ONE WIN AWAY
Lomega boys deny New Lima upset bid to lay claim to regional championship; now single victory shy of state
LOMEGA RAIDERS vs. NEW LIMA FALCONS — LOMEGA’S Riley Lumpkin gets past a New Lima defender for two points during his team’s regional championship win Saturday. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simons-sports-photos. smugmug.com]
New Lima had one big upset notched on its belt.
Lomega made sure it didn’t get another.
The Raiders put themselves within one win of the Class B state tournament Saturday by knocking off New Lima 57-43 in their regional championship at Cashion.
The No. 13-ranked Raiders now play second-ranked Paden at 8 p.m. Friday in Cleveland for the area championship.
The area champ moves on to state while the loser plays Saturday for another shot in the area consolation title game.
“We’re playing together with a lot of confidence on both ends of the floor right now,” Lomega coach Justin Edsall said after his team won its fifth straight game to improve to 20-8.
A back-and-forth first quarter saw Lomega take a 16-13 lead over the Falcons.
But the Raider defense got stingy and allowed just 17 points over the next 16 minutes.
That allowed them to open up an 11-point halftime lead, one in which the Falcons never made a serious dent.
Riley Lumpkin and Dilon Fisher were a big part of the second-quarter surge.
Lumpkin scored seven points and Fisher five in a 17-point quarter.
In the fourth, the Raiders went to their stalwart, Noah Snowden.
The junior post responded.
He scored 13 of his game-high 24 points down the stretch.
That included four field goals and going 5 of 6 from the foul line. Fisher and Tate Ott went a combined 4 for 4 from the charity stripe as well.
Fisher ended his night with 13 points and Lumpkin scored 12.
Paden, a state semifinalist last year, is currently 27-1. Its only loss is to No. 5 Varnum.