Boys state basketball: Massillon erases 15-point deficit, wins title in OT

The Massillon boys basketball team overcame a 15-point second-half deficit in a 68-63 overtime victory over Westerville North on Sunday, claiming the program's first state championship in the Division II title game at University of Dayton Arena. Guard Gio Jackson Jr. led the Tigers (27-1) with 17 points, as Massillon featured three scorers with at least 15 points in its first state tournament appearance since 1945. Westerville North (26-2) made its fifth state trip and was the defending D-II champion. Senior Elijah McCree led all scorers with 21 points, while junior Damion King (12 points, 17 rebounds) and Tony Cornett (15, 10) added double-doubles. North opened the third quarter with a 21-5 run and took its largest lead of 45-30 with 4:08 remaining in the period. McCree and Cornett had 14 of those 21 points. Massillon regained momentum to end the third, with Jackson scoring seven points and cutting the Tigers' deficit to eight. The Tigers rode that momentum into the fourth with a 15-1 run to put them in front 57-51 with 2:12 to go in regulation, but the Warriors countered with a 7-1 run over the final 1:56 to tie at 58. Warriors senior Jacob Medhane had a fast-break opportunity with seconds remaining, but Tigers junior Xavier Williams blocked the potential game-winning layup from behind to send the game to OT. There, Xavier Williams scored six points for Massillon, which made 10 of its final 12 shots to finish 24-for-49. The Warriors shot just 22-for-81 (.272) but dominated the glass, securing 53 rebounds (34 offensive). Massillon had 41 rebounds. In other games: Cincinnati Princeton 59, Hilliard Bradley 28 The Vikings (25-3) scored the first eight points and never looked back, defeating the Jaguars (25-3) in the D-I game. Princeton won its first state title in its third state trip, as it was runner-up in 1972 and 2009. Bradley had won 16 straight to reach the state finals for the first time. Amire Gill led Princeton, whose girls team lost the D-I title game one week earlier, with 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting, including 3-of-3 3-pointers. Rognny Santiago Lugo joined Gill in double figures with 12 points. The Vikings shot 24-for-42 (.571) from the floor, including 7-for-14 from three. Kypton Norris and Jayden Reed-Davis both scored eight points to pace Bradley. Lutheran East 50, Gahanna Columbus Academy 36 Devontey Perkins scored 18 points and Dylan Zeigler added 14 to lead the Falcons (25-2) to a comfortable win over the Vikings (24-5) in D-V action. Lutheran East became the first school to win a boys basketball state championship four years in a row. The Falcons have now appeared in nine straight state tournaments, excluding 2020 when the tournament was cancelled, and have won 28 consecutive postseason games, the second longest streak in state history. The Falcons scored first and never trailed, leading 12-5 and 28-10 at halftime. Perkins made 8-of-12 shots from the floor and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Zeigler added five rebounds and four assists to his 14 points. Mr. Basketball finalist Jason Singleton had 17 points, six rebounds and four steals to lead Columbus Academy, while Mitch Zumberge added eight points and nine rebounds. Berlin Hiland 54, Maria Stein Marion Local 51 (2OT) GlenOak transfer Ryan Zerger had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Alex Miller had 11 points, four rebounds and five steals as the Hawks (26-3) outlasted the Fliers (26-2) in a thrilling D-VI championship game. It was Ohio's first double-overtime championship game since 2018, when Marion Local defeated Willoughby Cornerstone Christian 52-51 in D-IV. Hiland claimed its fourth title (1992, 2011, 2012) in 15 state trips, tied for the fourth-most appearances in state history. Marion Local (26-2) has earned six trophies in seven state tournament trips. The Flyers were runners-up for the third time (2004, 2025, 2026) to go with titles in 1975, 2003 and 2018. Hiland made 6-of-9 field goals and 10-of-13 free throws over the final 10 minutes, overcoming deficits in the final minute of regulation and the second overtime. Marion Local led 39-34 with 1:31 remaining in regulation after Grant Kremer made a long 3-pointer from the left wing, but Hiland forced overtime by outscoring Marion Local 7-2 over the final 70 seconds. Hiland led 47-42 in the final minute of the first extra period, but 3-pointers by Kremer 11 seconds apart tied the score at 48 and forced the second extra session. Free throws were the difference in the second overtime, as Grant Bille made a pair to give Hiland a 52-51 lead with 56 seconds remaining. C.J. Yoder then forced a turnover and drew a foul, and his two foul shots with 17 seconds remaining extended the Hiland lead to 54-51. A long Marion Local 3-point attempt out of a timeout drew the back of the rim, and Zerger secured the rebound as time expired. Kremer led Marion Local, whose other loss was to D-VII champion Delphos St. John's, with 22 points. Delphos St. John's 56, Kalida 47 Two-time Mr. Basketball runner-up Cameron Elwer scored 28 points to lead the Blue Jays (29-0) to their fourth championship with a workmanlike victory over the Wildcats (17-12) in the D-VII game. Elwer finished his career with 2,768 points, the sixth-highest total in state history. St. John's made 6-of-8 field goals and outscored Kalida 17-10 in the second quarter to take a 36-25 lead. Elwer then scored 10 of his team's 11 third-quarter points, including the first six, as the Blue Jays stretched their lead to 17. Elwer shot 6-for-16 from the floor and 14-for-16 from the foul line for his 28 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. St. John's shot 16-for-32 from the floor, including 8-for-16 from distance, and made 16-of-21 free throws. Owen Grime led Kalida with 18 points. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.