Richland knocks off Leopold in semis

Richland's Drew Thornton drives to the basket against Leopold Tuesday night in the Class 1, District 3 semis in Delta. Thornton scored 23 points in Richland's 77-65 victory over the Wildcats. Chris Pobst, Staff

"I got a 6-10 freshman to go against everyday in practice so, it's an easy simulation going against something like that," Thornton said.

Thornton drew a tough assignment on Tuesday night battling against Leopold's 6-6 senior Anthony Seabaugh and 6-4 senior David Fluchel in the Class 1, District 3 semifinals. However, he wasn't phased.

Thornton had a game-high 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead the No. 2 seeded Richland Rebels past the No. 3 seed Wildcats in a 77-65 win at Delta High School.

"Basically, we were trying to pound it in to Drew," Richland head coach John Walker said. "He's quick, he can jump and he causes a lot of foul trouble. He's very good at finding those slashing players under the goal too. We were getting done what we wanted to."

Thornton matched up with the big bodies of Leopold quite well in his compact 6-3 frame. He boxed out well enough to almost out-rebound the Wildcats all together; Thornton's 15 to Leopold's 23.

"I'm big myself so I use my body against those guys," Thornton said.

Richland senior Mikey Latham did all he could to help the Rebels break out to a decent first half lead. He scored 14 of his 19 points in the first two quarters to give Richland a 37-27 lead at the break. Thornton added 10 at halftime.

Fitting in right along with Thornton and Latham was the ice cold shooting of the Wildcats. Leopold was 13-for-35 from the field in the first half. And for a team that likes to shoot the 3-pointer as much as they do, they suffered in that department as well. They were 2-of-12 from behind the arc. As a team they were 15-of-47 (32 percent) from the field in the first half.

"I think we came out a little too hyped up or over anxious and maybe rushed a few shots early in the game," Leopold head coach Shawn Kinder said. "We struggled all night shooting the ball. We usually shoot the ball around 40 to 45 percent from the 3-point line consistently, and we're usually anywhere from 68 to 72 percent from the field. We just picked a bad night to shoot the ball bad."

Leopold shot 37 percent (25-of-68) from the field throughout the contest and was 5-of-22 (23 percent) from 3-point range.

Richland, who finished 10th in the final regular season Class 1 state rankings, came prepared for the let-it-fly offense of the No. 5 state ranked Wildcats with a 1-3-1 zone. For the most part, the Rebel defenders had a hand in the face of any Wildcat shooter early on and if it rimmed out, Thornton was there for the rebound.

"We made sure that our corner guys got out and contested the shot," Thornton said. "If not, we wanted to make sure and get the rebound if they missed it and push the ball."

In the third quarter, Thornton was feeling so good about his shot he stepped out and answered back-to-back Leopold 3-pointers with two of his own.

"I was feeling confident in my shot," Thornton said. "We work on shooting everyday; mainly 15-footers. We're well coached in that department."

Thornton scored 11 points in the third quarter as the Rebels extended their lead to 14 points, heading into the final frame. Latham, Mac Thornton and Ryan Kleffer closed the book on Leopold in the fourth quarter as they combined for 16 of Richland's 20 fourth quarter points.

The Rebels had four players in double figures which has proven over the course of the season to be a vital part of their game. Drew Thornton's 23, Latham's 19, Mac Thornton's 17 and Kleffer's 16 proved too much.

"That's been our main point throughout the season," said Thornton. "We want to swing the ball around and get equal shots. That makes us deadly."

Leopold, who finished their season with a 21-6 record, was led by Fluchel and Lance Seiler who each posted 16 points.

This win means the Rebels will meet with the No. 1 ranked team in Class 1 and the No. 1 seeded team in the tournament, Scott County Central, which is something that Richland was itching to do.

"I just asked them to play hard and give us a shot at Scott County," Walker said, "just to see what we can do. We wanted to see them. It's been our goal all year."

When asked what it would take to defeat the Braves in the finals both Walker and Thornton had the same idea.

"The key to the game is going to be ball control," Walker said. "We need to take our time, break the press, and get something set up."

"No more than eight turnovers in the game," added Thornton. "We have to take care of the ball really well and get rebounds."

Thornton will have another battle down low against Scott Central's Otto Porter. Although he knows that this battle that may be a bit tougher, Thornton said he's up for the challenge.

"He's a great all-around player," he said about Porter. "If we go man against them I'm going to try my best to do everything to stop him."

The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

LEOPOLD (65) -- Gregg Davis 5, Kyle Stroder 7, David Fluchel 16, Ryan Davis 2, John Buhnsack 8, Lance Seiler 16, Anthony Seabaugh 9, Matt Brotherton 2. FG 25 FT 10-15 F 18. (3-pointers: Davis 1, Fluchel 2, Buhnsack 1, Seiler 1. Fouled out: none.)

RICHLAND (77) -- Mikey Latham 19, Parker Evans 2, Drew Thornton 23, Ryan Kleffer 16, Mac Thornton 17. FG 29 FT 17-26 F 14. (3-pointers: D. Thornton 2. Fouled out: none.)

Scott Central 84, Delta 53

The Scott County Central Braves had a bit of first half trouble with the Delta Bobcats on Tuesday night but found their groove in the third quarter to get by Delta 84-53.

The Bobcats found themselves down by just one point at the end of the first quarter trailing the Braves 21-20. Scott Central extended their slim lead in the second quarter outscoring Delta 24-14 to go into halftime with an 11-point, 45-34, lead.

A 13-point difference in the third frame was all the lift the Braves needed as they went into the fourth quarter with a 71-47 advantage.

Braves senior Bobby Hatchett led the charge with a game-high 28 points while Otto Porter added a hefty 20 in the win. Dominique Porter and Trey Johnson chipped in with 11 and 10 respectively.

Chase Crowden led the Bobcats with a team-high 26 points. Teddy May added 12.

DELTA (53) -- Teddy May 12, Cody Helderman 3, Callin Schabbing 2, Zach Riegart 4, Chase Crowden 26, Cody Naramore 2, Austin Lashley 4, Cody Schremp 2, Shelbie Kight 4. FG 18 FT 8-10 F 14. (3-pointers: May 4, Helderman 1, Crowden 4. Fouled out: none.)

SCOTT CENTRAL (84) -- Bobby Hatchett 28, Trey Johnson 10, Lamarcus Steward 1, Otto Porter 20, Dominique Porter 11, Bryan Freed 4, Charleston McClinton 2, Calvin Porter 6, John Rhoden 2. FG 37 FT 9-18 F 11. (3-pointers: Hatchett 1. Fouled out: none.)