March 22, 2009

The 87th Annual State Boys Basketball State Tournaments Preview

Action tips off at 10:45 a.m. Thursday at Value City Arena in the Jerome Schottenstein Center

The boys basketball state tournament tips off Thursday inside Value City Arena, which hosts 16 teams that all are different from the 2008 state tournament field.

Division I

Eighth-ranked Warren Harding (23-2) forced 20 turnovers in its 53-38 regional final win over North Ridgeville. Senior Desmar Jackson had 23 points, nine rebounds, six steals and three blocks in the victory. The Raiders have qualified for the state tournament for the second time and first since 1966. Jackson leads the team in scoring at 21 points per game.

Northland (25-1), the state�s top-ranked team, needed overtime to take a 54-53 win over Dublin Scioto in the regional finals. Junior forward and Ohio State recruit Jared Sullinger scored 17 points to go along with 20 rebounds and six blocked shots to lead three scorers in double figures, while Trey Burke hit 5-of-6 free throws in the extra period to seal the win. All five starters average at least 8.9 points per game, led by Sullinger (18.9). This is the first state tournament appearance for the Vikings.

Princeton (24-1), ranked second in the state, trailed 60-55 with a minute left in its regional final matchup with LaSalle, but the Vikings scored the game�s final nine points and return to the state tournament for the first time since 1972. Ohio State recruit Jordan Siebert�s three-pointer tied the game at 60 and Marquis Horne�s layup put the Vikings in front for good. Siebert scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Orlando Williams pours in over 18 points a game for the Vikings, who became the first team in 26 years to go undefeated in the Greater Miami Conference (14-0).

St. John�s Jesuit (20-5) started its regional final win on a 20-2 run, then trailed early in the fourth quarter, but closed out Barberton with a 24-8 surge to qualify for its fourth final four appearance in the last seven years and sixth overall. Michael Taylor scored 17 points and Cheatham Norrils added 16. The Titans, unranked this year, feature five starters averaging between seven and 15 points per ballgame.

Division II

After avenging last year�s one-point postseason loss to defending state champion Chillicothe in the regional semifinals, No. 2 Circleville Logan Elm (24-1) knocked off Cambridge 53-39 in its regional title game. The Braves are making their first trip to the state tournament and are led by senior guards Brandon Amann (21.4 points per game) and Tim Congrove (16.6). Both have scored more than 1,000 point in their career, with Congrove�s career three-point field goals total currently standing at 226.

Thurgood Marshall junior Juwan Staten, a University of Dayton commitment, sank two free throws with 3.1 seconds left, and the Cougars (21-4) held off upset-minded Columbus Bishop Watterson 44-42 in its regional final win. Greg Gainey had 14 points in the victory while Staten tallied 11. The tenth-ranked Cougars start four juniors and a senior, with Staten and Gainey leading the team in scoring. Marshall won the state title in its only other appearance in 1990, when it was known as Dayton Colonel White.

Senior guard Daylen Harrison led Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (21-4) with 18 points and eight rebounds, and the third-ranked Irish return to the state tournament for the ninth time after defeating Hunting Valley University School 64-54 in a regional final matchup. The Irish have claimed four state titles, including the 2003 USA Today mythical national championship with LeBron James, and play with three sophomores and two seniors in their starting five. Harrison�s 16.5 points per game leads the team.

Eighth-ranked Columbus St. Francis DeSales (22-3) clinched its third regional title in the past four years with an 84-64 victory over Vermillion. The Stallions, who won the state championship in 1987, led by as many as 25 points and were paced by 15 points apiece from Nick Goff and Nick Kellogg, the son of former Ohio State and NBA star Clark Kellogg, who is the lead analyst for CBS�s coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament. Four of the Stallions� five starters score in double figures, led by Kellogg�s 17.1 points per contest.

Division III

Despite missing 15 free throws in the fourth quarter, ninth-ranked Cleveland Central Catholic (22-3) took down unbeaten and top-ranked Smithville in a 59-54 regional final win. The Smithies had cut a 17-point deficit to just four in the fourth quarter, but the Ironmen were able to bury three free throws down the stretch to hang on. Central Catholic is making its second trip to the state tournament (2002), and sophomore center Anton Grady (11.6 points per game) leads the team in scoring.

Piketon (24-2) trailed by 10 with just 2:30 to play, but seniors Cody Smith (27 points, 11 rebounds) and Jordan Brabson (26 points, seven rebounds) led the charge back that resulted in a 78-72 overtime win over Grandview Heights in the regional championship game. The duo scored 20 of the team�s final 23 points at the end of the fourth quarter and overtime. The seniors both average over 19 points a game and the No. 8 Redstreaks as a team score 70 points per contest. Head coach Jeff Lisath won state titles at Portsmouth as a player (1978) and an assistant coach (1988).

Dayton Christian�s Nathan Serenius hit a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds left, and a missed free throw by Casstown Miami East with six-tenths of a second lifted Dayton Christian (22-4) to a 49-48 win and its first trip to Columbus since 1997. Aaron Deister had 16 points for the Warriors, whose starting five consists of all seniors who played the entire second half against Miami East. Fans may remember seeing Casey Weber recently on ESPN�s Top Plays after making a 90-foot shot at the end of the third-quarter in the district semifinals. Dayton Christian is the only school in the Dayton area that does not have its own gymnasium.

Playing in its first regional final game in school history, unranked Defiance Tinora (22-3) took down Coldwater 60-53. After trailing through three quarters, the Rams used a 9-4 fourth quarter run to take the lead and hit their final six free throws to close out the game. Treg Lymanstall scored a team-high 15 points. The Rams, who like Dayton Christian start five seniors, do not have a player averaging double figure scoring, but their defense holds opponents to just 38.4 points per game.

Division IV

Junior forward Jordan Basinger scored 22 points and hauled down 20 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass, and unranked Kalida (22-4) knocked off Toledo Christian 46-41 to win its regional title. This is the fifth state tournament appearance for the Wildcats and head coach Richard Kortokrax, who is in his 49th year at Kalida and is Ohio�s all-time wins leader with 784 victories.

No. 3 Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (23-2), who went 7-1 against Division I competition this season, defeated Youngstown Christian 57-47 in the regional title game and advances to Columbus for the first time since winning the 2005 state championship. Senior forward William Felder, who averages 24 points per game, scored 20 to lead the Falcons in the victory. All five starters average at least eight points per game, and the Falcons score 72 points per game as a team.

Yankee Stadium had just opened and Marion�s Warren G. Harding was President the last time Ada qualified for the state tournament. That was in 1923, but the 2009 Bulldogs saw junior Mitchell Faine hit the game-winning free throw with 7.3 seconds left as unranked Ada held Lockland scoreless in the final 2:47 of their regional final contest, winning 54-53. Four Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Faine�s 14 points.

Fourth-ranked Oak Hill (23-2) buried 12-of-15 shots in the second half of its regional final win while limiting Newark Catholic to just 28 percent shooting in the half, and the Oaks took down the Green Wave 56-52 in the regional final. The Oak Hill boys team joins its girls team as the only school this year to have both basketball teams play in the state tournament. Senior center JD Hale leads the team with 17.5 points per game. The Oaks have won district titles in 2009, 2008 and 2007 after winning only nine games combined from 2004-06.

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Contact Scott Miles: [email protected]