CENTERVILLE — Lebanon put up an impenetrable zone defense during the first half of the sectional semifinal Wednesday night that kept Northmont on its heels.

The Thunderbolts couldn’t split the Warriors’ zone defense in the first quarter and only managed to convert three shots from the field; a three-pointer by Victor Drummond and another by Javen Vaughn and one basket in the paint by Da’lin Wilkins.

That trend continued throughout the game. Northmont scored 13 baskets from three-point range and only six inside.

The Warriors drained a pair of trifectas by Trey Hicks and 6-foot-7 guard Anthony Thompson and got a basket and a free throw from Kyle Koch, a basket by Will Spitler and a pair of baskets and a free throw by Spence Davidson to take an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Lebanon increased its lead to 34-18 by halftime and Northmont appeared to be on the ropes.

The Thunderbolts turned the tables on the Warriors in the second half. With intense man-to-man defensive pressure, often double teaming the ball handler, Northmont pulled to within three points, 45-42, with 5:29 left in the game.

The Warriors sank seven of eight free throws in the final two minutes to hang on for a 59-53 victory. Lebanon advances to face Wayne on Monday at 7:45 p.m. at Centerville.

“You always think about what you could have done better as a coach for your team, and I think one of the adjustments if I had to do it all over again would have been to pressure Lebanon more right out of the gate,” said Northmont coach Darnell Hoskins.

Hoskins said he opted not to do that because he didn’t want to fatigue his team in what he knew would be a highly emotional game.

“Early on we were a little passive against their zone,” Hoskins said. “We settled for jump shots whereas in the second half we kind of penetrated and kicked and got rhythm jump shots and we finally saw a few go through the hoop. We gained some confidence and we were able to close the gap.”

Hoskins told his players that they had nothing to be ashamed of because most teams would have packed it in trailing by that many points at halftime.

“We cut it to a one possession game at one point at 45-42 and we were right back where we needed to be,” Hoskins said. “We gave a valiant effort. We just ran out of time tonight. You can’t afford to dig that big of a hole and expend that much energy to get back in the game, but I am proud of them.”

LEB18 16 11 14 – 59

NMT 08 10 17 18 – 53

Lebanon: Trey Hicks 3-4-12, Sam Stoller 1-2-5, Will Spitler 2-0-4, Kyle Koch 1-2-4, Anthony Thompson 6-0-16, Spence Davidson 6-6-18. Totals: 19-16-59.

Northmont: Victor Drummond 2-0-6, Da’lin Wilkins 5-0-11, Danny Sluterbeck 2-0-6, B.J. Hatcher 4-1-12, Javen Vaughn 4-0-12, Chisom Ibe 1-1-3, Brady Weaver 1-0-3. Totals: 19-2-53.

Three-point field goals: Lebanon 7 (Thompson 4, Hicks 2, Stoller); Northmont 13 (Vaughn 4, Hatcher 3, Drummond 2, Sluterbeck 2, Weaver, Wilkins).

Records: Lebanon 13-10, Northmont 15-9.

Reach Ron Nunnari at (937) 684-9124 or email [email protected].