VANDALIA — In a battle of two teams constructed in similar fashion, Miami East used a key third-quarter run to get past Indian Lake 60-51 in a Division III boys sectional basketball final here Friday night.
The top-seeded Vikings are now 23-2, while the 11th-seeded Lakers finish at 13-12.
Both teams featured standout junior guard duos, with the Vikings’ Wes Enis and Jacob Roeth coming it averaging a combined 40 points per game and Indian Lake’s Caiden Nicol and Camdon Tuttle averaging 34 points as a pair.
“We knew Enis and Roeth are great players,” said Indian Lake head coach Zach Overturf. “They had some other guys step up tonight, too. Give them a lot of credit.”
Enis poured in a game-high 31 points and Roeth had 17 points for the Vikings.
Tuttle powered the Lakers with 27 points, including 11 in the opening quarter, and Nicol contributed 12 points.
It was an evenly played game for much of the night. The turning point, though was a three-minute stretch in the third period in which the Vikings went on a clutch run.
The Vikings led 33-28 at halftime. Indian Lake cut that lead to three early in the third stanza.
However, Miami East rattled off nine straight points to open up a 12-point advantage (44-32) with 2:57 left in the quarter.
“They hit a lot of shots during that stretch and they also came up with some big offensive rebounds,” said Overturf.
The Vikings would lead by 11 points (46-35) at the end of the third. Indian Lake was unable to get closer than seven points in the final period.
“I was proud of our effort,” said Overturf. “The guys played hard until the final horn.”
Connor Apple chipped in eight points for Miami East and Logan Murphy added six for the Lakers.
Despite the season-ending loss, the Lakers remain upbeat after the immediate future as they will lose just one senior next season.
“The guys showed a ton of growth and gained a lot of valuable experience,” said Overturf. “We feel really good about what we have coming back for next year.”
The Vikings will play Mariemont in the district final next week.
MIAMI EAST 60
INDIAN LAKE 51
INDIAN LAKE (13-12)
Hall 1 0-0 3; Nicol 4 4-6 12; Pequignot 1 0-0 3; Tuttle 10 0-0 27; Murphy 3 0-0 6. Totals: 19 4-6 51.
MIAMI EAST (23-2)
Enis 11 6-7 31; Apple 4 0-0 8; Abshire 2 0-0 4; Roeth 7 2-2 17. Totals: 24 8-9 60.
Lakers. 13 15 7 16 — 51
Vikings. 18 15 13 14 — 60
Three pointers: Indian Lake 9 (Tuttle 7, Hall, Pequignot); Miami East 4 (Enis 3, Roeth). Team fouls: Indian Lake 14; Miami East 11.