point barrier in that state title game as well.