SPRINGBORO —New Hope had a strong finish to advance 56-50 over Chess in the Ohio Christian School Athletic Association tournament Saturday afternoon.
The Statesmen jumped out to a 20-13 first quarter lead on the strength of 10 points from Nathaniel Ames and six from Xander Rink.
“Aggressive defense forced some early turnovers, and we rebounded well and scored in transition,” New Hope coach Shane Roese said. “It was exactly the start we were looking for.”
Chess started the second quarter on a 6-0 run and briefly held the lead at 23-22. Hew Hope got back on top with a couple of free throws from Rink with three minutes to go and Lane Bruning had the final six points of the half for a 30-23 New Hope lead.
“We were just out of rhythm because Hunter Cavanaugh was in foul trouble and sat the whole quarter,” Roese said. “Lane gave us a spark to close the quarter.”
The third quarter saw Chess take a 34-33 lead with five minutes to go but New Hope finished on top 40-38.
New Hope got scores from Tyler Cook and Rink on their first two possession of the fourth, which were followed by baskets from Bruning and Ames to get up 48-38 and the Statesmen held Chess scoreless for more than five minutes to start the period as they held on for the win.
“The fourth quarter we just locked in and did what we needed to do to win,” Roese said. “It was a tough environment on the road. We shot poorly but still found a way to move on.
“We are proud of how our kids responded to the adversity today.”
Bruning led the Statesmen with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Rink had 13 points and 16 rebounds.
New Hope advances to the OCSAA state semifinal Friday against Christian Community (22-3) at 6 p.m. at Ohio Christian University.
The Statesmen (14-6) have one last tuneup though as they travel to Minford (17-4) tonight for a regular season game. With no JV game, the varsity tips at 6 p.m.
New Hope 56, Chess 50
New Hope — Hunter Cavanaugh 1-3-5, Gavin Ludens 0-1-1, Xander Rink 5-3-13, Nathaniel Ames 5-1-12, Tyler Cook 2-0-5, Lane Bruning 8-4-20. Three-point goals — Ames, Cook. Total — 21-64 12-20 56.
Chess — Chase Meester 3-1-9, Josh Huff 3-2-9, Silas Kempe 4-0-9, Payton Brooks 1-1-4, Hudson Brooks 3-0-7, Noah Huff 4-0-8, Kaiden Frehauf 2-0-4. Three-point goals — Watkins, A Horsley. Total — 20-47 4-6 50.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
New Hope 20 10 10 16 56
Chess 13 10 15 12 50
