St. Vincent-St. Mary boys basketball captures sixth Ohio title

Despite enduring an 11-9 regular season, the St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron) boys basketball team left Ohio State with its sixth state championship last Saturday.

The Irish took their first lead midway through the first quarter and never relinquished it, as they went on to beat Thurgood Marshall (Dayton) 57-46 for the Division II title. It was St. Vincent-St. Mary's second championship in three seasons, adding to a legacy that included titles in 2000, '01 and '03 when LeBron James led the way.

"We're a very young team, and to come in and win is very special," coach Dru Joyce said. "We're just thankful that we had the opportunity to play in the game. This is special for me. I'm thankful that they continued to fight and didn't give up. We've been through a lot and there was an opportunity for these guys to pack it in, and they showed resolve."

The Irish, who beat Bishop Hartley (Columbus) 49-44 last Thursday in a state semifinal, started three seniors in Davonte' Beard, Aaron Carey and Richard Johnson Jr. but also had junior Lorenzo Cugini and freshman Victor Dorsey in their starting lineup. Cugini led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Beard added 13 points and three rebounds for St. Vincent-St. Mary, which limited Thurgood Marshall to 25 percent shooting in the first half and 31 percent for the game.

The Irish weren't ranked in the final state poll.

"This is the great part about the schedule that we play," Joyce said. "We've been (in big games). The game is 32 minutes, and you've got to play 32 minutes."

VIKINGS FALL TO LASALLE
Looking for its second state championship in three seasons, the Northland (Columbus) boys basketball team failed to handle the Princeton offense of La Salle (Cincinnati) and lost 59-40 last Saturday at Ohio State in the Division I final. Senior Trey Burke, who had been named Ohio's Mr. Basketball earlier in the week, finished 4-for-14 from the floor with 10 points.

The Vikings led 12-4 midway through the first quarter before the Lancers answered with a 10-0 run. It was the final game for Northland coach James "Satch" Sullinger, the father of Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger who announced his retirement last month.

"They have five guys that can pass, stretch and dribble," said Sullinger, whose team finished with a 26-2 record. "They looked extremely sharp, and after a while we kind of lost our confidence."

LaSalle also finished 26-2 as it won its first title since 1996.

HILAND WINS DIVISION IV TITLE
The Hiland (Berlin) boys basketball team trailed 22-20 by halftime in the Division IV state championship game last Saturday against Harvest Prep (Canal Winchester) but outscored the Warriors 26-11 during the fourth quarter on the way to winning 63-48. The Hawks have advanced to the state tournament eight times, but their only other title came in 1992.

Junior Seger Bonifant finished with 21 points and seven rebounds and junior Dylan Kaufman had 19 points and eight rebounds for Hiland, which limited Harvest Prep to 37.5 percent shooting. Senior Shakir Dunning led Harvest Prep with 17 points and four rebounds.

DiSABATO RETIRES FROM GRANDVIEW
Andy DiSabato, who has been the wrestling coach at Grandview Heights (Columbus) for the last 25 seasons, is retiring from coaching according to ThisWeekSPORTS.com. DiSabato is a 1974 DeSales graduate who also served as an assistant at Ohio State for seven seasons. At Grandview, he had 48 state qualifiers, 24 state placers and four champions. His teams won 11 league titles, seven sectional titles and four district championships.

CLEVELAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC FALLS IN FINAL
The Cleveland Central Catholic boys basketball team lost eight games during the regular season but made it all the way to the Division III state championship game, where it lost to Taft (Cincinnati) 95-52 last Saturday in Value City Arena. No. 1-ranked Taft, playing in its first state tournament, forced 22 turnovers and limited the Ironmen to 1-for-17 shooting from 3-point range.

TOP PERFORMERS
* Anton Grady, Cleveland Central Catholic boys basketball: During the final 16 minutes of Cleveland Central Catholic's 58-47 victory over Portsmouth in a state semifinal last Friday, Grady scored 23 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked five shots and had one assist. He finished with 26 points, 22 rebounds, seven blocks and two assists.

* Trey Lewis, Garfield Heights boys basketball: The first-team all-state selection put on a show during his team's 67-59 loss to Northland in a state semifinal last Friday. Lewis finished with 33 points, including making eight of 13 from 3-point range, and also grabbed six rebounds.

* Dylan Kaufman, Berlin Hiland boys basketball: It was a big week for Kaufman, who was named one of the state's Players of the Year in Division IV before helping Hiland win the state title. Kaufman had eight rebounds during the Hawks' 70-56 victory over Continental in a state semifinal last Thursday and had 19 points and eight rebounds in the state final.

COMING THIS WEEK
* Wildcat Premiere, track and field: The defending Division I champion Reynoldsburg girls track and field team is among those that will be competing at the Wildcat Premiere on Saturday at Hilliard Davidson (Hilliard). The Lincoln (Gahanna) girls and the Medina boys teams, which won meet titles at the event last year, are back in the event.

* Perry (Massillon) vs. Hoover (North Canton), softball: The Perry softball team opens Tuesday, April 5, at Hoover in a rematch of a 2010 Division I district final. Perry went on to win the state championship last season.

* St. Edward (Lakewood) at St. Ignatius (Cleveland), baseball: The defending Division I state champion St. Edward baseball team will play its first game in Ohio on Monday, April 4, when it travels to St. Ignatius. St. Ignatius was a district runner-up last season.

BRIEFLY
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, senior Larry Nance Jr. from Revere (Richfield) has received interest from a group of colleges that includes Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Carolina, Akron, Toledo, Kent State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wake Forest and Duquesne. Nance averaged 16.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 2.6 assists last season as Revere went 21-2. ... Lincoln (Gahanna) senior Tiyona Marshall, who signed to play softball with Miami University last November, is back for her final prep season. After leading the Lions' girls basketball team to a district runner-up finish, Marshall is expected to start in center field for defending district-champion Gahanna this spring. … After months of speculation, Mike Carter will remain as the football coach for Johnstown-Monroe. According to ThisWeekSPORTS.com, the district's school board voted 3-2 last week to retain him as football coach. By a 5-0 vote the same night, however, his contract as athletics director was not renewed.

Jarrod Ulrey covers Central and Northern Ohio for MaxPreps.com. He covers prep sports for ThisWeekSPORTS.com and can be reached at julrey@thisweeknews.com.