IN TRAFFIC … Delta’s Kade Lintermoot muscles up a shot over Eastwood’s Drew Kachmarik.
(PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
DRIVING TO THE HOOP … Delta guard Vincent Martinez draws contact and the foul on a drive in the first half at Eastwood.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
PEMBERVILLE (February 21, 2025) – Eastwood blistered the nets in the second half by going 14/22 from the floor, including 6/10 from long range, and put 41 points on the board to pull away for a 62-51 Division V sectional final win.
Eastwood freshman Brayden Luidhardt hit the first two of the Eagles’ nine three balls and after a layup by Andre Lewis it was quickly 10-2 in the opening minutes.
Delta leading scorer Tyson Bower would then get in the scoring column with a triple before later adding a layup to trim the Eastwood advantage to 13-10.
Bower would then be whistled for his second foul with just 16.7 seconds left in the first quarter and Delta down 15-10.
The Panthers responded with a 9-0 run as Vincent Martinez ended the first with a trey from the top of the key, followed by two scores inside by Kade Lintermoot and a layup by Alex York to start the second quarter to push the Delta lead to 19-15.
Back-to-back hoops from Kadyn Donnel pulled Elmwood even at 19-19, but Aston Alig drilled a three from the right corner as the Panthers led 22-21 at halftime.
With Bower back on the floor, he quickly went to work with a bucket in the lane before Luidhardt started Eastwood’s shooting exhibition in the second half with a trey to tie the game at 24.
The teams traded buckets to remain tied 26-26 before a flurry of triples by both teams with Dayquan Oliver dialing one up from the right side for a 29-26 Eastwood lead.
Alig’s three-pointer briefly tied the game again, this time 29-29, before Luidhardt would drill consecutive long balls to give them a 35-29 advantage.
Bower then rang the bell from the right side but once again Luidhardt had the answer for Eastwood with a corner triple for a 38-32 lead.
Alig would find the range one more time from the left corner as the teams had combined for seven straight three pointers and the Eastwood lead was 38-35 when the dust settled.
The Eagles closed their 23-point third quarter burst with a pair of field goals inside to take a 44-36 lead to the final frame.
Luidhardt hit his fifth triple of the second half to open fourth quarter scoring and Schumaker scored on a drive to increase the lead to 49-36.
Bower registered the next seven Delta points as he scored twice on offensive rebounds, the second one leading to a three-point play, and scored on a drive to bring the Panthers to within 49-43.
A Lewis layup and Schumaker going 1/2 at the line made it 52-43 but Bower was fouled on a three-pointer and hit all three free throws to keep Delta (10-13) close at 52-46 with 3:18 to go.
After trading buckets to make it 54-48, Luidhardt got a bucket and went 2/2 at the line to push the Eagles’ lead back to double figures at 58-48 before going 4/4 at the stripe in the final minute to close out the win.
Luidhardt dropped a game-high 31 points for Eastwood, with 25 coming in the second half. Schumaker also reached double digits for Eastwood (11-12) with 11.
After being limited to five points in the first half due to foul trouble, Bower had 17 after the break for a team leading 22.
DELTA (51) – Martinez 5; Alig 9; Bower 22; Gibbons 0; Morr 3; York 8; Lintermoot 4; Hallett 0; Totals: 11-7-8 – 51
EASTWOOD (62) – Kachmarik 3; D. Luidhardt 4; Schumaker 11; Messinger 0; Lewis 6; Oliver 3; Donnell 4; B. Luidhardt 31; Totals: 13-9-9 – 62
DHS 13 9 14 15 – 51
EHS 15 6 23 18 – 62
GAME STATISTICS
DELTA: FG – 18/46 (39%); FT – 8/11 (73%); Rebounds – 24 (7 offensive); Turnovers – 12; EASTWOOD: FG – 22/46 (48%); FT – 9/14 (64%); Rebounds – 22 (5 offensive); Turnovers – 9