Boys district basketball: Oberlin locks down on defense, advances to district title game

OBERLIN — Lockdown defense usually takes teams far in the postseason. Oberlin held Rootstown to just nine field goals, connecting on 32 percent of its shots, and methodically found enough offense for a 47-27 win in their Division VI, Northeast 4 district semifinal Monday night. "It's crazy because all through my years of playing it hasn't been the way I wanted it to, so doing it this last year is special to me," said senior Korrie Freeman, who led Oberlin with 15 points and added three rebounds and three steals. "Through practice, we really emphasize defense and learn how we click, we take defense really seriously. We take pride in it, we want to snatch the ball every chance we get." No. 10-seeded Oberlin (15-9) will face No. 1 Kirtland (21-3) — which won 59-51 against No. 27 St. Thomas Aquinas (9-14) in its district semifinal — in the district championship hosted by Salem High School on Saturday at 7 p.m. No. 17 Rootstown concluded its season at 11-13. The Phoenix will be chasing their first district championship since 2016, giving their seniors a high note to end their careers on after three straight losing seasons, including a 3-20 record in 2023-24. "It could not have happened to a bunch of finer young men," Oberlin coach Kurt Russell said. "Just nice kids who want to do well. They really listen at practice and they have a great work ethic, so it means so much. The last couple of years we struggled, so being able to get double-digit wins and go to a district final means a lot." Points were at a premium for the opening four minutes with Oberlin nursing a 1-0 lead. The Phoenix were 0-of-6 from the field, missing two 3-pointers, while Rootstown was 0-of-8, attempting seven 3-pointers. A'son Bell got the first field goal of the game with 3:40 to play and that kicked off a combined 16 points for the two teams, with Freeman contributing four for Oberlin as it pushed its lead to 11-6. Rootstown only scored nine first-half points with Oberlin limiting it to one field goal and three points for the first 4:30 of the second quarter and taking a 21-9 lead on what was a 14-3 run, stretching back to the 1:50 mark of the first quarter. "We are not a great offensive team," Russell said. "So we know we can't get into a shootout, but we can really lock teams down. So far in this tournament, we've done that and we hope it can continue." Part of Rootstown's struggles was from 3-point range, even when it had open looks. It shot just 1-of-11 from three in the first half and 3-of-17 for the game. Oberlin didn't shoot much better from downtown, going 3-of-13, but shot 17-of-33 from inside the arc and forced the Rovers into 21 turnovers, 10 of those coming on Oberlin steals. Joining Freeman in double figures were Carmello Williams with 12 points — adding a team-high nine rebounds and two steals — and Drew Walter with 10 points. "We got a couple of players who love to shoot around the paint," Freeman said. "But our main objective was to get into the paint, let our bigs work and then when they collapse kick it out and make the play from there." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Oberlin 47, Rootstown 27 ROOTSTOWN (27): Ethan White 2-0-5, Blake Mullaly 2-3-8, Carson Hayn 1-0-3, Noah Zager 0-0-0, Landon Rodstrom 1-0-2, Mason Lisi 2-0-4, Dean Abdlrasul 1-2-4, Nigel Wright 0-1-1, Caleb Fillmore 0-0-0. Totals 9-6-27. OBERLIN (47): Korrie Freeman 7-0-15, Jozayah Smith 2-0-4, Carmello Williams 5-2-12, A'son Bell 2-1-6, Drew Walter 4-1-10, Julean Page 0-0-0, Santos Navarro 0-0-0. Totals 20-4-47. Rootstown 6 11 5 5 — 27 Oberlin 11 16 11 9 — 47 Three-point goals: Rootstown 3-17 (Hayn, Mullaly, White), Oberlin 3-13 (Bell, Freeman, Walter). Field goals: Rootstown 9-28 (32 percent), Oberlin 20-46 (44 percent). Free throws: Rootstown 6-10 (60 percent), Oberlin 4-6 (67 percent). Rebounds: Rootstown 21 (Mullaly 6), Oberlin 17 (Williams 9). Total fouls: Rootstown 7, Oberlin 9. Turnovers: Rootstown 21, Oberlin 7.