Playoffs signal end of era in CL

Titans face Rebels, Panthers meet Irish in tonight's semifinals

BY STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

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An end of an era begins at 7:30 Thursday night at Savage Arena, when the City League will stage its final boys basketball championship game, at least as Toledo has known it since 1968.

That's because the league will take on a greatly diminished status beginning next season, when five current CL members with boys sports will leave to join the new Three Rivers Athletic Conference.

In fact, the top three seeds for tonight's semifinals -- No. 1 St. John's Jesuit (17-1 overall, 10-0 CL), No. 2 Whitmer (17-1, 9-1), and No. 3 Central Catholic (15-3, 8-2) -- will all be TRAC members along will Clay and St. Francis de Sales, and two girls schools -- Notre Dame and St. Ursula.

Only one of the six Toledo Public Schools teams which will compose the CL next year -- Bowsher (11-6, 6-4) -- qualified for playoffs. This is the first time the Rebels have reached the playoffs since the four-team format was introduced in 1991.

Bowsher, which has never won a CL boys basketball title since joining the league in 1962-63, came its closest in 1977 under the CL's prior Red and Blue divisional format (1968-1990). The Rebels won the Blue Division title, then lost to Red champion Scott 79-51 in the City championship game that year.

City League commissioner Ed Scrutchins has acknowledged that next year's six-team league will use a 10-game home-and-home league schedule, then most likely have a four-team playoff using the home gyms of the higher seeded teams for the three playoff games. That will break the league's 33-year tradition at Savage Arena, which has hosted every title game since 1979.

Tonight, Bowsher has the unenviable task of facing St. John's, Ohio's fourth-ranked Division I team, in the 6:30 p.m. semifinal at Savage Arena. The visiting Titans beat the Rebels 64-54 in CL play back on Jan. 25.

"It's exciting," Bowsher coach Joe Guerrero said. "That was one of our goals at the beginning of the year -- to make the final four. We've accomplished that, and it's a credit to the hard work of our kids, and their hanging in there.

"We had a lot of things to overcome. This is a credit to how badly they wanted to be successful. [St. John's] is obviously a very good team. The first time we played them we didn't shoot very well from the field or the foul line. So, correcting those two things would help. But hey, we're happy to be there, no matter who we're playing, and we look forward to the opportunity."

St. John's is led by 6-foot-8 sophomore Marc Loving, who was an early commit to Ohio State last year. Loving is averaging 18.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while fourth-year point guard starter Cheatham Norrils contributes 11.2 points and senior forward Zach Steinmetz adds 5.5 rebounds.

Bowsher also has a four-year starter in 6-3 guard Robert Davis (20.1 points, 5.5 rebounds), who is second in the league in scoring for the second straight year. Seniors Milan Mabry (13.7 points) and Delvin Williams (5.7 rebounds), who each transferred to Bowsher after Libbey closed, have been solid contributors. A big recent loss is that of another senior transfer from Libbey. Lonacy Utley (12.4 points, 8.6 rebound), a 6-5 post player, has missed the past two games with an undisclosed health issue and is not expected to play tonight.

"Since we played [Bowsher] they've kind of changed their approach a little bit," St. John's coach Ed Heintschel said. "They're trying to push the tempo. When we played it was more of a grind-out game. So, I think we have to be ready for either style, whatever they throw at us. I think we could play either one. It's just a matter of us adapting to it.

"Obviously, Robert Davis is a great concern. He's a great player, and he presents some problems. Also, I'm sure they will be really excited about playing in the final four, so we'll have to make sure we match their enthusiasm."

The 8:30 p.m. semifinal features a repeat of last year's semifinal between defending City champion Central and Whitmer.

Last year Central topped Whitmer 54-39 in the semis, then beat St. Francis 36-28 in the title game to win its first boys City basketball championship since the inaugural title game in 1968. Earlier this season, visiting Whitmer handed the Irish a 48-40 defeat.

Whitmer is paced by 6-7 sophomore standout Nigel Hayes (15.6 points, 7,9 rebounds), and the Panthers have plenty of bulk inside with 6-7 junior Chris Wormley (6.3 rebounds), and 6-5 senior Kenny Hayes. Senior guards Ben Syroka (9.3 points), Franklin Lindsey and Mike Szymanski provide a solid perimeter presence. Syroka played at St. Francis last season.

"Defensively, we always look at trying to limit their best players," Whitmer coach Bruce Smith said, "and recently Drew Lehman and Dareon Jones have been leading them in scoring. So, we have to limit those guys somewhat.

"Making use of our size advantage comes more on our offensive end. We like to utilize it by throwing the ball under the basket. But we have not shot the ball well [from the perimeter], and I'm sure they're going to commit people to taking away our inside people, so we need to complement our inside guys by making some outside baskets."

Central's defensive-oriented team has been led by senior guards Drew Lehman (13.7 points) and Dareon Jones (11.6). Jones played for Whitmer last season.

"They're just so good inside, and we're not very big or very strong," Central coach Jim Welling said. "They just pounded us the last time, so we've got to take some of that away. We can't let them get second and third opportunities on the boards.

"Also, defensively, they are very good. As good as anybody I've seen all year. They take so much away from you because you can't get into the lane. So, we've got to find some ways to create some offensive opportunities through our defense, and we've got to make shots. That's the bottom line."

Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com or 419-724-6461.

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