March 24, 2000

Cavaliers return to play for championship

By Pat Magers
Sports Writer

COLUMBUS &emdash; Cincinnati Purcell-Marian's road to the state boys basketball tournament was not paved with 10-point halves.

The fact the Cavaliers will be back at the Jerome Schottenstein Center playing for the Division II championship Saturday morning says a lot about how this team reacted when faced with that very disaster.

Purcell-Marian was limited to 17 shots and managed to get just four of those to drop while falling behind Cambridge 16-10 at the half Thursday morning. Cambridge's deliberate style of play, coupled with effective defensive play, had the Cavs flustered. "In a funk" is the way senior guard Brandon Salamone put it, a phrase that was most apt.

Not only did coach Mike Gergen remain calm during the break, he offered virtually no adjustments.

"I was trying to figure out something to say to the team because I don't know that we've ever been in a situation quite like that," Gergen said after his club rallied for a 44-41 win over the Bobcats. "I didn't yell &emdash; the 27th game of the year isn't the time for that. But I believed in my heart that in the first half, it just wasn't there for us but in the second half, it would be there. These guys would find a way to get it done."

The Cavaliers got it done with a 19-8 third-quarter burst that began with seven straight points by senior Jaime Cooper. His spree gave Purcell-Marian a 17-16 lead. The game was tied once after that before a foul shot by Cooper and a 3-pointer by Salamone put the Cavs on top for good.

"We used the same defensive approach in the second half that we did at the start," Gergen said. "The only difference is that, in the first half, we were defending from our heels and in the second half, we were on our toes. That's all we talked about. Stay on your toes.

"Obviously, we are a team that likes to run," he said. "But six of the seven teams we've played in the tournament have slowed it down on us. We like to run, but we're getting used to not necessarily being able to do so."

Cambridge coach Gene Ford said Purcell-Marian's pressure defense was the most demanding his club had faced throughout the year.

"We had turnovers at critical points but you have to credit their pressure for that," Ford said. "They do a nice job with their traps. You're talking about five people with pretty good quickness. Usually you'll see three, maybe four, but they had five. Plus, they are very disciplined. That and quickness is a tough combination."

Cooper led the Cavaliers with 19 points and Salamone checked in with 13. Second-team All-Ohioan Keith Jackson was limited to seven. For Cambridge (21-5), second-team All-Ohioan Adam Davenport had 15 and Andrew Lilienthal had 12.

IF IT'S A RUNNING GAME YOU WANT...: Warrensville Heights, which turned back Lima Shawnee 81-70 in the other Division II semifinal, appears most capable of getting up and down the floor with Purcell-Marian. And anyone else, for that matter.

Speed, power, grace, this is a team that appears to have it all.

Against Shawnee, it was a classic case of the tortoise versus the hare, only this hare brought an alarm clock. His name is (coach) Dennis Chimes.

One moment, the Tigers were world-beaters. They raced to a 26-9 lead punctuated by a two-handed dunk by Eric Sanders, who led the winners with 22 points and 12 rebounds. All that and 1:45 still remained on the first-quarter clock.

And then another moment, it was as though Warrensville had pulled its team off the floor. Shawnee rallied to within 10 at the half (40-30) behind the 3-point shooting of Jeff Siesel.

Next came a third-quarter surge led by slender post Mike Marshall. A 3-pointer by Jermaine Dawson capped a 15-4 start to the second half and gave the Indians a 45-44 lead. It was their only advantage of the game.

In the fourth period, Warrensville opened with an 18-4 burst that sealed its 24th win against just two losses.

"Our defensive rotation died a little, we were a little lax on offense and we didn't hit the boards," Chimes said of the Shawnee surge. "We missed a lot of layups and even when we were hitting the boards, our guards sometimes get happy feet and take off and all of sudden, we've got no one to throw to. We got it back together."

Shawnee (20-6) gave it a shot, but didn't have enough firepower.

"I think we were a little overwhelmed there at the start," coach Jeff Heistan said. "We didn't start out like we did the other 25 games. That's a great basketball team we played today.

"We weren't in a state of confusion," he said. "I just think our kids thought this a team that we're going to have a great deal of difficulty playing. When we got going, we played them well, but our margin for error against a team like that is very thin. You make a couple mistakes and they'll turn them into layups. All of a sudden, a close game is back up to nine or 11 points just like that."

STUDENT ATHLETES WITH THE EMPHASIS ON STUDENT: Naturally, Gergen and and Purcell-Marian players paid close attention during the Warrensville Heights-Shawnee battle. And after that? Back to the books.

"Oh yeah, we're going back home after that," Gergen said in a postgame media room full of raised eyebrows. "Tomorrow, we're back in class.

"There is a spring sports rally for all of our spring sports teams tonight and we should be arriving just in time for that," he said. "Somebody asked me last Friday about how you can prepare for Dayton Christian in just one day, but at this point, 27 games into the season, you're mostly doing your thing.

"We'll go to class just like we did (Wednesday), get in the gym for a little shooting just like we did (Wednesday) and the school will give us a send-off just like (Wednesday)."

NO SHORTAGE OF CONFIDENCE: Shawnee's Heistan says Warrensville Heights has the complete package when it comes to the game of basketball. All five Tiger starters average in double figures, led by Julius Johnson, who carries the top average of the tournament at 25.8 points per game.

Guard Jawara Brooks is next at 20 ppg., followed by Sanders (16 ppg.), Edsel Alexander (15) and Richard Yancy (10)

Chimes is far from bashful when it comes to assessing his team's skills.

"When this team is running the offense, no one can stop it," the second-year Tiger head coach said. "When it plays together, no one can stop it. And when it plays defense, no one can stop it. It will be very hard for anyone to stop these guys Saturday."

WELCOME, WELCOME: Coaches often point to the off-season as a time when basketball teams show the greatest amount of improvement. Such improvement can develop in a number of ways.

Some teams have good off-seasons in the weight room. Some have good off-seasons through participation in camps. And some just have good off-seasons.

Warrensville Heights may well fall into that third category. During the summer, Sanders transferred from Solon while Johnson came to the school district from Garfield Heights. As for impact, the two combined for 37 points on 16-of-23 shooting with 18 rebounds, two blocks and three steals against Shawnee.

The Tigers were 11-11 last season.

FORD HAS SOME HUMOROUS IDEAS: Clearly Ford can coach this game. His 306-160 record at Cambridge over the past 20 years provides ample evidence.

He also reigns as the master of the one-liner among coaches, just as he did in four other appearances at the state tournament. Several members of the media proved to be excellent straight men.

One reporter asked if he was happy where he was at (leading by six) at halftime. "At my age, I'm happy to be anywhere," Ford said.

He was later pressed for a comment on the play of his point guard, Brandon Todd, who is a 14-year-old freshman. Todd finished with two points, one assist and six turnovers.

"What did I tell him? Patience, grasshopper," Ford said. "He learned a lot out there and hopefully, he'll put what he learned in the computer bank and put it to use.

"He got a lesson today, but you have to realize, I put him in some tough spots. I can tell you this, we're going to take him home with us."

PERSPECTIVE: In five state tourney appearances, the best result Cambridge has come up with is a runner-up placement to Villa Angela-St. Joseph in 1995. Ford was asked if the inability to gain the top prize was beginning to wear on him.

"Not at all," Ford began. "We can run over to Children's Hospital and there, you'll find kids who can't walk and can't talk, kids who really have it tough.

"We are thankful for everything we get," he said. "We're slow learners, obviously. So if you folks here would like to invite us back, we'll be glad to come."