Falls’ win sets up rematch

By JOHN BASSETTI

bassetti@vindy.com

HOWLAND

The terms of Saturday’s Division III boys district championship game are as simple as 1-2-3.

Basically, No. 1-seeded Newton Falls will meet No. 2-seeded LaBrae for a third time this season.

The teams split their earlier AAC White Tier games — LaBrae winning the first and Newton Falls taking the rematch.

In Wednesday’s district semifinal at Howland High, Cody Dillon’s 24 points and nine rebounds were the defining terms in Newton Falls’ 60-44 victory over Cardinal, an outcome that propelled the Tigers (18-5) against the Vikings (15-7).

Dillon, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, was the catalyst against Cardinal (16-7), which couldn’t fully regain the momentum they had in taking a first-quarter lead.

“We came out in the first quarter and played phenomenal,” Cardinal coach Steve Marcu said of the Huskies’ 18-13 lead. “Then they went on a run and, all of a sudden, it was 23-18.”

The Tigers’ run was spurred by Brian Sole’s 3-point goal and three successive baskets by Dillon.

“We had a few turnovers and then couldn’t recover, although we did get back 45-40, but missed a short shot,” Marcu said.

Sole added 11 points for the Tigers, who sank 17 of 21 free throws.

Newton Falls coach Roy Sembach acknowledged the resurrection of Cardinal’s program.

“I know they’ve had some tough years, but their program has turned around. I knew they’d be excited, so I was hoping we’d weather that storm to start the game.

“I wasn’t surprised that they came out and played really well, but once we settled things down, we pretty much dictated the pace or tempo of the game.”

Sembach wasn’t pleased with some unforced turnovers in the first quarter and his team’s offense, in general.

“Besides the turnovers, I thought that we took a couple not real good shots — quick shots,” he said. “Basically, I thought that we needed to value each possession. We’ve been preaching that all year: the value of each, single possession. Sometimes we give up possessions by being a little careless or playing a little too quick. From the second quarter on, I thought we did a much better job of valuing possessions at each end of the floor.”

The topic of Dillon’s versatility was addressed.

“Cody needs to make plays,” Sembach said. “In some games, he needs to score points. In some games, when teams try to double him, he needs to get an assist and he’s done a good job deciding when to shoot and when to pass — letting the game come to him. Tonight was a good game for him to attack the basket. He had some shots and did a nice job, not only shooting, but a nice job on the glass.”

Sembach also praised his bench of sophomore Brian Moser, freshman Dale Kernen and junior Mitchell Czerniak.

“We had two sophomores [Dillon and Moser] and a freshman [Dale Kernen] out there giving us a lot of good minutes. That’s nice to see when you’re in a district under pressure situations, knowing that young kids can come through.”

Tyler Kernen came through with five steals for the Tigers.