Junior Guard Wes Enis poured in 32 points and classmate Jacob Roeth added 17 as the Vikings of Miami East topped Indian Lake 60-51 in the Division III, North 3 Sectional tournament at the Student Activity Center on the campus of Vandalia Butler High School Friday night.
Enis scored 19 points in a seesaw first half that saw eight lead changes and 4 ties. Both coaches saw the final 45 seconds of the half as crucial after Roeth drove for 2 hoop and harm 3 point plays to change a 29-28 Lakers lead to a 33-28 Vikings advantage at the intermission.
"That was the little stretch that we needed," explained Eat Coach Justin Roeth. "The lead went to five and we finished the game winning by nine so we kinda played that score line from that point on."
"Killed us," lamented Lakers coach Zach Overturf. "Those are big and it was something we knew might be coming. They like to get downhill and get to the hoop and we had a couple get out of rotation right there. That is pretty uncharacteristic for us. Those were backbreakers."
Miami East extended the scoring run to 16-5 in the third quarter to build a 46-35 lead heading into the final 8 minutes.
"That 16-5 run," noted Overturf, "they got a lot of offensive rebounds. Trying to get a stop after that is tough."
Coach Roeth explained a season long goal for his club.
"We pride ourselves in the other coach taking a time out coming out in the second half. We want the first time out in the second half to be called by them. We feel like that's a momentum builder and boost for us and gets our guys excited. That was the case because of the turnovers we forced. We locked out on defense in that stretch as well. I think that was the difference in the game. But, I'm going to give it to them (Indian Lake). Those guys can shoot it, especially 21" (Junior Cam Tuttle who finished with 7 three's and 27 points).
"Wes can certainly be a leader for us," noted Roeth. "He showed again tonight that he can step up in big games, big situations and make good plays. He did that in the first half, then Jacob had some good moments. That's what is nice about those two guys. One can do it for a couple minutes then the other one can do it for a couple minutes too. But I thought in the second half our other kids really stepped up. Connor Apple came up with some big buckets. Devon Abshire played great defense. They all made a difference for us as well."
The Vikings take their (23-2) season mark to the University of Dayton Arena for a matchup with South 2 Sectional winner Mariemont (15-9) which pulled a 38-34 upset of Cincinnati area #2 seed Summit Country Day.
At the time of this writing, the Southwest District Athletic Board of Directors has not set a date or time for the contest.
Enis scored 19 points in a seesaw first half that saw eight lead changes and 4 ties. Both coaches saw the final 45 seconds of the half as crucial after Roeth drove for 2 hoop and harm 3 point plays to change a 29-28 Lakers lead to a 33-28 Vikings advantage at the intermission.
"That was the little stretch that we needed," explained Eat Coach Justin Roeth. "The lead went to five and we finished the game winning by nine so we kinda played that score line from that point on."
"Killed us," lamented Lakers coach Zach Overturf. "Those are big and it was something we knew might be coming. They like to get downhill and get to the hoop and we had a couple get out of rotation right there. That is pretty uncharacteristic for us. Those were backbreakers."
Miami East extended the scoring run to 16-5 in the third quarter to build a 46-35 lead heading into the final 8 minutes.
"That 16-5 run," noted Overturf, "they got a lot of offensive rebounds. Trying to get a stop after that is tough."
Coach Roeth explained a season long goal for his club.
"We pride ourselves in the other coach taking a time out coming out in the second half. We want the first time out in the second half to be called by them. We feel like that's a momentum builder and boost for us and gets our guys excited. That was the case because of the turnovers we forced. We locked out on defense in that stretch as well. I think that was the difference in the game. But, I'm going to give it to them (Indian Lake). Those guys can shoot it, especially 21" (Junior Cam Tuttle who finished with 7 three's and 27 points).
"Wes can certainly be a leader for us," noted Roeth. "He showed again tonight that he can step up in big games, big situations and make good plays. He did that in the first half, then Jacob had some good moments. That's what is nice about those two guys. One can do it for a couple minutes then the other one can do it for a couple minutes too. But I thought in the second half our other kids really stepped up. Connor Apple came up with some big buckets. Devon Abshire played great defense. They all made a difference for us as well."
The Vikings take their (23-2) season mark to the University of Dayton Arena for a matchup with South 2 Sectional winner Mariemont (15-9) which pulled a 38-34 upset of Cincinnati area #2 seed Summit Country Day.
At the time of this writing, the Southwest District Athletic Board of Directors has not set a date or time for the contest.
