It did not take a very long time for the lone game on schedule to turn into more of a scrimmage for the hosting Trojans as they pounced on the Mustangs early en route to a 70-30 victory.

“It’s nice to get one more at home,” Southwestern head coach Aaron Emley stated. “Especially for the seniors, it’s their last game on this court. Even if it’s a play-in game, it’s nice to play in front of your own crowd before going on the road. We just talked about playing our brand of basketball and not playing down to whoever we play.”

The shots weren’t falling early for the Trojans, but it didn’t matter as they still dominated possession thanks to a group effort dominating both the offensive and defensive glass. Chris Miller highlighted the Southwestern (10-11) dominance at the rim as he collected a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, a steal and a block.

“Chris Miller did a great job getting after rebounds,” Emley added. “Cam Lemk, some of my bigger guys inside getting us those second chance points. Some of the shots weren’t falling early, but getting multiple opportunities definitely helped us out.”

Southwestern’s Matt Pannes (4) goes up for a layup as Chris Miller (24) boxes out a Medina defender during Monday’s Section VI Class B2 play-in playoff game. P-J photo by Christian Storms

While some of the Southwestern players needed a quarter to heat up, Matt Pannes needed no time to hit his groove. Pannes scored 10 of his game high 20 points in the first quarter, while also setting up his teammates with four assists, he pulled down five boards and made three steals.

Pannes helped Southwestern jump out to a 15-7 lead after the first quarter and with the dominance displayed by the first unit. Emley deployed the second unit in the second quarter and it kept the game out of Medina’s reach before the first unit ended the final four minutes of the half and closed out the quarter up 30-10.

“The whole team works all season for opportunities,” Emley said about getting everyone in the game. “Anytime we can get everybody in the game and everybody involved with some shots and some looks, that’s a good feeling.”

After a dominant first half, Southwestern really started to run away with the game in the second half, even building a 30 point lead and finishing with a 40 point margin.

The third quarter was highlighted by Miller throwing down a dunk with the first unit and then in the fourth quarter Jaydon Work hit four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points, three boards, two steals and a block.

The victory sets up the Trojans with another playoff game on the road at No. 9 Royalton-Harltand (13-7) tonight at 7. Last year the Trojans beat Royalton-Hartland to advance to the Class B2 semifinals.

“It’s funny that we’re taking the same pathway we did last year,” Emley said about the Trojans’ playoff schedule. “Last year we had to play Medina here then go on the road to Roy-Hart. They have some guys back from last year. It’s going to be the same thing I said for this team. We can’t play to anybody else’s level, we need to play our brand of basketball.”

Medina finishes the season with a 4-17 record.

MEDINA (30)

Shine 2 0 4, Pitts 4 2 13, Callard 2 0 5, Moss 0 0 0, Benz 0 0 0, Cecchini 0 0 0, Beyer 0 1 1, Woodworth 2 0 5, Mitchell 1 0 2. Totals 9 3 30.

SOUTHWESTERN (70)

Arrington 0 0 0, Tyger 0 0 0, Young 3 0 6, Pannes 7 2 20, Bogdanowicz 3 0 8, Hayes 0 2 2, Larson 0 0 0, Kennedy 1 0 3, Miller 5 0 10, Work 4 0 12, Pike 1 0 3. Totals 24 4 70.

3-point goals–Pitts 3, Callard, Woodworth, Pannes 4, Bogdanowicz 2, Kennedy, Work 4, Pike.

Medina 7 3 8 12 — 30

Southwestern 15 15 19 21 — 70