When you face a team for the ninth time in the last three seasons, there’s not many secrets left.
With that many matchups between Beechwood and Holy Cross in the 35th District, the two pretty much know what the other is eating for breakfast.
In a game that came down to defense, it was the Indians prowess on that end prevailing as they took down the Tigers, 45-31 in the boys 35th District tournament semifinals.
The Indians (22-8) held Beechwood scoreless over the final 6:43 of the game to pull away.
They can thank a fast start with a stingy finish for their victory and berth into the 9th Region tournament.
“Guys understood the assignment,” Indians coach Ricardo Johnson said. “We had a pretty good game plan. When we when we got our district match up, we knew what we needed to do. Just raise our level play on the defensive end. Stay true to our rules and our principles and we were able to come out victorious.”
The main assignment was to contain Beechwood sophomore Dylan Topmiller. With Amir Henderson and Braylon Thornberry hounding him all night, Topmiller finished with 15 points, but it did not come easy. He shot 4-of-18 from the field, 2-of-12 from deep and 5-of-10 from the free throw line.
“Those guys are tough, physical and fearless,” Johnson said. “Overall great team effort, we took great pride in our one-on-one defense and we finished the job with a rebound.”
It was a big moment for the sophomore in a jam packed Finn at Holy Cross, going up against a Holy Cross team that featured three seniors with over 200 games of varsity experience between them in Luke Arlinghaus, Brady Gabbard and Nate Rominger. The three combined to score 39 of the Indians 45 points.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
A nightmare start did Beechwood no favors. They had a first quarter where they made just one shot from the field, missed five free throws and turned it over four times. The end result: a 21-7 deficit after eight minutes of play.
“We knew there were going to be nerves,” Tigers coach Ross Hart said. “We talked about it. We hoped we’d kick it in the first minute. I told them you got one minute to get nervous, then we got to get over it. And unfortunately, I think it took us about one quarter before we before we got over it.”
The Tigers switched to a matchup zone in the second and the Indians struggled to adjust to it, scoring just four points, but the Beechwood shooting woes continues as they found themselves down 25-17 at the break.
Beechwood kept chipping away, they’d get within five in the third before headed to the fourth trailing 33-26. A Topmiller three followed by two Kingston Brockett free throws got the Tigers within two, the closest they’d been since it was 3-1 in the first quarter. Then the lid came on for the Tigers.
“Had multiple opportunities to get the lead and we kind of took some bad ones and couldn’t quite get over the hump,” Hart said. “That kind of forced our defense out of the zone because we just couldn’t quite get over the hump and score enough points.”
The intensity ramped up even more, but then so did the Indians defense. After a couple of Beechwood opportunities to tie or take the lead, Rominger converted on a layup and then Arlinghaus hit what felt like the dagger 3-pointer, making it 38-31 with two minutes to play. In a game like this, a seven-point deficit felt like 20.
“I practice that shot every day,” Arlinghaus said. “Just all the reps that counted off.”
The Tigers cold spell continued to the final buzzer as their surprising 20-win season came to an end.
“Only one of our seniors that played tonight was on the team last year,” Hart said. “A lot of people mentioned the word rebuild, and it was not a rebuild. We won 21 games, made it to the finals of our Christmas tournament, made a good run in the “A”, runner-up in district. You go on and on, and then having a Dylan Topmiller emerge like he has, he’s somebody that we can build around. And we got a lot of good pieces coming back and a lot of guys that are going to make the leap next year and I fully expect to be a contender not only in our district, but in the region next season.”
Brockett added eight points and nine rebounds for the Tigers. Topmiller and Brockett are two key returning pieces for the Tigers next season as they say goodbye to four seniors including starters Owen McCormack and Branton Stiles along with Quentin Knasel and Issac Popham.
Holy Cross now gets Covington Catholic in the 35th District championship on Friday at 7 p.m. The Colonels took down Holmes, 101-43 in the first game of the night. CovCath defeated Holy Cross 80-45 in the first matchup.
“Have to take care of the basketball and control transition defense,” Johnson said. “Take pride in our one-on-one defense. Those guys are playing well, they’re a top three team in the state and we get another opportunity. We’ll enjoy this one tonight and prepare for them and put our hard hats on tomorrow.”
COVINGTON CATHOLIC 101, HOLMES 43
The Bulldogs hung around for 12 minutes, then the turnover plague hit them and the Colonels made them pay.
At 33-21 with about four minutes left in the first half, turnovers started to mount for Holmes (12-17) and CovCath did what they do…make you pay for them.
“It seemed like after the four-minute mark of the second quarter, their half court pressure got to us,” Bulldogs coach Sam Elsbernd said. “I thought we did a good job handling it in the full court to start.”
The Colonels would end the half on a 24-5 run to take a 57-26 lead into halftime.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
Athens McGillis was white hot in the game’s first 16 minutes, scoring 30 points and his layup with 6:55 to go in the third got the game to a running clock at 61-26.
This is game one of what CovCath hopes is a lenghty postseason with aspirations to cut the nets down in Rupp Arena on March 21.
“We’ve just got to take it one day at a time and do what we do,” Colonels coach Jake Thelen said. “Every day is important form here on out.”
Despite the margin, Thelen wasn’t the happiest on how his team came out to start the game, coming off a loss to end the regular season to Madison Central, snapping a 20-game winning streak.
“I just wanted us to be tight and it’s hard after not playing for five days,” Thelen said. “Just getting a good rhythm and a good flow. I think it took us a little bit longer than I wanted us to, but after that first quarter, I think we started to get our flow and we started to settle in the game.”
McGillis led with 34 as 12 different Colonels entered the scoring column. Donovan Bradshaw added 11 points and nine rebounds. McGillis tallied seven steals as well.
For Holmes, 2025-26 was another step in the right direction. They won 12 games, giving them 27 in the past two seasons under Elsbernd. The two years prior they went 5-44.
“In two years we’ve made progress,” Elsbernd said. “Won a conference (NKAC), won a conference tourney (NKAC). Have competed with and beat a few teams that they had struggled with before I got here. Next year we have to set a goal to win a district game and get to NKU.”
They’ll lose seven seniors, most notably Mark McCutchen Jr., who ends his Bulldogs career as one of the top 10 scorers in program history with 1,619 points.
“Mark is a great player and unbelievable person,” Elsbernd said. “He’s gotten better every day. He works hard. He’s a student that our whole district can be proud of. I look forward to seeing him at the next level. He’s just truly a special person.”
Covington Catholic gets Holy Cross in Friday’s championship back at The Finn at 7 p.m.
Box scores from each game below:
INDIANS 45, TIGERS 31
HOLY CROSS — 21-4-8-12 — 45
BEECHWOOD — 7-10-9-5 — 31
Scoring
Holy Cross (45) — Rominger 17, Arlinghaus 12, Gabbard 10, Henderson 5, Thornberry 1
Beechwood (31) — Topmiller 15, Brockett 8, McCormack 6, Stiles 2
Game Stats
Field Goals: Holy Cross 17/41, Beechwood 9/37
3-Pointers: Holy Cross 3/14, Beechwood 2/20
Free Throws: Holy Cross 8/11, Beechwood 11/16
Rebounds: Holy Cross 30, Beechwood 24
Assists: Holy Cross 8, Beechwood 7
Steals: Holy Cross 5, Beechwood 3
Turnovers: Holy Cross 6, Beechwood 9
Fouls: Holy Cross 15, Beechwood 16
Records: Holy Cross 21-8, Beechwood 21-9
COLONELS 101, BULLDOGS 43
HOLMES — 14-12-10-7 — 43
COVCATH — 28-29-21-23 — 101
Scoring
Holmes (43) — McCutchen 18, Whitfield 10, Chames 7, Mayes 5, Rhodes 3
Covington Catholic (101) — McGillis 34, Bradshaw 11, Harney 9, Myrick 9, Bode 8, Gaiser 6, Brecount 6, Courtney 4, Myers 4, Stava 4, Hoyt 3, Smith 3
Game Stats
Field Goals: Holmes 18/37, CovCath 42/74
3-Pointers: Holmes 1/9, CovCath 10/24
Free Throws: Holmes 6/9, CovCath 7/14
Rebounds: Holmes 19, CovCath 35
Assists: Holmes 2, CovCath 18
Steals: Holmes 0, CovCath 17
Turnovers: Holmes 27, CovCath 9
Fouls: Holmes 14, CovCath 17
Records: Holmes 12-17, Covington Catholic 27-2