ONTARIO — The Shelby Whippets are Sweet 16 bound for the fourth time in program history.
Four Whippets scored in double figures Saturday fueling a 62-52 victory over Lexington in a Division II district championship game before a sellout crowd at Ontario High School.
Shelby’s last district title was achieved during the 2020-21 season.
Furthermore, this year’s state-ranked Whippets (23-2) have tallied the most wins in a single season, surpassing the 1956-57 team led by the legendary Larry Siegfried, an All-American starter at Ohio State who was a key cog in the 1960 national championship team. Siegfried was also five-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics.
This year’s Shelby squad is assigned to play Lima Shawnee (19-6) in a Division II regional semifinal at Bowling Green State University on Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m.
District title ‘means everything’ says Bruskotter
Whippet senior Alex Bruskotter hasn’t forgotten the feeling he and his teammates shared at the hands of Lexington around this time last March.
The Minutemen ended Shelby’s tournament run in the district final last season after Alex Depperschmidt scored the game-winning bucket as the horn sounded in overtime.
Bruskotter said the pain from that game has stuck with him ever since.
“I was so mentally, physically and emotionally invested in that game,” he said. “Going out like that hurt for a while.”
The Wright State commit spent the entire offseason gearing up for another postseason push with his teammates.
“I worked myself to exhaustion every single day,” Bruskotter said. “I never wanted to feel like that again.”
Motivated by those feelings, Bruskotter scored a game-high 20 points Saturday night to go with 11 rebounds, five assists and one steal.
Issaiah Ramsey backed Bruskotter with 13 points, while Brayden DeVito added 11. Casey Lantz, Bryson Baker, Karsen Homan and Tanner Hartz combined for 18 points.
Bruskotter, who played nearly all 32 minutes Saturday, said avenging last year’s loss has brought a sense of fulfillment for him.
“Coming back a year later, on an even bigger stage, means everything to me,” he said.
Box Score
Shelby survives 2nd-quarter scare
The Whippets began Saturday’s championship game with a quick pace which produced points in a hurry.
After racing to a 12-5 lead nearly halfway through the first quarter, Shelby outscored the Minutemen 11-6 to earn a 12-point lead through eight minutes of play.
Things got interesting when Lexington held the Whippets scoreless for nearly the first five minutes of the second quarter.
An 11-0 Minutemen run, highlighted by a pair of back-to-back triples, reduced Shelby’s lead to 27-26 with three and a half minutes left in the half.
The Whippets buckled down defensively and ended the second quarter on a 5-0 run, taking a six-point lead to the break.
Bruskotter said his team was settling for quick shots in the second quarter — an issue which was addressed at halftime.
“We were moving the ball and getting good shots (in the first quarter) and we kind of got away from that in the second quarter,” he said. “In the second half we just gutted it out.”
Sweet 16 bound Whippets thrived under pressure
The Minutemen fought to their first lead of the game, 29-28, three minutes into the second half. Two minutes later, Shelby regained a two-point advantage before outscoring Lexington 8-2 to close the third frame.
Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said Shelby’s strong first quarter proved difficult to overcome for the remainder of the game.
“We dug ourselves a pretty big hole in the first half being down by as much as 12,” Hamilton said. “I told the guys ‘We possibly played the worst half of basketball that we have played in the last 10 games,’ and we were only down six (at halftime).
“We wanted to kind of ramp up the pressure a little bit in the second half. We just couldn’t get some of the shots to fall and defensively, they (Shelby) did a nice job. They’ve got some nice athletic length.”
With eight minutes remaining and more than 2,000 fans screaming fans on their feet, the Whippets thrived under the pressure.
Shelby outscored the Minutemen 21-19 in the fourth period and punched their ticket to the Sweet 16.
Shelby coach Greg Gallaway said he couldn’t be happier for his team, applauding their commitment throughout the season.
“I’m just so happy for our guys and for our eight seniors,” he said. “Things weren’t easy throughout this, when they were sophomores and juniors, and this season.
“We just kept our heads straight and stayed true to our team, our core values and to each other.”
The environment and level of competition faced at Ontario High School during both district games has given Shelby confidence heading into their regional appearance.
Momentum is what the Whippets thrive on, said Gallaway, who described his team’s efforts Saturday as “relentless.”
“That’s us. Our guys love that (momentum),” he said. “We just had that attack mindset (tonight).
“We were on the floor like crazy.”
Highlight Reel
Young Lexington team gains valuable experience
The Minutemen (22-3) end the season ranked third in the Division II AP Poll. Lexington’s roster will remain mostly intact next year, returning all but senior Elijah Hudson.
Lexington was led Saturday by sophomore Brayden Fogle, who scored a team-high 13 points to go with 11 rebounds and two steals.
Hudson added six points and seven rebounds, while Gavin Husty scored 11. Seven Allen, Dantrell Hughes, Jakob Legron and Joe Caudill combined for 22 points.
Hamilton said the experience gained by his young team throughout the tournament will be beneficial moving forward.
“It’s great experience for these young guys,” he said. “Hopefully, we can make a routine of this and do this thing over and over again.
“Even during the regular season we were in a couple of atmospheres like this, where you really had packed houses. I don’t think the atmosphere was too big for them, but it was definitely a good experience for them.”