Friday’s Beechwood-Holy Cross game had a little of a lot.
The Indians held on for a 61-59 win behind Luke Arlinghaus’ 19 points and Nate Rominger’s 16. Holy Cross clinched the 2-seed in the boys 35th District beginning Feb. 26 in Fort Mitchell. (Covington Catholic clinched the top seed with Tuesday’s 78-55 win over Holy Cross, and Holmes is the 4-seed.)
Holy Cross also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Tigers.
“(Beechwood’s) the reigning (Ninth Region) All “A” champs,” Indians coach Ricardo Johnson said. “I thought our guys was ready to go from the jump.”
But there was significantly more.
Start with sensational shooting. Beechwood shooting guard Jack Sullivan led all scorers with 24 points, including 5-of-9 from three.
Continue with redemption. Rominger didn’t score a point in the Indians’ 50-41 loss to Beechwood in the Ninth Region All “A” tournament quarterfinals Jan. 15 at Dayton, but he torched the Indians for 12 in Friday’s first half and was 7-of-14 from the field for the night.
“It was definitely on my mind,” Rominger said of the January shutout. “I let my team down the first time, and I feel like I needed to show up (Friday) – definitely more on offense compared to last game.”
Keep going with rebounding. Holy Cross edged Beechwood, 27-26. The Indians’ Will McElheney grabbed 14 to go with 12 points; Kingston Brockett led the Tigers with seven.
McElheney also had five assists and a block and only two turnovers – pretty strong numbers for someone with a severely swollen right pinkie finger.
“I broke it a while ago; I’m three weeks out of surgery,” McElheney said. “It’s a little harder to shoot, but I’m getting used to it.”
And finish with suspense – 17 lead changes (including eight in the third quarter) and two ties.
Holy Cross also dominated Beechwood in the paint, 30-18, and second-chance points, 10-4. The Indians committed only seven turnovers while forcing 12 Beechwood miscues.
This meant Beechwood endured another nightmare on Church Street – the Tigers are 5-27 overall, and they haven’t beaten the Indians in Latonia since 2019.
“Whenever you’re playing a district rival like this, you figure it’s always going to be a good one,” Beechwood coach Ross Hart said. “They put us in a lot of pick-and-roll situations; I didn’t think we guarded it very well in the first half. Made some adjustments in the second half. I think we guarded it much better.”
Nonetheless, Beechwood has enjoyed a strong 25 days—the Tigers (14-8, 1-2 in the district) are 7-3 over their last 10.
Holy Cross (12-8, 2-1) started with a 6-1 run in a little more than two minutes. McElheney drove baseline left to right before finding Brady Gabbard alone in the paint.
The next run was Beechwood’s 8-0 streak. Sullivan finished it with a top-of-the-key 3 with 2:22 left in the first. McElheney’s offensive rebound and put-back of Gabbard’s miss with :03 to go.
In the second stanza, when there seemed no way for Beechwood to break a 28-28 tie, the Tigers found a Way – Ayden Way’s three from the left corner.
McElheney turned in what may have been the flashiest defensive play when he blocked Sullivan’s shot with a little more than three minutes to go in the third quarter – it led to Gabbard’s breakaway dunk.
Holy Cross finished the quarter with some late left-side scoring – Gabbard’s 3 from the wing and Arlinghaus’ long, far one from the corner put the Indians up 52-51 with a quarter to go.
After Sullivan’s three with 2:32 remaining gave Beechwood its last lead at 56-55, McElheney’s offensive rebound and put-back and two Arlinghaus free throws led a 6-3 finishing run.
“We’re going to see them again within two weeks,’ Johnson said. “So I know Coach Hart is a pretty good coach; he’s going to make adjustments and do what he needs to do.”
The two will play again the last week of February, that one means the winner goes to the region tournament, the loser’s season ends.
INDIANS 61, TIGERS 59
BEECHWOOD — 16-15-20-8 – 59
HOLY CROSS — 17-13-22-9 – 61
Beechwood (59) — Blackburn 11, Way 8, Brockett 13, Sullivan 24, Coppage 3. 3-Pt. FG: 11 (Sullivan 5, Way 2, Brockett 2, Blackburn, Coppage). FT: 6-10. Rebounds: 26 (Brockett 7, McCormack 4, Way 4). Fouls: 13. Fouled out: Way. Turnovers: 12.
Holy Cross (61) — Urlage 5, Arlinghaus 19, Rominger, 16, Gabbard 9, McElheney 12. 3-Pt. FG: 6 (Arlinghaus 4, Urlage, Gabbard). FT: 6-11. Rebounds: 27 (McElheney 14, Rominger 6). Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 7.
Records: Beechwood 14-8 (1-2 in the 35th District), Holy Cross 12-8 (2-1).