Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 56, Reynoldsburg 41
DAYTON, Ohio - Ellis Appiah scored 20 points to pace a dynamic offense that came to life after halftime, and Lewis Center Olentangy Orange defeated Reynoldsburg, 56-41, in the Division I state championship game at University of Dayton Arena.
Both teams were playing in the state tournament for the first time.
Olentangy Orange (26-2) won its 15th consecutive game to earn its first state title. Reynoldsburg also finished its season 26-2 overall.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half—they combined to shoot just 14 for 50, and Olentangy Orange led 17-14 at halftime—but Olentangy Orange was nearly flawless over the final two quarters. The Pioneers made their first 10 shots coming out of the locker room, including four three-pointers, and made 11 of 13 shots overall in a 30-point third quarter that broke the game open.
Appiah made all four of his shot attempts, including three three-pointers, and scored 11 of Orange’s 30 third-quarter points.
Olentangy Orange made 14 of its first 17 shots in the second half, expanding its lead to as many as 25 points early in the fourth quarter, and finished the second half 15 of 20 from the floor after shooting just 7 for 27 in the first half.
Appiah finished the night 8 of 10 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from three, for his 20 points. Treyton Schroeder made four three-pointers and finished with 12 points and five rebounds for Olentangy Orange. Levi Davis chipped in 10 points.
Jordan Davis (20 points) and Xavier McKinney (11) were in double figures for Reynoldsburg.
Westerville North 78, Massillon Perry 46
DAYTON, Ohio - Micah Young scored 24 points to lead Westerville North to its 24th consecutive win, a 78-46 victory over Massillon Perry in the Division II state championship game at University of Dayton Arena.
After opening the season 1-2, Westerville North (25-2) won its final 24 games to claim its second boys basketball state title and first since 1994. Perry (14-14) finished runner-up in its first boys basketball state championship game appearance.
Westerville North raced to a 10-0 lead, scoring all 10 points in a span of 56 seconds, and led 23-8 after the first quarter. Perry scored the first five points of the second quarter to draw within 10 points, 23-13, but Westerville North scored the next 10—eight of which came from Tai Perkins—to stretch the lead back to 20, 33-13, midway through the second quarter. The lead would remain in double digits the rest of the game.
Westerville North led 47-28 at halftime after shooting 19 of 29 from the floor (65.5 percent) and scoring 24 points off 15 Perry turnovers. The Warriors were credited with assists on 14 of their 19 made baskets and scored 22 points on the fast break in the opening half.
For the game, Westerville North scored 37 of its 78 points off turnovers and 33 points on the fast break.
Young made 11 of 20 shots from the floor and 2 of 4 free throws for his game-high 24 points. He also led Westerville North with eight rebounds and added four assists and three steals. Perkins scored 19 points and had four assists and four steals, while Tony Cornett also reached double figures with 10 points.
Six different players accounted for Westerville North’s 19 assists, while eight players had at least one steal as Westerville North finished with 24 steals as a team.
Drake Jacobsen led Perry with 13 points, while Luke Wolf finished with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Louisville 63, Cincinnati Aiken 61
DAYTON, Ohio - Louisville raced to a 21-point first-half lead, then withstood a second-half rally by Cincinnati Aiken and emerged with a 63-61 win in the Division III state championship game at University of Dayton Arena.
Louisville (24-5) won its first boys basketball state championship in its first trip to the state tournament. Aiken (27-2) finished runner-up in its second trip to the state tournament and first appearance in the championship game.
Louisville made 6 of its first 9 shots, including four three-pointers, and used a 13-2 run to build an 11-point lead, 15-6, just over five minutes into the game. Louisville was 8 of 12 from the field, including a perfect 5 for 5 from three, in the opening quarter and led 23-12 after eight minutes.
Louisville out-scored Aiken 12-3 over the first six minutes of the second quarter and grew the lead to as many as 21 points late in the first half.
The game turned after halftime. Aiken opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run while forcing five Louisville turnovers and cut the deficit to four points, 38-34, with 3:33 remaining in the third quarter. Aiken would out-score Louisville 23-7 in the third period and Louisville led by just three, 45-42, entering the fourth quarter.
From the late stages of the third quarter to the midway point of the fourth quarter, Aiken cut the Louisville lead to three points or fewer six different times. Each time, Louisville answered with points on its next trip down the floor to extend its lead back to two possessions, and a 6-0 Louisville run gave the Leopards a 58-49 led with 1:23 remaining.
Aiken made four of its next five shots and cut the Louisville lead to two points with 26 seconds left and a single point with eight seconds remaining, but Louisville split four free throws in the closing seconds and Aiken was not able to get off a final shot after gaining possession on a jump ball with just one second remaining.
Tate Aljancic led Louisville in scoring with 17 points. He made 5 of 6 shots from the floor and 5 of 6 at the foul line. Beau Siegfried and Avery Andrejcik both scored 14 points, while Brayden Gross had nine points and 12 rebounds and Ashton Marshall finished with nine points and eight rebounds. Aljancic, Siegfried, Gross and Marshall all played at least 30 minutes for Louisville.
James Burnett, Jr. led all scorers with 23 points for Aiken. He also had six rebounds and three steals. Jaiden Arnold finished with 15 points and five rebounds, and Antonio Hutcherson, Jr. scored 13 points.
Zanesville Maysville 74, Cleveland Glenville 67
DAYTON, Ohio - Junior guard Gator Nichols scored 36 points to lead Zanesville Maysville to a 74-67 win over Cleveland Glenville in the 2025 Division IV state championship game at University of Dayton Arena.
Nichols, who played all 32 minutes, made 11 of 21 shots from the floor, including 4 of 7 from three, and 10 of 12 foul shots. His 36 points is tied for the eighth most in boys basketball state championship game history, regardless of division.
Jordyn Watson joined Nichols in double figures with 19 points. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Xavier Vickerstaff made five three pointers and led Glenville with 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Theodore Castro had 18 points and five assists, while Gary Pritchett was also in double figures with 10 points.
Maysville (27-3) claimed its first boys basketball state title in its second trip to the state tournament; the Panthers finished runner-up in Division II in 2024. Glenville, making its first appearance at the state tournament, finished its season 19-9 overall.
Glenville scored the game’s first five points, Maysville scored the next eight, and Glenville answered with its own 8-0 run to take a 13-8 lead late in the first quarter. Glenville stretched the lead to seven points twice in the second quarter and led 37-32 at halftime.
Maysville scored the first nine points in the second half as part of a 12-3 run—with all the points coming from Nichols and Watson—and led 44-40 at the 5:42 mark of the third quarter. The teams traded baskets the remainder of the third quarter and Maysville led, 56-54, entering the final period.
Back-to-back threes by Vickerstaff put Glenville up seven, 65-58, with 5:21 remaining, but Maysville drew within two points, 65-63, on Watson’s three-pointer with 3:00 left and went in front for good on the next possession. Nichols drew a foul while hitting a jumper and made the free throw to put Maysville up, 66-65, with 2:20 left.
Cleveland Heights Lutheran East 53, Gahanna Columbus Academy 49
DAYTON, Ohio - TJ Crumble had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures as Cleveland Heights Lutheran East defeated Gahanna Columbus Academy, 53-49, in the Division V state championship game at University of Dayton Arena.
Lutheran East (25-4) won its third straight title—just the fifth school in state history to win three in a row—and sixth overall. Only three schools (Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, 10; Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 7; Middletown, 7) have won more than Lutheran East’s six boys basketball titles. The Falcons have played in 10 state tournaments, all since 2005.
Columbus Academy (28-1) has finished runner-up in both of its state tournament appearances (1981, 2025).
Dylan Zeigler (13 points), Chris Hill (12) and Ty Harrison (10) joined Crumble in double figures for Lutheran East. Columbus Academy was led by Jason Singleton, who finished with 27 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that featured eight lead changes.
Lutheran East led 14-10 after the opening quarter, but Columbus Academy won the second quarter, 17-11, and out-scored Lutheran East 12-5 over the final four minutes of the half to take a 27-25 lead into halftime. Singleton scored 11 of Columbus Academy’s first 13 points and had 14 of his team’s 27 at halftime.
The teams traded runs in the third quarter. Columbus Academy committed four consecutive turnovers while Lutheran East scored 10 straight points to take a 35-29 lead midway through the quarter. Singleton converted a three-point play and scored all eight points in an 8-2 Columbus Academy run to close the quarter and tie the game at 37 after three periods.
The fourth quarter was scoreless until Lutheran East scored twice off Columbus Academy turnovers and led 42-37 with 4:50 left. The Lutheran East lead grew to six, 47-41, on a Crumble put-back with 1:53 remaining, and Columbus Academy got no closer than three points as Lutheran East made 4 of 6 free throws in the final minute.
Woodsfield Monroe Central 43, Maria Stein Marion Local 35
DAYTON, Ohio - Woodsfield Monroe Central scored the game’s first seven points and never trailed in a 43-35 win over Maria Stein Marion Local in the Division VI state championship game at University of Dayton Arena.
Monroe Central (26-3) wins its first boys basketball state title in its first trip to the state tournament. Marion Local (26-3) finished runner-up for the second time (2004) to go along with state titles in 1975, 2003 and 2018.
Sophomore Corbin Farnsworth, who averaged six points per game for the season, made 5 of his first 6 shots and scored 12 first-half points as Monroe Central built a first-half lead that grew to as many as 13 points, 23-10, late in the second quarter.
Marion Local missed five of its first seven shots in the second quarter but made its last three—a layup and three-pointer by Austin Niekamp and a driving layup by Brayden Mescher—to cut the Monroe Central lead in half in the final 90 seconds before halftime. Monroe Central led 23-17 at the break.
Niekamp scored in the paint to draw Marion Local within two points, 24-22, midway through a third quarter that saw both teams score just seven points apiece, but Monroe Central scored the next five points and still led by six, 30-24, entering the fourth quarter.
Jacob Fogle found a slashing Chance Allen for a layup off a sideline inbounds play that bumped the Monroe Central lead to seven, 35-28, with 2:12 remaining. Monroe Central was 3 of 4 from the field and 6 of 10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, while Marion Local made just two of its final seven shots and missed a pair of free throws as Monroe Central extended its lead to 11 points in the game’s closing moments.
Cooper Howell (10 points, six rebounds, three steals) and Allen (10 points, three assists) joined Farnsworth in double figures for Monroe Central. Tucker Howell tallied five points, nine rebounds and three steals.
Niekamp led Marion Local with 13 points and nine rebounds. Grant Kremer added 11 points.
Russia 74, Willoughby Cornerstone Christian 57
DAYTON, Ohio - Russia is a boys basketball state champion for the first time, defeating Willoughby Cornerstone Christian 74-57 in the Division VII state title game at University of Dayton Arena to complete a perfect 29-0 season.
Russia jumped to an 11-2 lead to open the game and led for all but 38 seconds of the game’s 32 minutes.
Braylon Cordonnier had 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead Russia. Dominic Francis had 21 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals, and Vince Borchers added 14 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Quinn Kwasniak made six threes and finished with 38 points and six assists for Cornerstone Christian (21-9). Kwasniak’s 38 points tied for the sixth most in state championship game history, regardless of division, and Kwasniak ends his career as Ohio’s all-time leading scorer with 3,341 career points.
Darrien Davis finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for Cornerstone Christian.
Russia, playing in its third straight state tournament, took home its first title in its fourth trip overall to the final four. The Raiders finished runner-up in 2002.
Cornerstone Christian adds a second runner-up finish (2018) to go along with a state title in 2016.
Russia made 11 of its first 15 shots and led 28-19 at the 5:10 mark of the second quarter, but over the next three minutes Kwasniak scored on a driving layup and made three long three-pointers, and Davis scored to cap a 13-2 run that gave Cornerstone its only lead, 32-31, with 2:21 left in the half. Russia finished the half with a 7-2 burst and took a 38-34 lead into halftime.
Russia opened the second half with a 9-3 run to extend its lead back to double digits, 47-37, and the Raiders led by 12, 54-42, after Francis banked in a three-pointer at the third quarter buzzer.
The lead grew to as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter; Russia made 14 of 21 shots from the floor in the second half (66.7 percent) and finished the game 29 of 50 (58.0 percent) from the floor.