Hayden Quinter, who is fouled here, had 17 of his team-high 20 points in the first half. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
It looked like a mismatch on paper and it was, with No. 2 Russia dominating from start to finish such that it rested every starter the entire fourth quarter in overwhelming Fisher Catholic.
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That turned out to be very good for second-ranked Russia and very disappointing for Central District champion Fisher Catholic.
While it may sound simplistic to label the 71-20 Raiders’ runaway as a rout everyone saw coming. (After all, what about, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog).” But this one was essentially over when the teams went on the bracket several weeks back.
Even Fisher Catholic coach A.J. James wasn’t denying that.
“They’re good and we knew that when we went to this bracket,” James said. “This (path) gave us the best chance to win the district. Fisher Catholic has done that only one other time, so we got through it. But we knew what was waiting for us.”
Russia had blocked 6 shots against the Irish.
Size, depth, experience, balance…you name it and Russia had it over the Irish, who first shot of the night got blocked to foreshadow what would transpire from there.
The Raiders held Fisher Catholic to 0-for-10 shooting in the first quarter and forced seven turnovers, feeding a 17-1 getaway that grew to 47-8 by the half.
Russia blocked twice as many shots (six) as the Irish made through the first 16 minutes, which may have been more of a disparity than Raiders coach Spencer Cordonnier expected, but not much more.
“This was the route that we took,” he said of a path that began in the Troy sectional, which most quality opponents from the Shelby County League and the Three Rivers Conference therefore chose to avoid. “We knew what that route was going to be.
“Any No. 1 seed is going to take that route. Why not? There’s no sense putting yourself in jeopardy to get to this point, by a No. 1 seed saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll go play Jackson Center or Botkins or Lehman in the sectional final.’ It just is what it is.”
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Now it gets much more interesting, with Russia (26-1) set for a 7 p.m. Friday night tip against fourth-ranked Troy Christian (26-2) for the regional championship.
Troy Christian defeated Jackson Center (57-47) in the other semifinal last night at Trent Arena and will try to avenge a 64-39 loss to Russia from their Dec. 28 meeting.
It’s a second straight trip to the regional championship game for Russia, which outlasted Jackson Center, 27-25, last season to reach the state semifinals.
Jaxon Grogeon floats two in for the win over the Irish.
Despite their dominant start against Fisher Catholic, the Raiders showed vestiges of their offensive struggles from one year ago in this same building, going just 7-of-23 from the field in the first quarter.
Nevertheless, they led by 16.
“I think we played well on the defensive end,” SCL player-of-the-year Hayden Quinter said. “On the offensive end, we just couldn’t make a shot. I swear. I don’t know. I guess…I don’t even know. Offensively, we weren’t close to our peak performance. But on defense, we were.”
That, no doubt, had something to do with Russia’s massive edge in size.
The Raiders start no one under 6-1, while Fisher Catholic’s tallest player barely met that standard.
“Our size obviously bothered them a lot,” said Russia senior Felix Francis, whose 6-5 presence in the post worked for three first-half blocks “We applied so much pressure. Coach lets me sneak in from the back side and that’s how we get a lot of easy blocks. If we get beat to the rim, we always have back side help.”
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Those rejections, and Russia’s cumbersome coverage out front, fed repeated transition opportunities the Raiders either cashed or rebounded and resubmitted when their first attempt wouldn’t fall.
The same volleyball effect played out in half-court sets – with the Raiders getting five cracks on one possession – and when they went to the free throw line.
Quinter, who had 17 of his team-high 20 points in the first half, scored in transition with 5:12 left in the half and drew an and-one opportunity.
Braylon Cordonnier drives to the hoop for two.
He missed the accompanying free throw, but Russia tracked the rebound, missed three shots, then finally scored on Dominic Francis’ put-back.
On the very next possession, Quinter scored off Jaxon Grogean’s nifty save of the ball going out of bounds. Again, Quinter was fouled. Again, he missed the free throw. And again, Russia tracked the rebound and scored, with Vince Borchers getting the hoop.
“We had a great year,” James said of the Irish, who started 6-8 and then won ——. “They’re just really good. Really good.”
That’s an obvious takeaway for any opposing coach whose team found the freedom to shoot only 21% from the field, including 2-of-13 from three-point range.
Russia didn’t light it up from long distance, either, going just 3-of-18.
“We didn’t play bad offensively,” said Francis, who finished with five points and six rebounds. “Obviously we didn’t shoot well from three-point range. But when we play well on defense, it turns into easy baskets on offense. Obviously, our defense is our focus first.”
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Benjamin York scored 12 and Borchers eight for Russia.
Cordonnier wasn’t about to obsess over the one ugly number on his team’s stat sheet, fully mindful everything will be more difficult Friday against —-.
“The one thing we talk about is, “Control what you can control,’ “ he said. “You can’t control it when the ball leaves your hand. You’re not going to shoot 75% or even 40% from three on a nightly basis. Those guys are playing in the NBA every other night. They’re not at Russia High School. For me to be upset about anything, I can’t, really.”
Benjamin York gets his chance to slam one down.
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