SHARPSVILLE
— In a span of about 90 seconds, Central Catholic’s quest for a ninth
straight Class A sectional championship was under way.
However,
the outburst keyed by senior Adam Zimmerman and junior Brett Haan
didn’t materialize until midway through the third quarter of Tuesday
night’s 65-48 victory over Frontier at the Tri-Central Sectional.
From
the 4:04 mark until 2:33 showed on the clock, Zimmerman and Haan
drained a combined four 3-pointers to give the fourth-ranked Knights a
49-37 lead.
It
was part of a 17-3 run to close the third quarter after the Falcons had
rallied from a nine-point first-half deficit to tie the score at 35.
“Thank goodness they got hot,” CC coach Dave Barrett said.
Zimmerman,
who finished with 15 points, started the spurt with a jumper. He
followed with a 3-pointer and Haan, who totaled 27 points and 11
rebounds, delivered a 3-point basket of his own.
The
duo each contributed one more 3-pointer, and the Knights were
comfortably on their way to Friday’s semifinal matchup against
Rossville.
“Adam
hit some shots and it freed everybody else up,” Haan said. “We moved
the ball better and that’s when I started hitting shots, too.
“Hitting shots is the key against the zone, and we didn’t do that in the second quarter.”
Zimmerman and Haan combined for 16 of CC’s 17 points in the final 5:33 of the third quarter.
“They
left me open and I felt like I needed to step up,” said Zimmerman, who
was 6 of 9 from the field. “I felt like I needed to give the team a
boost in the third quarter.”
Frontier
played without senior Jon-Marc Ream, who suffered a season-ending knee
injury on Feb. 19. Despite falling behind early, the Falcons’ zone
defense prevented the Knights from extending their lead.
Dylan
Sterrett’s 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer brought Frontier within
32-31. The senior tied the game at 35 with another 3-pointer before
Zimmerman and Haan took control.
The Falcons (16-5) received 12 points from junior Dylan Cain and Sterrett finished with 11.
“We
knew they could hit shots,” Frontier coach Rush McColley said. “We were
a step slow getting to them a couple of times during that run.”
Zimmerman knew the Falcons would bring plenty of emotion to the sectional opener after Ream’s injury.
“Jon-Marc
is a heck of a player and he does a lot for them,” Zimmerman said. “To
be able to get a big lead was huge. We’re going to try and come back
Friday and do the same thing and hit some open shots.”
Barrett said his team’s composure helped thwart the scoring runs by the Falcons.
“We’ve
been in a lot of big games and played a lot of good competition,”
Barrett said. “We’ve been behind before and know how to fight back or
when things get tight.”
Once
Frontier slowed the Knights in transition, it was able to mount a
comeback after trailing 23-14 earlier in the second quarter. Despite
the injury to Ream, the Falcons entered the postseason winning three of
their last four.
“They
did a fabulous job,” McColley said of dealing with Ream’s injury. “We
came out ready to play. Our kids gave it everything they had.”
*Taken from the Lafayette Journal and Courier Online
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