Grady Labishak etches name in Rosecrans' record book after late-rally falls short

CAMBRIDGE — Top-seeded Monroe Central held on to advance down the OHSAA postseason trail on Tuesday with a 61-51 victory over No. 5 Rosecrans in Division IV district semifinal action inside Gene Ford Gymnasium.

But Rosecrans' high-scoring senior Grady Labishak made sure the Seminoles had to work hard to get it done.

Labishak exploded for a game-high 33 points to become Rosecrans' all-time leading scorer with 1,654 career points in an impressive performance that even had head coach Todd Rock shaking his head.

"He's really good," Rock said. "Grady is as good of a player that I've ever had. He broke the all-time scoring record tonight; he needed 30 and got 33. I'm really proud of him. He put us on his back in that fourth quarter and I'm really proud of the entire team for the way they battled back tonight.

"I give Monroe Central a lot of credit, we knew how good they were and they came out and showed it. We got way down, but I give our kids a lot of credit for continuing to battle. Grady led the way and the rest of the guys just kept grinding."

Labishak passed Aaron Gehlken (2014-17), who held the previous school record of 1,650 career points, and Labishak's big night was his third consecutive 30-point effort (31-33-33) in tournament play this season.

Grady Labishak puts on fourth quarter to remember

Monroe Central jumped out to the lead from the opening tip and maintained a sizable advantage through three quarters.

Entering the fourth, the Seminoles held a comfortable 52-29 advantage and appeared ready to coast into Saturday's D-IV district championship contest.

But Labishak was not quite ready to throw in the towel.

"At the end of the third quarter, I looked at the scoreboard and realized these were probably going to be my last eight minutes playing," Labishak said. "I figured I might as well try to make something happen, and see if we could get back into the game.

"I just wanted to have fun with my friends that last quarter we had together. It was just a nothing-to-lose mentality, and I wanted us to go out fighting. I'm proud of my teammates and the way we continued to keep fighting."

Labishak capped his scoring frenzy by drilling his seventh 3-pointer of the night, pulling Rosecrans within 52-40 with 5:18 left in the game. Senior Xander Daniels then followed with a strong inside move to get Rosecrans within 10 at the 4:54 mark.

But Monroe Central regrouped and held onto the lead as the two teams traded baskets the rest of the way.

Labishak tallied 18 points in the fourth quarter to close out his impressive, record-setting night and finished with 705 points for the season to put a exclamation mark to his stellar high school career.

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Senior Brendan Bernath added 11 points for Rosecrans, which finished with a 16-9 record.

Seminoles improve to impressive 23-1

Leading the Monroe Central attack was junior Tucker Howell at 26 points, while junior Chance Allen finished with 12. Junior Jacob Fogle added nine and freshman Cooper Howell contributed seven points for the winners.

Monroe Central improved to 23-1 on the season and moves on to Saturday's 7 p.m. Division IV district championship game when they will take on No. 2 Berlin Hiland at Buckeye Trail High School.

KSutton1@gannett.com; X: @KSuttonDJSports; Instagram: kevinsutton_dailyjeffsports

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Grady Labishak etches name in Rosecrans' record book after late-rally falls short