The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BASKETBALL RECRUITING of runs. I'm happy to pull out a vic- tory and keep on playing. I definitely thought it was going to be a higher- scoring game, but it was just good defense by both teams." Senior had previously swept through the district with four wins. Simpson scored 21 in a 91-42 win over Fremont (Ohio) Ross and fol- lowed up with 25 in a 70-45 win over Whitehouse (Ohio) Anthony Wayne for the sectional championship Feb. 27. Simpson faced a box-and-one de- fense in the district semifinal against Toledo Whitmer March 3, LimaOhio. com reported, and was held to 10 points in a 54-47 win. Lima Senior "went ahead to stay" when Simp- son drove to the basket for a 49-47 lead with 1:34 to play. He hit two free throws in the final 23 seconds to help clinch it. "We definitely kept our poise," Simpson said. "At the end of the game, it was our defense. We got some key stops. That's what wins games — defense." Lima Senior beat Toledo (Ohio) St. John's 34-33 to win the district championship March 5. Simpson connected on a big triple with three minutes to play, his first in the Spar- tans' four tournament games, to put them ahead 32-28 with 3:21 to play. He made a reverse layup in the first minute of the fourth quarter that put Lima Senior ahead 29-28. "We've been in these situations throughout the season, but these sit- uations are a little different when it's win or go home," Lima Senior head coach Quincey Simpson, Xavier 's dad, said. "My guys defended very well, we got the stops we needed and the three-pointer Xavier hit was just a confidence shot." It came from the left wing, not his favorite spot. "I have been struggling on three- pointers, and for me to hit that three was a game changer," he said. "They were kind of pulling off me. I wouldn't say it's my favorite spot, but I knew when I released it that it was in." The pace was slow throughout the game, helping limit Simpson to 11 points, but it couldn't keep Lima Se- nior from moving on. UPDATES ON OTHER SIGNEES AND PLEDGES How Michigan's other signees and pledges finished their seasons: IBI WATSON, 6-6 SG Pickerington (Ohio) Central Rivals.com three-star prospect nationally Pickerington (Ohio) Central fin- ished the regular season 18-4 over- all, and was 12-2 and tied for first in the Ohio Capital Conference behind Watson's 19.3 points per game. Wat- son was named a 2015-16 Associated Press All-Central District selection. Watson and Central breezed through their first two district games. He scored 21 points to lead No. 4 seed Central to a 66-44 win over Cen- tral Crossing in the opening round, going 6 of 8 from the free throw line. Central then cruised to a 64-27 tri-