BUCYRUS — Point guard Joey Zahn led Lexington in points – and in points-per-pound – on Tuesday night.
The sophomore scored 22 points to lead the Minutemen to their seventh straight win with a 58-43 victory over Clear Fork in the Division II sectional semifinals at Bucyrus High School.
“I’m not the most athletic guy on the floor,” he said with a smile afterward, acknowledging he packs about 145 pounds on his 5-10 frame. “I made the first couple of shots off good passes from my teammates … they did a good job finding me.”
Zahn connected on four triples, including three in the first half as Lexington raced out to a 31-16 halftime edge. His final three of the half came on a 40-foot buzzer-beater that sent Lexington (15-8) into the break with renewed momentum.
The Minutemen held the Colts scoreless in the first quarter, building a 10-0 lead as Zahn scored seven first-quarter points.
“We wanted to get off to a quick start tonight and maybe step on their throats a little bit,” Zahn said.
Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said the quick start was essential, especially since the Colts (10-12) had to play four games last week due to winter-weather postponements.
“(A fast start) was huge … no doubt about it,” Hamilton said. “We know they played four games last week. We saw one of those games and it looked like their tongues were dragging a little. We wanted to get up early.”
Clear Fork, which had to play nine games in February before the tournament, missed all nine of its shots in the first quarter against a variety of Lexington defenses.
“We had some good open looks. We just missed the shots,” Colts coach Steve Bechtel said. “I asked the kids … they said they weren’t tired. Once you get down like that against a quality team, it was an uphill climb all night long.”
It was the third time this year that the Minutemen have beaten their Ohio Cardinal Conference foe, including 59-54 at Clear Fork on Dec. 28 and 76-59 on Feb. 7 at Lexington. Hamilton said the Colts are always dangerous.
“Ridge Winand is just a tough athlete,” Hamilton said of Clear Fork’s 1,000-point senior scorer. “He is just a scoring machine.”
Winand led Clear Fork with 14 points, but was limited to just three in the first half. None of his teammates reached double figures, though junior Kadin Chrastina and senior Jordan Ridenour each had eight.
“We told our guys we didn’t want them to get three guys going off on their scoring,” Hamilton said.
Zahn was supported by senior guard Matt Barkett, who finished with 16 points, and sophomore post Jonah Yaussey , who came off the bench to score seven points.
“Joey has done a nice job of adjusting this season,” Hamilton said. “It clicked for him six to eight games ago. He knows now what he can and can’t do.”
Lexington shot 50 percent from the field (22 of 44) and added eight of nine at the line. Clear Fork connected on 18 of 48 (38 percent) shots and missed all three foul shots. Lexington had a 32-22 rebounding edge and committed three more turnovers, 15-12.
For Bechtel, it will be hard saying farewell to seniors Winand, Ridenour, Brandon Luers, Josh Hart, Sam Van Dyke and Drew McDonald.
“I told Ridge … I told all our seniors … it’s tough,” Bechtel said, his voice trailing off. “Especially Ridge for all that he has meant to this team and this program.”
The win sets up a rematch between Lexington and Ontario (21-1) in the sectional title game on Friday at 6:15 p.m. at Bucyrus. The second game that evening matches Norwalk (22-1) against Shelby (8-13). Ontario won at Lexington, 56-49, on Dec. 28.
“Looking back, we felt we had an opportunity to win that game,” Hamilton said. “Our two teams are pretty similar. They had an edge in quickness, but we might have more of a solid post presence.”
