St. V-M storms into final

The Irish led Lisbon 39-6 after the first quarter and won a spot in the Division III district final at Salem.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
SALEM -- The Lisbon High boys basketball team made a promise before its game against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.
"We weren't going to look at the scoreboard," Lisbon coach Joe Siefke said. "We were just going to look at the effort on the floor."
The Blue Devils' second-half recovery offset a huge early deficit, but their season ended with a 94-58 defeat in a Division III district semifinal game Monday at Salem High.
"Our kids were stunned, they were shocked, they were excited," Siefke said. "They went through a lot of different emotions. It's a game they will talk about forever."
Next stop: St. Vincent-St. Mary (21-1), the No. 1 seed, easily handled a double dose of the Tri-County League -- it defeated United 99-42 Saturday -- to reach the district championship game. The Irish will play the winner of tonight's Springfield-Waterloo game Friday at 7:30 p.m.
"I'm always truthful with our guys," St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Keith Dambrot said. "They knew [Lisbon] was a team, if we played like we're capable, that would have a hard time with us."
The Blue Devils (13-10) trailed 39-6 after the first quarter and 67-25 at halftime, but they out-scored St. Vincent-St. Mary 33-27 in the second half to cut into the deficit.
"The kids relished the opportunity of a lifetime to play against such talent," Siefke said. "It was a good way to end the year -- if you can call a [36]-point loss a good end of the year."
Siefke watched George Junior Republic play St. Vincent-St. Mary competitively earlier in the season, but it wasn't until he saw the Irish's decisive advantage over United that he realized how good they were.
"Coming in, we knew [the Irish's] pressure was a telltale sign," said Siefke, whose team suffered 17 first-quarter turnovers and 28 total. "We knew that we would have trouble with it. We can't simulate that pressure in practice; we can't simulate that athleticism."
James stars: St. Vincent-St. Mary sophomore LeBron James ignited his team with 16 first-quarter points. James finished with 31 points, including five dunks.
James was supported by senior Aly Samabaly with 20 points, sophomore Romeo Travis with 15 and sophomore Dru Joyce with 11.
"I thought we were immature in the second half," said Dambrot, who lost starting point guard John Taylor to injury early in the game.
"I'm not expecting them to be perfect -- they knew the game was over at halftime -- but you can get into some bad habits, too."
Junior Ben Dickey led Lisbon with 15 points and six rebounds, while senior Kyle Flory added 11 points and senior Greg Brown 10.
The Blue Devils, who defeated Crestview and fourth-seeded East Palestine earlier in the tournament, were 9-for-20 from 3-point range.
"They're so quick," Dickey said of St. Vincent-St. Mary. "They don't look that quick when you're watching them, but they're 100 times quicker when you're playing them."