BARBERTON — The greatest scorer in state history spent the first half facilitating for his teammates.
Then Cornerstone Christian’s Quinn Kwasniak got going.
A rangy 6-foot-4 shooting guard, Kwasniak scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half as the Patriots rolled to an 81-59 win over Hillsdale in the first game of a Division VII regional semifinal doubleheader at Barberton’s Jack Greynolds Court.
Kwasniak passed former Upper Sandusky and Ohio State great Jon Diebler to become Ohio’s all-time leading scorer in a district semifinal win over Western Reserve at Smithville on Saturday. His 51-point effort pushed his career total to 3,210 points, two more than Diebler.
Against the Falcons, Kwasniak had nearly as many first-half assists (seven) as points (eight). Teammate Darrien Davis, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, was the biggest beneficiary, scoring off several highlight-reel Kwasniak passes.
“You’ve got to be able to trust your guys,” said Kwasniak, who finished with 11 assists. “I’ve got guys around me who have put in the work and I believe in them.”
Cornerstone (19-8) led 12-5 with less than two minutes to play in the first quarter, but pieced together a 14-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to open a 26-5 advantage just over a minute into the second period.
Hillsdale (19-7) put together a 10-0 run of its own and trimmed the deficit to 26-15 on a Bradey Krichbaum layup with 4:48 to play before halftime. That is as close as the Falcons would get, however, as Cornerstone regained control to take a 34-19 bulge to the break.
The Falcons did themselves no favors, committing several unforced turnovers as Cornerstone pulled away.
“We just kept turning the ball over and I think it was carelessness. I don’t think it was that they were speeding us up,” Hillsdale coach Ben Ferguson said. “We have been great against the press all year but for whatever the reason, we had guys out of position and we just lost our way.”
Also the state’s record-holder for 3-pointers in a season and a career, Kwasniak heated up from beyond the arc in the third quarter. He knocked down a triple just moments into the third period, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. He hit five of his seven treys after intermission.
“You just see what the defense gives you,” Kwasniak said of his second-half scoring surge. “You try to locate the advantage and do whatever it takes to win.”
So what’s it like playing with the state’s career scoring king?
“He’s a great teammate and a great leader,” Davis said. “He really plays at the next level.”
Davis backed Kwasniak with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Hudson Funk added a dozen.
Krichbaum led the Falcons with 14 points in his final game. Kael Lewis, who had the unenviable task of shadowing Kwasniak, added 11. Holland Young and Lowen Ferguson each scored nine.
Cornerstone will play Warren JFK for a regional title and a berth in the Final Four at 7 p.m. Friday in Barberton. JFK stopped Firelands Conference champ Norwalk St. Paul 64-51 in Tuesday’s nightcap.
Hillsdale was making its first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2001. The Falcons reached the district tournament last season, Ferguson’s first, in almost a decade.
“You have to be battle-tested, and not just within the league. The Wayne County League is incredibly tough and it does help us prepare, but it doesn’t prepare you for a big stage,” Ferguson said. “Playing on a Friday night in the Wayne County League, although it might be tough competition, it’s not the same atmosphere.
“You’ve got to get here a couple times and let the boys see what the other competition is all about and the atmosphere. … If you haven’t been there, it makes a difference.”