'Big' win for West
Division I regional semifinals
BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Lakota West star Josh Chichester is long and lean at 6 feet 8 and 210 pounds. Thursday night, Chichester and his teammates were just a tad too tall for St. Xavier.
Chichester, a senior center, had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Lakota West to a thrilling 58-53 Division I regional semifinal basketball win, before about 4,000 fans at Xavier University's Cintas Center.
Chichester made two free throws with 8.8 seconds left, giving West a decisive 58-53 lead. In a game of big momentum swings and physical, above-the-rim play, the Firebirds rallied from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit (44-37) to win.
Chichester led Lakota West to a 37-24 rebounding edge. Senior forward Vince Cook (6-5, 200 pounds) had 16 points and nine rebounds, and senior forward Todd Mayberry (6-5, 190) had 14 points and four rebounds.
St. X started a frontline that went 6-6, 6-6 and 6-5, but the lanky Chichester and the brawny Cook were too much.
"Their rebounding was the difference," St. X coach Scott Martin said. "I think Chichester has an extra two inches on his arms that we couldn't match. We did a good job boxing him out, but he had too much leaping ability."
St. X got a magnificent 27-point effort from senior guard David Gedeon, who was the only Bomber to score more than six points.
Lakota West will play Trotwood-Madison in the regional final at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Cintas, with a state semifinal berth at stake.
St. X fell behind 17-8 early, then rallied behind Gedeon to forge ahead 44-37 early in the fourth period.
From there, West outscored the Bombers 21-9.
"There were a lot of ups and downs, but we kept our poise when we got down," Chichester said. "Coach always tells us to keep our cool, and it paid off."
The game had several momentum swings, and the lead changed hands three times in the fourth period.
"I said this game would be decided by whoever got the momentum late, and fortunately that was us," Lakota West coach Mike Mueller said. "We got a great effort from all our players. I also want to say that David Gedeon had one of the best individual games I've seen in 34 years of coaching."
Gedeon, a 6-4 left-hander, is being scouted by several Division II colleges with some Division I feelers.
"I knew it was crunch time, one and out, so I was trying to keep us alive," Gedeon said. "We wanted to make this year as special as last year, but we came up short."
St. X was state runner-up last season.
Lakota West (23-2) - Casper 1 0 2, Chichester 8 4 20, Cook 6 4 16, Mayberry 6 0 14, Haberman 0 1 1, Schloemer 2 1 5. Totals: 23 10 58.
St. Xavier (20-5) - Gedeon 10 4 27, Ries 1 0 3, Gibler 2 1 5, Veith 2 0 4, Wolf 2 1 5, Budde 1 1 3, Albright 1 4 6. Totals: 19 11 53.
Lakota West1315921-58St. Xavier8181611-53
3-pointers: LW 2 (Mayberry 2), SX 4 (Gedeon 3, Ries).