Connor McKim and Pierce Kiesler provided a devastating combination for St. Xavier in the Tigers’ 68-55 victory over Eastern in a Class Act Seventh Regional boys semifinal Friday at Valley.
McKim, the region’s player of the year, scored 30 points, and the center Kiesler added 16 in making all eight of his shots. They helped the Tigers (23-9) dominate early, as they never trailed after the game’s first 1:50.
In the first half, St. X shot 57.1 percent, making 16 of 28 shots, but the Tigers also grabbed nine offensive rebounds off those misses as they led by as much as 37-19 late in the second quarter.
Kiesler scored 10 of his points in the second, all during a 2:45 stretch. Four of the five baskets coming off easy layups when his teammates fed the ball up high to the 6-7 sophomore.
“I bet all eight of those shots came off assists,” Kiesler said.
Whether it was McKim’s perimeter shooting or Kiesler inside, Eastern coach David Henley said the Tigers took advantage of a weakness his team couldn’t overcome.
“We feigned interest in defense,” he said. “And that’s the game. … Kind of been our Achilles’ heel all year.”
St. Xavier stands one game away from advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years. They will face archrival Trinity Tuesday night at Valley for the right to go to Rupp Arena.
The Tigers, who beat Trinity 55-48, go into the final on an eight-game winning streak. Key to that streak has been the performance of McKim, the team’s leading scorer. Over the past eight games, the 6-2 point guard has averaged 28.5 points a game, more than four points higher than his season average.
McKim scored 11 of the Tigers’ first 15 points, and then kept the Eagles getting any closer than nine points in the second half as he made 10 of 11 free throws in the final 16 minutes, including all seven in the fourth quarter.
“I feel like we’re playing our best basketball right now,” said McKim, who finished 14 of 15 at the line. “We just want to ride that out into Tuesday.”
Coach Kevin Klein, the point guard on the Tigers’ last regional champion squad, agreed, adding that his team was physically and mentally prepared to play the Eagles, who beat his team 69-64 on Jan. 26.
Now Klein gets to prepare for the Shamrocks and thinks that the schedule, which mirrors the regular season from a preparation standpoint, will benefit his team.
“We’re going to have a great three days of preparation, and we’re excited to be one step closer to a trophy on Tuesday night,” he said.
| Eastern | 10 | 10 | 19 | 16 | — | 55 |
| St. Xavier | 19 | 20 | 12 | 17 | — | 68 |
Eastern (18-12) – Knight 5, Wyche 5,Robinson 2, Moore 23, Jones 5, Williams 8, Rushin 7.
St. Xavier (23-9) – McKim 30, Barnes 2, Basham 3, Olsen 11, Brian 6, Kiesler 16.
3-point goals – Wyche, Moore 2, Jones, Williams, Rushin, McKim 4.