The Division II Bowling Green Regional Championship wouldn’t be decided until the final seconds but a dramatic finish would conclude with Lexington cutting down the nets as 65-64 victors over Bay.

 

The Minutemen got off to a slow start, turning the ball over 7 times in the opening frame as they fell behind 13-9.

The Rockets (20-7) widened their advantage to 30-25 by the half, pulling down 8 offensive rebounds in the first two-quarters of play. After shooting 10-26 (38%) from the field in the opening half, Lexington then put together a 24-18 run in the 3rd quarter with a 10-13 (77%) shooting performance.

 

The Minutemen would continue their efficient offensive attack in the 4th; making 6-8 attempts (75%) to build a 7-point cushion before Bay came storming back to take a 1-point lead with 16 seconds remaining in the game. Lexington junior forward Josh Aiello then canned an elbow jumper to put the Minutemen on top with under 7 seconds to play and they would dodge a pair of quality Bay attempts to survive as Regional Champs.

 

Cade Stover led Lex with 20 pts & 9 rebs, Ben Vore added 14 pts & 4 rebs, Bryant Givand 11 pts & 4 rebs and Mason Kearns scored 9 and handed out 7 assists. RJ Sunahara was the Rockets top threat scoring a game-high 23 pts with Erik Painter dropping 18.

 

Lexington (23-5) now moves on to the State Final Four for the first time since 1991 where they will face #9 Akron St Vincent-St Mary (19-8) for a spot in the D2 State Championship.