St. Paul snaps district skid; will play for title Friday

WILLARD — Scotty Adelman and his teammates had heard the chatter. And when the St. Paul senior drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:05 left in Tuesday's Division IV district semifinal vs. Margaretta, he could also feel the weight lifted. Adelman's shot put the Flyers up 53-41, one of the final blows on a night where the Flyers had the answer to the Polar Bears at almost every turn. St. Paul took the lead with 1:16 left in the first quarter, and once it went ahead by eight to open the second quarter, never led by less than five points the rest of the way in a 61-55 win over the Bears inside Robert L. Haas Gymnasium at Willard High School. The No. 3-seeded Flyers (17-5) won their eighth straight game and advanced to Friday's 7 p.m. district championship game vs. No. 5 Lucas (18-7) back at Willard High School. The victory also snapped a six-game losing streak at the district tournament level for St. Paul, which will play in its first district final since the 2009-10 season. In the regular season finale on Feb. 20, St. Paul jumped on Margaretta early and cruised to a 53-40 win in Norwalk. But as the rematch loomed 10 days later, Adelman said the Flyers had heard the talk. In that first meeting, Margaretta was playing on the road just 16 hours after a crushing 71-69 loss vs. Willard that cost them a share of the SBC Bay Division title, and subbed freely early and often. "We heard those comments from several people, and it was a little disrespectful," Adelman said. "You just use that fire to come out and show them that even when they got everything, we still have enough on our team to make the big plays to win." Tied at 8-8, the Flyers went on a 14-0 scoring run that spanned a 3:55 span of the first and second quarters to open up a 22-8 lead with 5:11 left in the first half. Two straight baskets by Adelman and one from Nate Winslow closed the first quarter to give the Flyers a 14-8 lead. Caleb Schwan then came off the bench to score twice, and a basket inside from Kaden Maxwell along with two foul shots by Adelman capped the scoring spree. Adelman made a 3, then Nate Winslow scored again with 55 seconds left to help send the Flyers into halftime up 29-16. Most notably, St. Paul was up 13 and Nick Winslow — who averaged 21.6 points per game entering Tuesday — was scoreless. "That was one of the first things that was pointed out by one of our assistant coaches — because we shared the basketball so well," St. Paul coach Mike Smith said. "We realized Nick was their focal point, so go make plays. "All the kids were able to do that and get everyone involved. Everyone contributed." A few turnovers off defensive pressure led to the Bears going on a 8-2 scoring run to pull within 33-28 on a Spencer Michel 3-pointer with 2:14 left in the third quarter. But right back at the other end, Nate Winslow converted a big three-point play to cancel that out just 54 seconds later. That allowed the Flyers to take a 36-28 lead into the fourth quarter, then Maxwell scored down low to open up the fourth quarter, and just like that the Flyers were in control at 38-28. Consecutive 3-pointers from Jake Leibacher and Cameron Sosa around a Nate Winslow basket trimmed the Margaretta deficit to 40-34 with 6:23 left, but St. Paul had yet another answer. This time, Nick Winslow launched a rainbow 3-pointer from the right corner on the next trip down the floor. When Leibacher scored with 5:09 left to pull the Bears (15-9) to within seven (43-36), Maxwell scored again down low, and Adelman made two free throws for a 47-36 with 4:33 left after Margaretta head coach Steve Keller was whistled for a technical foul. The Bears again cut it to seven (47-40) with 3:51 left, but the Flyers needed just 11 seconds in the form of an Adam Baker 3-pointer to push the lead back up to 10. Leading 50-41, Adelman then made his second 3 for the 12-point advantage. With Leibacher scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Bears were able to get the lead down to single-digits, and eventually to within six — but just 44 seconds was left. In the game's final 42 second, Nate Winslow made four straight free throws and Nick Winslow split a pair, never allowing the Bears closer than six points. "We truthfully knew we had to come at them in spots with their pressure because we're not real big," Keller said. "But that's a tough deal because they have some nice guards, and it's the strength of their team. "We played much better in the second half, but kudos to St. Paul," Keller said. "They would make a big shot, whether it was (Adam) Baker in the corner, or one of the Winslow's on the backside. They made free throws and made plays when they needed to. They deserved to win this game because they played well." Leibacher scored 33 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Bears. "We did a great job of challenging their shooters, and we did well rebounding at the defensive end, which set the tone," Smith said. "This is a good win." Adelman finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and made all five free throws he attempted to pace the Flyers. He also made the game-tying 3 with 18 seconds left in a 58-55 overtime win vs. Crestline on Feb. 26 in a sectional title game. "During this streak, Nick had a really had great stretch there, and that lifted us, and the whole team has shot the ball better," Adelman said. Nate Winslow added 13 points and six rebounds, while Maxwell had 12 points and five rebounds, and Nick Winslow added 11 points and six rebounds. "There are a lot of teams that haven't won a district championship, so we're fortunate to get there, and for these kids it's special," Smith said. "They just keep bringing it every day and are fun to be around." As for Friday's game vs. the Cubs, Adelman said it may come down to patience. The Cubs ran several minutes of time off the clock during several possessions in their 34-26 win over South Central in the first game on Tuesday. "It's definitely going to be a tough game, they are great defensively and very patient," Adelman said. "I think the most patient team will win on Friday. we have to take good shots and knock them down." ST PAUL (17-5) Adam Baker 2-0—5; Scotty Adelman 4-6—16; Caleb Schwan 2-0—4; Nick Winslow 4-2—11; Kaden Maxwell 6-0—12; Nate Winslow 4-5—13. TOTALS 22-13—61. MARGARETTA (15-9) Cameron Sosa 2-0—5; Nathan Schaefer 1-0—2; Spencer Michel 3-2—10; Jake Leibacher 13-6—33; Ben Palomo 1-3—5. TOTALS 20-11—55. St. Paul 14 15 7 25 — 61 Margaretta 8 8 12 27 — 55 3-point FGs: (SP) Adelman 2, Baker, Ni. Winslow; (M) Michel 2, Leibacher, Sosa.