Shawnee’s Dominic Lynch (4) battles for control of the basketball with Celina’s Jake Knapke (25) and Kaiden Werntz (15) during Shawnee’s 69-35 win in a Division II boys sectional championship Friday night at Shawnee.
Jackelyn Johnson | The Lima News
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — Shawnee was nearly perfect in the first 10 minutes of its 69-35 win over Celina in a Division II boys basketball sectional championship game on Friday night in Lappin Gymnasium.
If nearly perfect sounds like an embellishment of reality, consider these numbers:
By the time the two Western Buckeye League competitors had played two minutes into the second quarter, Shawnee had a 32-4 lead.
Shawnee hit 13 of its first 19 shots. Celina made 1 of its first 19 shots. Shawnee scored 18 unanswered points in the span of five minutes late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter.
Beckett Bertke scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Shawnee. Nick Pasion had 13 points and Trevick Bertke scored 11. Braylon Gabes’ 17 points led Celina (13-11).
Shawnee (17-6) will play Napoleon (16-8) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Liberty-Benton High School in a district semifinal game.
Shawnee’s ultra-fast start was very different from the way its 53-46 win over Celina during the regular season began.
“We were down 9-4 at the end of the first quarter when we played these guys at their place. We came out super flat. We really preached that we have to start fast. I thought our sense of urgency was really there where it needed to be,” Shawnee coach Mark Triplett said.
“It put them in a hole and then the basket starts getting a little tighter and smaller. I thought our guys’ sense of urgency was really good to start the game.,” he said.
“We got some guys going offensively and it wasn’t just Beck. That’s been a key for us of late. It’s been a variety of guys doing it on both ends of the floor.”
Shawnee’s three seniors – Dominic Lynch, Nick Pasion, and Alex Goldsberry – got a big win in their final home game at Shawnee.
Lynch said a fast start was emphasized in the days leading up to the game but what occurred early might have even exceeded expectations.
“We’ve been preaching all week to go hard, step on it fast, but not this hard. But I expected us to come out and do what we needed to do,” he said.
He and Pasion talked about how this year’s team being close and being connected has been one of the reasons for its success.
“We’re just a family. We love to do everything together. We just get the right energy when we’re with each other,” Lynch said.
Pasion said, “I can always count on these guys to come out and give 100 percent.”
Shawnee shot 61 percent on field goals (28 of 46) and hit nine 3-pointers. Celina shot 27 percent (14 of 52). Shawnee outrebounded the Bulldogs 35-29.
Shawnee 69, Celina 35
Score by quarters:
Celina 4 16 7 8 — 35
Shawnee 22 15 24 8 — 69
CELINA
Braylon Gabes 17, Kaiden Werntz 5, Caleb Gabes 3, Lennon Cisco 3, Jake Knapke 7. Totals: 14-2-35.
SHAWNEE
Beckett Bertke 22, Dominic Lynch 8, Alex Goldsberry 5, Nick Pasion 13, Trevick Bertke 11, Tate Bender 5, Max Goldsberry 3, Damola Ojo 2. Totals: 28-4-69.
Three-pointers: S – B. Bertke 3, Pasion 3, T. Bertke 1, Bender 1, M. Goldsberry 1; C – B. Gabes 2, Werntz 1, Cisco 1, Knapke 1.
Records: Shawnee 17-6; Celina 13-11
