Loveland’s Chase Martin (1) drives to the basket during a Division II Southwest District quarterfinal game Feb. 21, 2025, against Anderson at Lakota West High School in West Chester.
WEST CHESTER — With seconds left in a Division II Southwest District quarterfinal between Loveland and Anderson, Tiger Chase Martin capped off the night with an empathic dunk.
His slam was a microcosm of the junior’s impactful evening.
Martin scored a game-high 25 points to power Loveland to a 65-47 victory Feb. 21 in the team’s boys basketball tournament opener.
“Chase is an outstanding basketball player and a very hard worker,” Loveland coach Rob Reis said. “What you saw out there tonight is typical of his game.”
The win advanced the Tigers (15-8) to the district semifinals Feb. 25 against Kings (16-6).
Loveland never trailed in the quarterfinal contest, but it took the Tigers until late in the first half to shake off Anderson for good.
The Tigers led 11-10 after Anderson’s Trace Jallick connected on a jumper with 2:11 to play in the opening quarter. Loveland’s Will Bertoli concluded the quarter with a bucket off an offensive rebound and a bucket that drew a foul with 00.9 seconds remaining to give Loveland a 15-10 lead after one.
Bertoli found the bottom of the hoop at the 6:01 mark of the second quarter to push the Loveland advantage to 20-12 as part of a 9-2 run for the Tigers that stemmed back in the first quarter, but Anderson eventually pulled the game within two, 24-22, with 3:08 to go on Jallick’s field goal.
That’s when Martin did his thing.
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