Fairfield-Centerville Division I regional final rematch on tap. Here's how it happened.

NORWOOD, Ohio − Three hundred sixty-one days after their first postseason matchup, Fairfield and Centerville will meet again in the Division I regional championship game with a spot in the state Final Four on the line.

Both teams escaped with narrow victories Wednesday night at Xavier University's Cintas Center in the Division I regional semifinals.

Here's how the action unfolded.

Fairfield comes back to edge Princeton

Fairfield had two wins over Princeton during the regular season − 68-57 on Dec. 9 and 66-43 on Feb. 10 − when the two Greater Miami Conference rivals met Wednesday night.

The underdog Vikings led by five at halftime and held the lead for over half the game, but Fairfield's fourth-quarter run gave the Indians a hard-fought 51-45 win and a return to Ohio's Elite Eight.

Three keys to Fairfield's victory

• Fairfield sophomore Michael Lewis only averages 8.4 minutes of playing time per game, but he hit the biggest shot of his young high school career Wednesday night when he nailed a corner 3-pointer to break a 43-43 tie with 48.9 seconds left.

• It was a game of scoring droughts and, at times, sloppy ball control. The two teams combined for 34 turnovers (Fairfield 21, Princeton 13) and the Indians shot just 11-of-25 from the free-throw line. Princeton trailed by as many as eight in the first quarter but responded with a 17-4 run to take a 26-21 lead into the break.

• Fairfield's defense was as good as it's been all season long in the fourth quarter. The Vikings scored 7 points, but all of them came from the free-throw line. Fairfield held Princeton an 0-for-7 performance from the field over the final stanza.

Key performers

Aamir Rogers: The senior forward finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. Working with a height advantage, Fairfield attacked the rim, producing 30 points in the paint to Princeton's 12. Rogers' and-1 with 37.1 seconds remaining gave Fairfield a 48-43 lead.

Deshawne Crim: A senior and Fairfield's leading scorer, Crim finished with a team-high 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He had 9 points in the second half.

Keven Adorno: Princeton's leading scorer on the year, Adorno led the Vikings with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

Ray Coney: Fairfield's Coney was part of the senior trio, along with Rogers and Crim, to combine for 41 points Wednesday. Coney had 14 on 4-of-8 shooting.

Cliff Cass: The Princeton sophomore guard had 6 rebounds and connected twice from the perimeter for 6 points.

Senior sendoff

Princeton finishes the season 19-8. The Vikings were appearing in their first regional tournament contest since 2018. Princeton's seniors appearing in their final prep game were Illijah Adams, Riley Woods, Kaden Stephens, Scottie Donald, Keven Adorno and Joey Chaney.

Woods, a guard, finished with 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Stephens hit a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left in the third quarter to give Princeton a 36-34 lead. He finished with 5 points. Donald also had 5 points, hitting from beyond the arc once.

Elder's 2nd-half comeback falls short vs. Centerville

Elder trailed by double-digits for the majority of Wednesday's regional semifinal against Centerville but rallied over the final 16 minutes to turn the potential blowout into a thriller. However, the top-seeded Elks pulled away over the final minutes for a 54-47 win.

Three keys to Elder's season-ending loss

• Centerville senior Gabe Cupps, an Indiana signee and the reigning Mr. Ohio Basketball, caught fire in the first half, going 6-of-6 from the field (including a trio of 3-pointers) for 17 points. The Elks led 33-19 at the intermission.

• Elder had a solid third quarter despite only chipping Centerville's lead down to 10 going into the fourth quarter (40-30). One key coaching change was sending full-court double teams at Cupps, making him get the ball out of his hands. Cupps had just 4 points (one made field goal) in the second half.

• Slowly but surely, Elder trimmed Centerville's lead into the single digits. Senior Sam Whitmer hit a 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining that made it 46-43. Centerville would respond, though, with buckets from Jonathan Powell to go back up by seven with 29.4 seconds to play. Centerville big man Baboucarr Njie was called for a technical for hanging on the rim with 10.3 seconds left, opening the door for the Panthers to pull within three once again at 50-47.

Key performers

Carson Browne: The Elder senior and GCL-South co-player of the year led the Panthers with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Sam Whitmer: The senior finished with 11 points and 3 boards.

Gabe Cupps: Cupps led all scorers with 21 points.

Drew Murphy: Elder's junior guard had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 4 steals. He hit twice from beyond the arc.

Cam Williams: The Elder sophomore had 6 points.

Jonathan Powell: The Centerville junior had 11 points.

Senior sendoff

Elder finishes the season 21-5. They were the co-champions of the GCL-South and captured head coach Joe Schoenfeld's seventh district championship. Elder's seniors were Nick Salamone, Grady Wall, Todd Tieman, Sam Whitmer, Zack Gutekunst, Carson Browne and Jake Rudemiller.

Gutekunst finished with 5 points Wednesday and Tieman grabbed a pair of rebounds.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Fairfield advances; Elder, Princeton fall in DI regional semifinals