Parker Penrod caught fire in the second half, and propelled Troy Christian to a 68-52 district win over Cedarville. (Press Pros File Photos)
State #4 Troy Christian played textbook Eagle basketball, shooting and sprinting their way to a 68-52 win over Cedarville, and a sectional title.
By Alan Brads for Press Pros
Piqua, OH – It may be March, but Troy Christian held the madness at bay. The Eagles conducted business as usual in the Sectional finals, ousting an outsized, outpaced and overall outmatched Cedarville (19-6).
In our sixth game covering Troy Christian (23-2) this season, you’ll have to excuse the sound of a broken record. They won with 3-point shooting, transition offense, rebounding and assignment sound-defense. Just like they always do.
Alan Brads is a journalism student at Cedarville University, and writes sports at large for Press Pros.
Friday they stuck to the MO and cruised to a 68-52 win to advance to District finals at UD Arena next Saturday.
Parker Penrod caught fire in the second half, finishing with 18 points including an electric four-point play that fired up an Eagle crowd that traveled to Piqua with impressive numbers.
Frank Rupnik took advantage of his 6’7” frame and scored 15, though credit goes to the Indians’ Mason Johnson for defending him well for long periods.
Cedarville’s leading scorers, Brayden Criswell and Johnson, put up 20 and 18 of their own. But as is so often the case, Troy Christian’s depth of scorers made all the difference in the world.
Alex Free led the way in transition, a staple of TC basketball, and notched 13 points.
TC’s Alex Free was one of our Eagles to score in double figures.
Christian Brusman and Ethan Grise did most of their damage from beyond the arc, pitching in 10 each.
If you haven’t kept track, that’s five Eagles in double figures.
“That just shows our unselfishness,” Penrod said. “We don’t care who scores or when they score. We might have leading scorers, but we don’t even really care about that at all. We just care about getting the job done.”
Despite the final tally, scoring came at a higher premium than gasoline in the early going. Three and a half minutes passed without either team finding the bucket, though Troy Christian’s three rim-outs told the more observant spectators that the matchup may not be as close as the score.
“You have to credit both teams for their defensive intensity,” Troy Christian Head Coach Ray Zawadzki said. “It was at a very high level. Both teams were playing really hard and really aggressive which made it hard to break the ice.”
TC tried funneling their offense through Frank Rupnik in the post, but Cedarville swarmed him with effective double teams.
With 2:50 to play in the first, a meager 2-2 tie adorned the scoreboard.
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“We knew Cedarville would come out hungry having so many seniors,” Rupnik said. “This is the time of year when senior-led teams leave it all out there because if they lose they’re going home.”
The threat of careers ending mingled with some angst over their most recent loss, 21-points to TC in early February, did indeed lead the Indians to play with no shortage of defensive intensity early. But nothing lasts forever.
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The Eagles caught fire. As Rupnik stepped out to the three point line to help space the floor, their jumpers zeroed in on the hoop.
“Stepping outside and knocking down some shots forced them to respect my outside game,” Rupnik said. Then when they came out on me, that allowed me to get inside on some plays.”
Penrod found Rupnik at the top of the arc for a buzzer beater three to give TC a 15-8 lead at the end of one.
“We’ve had some struggles early before,” Zawadzki said. “Ottawa-Glandorf was up 8-0 on us, Northridge jumped on us early, but the kids know to stick to the system, stick to the gameplan, and usually things turn out right.”
One of many keys to an upset is that the underdog can’t let the favorites off the hook when they make mistakes. For example, if the #4 Div. IV team in the state scores two points in the first five minutes, you gotta come out of that stretch with a lead, probably a big one.
But TC kept pace without making shots, so once those shots started falling, it was game, set, and match in a heartbeat.
The threes rained down like a hurricane in the second. Grise sparked the deep ball extravaganza, knocking down two in a row. Then Brusman joined the deep ball barrage finding nothing but net from deep. A couple transition baskets from Free and 2-2 had become 36-18 at the half in about the time it takes to get popcorn in some gymnasiums.
Again if you haven’t been keeping track, that’s 34 points in 11 minutes … not a bad clip.
While most teams might have pulled in the reins in the second half and tried to limit possessions, Troy Christian couldn’t pass up the transition looks they got in the third.
“We don’t think anyone in Division IV can run with us in transition,” Penrod said. Quite a big statement from the always humble guard.
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TC cleaned the glass like Windex and wasted no time in getting out on the break constantly, wearing down Cedarville’s seven-man rotation.
Rupnik served as the director of the havoc department by swat blocking three Indian shots. It would’ve been four or five if not for some eyebrow-raising foul calls.
Criswell came alive late for Cedarville offensively, scoring 15 of his 20 in the second half. But even so the Indians never pulled closer than 16 points.
Penrod countered Criswell by accounting for 12 of his 18 in the second half.
The Eagles were more willing to milk the clock in the fourth and sit on their 20-point lead to punch their ticket to district finals.
The Eagles foe next Saturday at the home of the “First Four” could be any of four teams – Miami Valley Christian, Fayetteville-Perry, Lockland and Spencer Center. Notably, the Eagles have a massive rest advantage as their district finals opponent will play tomorrow and again on Tuesday, while Troy Christian gets a full week off.
Should they win again, it would mark not only their 12th straight win, but also their second straight district title.
“We’re taking one step at a time,” Penrod said. “We’re advancing up the ladder. We’ve got a goal of winning eight games this postseason because that’s what it takes to win a state title. We’ve got three down, but five still to go.”
Whoever they play, Troy Christian will be favored to win until at least regional finals, when they could face Russia, who routed the Eagles back in December.
That said, it would be foolish to rule out the possibility of a team like Botkins or Jackson Center stunning the Eagles … or maybe TC will shoot and run their way to eight wins and a state title.
Who knows? After all … this is March!
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