Boys Basketball: Keystone gives unbeaten Division V state power Genoa a fight before falling 74-69

CASTALIA — If there is a postseason rematch of Keystone's 74-69 loss to Genoa in a few weeks, no one is going to be disappointed. The Wildcats faced the Comets on Saturday at the Margaretta Turney Tip-Off in a matchup between two of the best teams in Division V, which featured three All-Ohio players from last season, and they looked it. Colt Cowling and Liam Goran followed up scoring 60 combined points Friday night by combining for 50 against Genoa, who got 33 points from Ashland commit Walter Plantz. The undefeated Comets started the game strong, going up multiple possessions early in the first quarter, but the Wildcats responded with a run of their own to tie the game at 19 after one, something that would become a theme of the game. "I thought they came out and punched us in the face," Keystone coach Jeff Holzhauer said. "I didn't know if we were going to respond or not, and we did. I'm just so proud of our guys, and we had guys that weren't afraid to make plays tonight." Genoa tried to pull away again in a second quarter, highlighted by a pair of huge dunks — first a two-handed putback from Ty Asman, whose celebration earned him a technical foul, and then a one-handed jam that Plantz threw down after spinning away from Emory Fedor. Keystone answered again, this time led by a pair of Ty Holzhauer threes, and was able to take the lead briefly before going into the half down 36-35. "That's as well as we've battled all year," Holzhauer said. "I don't think there's a team besides Lutheran East in our district that can play with these guys, and that puts us in a really good position confidence-wise." The third quarter followed a similar pattern, and this time it was the entire team getting hot that kept the Wildcats in the game as they hit five of their school-record 16 threes in the quarter, three from Cowling and one each from Holzhauer and Brendan Hagerman. It was Plantz doing most of the work for the Comets, scoring 10 of their 17 points in the quarter to give him 24 heading into the final quarter. "Walter has been awesome all year, but that's the best game I've seen him play," Holzhauer said. "He was just possessed. We shoot 39 percent from three, set a school record with 16, and we don't win because they've got a 6(-foot-)8 kid that was just so efficient." Plantz added nine more points in the fourth quarter for good measure, but Keystone's undoing came on the other side of the ball as Genoa tweaked its defense to make sure its run early in the fourth would give it the win. "They went to that 2-3 zone," Holzhauer said. "And we're a good zone offensive team, but it just stopped us in our tracks, and that's why you switch defenses. We stopped moving the ball and we got too cute with where we wanted the ball." Even Goran's huge fourth quarter, in which he scored all 17 of his team's points and knocked down five 3-pointers, was not enough to bring the Wildcats back, but they certainly made a statement Saturday. "We can play with anybody in Division V in the state of Ohio," Holzhauer said. "We're confident and we're looking forward to the postseason so we can prove that." Before they get there, however, the Wildcats will take on Firelands and Wellington and then attempt to avenge their only Lorain County League loss of the season in their regular season finale against Brookside. Contact Will Cunningham at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Genoa 74, Keystone 69 KEYSTONE (69): Liam Goran 11-2-31, Ty Holzhauer 3-0-9, Brendan Hagerman 2-0-5, Devin Thigpen-Walker 0-0-0, Emory Fedor 2-1-5, Bobby Gurich 0-0-0, Colt Cowling 6-2-19. Totals 24-5-69. GENOA (74): Jacob Woolard 3-0-7, Jax Magnone 5-1-11, Walter Plantz 15-3-33, Ryan Routson 3-8-14, Logan Routson 1-0-2, Ty Asman 2-0-4, Myles Mollenhauer 2-1-3. Totals 31-12-74. Keystone 19 16 17 17 — 69 Genoa 19 17 17 21 — 74 Three point field goals: Keystone (Goran 7, Cowling 5, Holzhauer 3, Hagerman), Genoa (Woolard). Field goals: Keystone 24-67 (35.8 percent), Genoa 31-49 (63.3 percent). Free throws: Keystone 5-7 (71.4 percent), Genoa 12-20 (60 percent). Rebounds: Keystone 24, Genoa 27. Turnovers: Keystone 7, Genoa 9. Team fouls: Keystone 19, Genoa 6.