Lakota East came up just short, 57-56, against Withrow, while Walnut Hills defeated Lakota West, 60-46, in the sectional finals Friday night at the University of Cincinnati.
Senior guard Corey Wise led all scorers with 21 points for Withrow. Senior Stedman Lowry and sophomore Alex White each scored 15 points for Lakota East. White also pulled down 15 rebounds.
The loss ends the Thunderhawks season. Overall, East finished 17-8 and 8-6 in the Greater Miami Conference. Lakota East began the season 10-0 and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the state. The Thunderhawks, however, finished the regular season going 5-7 and placed No. 8 in The Cincinnati Enquirer’s local coaches’ poll.
In the postseason, East had defeated Glen Este, 73-48, and Oak Hills, 57-37, before losing to Withrow.
The loss marks the end of the high school career of seniors Austin Emrick, Robbie Harpring, Stedman Lowry and Zach Panzeca.
| Withrow | 16 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 57 |
| Lakota East | 16 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 56 |
Withrow (20-4) - Ibbott 1 0 3, Coleman 2 3 7, Thompson 3 2 8, Wise 6 6 21, Cannon 1 1 3, Brown/Jackson 4 0 8, Jones 2 0 4, Robinson 1 1 3. Totals: 20 13 57.
Lakota East (17-8) - A. Emrick 2 0 4, Harpring 2 2 6, S. Lowry 6 3 15, D. Lowry 4 2 10, D. Baxter 3 0 6, White 5 5 15. Totals: 22 12 56.
Halftime: L 28-26. 3-pointers: W (Ibbott, Wise 3).
Meanwhile, Lakota West led Walnut HIlls briefly in the first quarter before falling behind 38-18 by halftime. Isaiah Johnson, who will play college basketball at Akron, had a game-high 25 points and 9 rebounds. Teammate Dontonio Wingfield, who is committed to Ohio, added 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Senior Ali Barnes led Lakota West with 17 points.
The loss ends the 2012-2013 season and the high school career of Zach Hicks, Ethan Thomas, Zach Moo Young and Monty Boykins.
The Firebirds finish 16-8 and 9-5 in the GMC, which was good enough for a four-way tie for first place in the conference this regular season. This postseason, Barnes had defeated Sycamore, 46-42, on Tuesday.
| Walnut Hills | 18 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 60 |
| Lakota West | 11 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 46 |
Lakota West (16-8) – Barnes 5 6 17, Bowling 1 0 2, Williams 4 0 9, Grove 1 0 2, Martin 3 0 6, Capossela 2 0 6, Thomas 1 2 4. Totals: 17 8 46
Walnut Hills (24-1) – Burton 2 2 7, Wingfield 6 0 12, Hill 1 1 3, Johnson 10 5 25, Gilmore 1 2 4, Brown 1 0 2, Irby 1 0 2, Williams 0 1 1, Jackson 2 0 4. Totals: 24 10 60
Halftime: Walnut Hills 38-18. 3-pointers: L 4 (Capossela 2, Barnes, Williams); W 2 (Burton, Hill)
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