Rossford junior Jake Morrison, left, drives to the basket against Columbian’s Jacob Weingart during the second quarter of a sectional final game Friday at Genoa High School.
Scott W. Grau | Sentinel-Tribune
GENOA — Rossford knew from firsthand how good Tiffin Columbian 6-foot-4 junior guard Logan Beaston was, going into their Division II sectional final against the Tornadoes at Genoa High School Friday.
Even though Rossford players had played AAU ball alongside Beaston over the summer, he showed little mercy, scoring 26 points to lead the Tornadoes past the Bulldogs, 63-48.
Beaston, who reached the 1,000-point career plateau during an 85-63 win over Sandusky Perkins on Feb. 5, went 7-for-13 from the field, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc Friday.
Beaston also had two assists and three steals as the Tornadoes’ defense forced 16 Rossford turnovers, while Columbian had just eight.
Junior guard Brendan Revels led the Bulldogs with 20 points and three assists and junior guard Jake Morrison had 11 points and six rebounds.
Tiffin Columbian (18-5) advances to take on Sandusky (18-4) at the Lake district tournament, while Rossford sees its season end at 17-7. The Bulldogs were thrown into a tough sectional this season.
Of the four teams playing in two sectional final games at Genoa Friday, three had 17 wins or more, making it more like a district competition from the onset.
Only one Rossford player graduates, 6-foot-2 senior guard Ben Morrison, so coach Brian Vorst gave some words of encouragement during a long talk in the locker room after the game.
“I’m proud of the growth the kids showed this year,” Vorst said. “We talked about what it takes to get to that next level, achieving your dream and reaching those goals and how difficult it is and how much time it takes.”
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were playing without 6-foot-8 junior center Derek Vorst, who was injured earlier in the week and showed up at Genoa Friday walking on crutches.
“He was kind of the center of what we do, and unfortunately, he wasn’t able to play tonight, and we had to deal with that injury,” said coach Vorst, Derek’s father.
They brought in 6-foot-5 Gavin Linkous, who played last year and was a standout football lineman in the fall.
Linkous rejoined the team in time for the tournament game, and after some paperwork was completed with the OHSAA to restore his eligibility, he gave four-and-a-half quality minutes, mostly on defense, garnering one steal.
However, coach Vorst was most proud of his team’s effort in the first half, playing to a 24-24 tie at intermission.
“I thought our kids responded tremendously. They played so hard. They played well together. I thought we played fast,” Vorst said.
“I thought we were rock solid in the first half. I loved the intensity we played with. Defensively, I thought the first half was the best effort we had all year.”
After intermission, Columbian opened on a 17-4 run, taking advantage of four steals, including two by Beaston, and scored repeatedly in transition.
“Something happened — they came out and got easy baskets,” Vorst said. “We turned it over a little bit. They got shots in transition, and they hit them.”
The Tornadoes shot 49% (18-for-37) from the field, including 50% (8-for-16) from downtown and 79% (19-for-24) from the charity stripe. Columbian had 15 points off turnovers to the Bulldogs’ two points.
Rossford shot 36% (14-for-39) from the floor, including 4-for-17 (24%) from beyond the arc and the Bulldogs made 16-of-19 (84%) free throws.
For Rossford, junior Jeremiah McIlroy scored eight points, Ben Morrison scored seven, and junior Garrette Murphree added two points.
For the Tornadoes, senior guard Bryce Burns had 14 points and two assists and sophomore guard Brayden Roggow had eight points and four rebounds.
Columbian senior forward Jaden Myers and senior guard Jacob Weingart scored five apiece, senior guard Cyrus Burden scored three points and sophomore forward Bryce Roggow added two points.
