Behind The Box Score

The year has just concluded for OHSAA boys basketball, with Northland defeating Cincinnati Princeton 60-58, to win the Division I crown. Northland (27-1) survived a vicious rally by Princeton (23-2), which spanned the fourth quarter. Princeton outscored Northland 28-20 in the final frame, but it wasn’t enough. Jared Sullinger’s two of three FTs with 2.7 seconds left gave the Vikings the lead for good. Ohio State recruit Jordan Siebert was the leading scorer for Princeton with 21 points.

I’m happy for Northland. Maybe a little regional bias goes into that–more than a little. But, this team fought off alot of great teams, every challenge they got in the last month or so was every team’s best effort. I was at the Coliseum to watch the heartbreak last year against Westerville South, and it was tough to see a team go through something like that. But Jared was an emotional and mental leader for this team this year, and they came out as state champions, a set of words that had never been heard by Northland until now.

The game before that, Akron St. V-St. M (22-4) held off Thurgood Marshall (22-5) for their fifth state title, but also with the help of the

King being in the house. LeBron was behind the St. V bench, and it was fun to watch his reactions to each and every play. I’m personally not a big LBJ fan, but I was glad to see him come out in attendance of his old HS team, the same team he led to 3 state titles from 1999-2003. On the other side, Thurgood’s guard/Dayton recruit Juwan Staten really carried his team, scoring 27 points, adding 4 assists. He is one heck of a player, and can rain it in from nearly anywhere outside the arc.

Here’s to the state champions:

• Division IV-Oak Hill(25-2)

• Division III-Cleveland Central Catholic (24-3)

• Division II-Akron St. Vincent St. Mary (22-4)

• Division I-Northland (27-1)

Hopefully next year can be as enjoyable as this year was.