ATHENS, Ohio — Role players remained on a roll for De-Sales last night in a Division II regional semifinal.

Junior Sean Hobbs blocked nine shots and freshman Nick Kellogg scored 12 points to help DeSales defeat Tri-Valley 57-47 in Ohio University’s Convocation Center.

"They’ve been doing that since the districts," said senior Elijah Allen, who scored five points despite not feeling well. "They’re stepping up big and showing their young talent. It’s all coming out now and this is about the best time you could do that."

DeSales (21-3) will play Chillicothe (20-4) in the regional final Saturday.

Senior Alex Kellogg paced DeSales with 21 points and three steals. He did so without Allen, who scored in single digits for only the second time this season and committed three fouls.

It wasn’t the prettiest win for DeSales, which had 12 turnovers and was outrebounded 34-17. But like all good teams, the Stallions were able to overcome their deficiencies, especially in the second quarter.

By utilizing a 2-2-1 zone, DeSales went on an 8-0 scoring run in the middle of the quarter. Overall, the Stallions outscored Tri-Valley 13-4 for a 28-16 halftime lead.

"The key to the second quarter was our defensive intensity," coach Blair Albright said. "All night we couldn’t get into an offensive rhythm, and give Tri-Valley credit. But you know that if your defense is playing solid, then you’re going to be OK through the game."

DeSales forced 20 turnovers due in large to part to Hobbs, who is 7 feet 1. He had nine of DeSales’ 10 blocks and altered numerous shots.

In the first quarter, which was punctuated by an alleyoop from Johnson to Alex Kellogg that brought fans to their feet, Hobbs blocked two shots during one possession.

"He made a big difference in there," Albright said. "He gave us a chance to get out on the break with his defensive presence."

That presence began to fade as Tri-Valley outscored DeSales 21-13 in the fourth quarter. After trailing by 24 points in the third quarter, Tri-Valley (22-2) whittled the lead to eight with 1:32 left.

Senior Chip Strock made three three-pointers and scored 14 points, and Curt Cameron had 10 points. However, it was too little too late.

Blame it on indecisiveness on offense and DeSales’ height, Tri-Valley coach Tim Shumaker said, whose tallest player is 6-4.

"DeSales forced us into some turnovers uncharacteristic of us," he said. "I think that was the difference.

"Plus, we’re not going to play another team with that much overall height. But if you were going to tell me that it’d be in the 50s and 40s before I got here, I say I’d take it and we’ll see what happens."

ATHENS - In this case, size did matter.

Faced with the task of scoring inside against DeSales' long, athletic defenders - and then trying to defend them offensively - Tri-Valley knew it couldn't make many mistakes to have a chance in its Division II regional semifinal game at Athens' Convocation Center Thursday night.

It was right.

With their tallest player standing just 6-4, the Scotties (22-2) struggled to score inside against 7-1 Sean Hobbs, and 6-7 Alex Kellogg was able to shoot over the top of defenders offensively. In the end, it meant a 57-47 win for the Stallions, who advanced to Saturday's 3 p.m. final against Chillicothe (20-4).

Hobbs finished with nine blocks, while Kellogg scored a game-high 21 points. The Stallions (21-3) led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter before Tri-Valley stormed back to pull within eight late in the fourth.

"Defensively, I don't think we were used to the length of those guys," Tri-Valley senior Chip Strock said. "We just haven't seen that kind of size before."

With Hobbs patrolling the paint by himself, it allowed DeSales to extend its defense and pressure the Scotties' guards into mistakes. And when they did get the ball inside, Hobbs routinely swatted balls away or changed shots.

"You can't simulate 7-1 in practice," Tri-Valley coach Tim Shumaker said. "It took our guys a while to adjust."

Tri-Valley led 12-11 with just over a minute left in the first quarter, playing the methodical, half-court style it had planned.

But the Stallions got buckets inside from Hobbs and Kellogg to end the quarter with a 15-12 lead, and the Stallions never looked back after Dane Johnson's 3-pointer from the left corner made it 26-16.

The Stallions hit four of five 3s in the first half in all and led 28-16 at half. Tri-Valley had 12 first-half turnovers and were just 7-of-19 from the floor to aid the Stallions' efforts.

"(The tempo) was perfect," Shumaker said. "But you have to make some shots and we turned the ball over too much to beat a team like that."

Needing a fast start to the third to have a chance to claw back, DeSales scored 10 of 12 points to start the half, getting three Hobbs blocks and forcing three turnovers to take a 38-18 lead.

A 3 from Brandon Garrick made it 41-19 with 3:37 left, but Tri-Valley trimmed the lead to 44-26 after three quarters.

DeSales still led 47-28 early in the fourth, but Tri-Valley scored eight of nine points to pull within 48-36 with 4:30 left in the game. The Scotties pulled within 53-45 with 1:32 left, but Nick Kellogg made two free throws to put the game away.

"We basically got together in the middle of the third quarter and said that we weren't going to let these guys intimidate us anymore," Tri-Valley senior Curt Cameron said. "We got out and ran them a little bit."

Strock's 14 points led the Scotties, who held a 22-20 edge in rebounding, but had 17 turnovers.

Nick Kellogg added 12 points for the Stallions, which shot 50 percent from the field (20-of-40), but made only 12 of 24 free throws.

"I was so proud of our guys for the way they hung in there and got back in it," Shumaker said. "We just dug too deep of a hole."