History made: Sandusky rallies to clinch spot in final four

TOLEDO — Sandusky took Lima Shawnee's best shot and had an emphatic answer. The Blue Streaks erased a five-point deficit in the third quarter and posted a high-energy fourth to defeat Lima Shawnee 62-57 in a Division III regional final Saturday at Savage Arena. The win puts Sandusky in the state final four for the first time in school history. The excited Blue Streaks cut down another net and said they aren't finished with their magical tournament run. "All I gotta say is I thank God for this opportunity. What a time to be alive," said sixth man Dale Johnson, who was one of many heroes in the Elite Eight victory. "First time Sandusky is going to state and I'm happy we're here." Sandusky will play No. 2 Cincinnati Aiken (26-1) in a state semifinal at 3 p.m. Sunday at Wright State University in Dayton. To get to the final four, senior guard Jason Henlon stepped up his game when the Streaks needed it most. His 3-pointer with 45 seconds to go in the third quarter cut Shawnee's lead to 41-39 and set the stage for a historic final eight minutes. Henlon stepped on the gas in the fourth quarter and scored on three driving layups to help Sandusky regain the lead. The last of his clutch baskets gave the Streaks a 51-45 edge with 3:20 to play. "We went back to our game. They played man up on me," Henlon said. "My teammates told me to get the ball and cut. They turned their back and it was layups every time." Henlon finished with a team-high 14 points and five rebounds and stayed aggressive despite picking up his fourth foul with 4:24 to play. "It feels great, we've got a trophy nobody (at Sandusky) has ever got before," Henlon said. "I'm so happy; we've been talking about this since we were kids and we actually did it." Added Sandusky coach DeMar Moore: "He's the leader of our team. When the game gets tight like that, he goes to another level. Tonight he decided to put the team on his back and you saw the results." Moore left the arena with a big trophy in his hand and net around his shoulders. It was a hard-earned win for the Streaks. A Sandusky turnover with 1:20 to play was followed by a three-point play by Shawnee star junior Bennett Bertke to cut Sandusky's lead to 53-52. Kobe Brown scored off an Aa'Zoriyon Bonner assist to give Sandusky a 55-52 lead at the 1:02 mark. After a Bertke free throw, Amir Aaron threw a long pass to Bonner, whose timely dunk gave Sandusky a 57-53 lead with 42 seconds to play, sending the Streaks' fans into a frenzy. "I went straight down the middle and nobody guarded me," Bonner said. "Two steps, two hands, two feet. Dunk." A Shawnee turnover and layup by Brown seconds later was followed by three late Aaron free throws that finished off the win for Sandusky, which improved to 19-7. After a disastrous third quarter in which Sandusky had four turnovers and scored only five points, the fourth period was a masterpiece. "Every team makes run. Basketball is a game of runs," Bonner said. "They threw their best punch and we took it. After that we didn't panic and kept our foot on the gas." Bonner finished with eight points and seven assists, staying patient and finding open teammates while playing the role of a 6-foot-5 point forward. Aaron had nine points and five assists. About the only thing that went wrong in the fourth quarter was Aaron's missed dunk with seconds on the clock. "Zory was too close to me," Aaron said with a smile. "He was probably trying to get the lob and I didn't want to throw it. He was too close — that's why I missed." Bonner passed the ball ahead to Aaron and expected a return pass to put an exclamation point on the day. "I was gonna do it on the last one," he said. "Amir tried a windmill. I told him to throw the alley-oop. I thought he was gonna make it." Dale Johnson, a 6-7 junior, added to his stellar tourney run by coming off the bench to contribute 11 important points and four rebounds. Sandusky got off to a hot start thanks to senior guard Azarieon Arrington, who made three 3s in the first quarter and finished with 10 points. "Coach Moore said he wanted two out of me so I gave him three," Arrington said. "I gave him something extra for the road. I've been off this year shooting from 3. I wanted to come in and change that narrative. I can shoot a little." Moore confirmed the talk he had with Arrington on Friday: "I told him at practice that if he'd made two 3s we would win. He looked over at the end of the game and said, 'Coach, I made three.' I'm not surprised with the way he shot it." Sandusky led by 11 points twice in the first half but couldn't shake the Indians, who were playing in their fifth regional in seven years. The Streaks shot 54 percent from the field (25 for 46) and were 7 for 18 from 3-point range, outscoring the Indians by one basket from beyond the arc. Shawnee, which had its 15-game winning streak snapped, finished the season 24-3. Beckett Bertke had 25 points and his sophomore brother Travis Bertke added 13. "Shawnee's a very, very good team," Moore said. "We knew they'd make a run at some point. We were able to withstand it and punch back. It shows the resilience of our guys to be able to hang in there." While they were posing for photos afterward, "we ain't done yet" was heard several times. "We never gave up. Kept going, kept going till we got the dub," Aaron said. "We're the first to do it so we have to keep going." LIMA SHAWNEE (24-3) Travis Bertke 6 0-0 13, Matthew Stiles 1 0-0 2, Tate Bender 4 0-0 9, Jagger Hutchins 3 0-0 8, Beckett Bertke 9 5-6 25. TOTALS 23-41 5-8 57 SANDUSKY (19-7) Azarieon Arrington 3 1-2 10, Jason Henlon 6 1-1 14, Amir Aaron 2 3-4 9, Aa'Zoriyon Bonner 4 0-0 8, Kobe Brown 4 0-1 8, Dale Johnson 5 0-0 11, Anthony Redding 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 25-45 5-8 62 Shawnee 12 15 14 16 — 57Sandusky 20 14 5 23 — 62 Three-point goals: Shawnee 6 (B. Bertke 2, Hutchins 2, T. Bertke, Bender); Sandusky 7 (Arrington 3, Aaron 2, Henlon, Johnson)