The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
BASKETBALL RECRUITING shot and happy we got the victory." Lima (Ohio) Senior had the ball and called timeout with 15 seconds left, the game tied at 52. With five seconds left, Simpson reportedly gave a jab step and pulled back, nail‑ ing the short, one‑handed jumper. "I tried to get his reaction, but he played great defense," Simpson said. "Then, he kind of jumped a little bit and I had to throw up a shot. My father helps me practice those one‑ handed quick shots like that." "When the clock got down to seven, I saw they weren't going to jump to a zone and at that point, it was pretty easy to know who would take that last shot," Quincey Simpson added. "He's been in that situation a million times before on a million different levels. He wants that shot." The Spartans' fans flooded the floor in celebration after the shot. "Big‑time players make big‑time plays," Lima (Ohio) Central Cath‑ olic coach Frank Kill said. "I was taking my chances with one of our best defenders … he can play him as tough as anybody and he did, and X [Xavier] made the shot over him. "… Lima got a show tonight, and for six bucks, that's the cheapest en‑ tertainment they're going to get." In other games, Simpson scored 27 in a 69‑60 win at Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic Jan. 29, improving Lima (Ohio) Senior to 14‑0. It was 15‑0 after Lima (Ohio) Senior, which was ranked No. 2 in Division I by the Associated Press, beat Toledo (Ohio) St. Francis 79‑54 Jan. 30 behind Simp‑ son's 21 points. Findlay (Ohio) High's slowdown tactics — they held the ball for one shot in the last three minutes of the third quarter of a 41‑24 loss Feb. 5 — limited Simpson to 10 points, but didn't keep Lima (Ohio) Senior from improving to 17‑0. It became 18‑0 when Simpson scored 43 points in a 92‑60 win at Celina (Ohio) High Feb. 6. The Spartans then clinched at least a share of their first‑ever Three Rivers Athletic Conference championship with an 82‑74 victory Feb. 12 against Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer. Simpson led Lima (Ohio) Senior with 34 points to improve the Spartans to 19‑0 overall and 12‑0 in the conference. Simpson scored 29 in Senior 's 85‑50 win over Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic the following night to clinch the conference title. Lima (Ohio) Se‑ nior ran out to a 45‑21 halftime lead and was up by 42 points, 69‑27, after three quarters. Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic was limited to only six field goals in the first three quarters. "This was our goal — to be confer‑ ence champions. We're 20‑0, and ob‑ viously we want to be 22‑0," Quincey Simpson said. "We implemented that goal a couple weeks ago. "But the main goal now is to try to make it to Columbus [in the state tournament] … if we can make it to Columbus, we'll have some other goals once we're there." Lima (Ohio) Senior will finish its regular season with a conference con‑ test at Oregon (Ohio) Clay Feb. 19 and a home game against Mansfield (Ohio) Senior Feb. 20.