Hillsdale get going, outpace Tiffin Calvert in Div. VII regional semifinal victory

BARBERTON − Asked after Tuesday evening’s Division VII regional semifinal game at Barberton High School if the pace of the game was to his liking, and it was almost as if the question shouldn’t have been asked in the first place.

“I loved the pace. Push it everytime,” said Hillsdale head coach Ben Ferguson. “We have a good ball handler and he pushes it well and we have athletes. Why not?”

He’s right. Why not?

Ferguson didn’t have to second guess himself in this one at all, as Hillsdale (19-7) outpaced Tiffin Calvert (17-8) 67-45 to advance to Friday’s regional final behind a transition game that was too much for Tiffin Calvert to keep up with.

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“We knew coming into this game against this team we could run on them,” said senior guard Troy Bennett. “That’s all we wanted to do coming into this game.”

“Getting in transition is what we do and push the pace. We play polar opposite of Tiffin,” Ferguson said. “They slow it down and play zone. Not so much tonight. They really like to control the tempo and play in the high 40s. I felt the first one to 50 is gonna win this game. I wanted to push the tempo, blitz the ball screens and I didn’t want to press because I have a short bench.”

Anyone who has watched Hillsdale basketball in the three years Ferguson has coached there, knows that the Falcons thrive on playing fast and after a first quarter that was played pretty evenly (Tiffin Calvert led by one), the second quarter is when the feel out process was over.

The Falcons jumped out to a 6-0 run and after every defensive rebound, a teammate looked for point guard Lowen Ferguson (17 points, 3 3-pointers made) and he led the break time and time again, as Hillsdale outscored the Senecas 19-11 in the second quarter.

A nine-point Hillsdale lead at halftime extended to 15 in third quarter and by then, the contest was the Falcons.

“We like to go fast,” Bennett said, who scored seven points on the night. “When they slow it down to where they wanna play, it kind of throws our game off. We didn’t let that happen.”

Along with Hillsdale’s transition game working well, it was their half-court pick-and-roll game that was effective. Whether it was Knox Lewis (17 points) or Kael Lewis (15 points) receiving the ball from Ferguson or from another teammate, they finished around the rim and the Falcons got plenty of inside points off their pick-and-roll action.

“They put so much emphasis on Lowen, that we knew the pick-and-roll will be open,” said Coach Ferguson. “They jumped Lowen everytime and sometimes it was hard for him to make the pass to the roll man. So, we had to make the extra pass on the roll to Knox. Knox had a big game.”

“You know our pick-and-roll game is our big thing on offense,” said Bennett. “We like to set a lot of picks. Knox is a great picker and he can roll pretty well. We like to get the ball to our rollers.”

After coming off winning their second straight district title and now one game away from making the school’s first-ever state Final Four in basketball, Hillsdale will get a Heartland Christian team in the regional final back at Barberton on Friday that the Falcons beat in last year’s district final.

“We played Heartland Christian last year and knocked them off,” said Bennett. “I think they mostly returned everybody from last year. This will be a rematch and should be a pretty good game.”

jamessimpson@gannett.com

Twitter/X: @JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Hillsdale boys defeat Tiffin Calvert in Division VII regional semifinals

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