STRONGSVILLE — The rest didn’t leave Oberlin in a slumber Saturday.
The third-seeded Phoenix shook off an almost four-week layoff to come away with a 78-62 victory over Dalton in a Division IV sectional championship game at Strongsville High School.
With the win, Oberlin (13-8) will face second-seeded Lutheran East in a district semifinal game on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
“I was nervous at the start since we hadn’t played for so long,” said Phoenix senior Steve Kilgore. “We knew that we had to play well or go home.”
Dalton’s biggest lead of the first half was seven points, 16-9, which came with 2:45 left in the first quarter when Travis Moyer drained his second 3-pointer. The Phoenix came back with an 8-1 run to make it a 17-all game after the first eight minutes.
The Bulldogs (5-17) scored the first four points of the second quarter. Oberlin responded with five unanswered before Dalton took a 25-22 lead.
The winners tied things up and went up 28-25 on a Kris Robinson 3-pointer with 1:12 left before the intermission. Baskets by Travis Lint and Gavin Hackett gave Dalton a 29-28 lead at halftime.
Dominique Stamper’s 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the third quarter gave Oberlin a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished. Two minutes later, Lint’s basket pulled the Bulldogs within one, 40-39, the closest they would come in the second half. A Hackett free throw with 4.3 seconds left in the quarter made it a 51-48 game with a quarter to play.
Stamper scored 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, and Dalton’s Derek Troyer answered with 7:00 left to play. Troyer’s basket was the last points for Dalton until Moyer made the second of two free throws with 4:57 left. The Bulldogs committed four turnovers and the Phoenix added eight points to their scorebook.
Oberlin led by as many as 17 points on two occasions and had an 18-point lead with 1:29 left, thanks to Kilgore’s last basket, before both benches took over for the final outcome.
“Coach Russell told us at halftime to go out and get things done,” said Kilgore. “My pressure defense rubs off on my teammates. We played hard and I guess things worked out for us very nicely.”
Second-year Phoenix coach Kurt Russell obviously was pleased with his team’s efforts, especially since they hadn’t played since a tough Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division loss at Clearview on Jan. 29.
“We knew coming in that we would probably be a little rusty,” he said. “Dalton stuck with us for a good while and applied some good pressure as well. Our strength and defensive pressure really showed up in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.
“Steve (Kilgore) has really been a force, coming off the bench. We’ve won seven games with this happening. Maybe, he’s our lucky charm. We hope this game gives us some momentum to keep our season going.”
Kilgore finished with a game-high 24 points, while Morgan Jones added 22. Stamper contributed 14, and Robinson had 11.
Moyer’s 13 points led the Bulldogs, while Hackett and J.T. Troyer added 11 apiece and Lint wound up with 10.
Contact Jerry Henson at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Oberlin 78, Dalton 62

OBERLIN (78): Dominique Stamper 6-1-14, Jaron Hicks 0-0-0, Austin Pinkston 0-0-0, Kris Robinson 3-2-11, Morgan Jones 7-5-22, Steve Kilgore 9-6-24, Tahron Roundtree 2-2-7, Shwaun Stevenson 0-0-0, Kristian Dotson 0-0-0. Totals 27-16-78.
DALTON (62): Aaron Nussbaum 0-0-0, Derek Troyer 2-0-4, Andy Beun 0-0-0, Brandon Reinhardt 0-0-0, Travis Moyer 5-1-13, Travis Lint 4-2-10, J.T. Troyer 5-1-11, Brock Gerber 2-1-5, Ryan Chupp 1-0-2, Scott Geiser 0-0-0, Zach Masters 3-0-6, Gavin Hackett 3-5-11, Logan Dwyer 0-0-0. Totals 25-10-62.
Oberlin    17    11    23        27     —    70
Dalton    17    12    19    14    —    62
Three-point goals: (O) Dominique Stamper, Kris Robinson 3, Morgan Jones 3, Tahron Roundtree; (D) Travis Moyer 2.

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