However, Cardinal Stritch was able to regain the lead in the
final two minutes of the game and hold on for a 48-46 victory.

 

"I like how we responded. Our kids really dug down," Eastwood head coach Todd
Henline said. "To come back from 11 down against a team with the quality of guards that they had,
we had to work our tails off to do that.

 

"To our kids credit we battled and even took the lead late in the game," he
continued. "We actually ran some things and we got the looks that we wanted (in the final two
minutes) we just didn’t hit a shot. And when we didn’t hit a shot, they got out and got a layup or foul
shots opportunities."

 

Stritch (21-4) advances to the regional semifinal Wednesday at the Stroh Center against Archbold at
8 p.m. Eastwood finishes the season at
20-5.

 

"I’m just proud of our guys, it’s all team and effort and defending. Our guys have
totally bought into defending," Cardinal Stritch head coach Jamie Kachmarik
said.

 

The Eagles got a spark from Tyler Haas’ 3-pointer just before the buzzer ended the third
quarter. The triple cut Stritch’s lead to 34-32.

 

Logan Frobose connected on an off-balance jumper in the lane with 5:08 to play in the game to give Eastwood its first
lead, 36-35.

 

Haas then scored to make it 38-35 with 3:13 remaining, but Strtich’s Collin Yost nailed a
triple from the right corner to tie the game at 38 with 2:50 left.

 

Dalton Andrews hit a tough jumper from about five feet out on the right baseline to give
Eastwood its final lead of the game, 40-38, with 2:04 left.

 

Jordan Burton’s 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining put Stritch ahead to stay. It was
Burton’s second big 3-pointer in three
days. His triple forced overtime on
Thursday against Genoa in a game Stritch eventually won
53-49.

 

"He’s a big-time gamer. He took them last year as a freshman and now he’s taking them
now as a sophomore," Kachmarik said about Burton. "The kid has heart and he plays extremely
hard on both ends, so you have to reward him and let him shoot it some times."

 

A three-point play from freshman Joey Holifield helped Stritch take a 46-40 lead with 57.4
seconds left.

 

Eastwood’s Cade Boos made two 3-pointers in the final 22.1 seconds of the game, but
Stritch was able to hang on for the win.

 

"In the last two minutes of the game, we had to work for our buckets where they
either got a layup or some free throws," Henline said. "It made it tough on us to score; it
put a lot of pressure on our offense."

 

During timeouts in the final minutes, Kachmarik said he told his team that they had
experience in close games on the tournament trail while Eastwood did not and that they had to defend to
win.

 

To start the game, Eastwood missed its first five shots.

 

"I think we came out a little jittery," Henline said. "We weren’t
aggressive and we missed some shots we normally knock down in those situations. I attribute it to a
little bit of nerves."

 

"I told them we had to come out of the locker room and show them we were ready,"
Kachmarik said about the quick start.

 

Due in part to its 11-0 start, Stritch held a 14-8 lead after eight
minutes.

 

The Eagles stayed close in the second quarter due in part of three 3-pointers from
Frobose, but the Cardinals took a 27-23 lead into the half.

 

Neither team generated much offense in the third quarter with Eastwood scoring the final
seven points of the quarter to trail 34-32 going into the final eight minutes.

 

Holifield finished with a game-high 14 points, going 8-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Burton added 11 points.

 

Cardinal Stritch was 15-of-23 from the free-throw line and Eastwood was
3-of-8.

 

Frobose led the Eagles with 11 points, Boos scored 10 and Andrews came off the bench to
contribute eight points.

 

While Eastwood did not achieve its goal of a regional appearance, the Eagles finished in a
tie for first place in the Northern Buckeye Conference while winning 20 games.

 

"Right now it’s disappointing. You can’t fault our effort, but you can’t start the
game down 11-0 and expect to take care of business," Henline said.

 

CARDINAL STRITCH 48, EASTWOOD 46

CARDINAL STRITCH

Taylor, 3-0—6; Dunsmore, 1-1-1—6; Burton, 2-1-4—11; Adams, 0-0—0; Holifield, 3-8—14;
Anderson, 0-2—2; Yost, 0-3-0—9; Pratt, 0-0—0. TOTALS: 9-5-15—48.

EASTWOOD

Haas, 2-1-0—7; Boos, 1-2-2—10; Hirzel, 0-0—0; Reiter, 2-0—4; Frobose, 1-3-0—11; Coffman,
1-1-1—6; Andrews, 4-0—8; Henline, 0-0—0; DeWese. TOTALS: 11-7-3—46.

CARDINAL STRITCH       14           13           7          
14          —48

EASTWOOD     8           15           9          14           —46