Akron's Derren Brooks rises up over Randolph's Hunter Foster (30) and Kevin McElwain (5) during Sunday's Section VI Class B2 semifinal at Fredonia State University's Dods Hall. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

FREDONIA – Beating Akron proved to be a tall task for the Randolph Cardinals on Sunday.

Six feet, 7 inches tall to be precise.

The second-seeded Tigers’ big man, Derren Brooks, scored 32 points on 13 buckets in the paint while No. 3 Randolph made just one field goal inside the 3-point arc as Akron beat the Cardinals 58-41 in a Section VI Class B2 semifinal at Fredonia State University’s Dods Hall.

“We play him at the elbow and we play him at the top of the key, but the offense starts there and usually ends with him at the rim,” Akron head coach Justin Gerstung said. ” … It ultimately finishes with him at the rim in position to rebound.”

The win sends the Tigers into Wednesday’s 7:45 p.m. championship game against No. 1 Tapestry back at the home of the Blue Devils. The Thunderhawks beat No. 4 MST 63-48 in Sunday’s first semifinal.

“They are very talented,” Gerstung said of the Thunderhawks. “We knew we’d have Falconer first, Randolph if we won and Tapestry if we won this game. All three are very different teams. … Tapestry is just a little quicker at the guards than the two we’ve already played.”

The Cardinals hung around with Akron for a quarter, actually leading 15-12 after eight minutes, but it was evident they would have to stay hot from the 3-point arc for 32 minutes if they stood a chance against Brooks and his Tigers teammates.

They did not.

Randolph went 5 of 11 from deep in the first quarter, but just 7 of 26 the rest of the way and five came in the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided.

Inside the arc, the Cardinals were just 1 for 5. Brooks blocked a pair of attempts and Randolph’s only layup came from Syrai Johnson with the Tigers’ big man on the bench after committing his third foul early in the third quarter.

“We weren’t even barely allowed to shoot a 2,” Randolph head coach Kevin Hind said. “Once you ball fake, every time we watched (Brooks) on film, he blocked it the second time. He’s really good at it.”

Akron actually entered first in Section VI in 3-pointers made, but went just 1 of 12 in the first half. Brooks almost single-handedly gave the Tigers a 27-21 lead at halftime with all but six of their points.

“Our staff does a pretty good job of finding film. Randolph does a nice job of hiding it. … We saw the roster and we knew we’d try to take advantage,” Gerstung said. “We knew they’d probably start in a 1-3-1, which they did. We knew they were going to go to a 2-3 zone, which they did. We’ve been pretty good against that all year. … We wanted to try and touch the paint as much as possible.”

In the third quarter, senior Blake Gerstung came to life, hitting three 3-pointers during a 17-0 run that included a three-point play from Brooks as Akron’s lead grew from eight to 25.

“No. 3 is a legit, great shooter. He did the same thing in the Wilson game and hit four or five in a row,” Hind said of Blake Gerstung, the coach’s nephew. “When you give all that attention to a big guy and they have four different guys who can shoot 3s, it’s a tough matchup. You are hoping they miss.”

Matt Beaver’s first of five late 3-pointers ended the run, but the Tigers took a 22-point lead into the final eight minutes as they coasted into the sectional title game for a second straight year.

“We gave them a scare; that’s what we were hoping for,” Hind said. “We talked for three days about keeping it close for as long as we could.”

NOTES: Beaver had 15 points and Johnson added 13 for Randolph, which shot 13 of 42 from the field, including 12 of 37 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 12 times. … Akron shot 23 of 47 from the field, including 5 of 22 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 13 times. … The Tigers will be seeking their fourth sectional title while Tapestry will be looking for its third Wednesday. … Aaron Bell scored all of his game-high 17 points after halftime Sunday in Tapestry’s 15-point win. The Thunderhawks outscored MST 24-4 in the third quarter after trailing by two at halftime.

RANDOLPH (41)

Morrison 0 0 0, Pihlblad 0 0 0, NBeaver 1 0 3, McElwain 1 1 4, Johnson 4 2 13, DFinch 0 0 0, Brooks 2 0 6, Huntington 0 0 0, Foster 0 0 0, MFinch 0 0 0, MBeaver 5 0 15. Totals 13 3 41.

AKRON (58)

Pecora 0 0 0, Siska 0 0 0, BlGerstung 3 0 9, BeGerstung 3 1 8, Pragle 2 0 4, Rebmann 0 0 0, Lomayestewa 0 0 0, Hill 1 0 3, Abrams 1 0 2, Jonathan 0 0 0, Brooks 13 6 32.

3-point goals-NBeaver, McElwain, Johnson 3, Brooks 2, MBeaver 5, BlGerstung 3, BeGerstung, Hill.

Randolph 15 6 5 15 – 41

Akron 12 15 21 10 – 58