Catholic Central sophomore Tyler Galluch scored a game-high 19 points, while junior Ashton Young had 14 points and junior Ian Galluch added 13 points.
Yellow Springs junior DeAndre Cowen had a team-high 16 points for the Bulldogs, who finished their season 7-12.
The Irish (16-5) advanced to play No. 2 seed Cedarville in a district semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Troy.
“We knew going that way in the bracket that there would be a chance,” said Irish coach John Detling. “We never looked ahead. We took it one game at a time. The boys were ready. It’s time to start preparing for them.”
The Irish jumped out to a 12-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Ian Galluch and extended their lead to 20-7 on a steal and layup by junior Patrick Kavanagh.
The Bulldogs’ Eli Eyrich hit a buzzer beat to make it 37-26 at the half. In the locker room, the Irish focused on shutting down Cowen, the leading scorer in the Metro Buckeye Conference this season at 20.9 points per game. He scored 15 of his 16 points in the first half.
“I think putting (Ian Galluch) on No. 23 after halftime, that’s where all of their points were coming from, and he really shut him down,” Detling said. “That was a good adjustment.”
The Irish went on a 9-3 run to start the second half, extending their lead to 46-29 with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter and forcing a Yellow Springs full timeout.
“We’re trying to get other kids involved and (Cowen) has been really good about finding other guys when they’re open, but we knew they would come out with a gameplan to stop him and they did,” said Bulldogs coach Nick Trimbach. “That’s a good basketball team. My guys were amped up to come out and play. All I asked of them before the game was to play hard for four quarters and they did, so I’m pleased.”
The Bulldogs had no seniors on its roster this winter. They’ll return their entire squad next season. Trimbach challenged his players to work hard during the offseason.
“We’re coming back with a fully loaded deck,” he said. “We don’t have to say goodbyes tonight, but we do have to challenge guys to see if they’re willing to work in the offseason. We’re going to take a few days off and the guys who don’t play spring sports, we’re going to work. I don’t like this feeling very much.”
The Irish advanced to a district semifinal game for the fifth straight season and is seeking its third district final appearance in three seasons.
“It’s very impressive for this program,” Detling said.
Catholic Central won back-to-back district titles in 2018 and 2019. A year ago, the Irish lost to Emmanuel Christian in a district semifinal game at Troy.
They’ll now turn their attention to Cedarville, which beat them twice during the regular season.
“We know what we need to do,” Detling said. “We’ve watched the film numerous times. I’ve sat down with each player individually and told them this is what we need to do to beat Cedarville. They’re a good team; they’re not ranked in the state for nothing. It should be a great game. I’m looking forward to it.”
Cedarville 68, Twin Valley South 40: The Indians jumped out to a 23-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, advancing to a district semifinal game for the second straight season.
“We’re really excited,” said Indians coach Ryan Godlove. “It helps that we’ve been here before. We’re used to the gym. It’s a lot different than the D-IV gyms we’re used to playing in.”
Senior Isaiah Ramey scored a game-high 20 points, senior Trent Koning scored 16 and junior Hayden Hanson added 11 as Cedarville (20-1) won its 14th straight game.
Defensively, the Indians scored 12 points off turnovers in the first quarter.
“It was huge,” Godlove said. “We did a nice job of getting in passing lanes and our defense created easy scoring opportunities. To get easy buckets like that, it just helps because you see that ball go in and it loosens everybody up.”
The Indians beat the Irish 44-37 on Jan. 19 in Cedarville and clinched the South Division title with a 57-46 victory on Feb. 13 in Springfield.
“They’re a tough team,” Godlove said. “It’s never easy to play a team a third time. The good thing is that we know them, but they also know us. We think the OHC is really tough so to play a team like that a third time, we know it’s going to be tough, but we’re glad we have the opportunity.”
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