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Westerville North boys basketball loses Division II state final in OT
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- Westerville North boys basketball loses Division II state final in OT
DAYTON – The Division II boys basketball state final featured everything two teams that were far more alike than different might have been expected to produce.
Neither Westerville North nor Massillon Washington scored close to its season average of 76 and 81 points, respectively. Both threw runs at each other throughout the afternoon March 22 at University of Dayton Arena, and Massillon made 24 field goals to the Warriors' 22.
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The major difference was Massillon not only answered a North onslaught in the third quarter, it dominated overtime and denied the Warriors a championship repeat.
North went 0 for 15 from the field in overtime – a rough finish to a 22-of-81 shooting day overall – and Massillon never trailed in the extra session of a 68-63 win to capture its first title .
"It was like looking in a mirror in terms of their style of play," North coach Shan Trusley said. "The kids did that for the most part. We just had a couple stretches where they made the plays. The game was played at a tempo that we like. The game was played at a speed that we like."
Senior guard Elijah McCree's 21 points and six rebounds led North (26-2). Junior forward Tony Cornett had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and junior forward Damion King added 12 points and 17 boards.
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The game featured six ties and five lead changes, and North appeared poised to pull away with a 45-30 lead halfway through the third quarter.
The Warriors trailed 25-24 at halftime but pulled ahead with a 12-0 run.
A three-point play from King and a layup from junior guard Tyson Perkins pushed the lead to 15 points.
Then Massillon (27-1) started creeping closer, closing the third on a 10-3 burst to make it 48-40.
The Tigers took a 51-50 lead with 3:44 to go on a Jadyce Thigpen layup.
"We typically bury teams at some point," Trusley said. "They just kept coming at us and we stopped scoring the basketball for a stretch of time."
Westerville North's Tyson Perkins (0) fights for the ball against Massillon's Isaiah Lamp during the Division II state final.
King put back a Cornett miss to make it 57-55 with 1:30 left, and McCree made one of two free throws with 18 seconds left to keep Massillon in front 57-56.
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McCree tied it at 58 on a layup with 30 seconds left.
North got the ball back moments later on a steal, but Jacob Medhane's layup was blocked and the ball went out of bounds to Massillon with 7.9 to go.
Braylon Gamble air-balled a 3-point try as regulation expired.
Thigpen's jumper with 2:12 left in overtime put Massillon ahead to stay, and Gio Jackson Jr.'s dunk moments later made it a five-point game.
Cornett's two free throws with 54.2 seconds to go pulled North within 64-63, but the Warriors never scored again.
Xavier Williams finished it off with a layup to provide the final margin.
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"They threw guys at us and we just missed shots that we should have made," McCree said.
Westerville North's Desmond Okantey (21) puts his arm around Westerville North's Nate Roman (2) as they receive their runner-up trophy after a Division II state final loss to Massillon Washington.
Jackson Jr.'s 17 points and nine rebounds and 15 points each from Thigpen and Williams led the way for Massillon, which was at state for the first time since 1945 and in its first final since 1937. The Tigers were 24 of 49 from the field.
"They threw some haymakers at us and we talked during a timeout about our emotions and our attitudes," Tigers coach Josh Hose said. "We'd been down 14 or 15 before … but our guys always responded well. They fought like heck to get back in it. They dug deep."
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North outrebounded Massillon 53-34, including 19 on the offensive boards. Ten of those belonged to King.
"The whole state got to see the type of character our team has," Trusley said. "It was a game of ups and downs and we had some great moments, including today. When it looked like it was getting away from us, we fought and fought. We just fell short."
(This story has been updated with additional information.)
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Massillon beats Westerville North in OHSAA Division II state final
