The two had played in the season opener at Piketon with Waverly earning a five point victory. With the 2019-20 campaign on the line, it was Warren coming out on top 45-42 to advance to Thursday’s District Final with Logan Elm at The Convo.
Warren’s Brandon Simoniette was held to just three points in the first half, but finished the final 13 minutes with 14 more. It all started with about 5 minutes left in the third period with the Warriors going scoreless and Waverly held a 24-22 advantage.
It turned out to be the turning point in the game.
Warren’s Blaine Maddox said it was time to place some weight on the shoulders of his senior “We do that sometimes, but we didn’t quit. We kept battling and Simoniette with about with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, I said ‘This is your time, bud… This is it for you’ and he turned it on.
Waverly’s Travis Robertson said Simoniette (17 points) hit some timely shots for Warren. “He played a great game tonight” said Robertson. “We knew he was their best perimeter guy… We were supposed to be going up top over all those screens, we had breakdowns. When you have breakdowns you pay for them.”
The Tigers trailed 14-8 before closing the fist period on a 7-0 run and the game was knotted at 22 by the half.
Trey Robertson found Tanner Smallwood for a shot to beat the buzzer to give Waverly a 35-32 lead to close the third quarter.
The nail in the coffin for Waverly was a three pointer by Joel Chevalier to put Warren up 43-41 to take the lead for good.
Waverly finished its season 19-5 while Warren (16-9) plays Logan Elm for the District Championship Thursday.
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