PALMYRA, OH- The #24 seed Southeast Pirates welcomed in the #34 Beachwood Bison for a Sectional semifinal matchup on Tuesday evening. The Pirates were looking to carry the momentum of a big win over Aquinas into the tournament while the Bison were looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Chardon.
The Bison jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after a Daniel Rub three and a Jaden Koonce bucket prompting an early 30 second timeout by Southeast coach Matt Dillon. After a Garrett Sprutte bucket for Southeast, Beachwood would rattle off another five straight to take a 10-2 lead. The Pirates outscored the Bison 10-6 the rest of the quarter but trailed 16-12 after one.
Things remained tight throughout the second quarter. Southeast would go on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 20 three minutes in. They would take their first lead at the midway point after a Case Myers score put them up 24-22. Beachwood came right back taking a three point lead 27-24 after a pair of Koonce free throws. Southeast would score on a nice fast break touch pass from Myers to Zach Keto to end the half.
The Pirates would end the half on an 8-2 run to take a 32-29 lead into the half. Sprutte led the way for the Pirates with 13 first half points.
After the teams exchanged buckets to start the third, Garrett Sprutte was fouled on a corner three point attempt. He would hit all three before a Cohen Richardson score put them up 39-31. Beachwood would cut it back to six at 41-35 before Southeast would take their biggest lead of the game at 46-35 following buckets from Sprutte and Myers. They held a nine point lead 48-39 after three.
Beachwood was not ready to go away. They began the final quarter on an 8-2 run with big three balls from Nick Reese and CJ Payton. That cut the deficit to 50-47. Southeast pushed it out to four at 53-49 following a Sprutte bucket. However the Bison struck back with a three ball from Daniel Rub and a layup by Payton that gave them the lead at 54-53 with under three minutes to play. It was their first lead since late in the second quarter. That would be the final points for the Bison as Southeast scored the final ten points of the game, all from Garrett Sprutte. A big and one conversion started the run.
The final four points came on free throws after Bison guard CJ Payton lost his cool after a foul call and was ejected following his second technical foul. After a fourth quarter scare, the Pirates prevailed 63-54.
Sprutte led the way with 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Pirates. CJ Payton was tops for Beachwood with 18 points before his ejection.
Southeast will host the #31 seed Crestview Rebels on Friday at 7:00 PM.
Unofficial stats:
Southeast:
Garrett Sprutte: 34 ppts, 13 reb
Case Myers: 8 pts, 12 reb, 2 blk
Cohen Richardson: 8 pts
Beachwood:
CJ Payton: 18 pts
Jaden Koonce: 14 pts
Daniel Rub: 11 pts