Southern Dominates Whiteoak in District Semifinal
By: Seth Lee
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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WOUB) — The Southern Tornados travelled to Southeastern High School for the Division VII Southeast District Semifinal against the Whiteoak Wildcats. The top seeded Southern came in heavily favored against the eight seed Whiteoak. 13 of the Tornados’ 20 wins were by 20 or more points.
The first quarter saw Southern get aggressive on defense forcing four steals in the first quarter and Reed Brinager spearheaded the transition game scoring eleven in the first. Andre Chandler’s off ball defense stunted the Whiteoak offense. The Tornados aggression cost them four fouls and majority of the Wildcats points came from free throws. Southern would lead 23-12 after one.
In the second quarter, Southern shot the lights out from deep. Chandler led the way shooting six for six in the first half, including a perfect four for four from three. The Tornados just couldn’t stay out of foul trouble and would end the first half with a total of seven fouls. Whiteoak on the other hand had only one. Chandler would almost outscore the Wildcats in the first half with 16 points for a 41-19 lead going into the break.
Coming out of the break, the Tornados kept their foot on the gas. The Wildcats just couldn’t get a shot to fall, and Noah Leachman would find his footing from three drilling both his attempts. Southern would continue its dominance 52-28
Southern would ride out its lead into the end of the game as youngsters Caden Hupp, Rece Johnson, Jerry Johnson, Connor Fisher, and Paxtyn Hoffman would all see significant minutes late in this game. Johnson would drill a dagger to put this one to rest 63-34.
Southern dominated from the get-go with Reed Brinager and Andre Chandler taking the reins early; Whiteoak struggled to outscore Brinager and Chandler on multiple occasions. Whiteoak finished the game without a single-made three-point attempt. This was a major factor in the game tonight as Southern just couldn’t seem to miss from deep downtown. The Tornados were 11/19 from three while Whiteoak was a measly 0/11 from beyond the arc.
Southern will play in The Convocation Center on Sunday at 6 p.m. against Notre Dame for the District Championship. Whiteoak finishes its season 10-14 and will look to rebound next year.