Baldwin — Pretty hard for a high school boys basketball player to score 28 points with only one move, right?
Not for Ottawa's Ross Thompson on Friday night at the Baldwin Invitational.
Baldwin's Hugh Murphy launches a shot. The Bulldogs fell to Augusta, 59-51, on Friday in Baldwin.
Thompson's quick layins and putbacks were enough to hold off a frenzied fourth quarter rally by Santa Fe Trail as Ottawa won, 78-73, to advance to tonight's 7:30 championship game.
Ottawa (8-3) will face Augusta (8-2), which defeated host Baldwin, 59-51, with a fourth quarter surge. Baldwin and SFT will play for third at 6 tonight.
"I don't know what it was tonight, but I was more into the game and was aggressive offensively," said Thompson, who besides two free throws scored all of his points inside.
"Normally teams double-team me, but they didn't, and I found a way to take advantage."
While the Cyclones were paced by Thompson's dominance underneath, it was exceptional guard play that often found the 6-foot-7 junior wide open.
"Ross played huge for us tonight," said senior guard Adam Spratt, who along with guards Cale Drumright and Chris Hermreck scored 36 points. "The big guy really opened things up."
Despite Ottawa's success, Santa Fe Trail just about nipped the Cyclones in the fourth, cutting a 12-point lead to three with less than 40 seconds remaining.
But two free throws by Drumright and Eric Hull and an off-balance shot by the Chargers sealed things.
"Too many runs for them and not enough stops by us," SFT coach Brian Luther said. "Too much penetration by their guards and then Thompson's play in the paint."
From the start Ottawa took control and looked to run away with the game just three minutes in, holding a 12-2 advantage.
Slowly SFT came back, trailing 19-11 after the first period and pulling within five at halftime as guard Ben Fawl sank two free throws with four seconds left.
Fawl then heated up in the third, scoring 11 of his team-high 21 in the quarter.
Still, the Cyclones took a 57-51 lead into the final quarter.
That's when Thompson went to work.
He scored quickly on a putback and then again on a drive to counter two SFT baskets. Thompson had another follow, then Drumright scored before Thompson plopped in another easy one in the paint for a 67-56 advantage.
A few seconds later, a Spratt free throw gave Ottawa its biggest lead.
"When they were up 12 I decided to take off our press and told our guys to step up and makes some stops," said Ottawa coach David Grover. "We didn't and that strategy blew up in my face."
SFT had a lot to do with that.
The Chargers went on a 11-3 run when Justin Ramsdell, who scored 17, hit a free throw and a basket, followed by a runner and a three by Brian Hulings and another three by Fawl to cut the deficit to 71-67.
However, Hulings fouled out then Fawl did the same on Ottawa's next possession.
Instead of staying outside, the Chargers found late success down low when Cameron Babb made a basket and two free throws, and a Ramsdell putback with :37 left cut Ottawa's lead to 76-73.
"I was really proud of the way we battled back," Luther said. "Ottawa's a team of runs, we almost answered them with ours, but we came up a little short."
Grover complimented the play of Thompson and actually laughed about how he managed to score so many points by making the same move time and time again.
"If he ever develops offensive moves, he's going to be a load," Grover warned.
Augusta 59, Baldwin 51
Baldwin started off hot and held the lead going into the fourth.
But the Orioles' zone defense caused a few problems in the final quarter for Baldwin, which made only four of 13 shots in the fourth while Augusta was a blistering 7-of-10.
Baldwin was led by Eric Brown, who also scored 15. Joe Gipp, who finished with 13 points, hit his first three three-pointers, but then missed his next seven from behind the arc.
Ottawa 78, Santa Fe Trail 73
SANTA FE TRAIL (73)
Shane Miles 2 2-4 6, Cameron Babb 3 2-2 8, Brian Kral 2 5-11 9, Ben Fawl 6 4-5 21, Ryan Hulings 3 2-2 10, Justin Ramsdell 7 3-4 17, Jay Shively 1 0-0 2, Petr Solar 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 18-28 73.
OTTAWA (78)
Adam Spratt 5 3-7 13, Cale Drumright 3 1-2 9, Ross Thompson 13 2-5 28, Chris Hermreck 6 2-2 14, Isaac Templeton 2 0-2 4, Clint Bones 2 0-0 4, Lee Baldwin 0 0-0 0, Eric Hull 0 1-2 1, Michael Catlon 1 3-4 5. Totals 32 12-24 78.
Santa Fe Trail (7-4) 11 18 22 2273
Ottawa (8-3) 19 15 23 2178
Three-point goals Santa Fe Trail 7 (Fawl 5, Hulings 2), Ottawa 2 (Drumright 2). Total fouls Santa Fe Trail 20, Ottawa 21.
Augusta 59, Baldwin 51
BALDWIN (51)
Eric Black 2 1-2 5, Yancy Richards 1 0-0 2, Joe Gipp 5 0-0 13, Brian Lauridsen 0 2-2 2, Hugh Murphy 1 2-2 4, Andy Hannon 4 0-1 10, Eric Brown 7 1-1 15. Totals 20 6-8 51.
AUGUSTA (59)
Scotty Landers 2 0-0 5, Matt Sims 5 2-2 15, Hans Nickel 2 1-3 5, John Maier 3 3-3 9, Jake Sims 1 2-2 4, Kyle Taylor 2 5-7 9, Wes Little 4 2-2 10, Steve Oltman 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 15-19 59.
Baldwin (5-7) 16 12 12 1151
Augusta (8-2) 14 14 10 2159
Three-point goals Baldwin 5 (Gipp 3, Hannon 2), Augusta 4 (Sims 3, Landers). Total fouls Baldwin 17, Augusta 12.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.