The CA boys basketball team escaped with a win in the Division 3 district semifinal on Tuesday, March 7, beating Northmor 59-50.
It was a low-scoring start to the game. Both teams seemed to feel the pressure of having a ticket to the championship hanging in the balance.
Senior Ryan Alexander, who finished with 13, found his groove near the end of the first period, and the Vikes took a 3-point lead into the second quarter. The Golden Knights would not be down for long, however. They immediately responded with an 8-0 run to start the second quarter, grabbing the momentum back. The Vikings did their best to keep pace, but found themselves down by 1 heading into halftime. This deficit would soon turn into a lead, as Academy adopted a more aggressive mindset coming out of the break. They settled for fewer jumpers and instead attacked the paint, with sophomore Dorrian Moultrie and junior Addis Boyd leading the charge. On the other end, the Vikes put the clamps on the Golden Knights offense, forcing several turnovers and missed shots. By the time the quarter was over CA held a 37-32 lead.
Feeling its season slipping away, Northmor turned up its intensity level in the final 8 minutes. They crawled back into the game, and with about 5 minutes left, tied it up at 44. It was now gut-check time for the Vikings. Usually, this would be a point in the game in which the experienced seniors would take over, but instead, it was an underclassman who stepped up for Academy. Sophomore Chris Boyle buried 2 consecutive threes to give the Vikes some breathing room. He had 12 of his career-high 16 points in the fourth. Then, with the Golden Knights making a desperate comeback in the closing minutes, Boyle went 4-4 from the free throw line to ice the 9-point victory for CA.
The Vikings will be undermanned in the championship game, as they will play without starters Moultrie and Boyle. In addition, Worthington Christian is already 2-0 against Academy this year.
So, the Vikes will have to leave it all on the floor to beat the Warriors.
Worthington Christian (#1 seed) and CA (#2 seed) will put the district title on the line on Friday, March 10, at Ohio Dominican.
