By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Clinton, Mo. — Logan Thomazin was brilliant for four quarters for Walnut Grove, scoring 41 points with his fluid jumper and relentless drive and having an answer for everything Hermitage threw his way.
Brilliant over the final four quarters, that is. Hermitage held Thomazin scoreless for the game’s first eight minutes before the junior got it going with 12 points in the second, 14 in the third and nine in overtime, setting the nets on fire in Clinton and sending Walnut Grove to the Class 1 Final Four for the second straight season with a 75-67 win.
Walnut Grove (28-3) added nine more threes to its single-season state record on Saturday, with six of those coming off Thomazin’s hand.
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“Logan’s a great player, and at the end of the game, we told him to finish it for us,” Walnut Grove head coach Darren Meinders said.
Four of Thomazin’s 3s came in a de facto third-quarter 3-point shooting contest with Hermitage’s Jeff Salmon. The two sharpshooters traded treys on four consecutive possessions late in the quarter, with Salmon, then Thomazin, then Salmon, then Thomazin connecting from deep.
Then, it was Hunter Gilkey’s turn. A 20-point scorer Saturday, Gilkey hit a corner 3 to beat the buzzer in the third quarter that put Walnut Grove up 54-48.
“That was pretty crazy,” Thomazin said. “I don’t know how many 3s we made, but [Salmon] wanted it. I wanted it. It was a good game. That was pretty sweet.”
Salmon put in 15 points for the Hornets (27-4), who were led by Victor LeVerdier’s 27 points. The loss was the third for Hermitage to Walnut Grove this season, with the first coming by 20 points and the second coming at the buzzer.
“Everybody says it’s hard to beat a team three times in a year, and a good coach and a friend of mine said, ‘You don’t have to beat them three times today, you just have to beat them once.’ They’re a good team, but I think we’re pretty good and we’re battle tested,” Meinders said.
Hermitage was without both LeVerdier and Salmon for much of overtime after each fouled out, severely limiting the Hornets’ offensive production. Hermitage scored just four points in overtime after putting up no fewer than 13 in any other quarter.
The Hornets had a chance to win the game in regulation after Thomazin tied things 63-63 with a late drive and bucket, but the shot from just inside the left elbow hit the side of the rim.
“I think the turning point was when we went into overtime in foul trouble with key players and they didn’t,” Hermitage head coach Joe Nicholson said. “I loved the last shot we took in regulation. I think eight of 10 times we make that shot. I feel like we’re every bit as good as they are.”
Hermitage came out on fire, even building a game-high 10-point lead over the Tigers in the first quarter, but Walnut Grove responded with a 22-14 advantage in the second to head into halftime tied 27-27.
Trailing 56-48 in the fourth quarter, Hermitage responded with a 12-1 run to go up 60-57, a lead that would evaporate behind four straight Thomazin points.
“We went from having the game won to basically being beat and then coming back and getting it to overtime. I’m proud of our kids. The resilience that we showed. Didn’t shoot it well but never quit fighting,” Meinders said.
Walnut Grove will face Glasgow (27-3) in the Final Four on March 9 at 1:40 pm in Columbia.
FINAL: Walnut Grove 75, Hermitage 67
Hermitage 13 14 21 15 4- 67
Walnut Grove 5 22 27 9 12- 75
Hermitage- Victor LeVerdier 27, Jeff Salmon 15, Dillon Meyer 13, Darek Reeves 5, Austin Hostettler 5, Alexander Aubuchon 2
Walnut Grove- Logan Thomazin 41, Hunter Gilkey 20, Dawson Meinders 7, Ryan Keith 3, Cole Melton 2, Kyle Keith 2
