DeSales' players had no way of knowing several months ago that a third straight Division II district championship game against Eastmoor Academy was in the works, but they looked forward to it nonetheless.
"This whole week, really all year, we focused on this game with Eastmoor because something told us it would come down to this rematch again," junior guard Nick Kellogg said. "The way they beat us here last year, there's no denying that the revenge factor was in the back of everybody's minds."
James D. DeCamp Dispatch
Eastmoor Academy's Matthew
Ryan, left, and Alex Coleman try
to block a shot by DeSales' Nick
Kellogg in the first
quarter in the
Ohio Expo Center Coliseum.
Kellogg, who was held in check in the 2008 game won by the Warriors, made the payback personal last night, scoring a season-high 30 points, and top-seeded DeSales defeated fourth-seeded Eastmoor 72-46 in the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum.
DeSales (20-3), which won its third district title in four seasons, will face the Toledo Libbey-Elida winner at 8 p.m. Thursday at Bowling Green in regional play.
"The way the bracket was set up gave us a chance to redeem ourselves from last year," DeSales coach Blair Albright said. "The guys sort of had a chip on their shoulder and really wanted to get back here against this team, and fortunately it worked out that way.
"Nick, in particular, was really upset with what they did in shutting him down last year and was inspired to come out and show what he could do. I think that was the best game of his entire career."
Kellogg went 11 of 15 from the field and 7 of 7 at the free throw line and also contributed five rebounds and four assists as the Stallions dominated physically from the outset.
"The game plan was to attack them and eventually wear them down in transition," Kellogg said. "The way we played defense tonight really dictated the tempo for the whole night."
DeSales not only drove the lanes effectively but used its perimeter pressure to push Eastmoor's offense away from the basket.
Ike Ariguzo had nine points and was credited with 20 rebounds as the Stallions claimed a 49-22 advantage on the boards.
"Our whole mind-set was to keep driving, keep crashing the boards and use our size and strength to our advantage," Ariguzo said. "We knew they'd keep battling us because they have a lot of heart, but we got ahead so far it didn't really matter after a while."
Eastmoor (16-7) went 7:17 before making its first field goal, then went another five minutes before its second. By then, it was 28-13.
"DeSales just wanted it more, plain and simple," Eastmoor coach Sean Taylor said. "It seemed like we were just happy to be here. They beat us around inside and instead of fighting back, we quit. We didn't match their intensity and they beat our butts good as a result. DeSales played like they were on a mission tonight."
Matt Ryan and Doug Thorpe had nine points for the Warriors, who shot just 31 percent from the field.
