Columbus Academy 63, Cincinnati Summit Country Day 51
The Vikings punch their ticket to the state championship
SPRINGFIELD, OH - Columbus Academy is just one of two teams in Ohio that entered the state semifinals with an undefeated record, but according to their senior guard Theo Falkenhain, those past victories are irrelevant compared to what opportunities remained ahead.
On Friday night at Pam Evans Smith Arena at Wittenberg University, the 28-0 Vikings looked the part of a determined team not caught up in the pressure of maintaining a perfect record or reaching the program’s first state championship since 1981 as they defeated Cincinnati Summit Country Day 63-51, their sixth straight Division V playoff victory by double digits.
“Just go 1-and-0, it’s another game, it’s the same mindset,” Falkenhain said after the win. “Go out there, play hard and see what happens. We always can control our effort and our attitude.”
From that standpoint, the Vikings were in perfect control against a talented Silver Knights team who was in their first state tournament appearance since 2012.
Columbus Academy took their first lead of the game just under the four minute mark of the first quarter, in which a 17-5 run in the final 12 minutes of the first half allowed them to build a 26-13 lead into halftime. The Vikings would never trail for the remainder of the game, built a lead as high as 19 early in the fourth quarter and held the Silver Knights to 37.5% shooting from the field.
