Inside St. Edward boys basketball's 50-42 win against Lima Senior in Division I Akron Regional final (videos)

  • 03/21 - 7:00 PM Boys BasketballFinal
    Lima Senior 42
    St. Edward 50
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TOLEDO, Ohio — Led by a game-high 22 points from Kipper Nichols, St. Edward's boys basketball team beat Lima Senior, 50-42, on Saturday in the Division I Akron Regional final at the University of Toledo.

Nichols had 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to send the defending champion Eagles back to Columbus, where they will play Huber Heights Wayne on Friday at 8:30 p.m. in a state semifinal.

"Getting back down there is hard," Nichols said. "I'm proud of my guys and what we did tonight."

The Eagles took control of the game with a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter. Nichols had nine points in a row in that run.

St. Edward (21-5) struggled against Lima Senior's aggressive man-pressure defense, which forced 19 turnovers. The Eagles countered by shooting 58 percent from the field.

Elijah Pughsley led Lima Senior (23-4) with 11 points.

What it means

St. Edward advanced to the state final four for the second year in a row and the third time in four years. The Eagles won the state title in 2014 and lost in the state semifinals in 2012.

"I'll be honest. I thought this year was a lot tougher," St. Edward coach Eric Flannery said. "I'm as proud if not more proud of this group right here because of that target not only being St. Ed's, but being defending state champs. I thought we've handled it extremely well."

St. Edward started strong with an 8-2 run to open the game. But Lima Senior's pressure got the Spartans back into the game.

The Spartans were relentless and aggressive in pressuring the ball and forcing turnovers all game.

Play of the game

Early in the third quarter, St. Edward's Sean Flannery threw an alley-oop to Derek Funderburk out of an inbounds play to give their team a 28-27 lead.

Critical run

After falling behind in the fourth quarter, St. Edward went on a 15-4 run led by Nichols to take a 47-38 lead with 1:48 to play. Nichols capped off the run by getting a steal and a layup from transition.

Who stood out for St. Edward

Nichols: The senior stepped up and was relentless in attacking the basket in the fourth quarter. He had 14 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter and went 10 for 12 from the free-throw line.

Funderburk: He was effective from the floor, scoring 10 points and blocking five shots in 31 minutes.

Mike Ryan: He had 12 points, two assists and four blocks to supplement Nichols' strong night. The trio of Nichols, Funderburk and Ryan combined for 44 of St. Edward's 50 points.

Who stood out for Lima Senior

Pughsley: The senior led the Spartans with 11 points in 31 minutes of play.

Xavier Simpson: He helped run the Lima Senior offense and finished with eight points and five assists.

St. Edward sound bites

Ryan on Nichols' fourth quarter: "Kipper is always the leader. He's been like that all year, consistently been a leader all year long. That's what he does, gets the job done."

Flannery on Nichols: "He wants the ball in his hands. He attacks the rim. I think when you're 6-foot-7, and you're physical and you can get to the basket and shoot the ball as well as he does, it's a pretty tough combination. And he just takes over the game."

Nichols on Lima Senior's defense: "A lot of credit goes to them, their coaching staff. Everything they did was unbelievable. Great on-ball defense by those guards. They're scrappy and they know how to win."

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