SHARONVILLE — Corey Rogers scored a game-high 17 points, Caleb Brown had 14 and the No. 2 seed Cincinnati Christian School boys basketball team defeated No. 11 New Miami 67-29 in a Division IV sectional opener on Monday night at Princeton.
Cincinnati Christian (20-2), which has won seven in a row and nine out of its last 10, exploded out to a 22-5 lead after one quarter and never looked back.
CCS moves on to face Lockland on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 3:30 p.m. at Princeton.
“We knew the high ball screen to (Emryk) Moffitt was coming,” Cincinnati Christian coach Brian Gunter said of New Miami’s leading scorer. “We decided to get a good rotation, supply the defense and blitz it. And that’s what we did. We had to keep the ball out of his hands.”
Cincinnati Christian beat New Miami both times during the regular season — 72-32 at CCS on Dec. 9 and 63-42 at New Miami on Jan. 20.
“You know you’re always concerned about the third time around,” Gunter said. “But these guys were focused. We had a solid practice before this with a quick turnaround.”
The Cougars fired 28 of 59 (47%) from the floor — including 10 of 24 (41%) from 3-point range — while exploiting the Vikings’ zone defense.
“We shot the ball pretty good from the outside in the first half,” Gunter said. “It’s been a good year with these guys.”
CCS junior Alex Mullins pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with his four points.
Dalson Hayes paced the Vikings (4-19) with 11 points, while Daymeon Pennington added eight and Moffitt had seven.
“We knew they were a very good team and that we were going to have to give our very best effort,” New Miami coach Jared Lee said. “I was proud of how we fought. Things just didn’t go our way, and you have to give credit to them. They have a heck of a team. They make some big plays and on a consistent basis. I wish them nothing but the best moving forward.”
Lee said despite his Vikings starting off the season with nine straight losses, he was pleased with how they finished the season.
“I was really proud with how we played down the stretch,” Jared said, noting New Miami’s 44-36 victory at St. Bernard on Friday. “They never quit on us. They kept fighting and kept getting better. I really thought we grew as the season went on. The worst part is now it’s over. We just wanted to keep at it.”
The Vikings graduate seniors Cameron Foister, Josh Woods and Bo McGraw, along with Pennington and Moffitt.
