Division I: Centerville- 43 vs. Westerville Central- 42
The Centerville Elks did not score in the final 2:33 of the game, but held on to a one-point lead for the final 44 seconds to win the Elks' first boys basketball state title in school history, 43-42. After hitting the three-point basket will 44 seconds remaining, Landon Tillman took a three-point shot from the right corner that hit off the front of the rim as time expired. Westerville Central went on an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter to take the lead, 39-34. The Elks responded with a 9-0 run to take a lead with 3:10 remaining, a lead they never gave up.
Sophomore Gabe Cupps led Centerville with 16 points. Cupps was supported by Tom House and Rich Rolf who both finished with nine points. Tillman also finished tied for the game-high 16 points. He was supported by Tasos Cook with 10.
Trading two for one baskets early in the third quarter found the Warhawks leading Centerville, 28-26. But after Centerville tied things back up at 28, sophomore Gabe Cupps went on a 6-0 run on his own that led to the Elks leading, 34-31. Centerville was able to sustain its four-point by the end of the second quarter, leading the Warhawks, 22-18. Westerville Central took the first half of the second quarter to tie the game at 15. Centerville, though, then went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead. A three-point basket by Landon Tillman with 33 seconds left in the half concluded the second quarter as it started, with Westerville Central trailing the Elks by four.
Centerville got out to a 10-3 lead to start the game, but couldn't hold the Warhawks off for long. Westerville Central used a three-point shot, a layup, and dunk to cut the lead to three with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter. Centerville's Gabe Cupps hit a three-point shot and Westerville Central's Landon Tillman hit a jumper with 30 seconds remaining to conclude the scoring for the quarter.
Division II: Akron SVSM- 72 vs. St. Francis DeSales-50
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary clinched its state-record ninth boys basketball state championship in program history by using a strong second-half offensive output versus St. Francis DeSales, 72-50. The Fighting Irish were led by Ohio State commit Malaki Branham's 37 points, including 24 in the second half. He was supported by the 11 points scored by Ramar Pryor. Desmond Watson led St. Francis DeSales with 23 points and was supported by Austin Mann's 10 points. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary won the fourth quarter, 18-8, to outscore the Stallions 44-17 in the second half.
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary came out of the halftime break on a mission. The Fighting Irish went on a 17-1 run in the opening 3:30 of the second half to go from down five to leading by 11. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary ended the quarter leading, 54-42. During the quarter, Malaki Branham singlehandedly went on a 16-2 run to push the Fighting Irish to a double-digit lead. Desmond Watson scored all nine points in the quarter for St. Francis DeSales. Despite giving up going on a 14-4 run to open the second quarter, St. Francis DeSales wasn't able to put St. Vincent-St. Mary away. The Stallions, though, kept its lead from the opening basket to the halftime buzzer, leading 33-28.
After St. Francis DeSales extended its lead to 13, its largest of the game to that point with 2:40 left in the half, the Fighting Irish went on a 10-2 run, which included a dunk by Malaki Branhan to cut the lead to single digits and a jumpshot to cut the Stallions' lead to five points.
Division III: Lutheran East- 61 vs. Worthington Christian- 56
Lutheran East fended off a fourth-quarter surge by Worthington Christian in a high-scoring fourth quarter to claim its third boys basketball state championship, 61-56. The Eagles led by 12, their largest lead of the game, with less than five minutes in the game, but Worthington Christian used a 12-4 run in the next two minutes to close the gap. The Warriors got within two points with 50 seconds remaining after a steal in the backcourt that led a layup by Tommy Anthony, his only points of the game. Jared Lary and Sirr Hughes combined for four made free throws in the final 34 seconds to push the lead for Lutheran East
Jalin Billingsly led Lutheran East with a double-double performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds. He was supported by Sirr Hughes and Jalen Knott with 11 points apiece. Worthington Christian's DJ Moore led all scorers with 28 points. He was followed by Tyler Kindberg with 13 points.
Worthington Christian pulled within four points early in the third quarter, but could get no closer in the quarter as Lutheran East pushed the lead to as much as 10 and used a 3-point shot with 15 seconds left in the quarter to lead the Warriors at the end of the third quarter, 39-30.
Lutheran East used a team-effort in the scoring column to sustain its lead into halftime, as no player scored in the double figures as the Eagles led, 23-15. Jalin Billingsly and Sirr Hughes both finished the half with seven points. Meanwhile, DJ Moore accounted for 11 of Worthington Christian's 15 points in the half.
Lutheran East started the game on a 7-0 to take an early lead. But Worthington Christian's DJ Moore got his team back in the game scoring five points to cut into the Lutheran East lead.
Division IV: Botkins- 60 vs. Columbus Grove- 44
Botkins nearly doubled-up Columbus Grove in the fourth quarter to claim the Division IV boys basketball state championship Sunday, 60-44. The Trojans outscored Columbus Grove 23-12 in the fourth quarter to separate them from the Bulldogs to win the first boys basketball state title in school history.
Botkins' Jayden Priddy-Powell led all scorers with 27 points, going 10-13 from the field, including 4-5 on three-point attempts. Carter Pleiman and Jacob Pleiman scored 17 and 10 points, respectively, for the Trojans. The Bulldogs were led by Gabe Clement with 18 points and Blake Reynolds with 17 points.
The third quarter was a toe-to-toe bout, as Columbus Grove was able to chip one more point off the Trojans' lead, 37-32. Fouls were an issue for the Bulldogs, committing five.
Botkins got off to a hot start going on a 16-0 run to start the OHSAA Boys D-IV State Championship to lead Columbus Grove, 20-7 at the end of the first quarter. But the Trojans couldn’t slam on the door on Columbus Grove.