Battles past Toronto Catholic Center | News, sports, work

TOP – Toronto's Cam Baker drives past Catholic Central's Andrew Rhode during Tuesday's OVAC semifinal contest. – Andrew Grimm

TORONTO — Toronto knew Tuesday's OVAC Class 2A semifinal against rival Catholic Central would be a battle — and it sure was.

The Red Knights were in the lead most of the way, but could never pull away as the Crusaders stayed within striking distance until the closing minutes.

When the chips were down, Toronto's experienced squad came up with the answers it needed late in a 54-43 victory to advance to Saturday's conference championship game.

“We knew it was going to be a battle, (Catholic Central) came in hungry and played well on a six-game winning streak.” Toronto head coach Sean Tucker said about it. “They came out with a lot of energy, forced us into some bad turnovers … give them credit, they played hard.

“The leadership we have has helped us overcome those challenges. It's not the first time we've cut a lead and guys have responded and bounced back. We told them going in there were going to be a lot of highs and lows and we got through them.

“I'm so proud of these guys.”

With the Crusaders rallying by four inside the two-minute mark, Cam Baker hit his third 3-pointer of the game, not only the decisive shot in pushing the lead to seven, but also gave the senior a new program record. The triple hit in a season was his 44th, surpassing Trillion West's previous mark of 43.

Moments later, Nolan Dickinson, who led all scorers with 21 points, hit his fourth straight to make it nine points, and the Knights headed into Saturday from there. Dickinson's three triples in the first quarter helped give Toronto the lead.

Baker followed Dickinson with 18 points, while Noah Caraffa had nine points and six assists. Red Knights big man Caden Benton had two points, but had a game-high 11 rebounds and five assists and three blocks.

“We were everywhere, we really prided ourselves on defense” Tucker said. “(Central) has some really good shooters, they broke us down a few times and got those looks … But at the end, the guys really stepped up.”

The Crusaders trailed by three early in the fourth quarter and rallied back twice after Toronto took an early fourth-quarter lead, but were never able to claw back from an 18-10 gap late in the first quarter.

“Our kids played hard” Central head coach Don Ogden said. “Toronto played hard, they made some shots when they needed to. They answered the call as we got closer, so it was a good game tonight.

“I'm proud of my kids, they did well — better than the last time we came here. We've come up short, but we need to regroup. The season isn't over, who knows? Maybe we'll play them again down the road.”

Central's Benji Rook scored all 15 of his points on five 3s, while Daniel Bolster and Camden Bradley scored nine each. Bradley had a team-leading six rebounds and a block, while Tommy Pergy had a game-high seven assists.

The Red Knights will face top-seeded Monroe Central in the championship game Saturday at Harrison Central High School. The Seminoles improved to 17-0 with a 44-31 win over No. 4 River in the other semifinal on Tuesday. The Crusaders will battle the Flyers in the consolation game for third place on Friday.

“It means the world not only to these kids, but to this coaching staff, to play for an OVAC title,” Tucker said. “There are many who doubt where this group will be. We always talk to them about our family. Each of them fights with each other.

“We want to represent our school and our city and we know the city will be behind us.

“It's been 32 years (since Toronto won the OVAC title) and that's long enough.”

OVAC Class 2A semifinals

George J. Kunzler gymnasium

No. 2 Toronto 54, No. 3 Catholic Central 43

Central 10-10-13-10 – 43

Toronto 18-9-9-18 – 54

CENTRAL (12-7): Rook 5 0-0 15; Confirmation 2 4-4 9; Pergie 1 0-0 2; Rohde 4 0-2 8; Bradley 3 3-4 9; Mykhailo 0 0-0 0; Hickey 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15, 7-10; 43.

TORONTO (15-4): Dickinson 8 1-2 21; Caraffa 3 2-2 9; Baker 4 7-13 18; Ensell 1 0-0 2; Benton 1 0-2 2; Philby 1 0-0 2; Buchanan 0 0-0 0. TOTAL: 18, 10-19; 54.

3-POINT GOAL: Central 6 (5th row, Bolster); Toronto 8 (Dickinson 4, Baker 3, Caraffa). SOLUTIONS: Central 13 (Pergy 7); Toronto 15 (Caraffa 6). REBOUNDS: Central 15 (Bradley 6); Toronto 16 (Benton 11). Blocks: Center 1 (Bradley); Toronto 3 (Benton 3). TURNOVERS: Central 13; Toronto 10.

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