Western, Willard win third straight sectional titles

COLLINS — An 11-day layoff did little to cool off the Western Reserve boys basketball team. Playing for the first time since Feb. 15, the Roughriders blasted visiting Lakota by an 86-46 final score to win its third straight Division III sectional championship Friday night at Western Reserve High School. With the win, the No. 2-seeded Roughriders (18-2) advanced to Thursday's 7:30 p.m. district semifinal at Shelby High School against Saturday's winner between No. 5 Ashland Crestview (16-7) and No. 4 Oak Harbor (12-8). The Roughriders shot a blistering 32-of-55 (58 percent) from the floor, including 11-of-26 (42 percent) from the three-point line. They were also 11-of-14 (78 percent) at the free-throw line. That effort was led by standout Luke Rowlinson, who scored 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting. He added four rebounds and three steals. Also for the 'Riders, John Skrada scored 16 points with four rebounds and three steals, while Carson Roe added 10 points and six rebounds. Cory Hipp also scored nine points, while Jude Muenz finished with 13 assists. Western led 27-13 after one quarter and 50-30 at halftime. The 'Riders then removed all doubt with a 25-10 scoring advantage in the third quarter to take a 75-40 lead. In the win, Western also held a 32-21 edge in rebounds, along with a 26-12 advantage in assists and 14-4 in steals. Willard 61, Elmwood 45 WILLARD — The Crimson Flashes got off to a strong start on their way to a third consecutive sectional championship on Friday. Willard (18-5) led by nine after one quarter, then took a 29-25 halftime lead and expanded it to 48-33 through three quarters. With the win, the Flashes — seeded third in the district — advance to a district semifinal rematch with No. 1 Colonel Crawford (23-0) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Shelby High School. The Eagles topped the Flashes in the same round a year ago, 59-55, in Norwalk. Against Elmwood (13-11), the Flashes got another balanced scoring effort on offense en route to their seventh straight win overall. Myles Pinkston had 15 points, followed by Trey Paxton with 14 and Austin Adelman with 13. Jake Cok added nine points for Willard. ELMWOOD (13-11) S. Amicabile 2-0—5; D. May 4-1—9; K. Lentz 5-2—15; K. Heisman 2-1—5; H. Wickard 0-1—1; J. Childress 1-0—2; B. Reynolds 2-4—8. TOTALS 16-9—45. WILLARD (18-5) Trey Paxton 3-8—14; Cole Weiss 3-0—6; Austin Adelman 6-0—13; Myles Pinkston 7-1—15; Micah Dawson 1-0—2; Trey Mock 1-0—2; Jake Cok 2-3—9. TOTALS 23-12—61. Elmwood 8 17 8 12 — 45 Willard 17 12 19 13 — 61 3-point FGs: (E) Lentz 3, Amicabile; (W) Cok 2, Adelman