MANSFIELD, Ohio — Ben Vore scored only six points, but they couldn’t have come at a better time for Lexington.
Sparked by a Vore 3-pointer, the Minutemen outscored Ontario 14-7 during the final 5:16 of the fourth quarter to secure a 52-45 win in the Division II district semifinals Wednesday at Pete Henry Gym.
Second-seeded Lex (17-7) will play No. 1 Sandusky in a rematch of last year’s district title game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Mansfield Senior. The Blue Streaks beat Sandusky Perkins 57-42 in Wednesday’s late game.
A reserve sophomore, Vore broke a 38-38 tie with a trey from the left wing with 5:16 to play. His 3-pointer with 44 seconds left in the third spotted the Minutemen to a 38-30 lead, but the Warriors (19-6) responded with an 8-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters and pulled even on a Trey Jordan triple with 5:27 to play.
“I was just running in transition and I found my spot on the floor and took the shot with confidence,” Vore said. “It was a big shot and I was excited it went in and put our team up.
“It felt really good out of my hand.”
Vore played less than nine minutes, but was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
“That was huge,” Ontario coach Joe Balogh said of Vore’s tie-braking 3-pointer. “We could have got the ball back tied and if we had gotten the lead, you never know.
“A lot of times in the tournament, that’s what happens. Guys who aren’t the so-called star guys step up and make shots.”
The Minutemen connected on 20 of 38 field goal attempts, including 6 of 12 3-pointers. Ontario, meanwhile, was 15 of 46 from the floor and 6 of 22 from behind the arc.
“We missed some easy shots in transition at the rim and they had some guys come off the bench and really step up,” Balogh said. “If you tell me we hold (Cade) Stover to eight … and we had three guys in double-figures, I would like that.”
Lexington’s high-scoring sophomore, Stover attempted just six shots, connecting on half. He also grabbed a game-high nine boards.
“When he is drawing the double- and triple-team, we’ve got to make sure that the other guys are capable of doing some things scoring without him,” Lex coach Scott Hamilton said. “He’s one of those guys whose tickled to death that we’re moving on. Obviously he would like to get his touches as well, but he’s not a selfish kid at all.”
Sluggish Start: Lex led 7-4 after the first quarter and 20-14 at the half. Ontario picked up the pace in the third quarter, outscoring Lex 20-18 in the period.
“In the second half we got the game going at a faster pace, but we never strung a couple stops together,” Balogh said. “We gave up a couple layups in transition off our press, but they also hit a couple of runners and a couple of 3s.”
Leaders: Traevin Harrison led Lexington with 14 points. Stover and Mason Kearns each had eight while A.J. Nickoli added seven.
Logan Jones scored a game-high 15 points for Ontario. Trey Jordan had 14 and Jackson Todd added 10. Quan Jackson had six points and six rebounds.
End of an Era: Jordan, Todd, Jackson, Owen Zeiter, Alex Schiffer and Robert Milner played their final game for the Warriors. Ontario was 84-14 the past four years.
“They have been part of an era on Ontario basketball that has been pretty good,” Balogh said. “Those are guys who have been a key part and for their sake you would like to see them move on and experience that ride.”
