ATHENS The Sweet Sixteen was sweet indeed from start to finish Wednesday night for the Garaway boys’ basketball team.
The Pirates led the entire game behind a tenacious defense and an offense that combined to wear down No. 7-ranked Oak Hill as Garaway pounded out a 52-39 victory in a Division III regional semifinal at the Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University.
Garaway, which improved to 19-8, will return for the regional championship game and a shot at advancing to the state tournament Saturday night at 7 p.m. against powerhouse Columbus Harvest Prep.
The Pirates actually know quite a bit about Harvest Prep. The Warriors topped Wheelersburg 78-60 in the other semifinal and are 27-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state. They defeated Garaway 93-62 back on Dec. 30 in the Tuscarawas Central Catholic holiday tournament. In that game, several Harvest Prep players actually did not play because they were still sitting out as part of the state’s transfer rules.
On Wednesday night, though, the Pirates simply were determined to not give up any ground to the highly regarded Oaks, coached by the Ohio’s third-winningest coach of all-time, Norm Persin.
Garaway scored the first basket of the night and never gave up the lead, hitting some timely 3-pointers in the first half and then spreading the floor for layups as they pulled away from the Oaks (22-3) in the third and fourth quarters.
“Everything went the way we wanted it to for the entire game pretty much, except when Ethan (Roden) got in foul trouble in the second quarter,” said Garaway head coach Terry Rowe. “I thought our kids were very focused and executed what we wanted to do on both ends of the court.”
Garaway junior Erik Miller had two 3-pointers in the first quarter and senior Trevor Donaldson added another as the Pirates burst to a 17-6 lead by the end of the period that seemed to simply shock Oak Hill. Garaway’s tough pressure defense on the ball appeared to push the Oaks into shots they were not comfortable taking, while the Pirates kept driving to the hoop and looking to kick the ball out for open teammates.
The Oaks made their only serious run of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Pirates 12-8 to trail 25-18 at halftime.
Miller added another 3-pointer in the quarter and scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half.
“Our guards controlled the tempo on both ends of the floor and that was big for us,” Rowe said. “We wanted to run (the Oaks) up and down the floor and wear them out and I thought we started to do that in the second half.”
Roden also was huge for the Pirates in the third and fourth quarters. Scoreless throughout the first half, Roden took over the game for Garaway in the third period, scoring on three straight back-breaking possessions and totaling eight of his total 13 points to keep the Pirates in front 38-26.
Roden then scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for Garaway and the Pirates eventually stretched their lead to as many as 15 points to close out the win.
“To hold this team that came in here with only two losses and had played so well all season is just tremendous for our kids,” Rowe said. “I thought our defense was outstanding tonight – even the shots they were attempting and making in the second half were tough, contested shots.”
Oak Hill junior Mason Darby, the major post presence for the Oaks, had a particularly difficult night contending with the Pirates. Darby picked up three fouls by halftime and eventually fouled out halfway through the fourth quarter after scoring a total of nine points.
The Oaks struggled shooting the ball all night against the Garaway defense, making only 14 of 43 shots overall (33 percent) and only five of 20 in 3-point attempts. Senior Mitchell Hale was the only Oak Hill player to reach double figures with 15 points, while Darby added nine and Landon Carroll had seven.
Miller and Roden led Garaway with 13 points apiece, while Corey Troyer came off the bench with 10 points, including a pretty drive in the fourth quarter when he slipped through the Oaks’ defense for a wide-open layup. Donaldson added nine points and five rebounds. Miller had a game-high nine rebounds.
Garaway made 18 of 38 shots (five of 16 in 3-pointers) and was 11 of 18 at the free throw line. The Pirates committed only six turnovers.
Rowe said he continues to marvel at the work ethic and selflessness of the Pirates, who had lost in the regional semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
“These guys just dig in and play so hard and are so focused on what we are trying to do,” he said. “I‘ve said it before, that they play for one another and they all get along, and they want to win together. It has been a real joy being with them this season.”