St. Paul rolls to first district title in 27 years

SHELBY — Quiet confidence. The St. Paul boys basketball team entered the tournament in a unique spot. Based on their record, the Flyers were overwhelmingly the No. 1 seed in the Division VII Shelby district, making them the favorites from the moment the field was announced. But the program also had not won a district championship in 27 years. Past history or stigma didn't matter for this St. Paul team, however. Less than 48 hours after the Flyers led 25-2 to start their district semifinal win over Buckeye Central, it was a similar result in Saturday's district title game against St. Mary Central Catholic. The Flyers harassed the Panthers at the defensive end of the floor and raced out to a 17-2 lead less than 90 seconds into the second quarter of a 53-41 win at Shelby High School. St. Paul will take a 14-game winning streak into a regional semifinal against Warren John F. Kennedy (16-9) in the 8 p.m. game Tuesday at Barberton High School. The 6 p.m. game will feature Willoughby Cornerstone Christian (17-8) against Hillsdale (19-6). "We have a lot of guys who played in several tournament games before, so being a veteran team helped us this year," senior Korey Frazee said. "Our coaches kept reminding us we're the best team here when we play unselfishly, when we play defense, rebound and play fast. "We felt like if we play our game, we can be the ones cutting down these nets." It was all Flyers from the start, though both teams struggled through the first three minutes. Each team combined to miss the first nine shots of the contest, but once St. Paul settled in, it was over in a hurry. Frazee buried a 3-pointer for the first points of the game at the 4:53 mark, then Grant Kuhnle scored in transition about a minute later. McCall then drove to the rim and put the ball in with one hand over two defenders for a 7-0 lead with 2:24 left in the quarter. SMCC got a pair of free throws from Sam Lawrence at the 1:55 mark, but the Panthers' search for points from the field went even longer. Meanwhile, the Flyers scored the game's next 10 points to blow it open with a 17-2 lead at the 6:32 mark of the second quarter. McCall again drove to the rim and scored over two defenders, then was fouled trying to do the same thing and made both free throws. Fries then drove in from the left side for a basket in the key with 5.3 seconds left for a 13-2 lead after one quarter. Brock Houck opened the scoring 27 seconds into the second, then McCall scored again by getting to the rim and laying it in to make it 17-2. "The way we started the game offensively, some nerves showed, but you also have to give credit to St. Paul defensively," SMCC head coach Kyle Hammond said. "McCall really influences a lot of shots around the rim and has a big impact. "Their length in general, they made us uncomfortable to start the game and it took us a while to settle in.I thought McCall and Frazee really stepped up and made a big difference in the game at both ends of the floor, and they deserve a lot of credit for the year they had." Gabe Burch snapped an 0-of-14 shooting spell for the Panthers at the other end, but just 21 seconds later, Fries canceled it out with a 3 and a 20-4 lead. Frazee then followed after a quick turnover, as his short jumper pushed the lead to 22-4 with 4:39 left in the half and sent Hammond into another timeout. Blake Finneran was able to score two straight times down the floor for the Panthers (9-16) to make it 24-10 with 1:48 left in the half, but McCall scored three points around an SMCC basket — the last on another basket in the key with 5.2 seconds left for a 27-12 halftime lead. Though the damage had been done, the Panthers had more success in the second half. Trailing 33-17 after yet another basket by McCall, the Panthers got a basket from Gabe Burch and a 3 from Cayden Wikel to make it 33-22 with 1:59 left in the third quarter. After a St. Paul turnover, Brayden Gill scored with 17 seconds left to bring the Panthers within single digits for the first time since it was 11-2. However, Frazee streaked down the floor and went up for two easy points from the left baseline with 2.8 seconds left to give the Flyers a 35-24 lead entering the fourth. SMCC cut the lead down to nine points two more times in the fourth quarter, including a basket by Leo Will with 4:43 remaining to make it 41-32. But like earlier in the game, Fries answered at the other end with a 3, then McCall was fouled and made both after an SMCC miss. Just like that, the lead was back to 46-32 with 3:22 remaining, and it was a formality from there. St. Paul pushed the lead back to 16 (53-37) before the Panthers scored twice in the final 35 seconds. In a 43-39 win over SMCC on Feb. 1, the trio of McCall, Frazee and Fries combined to score 13 points — about 20 below their combined average. Those three had eclipsed 13 points less than three minutes into the third quarter, and combined to score 38 points Saturday night. "And don't think Korey and Nolan didn't remember that," St. Paul head coach Steve Minor said. "We mentioned it in passing, it was nothing we focused on. We didn't have the outside shooting like Thursday, but things got a little easier after a few early shots went in." McCall finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, six blocks and four assists to pace St. Paul. Fries had 12 points and Kuhnle added 10 points and five rebounds. Frazee scored eight points. "I know myself, the first time we played, I didn't have my best game," McCall said of his seven points in the regular season win. "I knew that needed to change for us to win tonight. "We knew we were the favorites, but it still means a lot because it had been so long," he added. "It's rewarding to get the job done, but to be cemented in St. Paul history also feels great." St. Paul won a sectional title two seasons ago in the same Shelby gym as a No. 7 seed. Minor noted the difference. "They went from the underdogs to embracing the challenge of being the hunted," he said. "It's the first year of seven divisions, but it doesn't matter who is in your district or what your record is. You have to win and beat whoever they put in front of you. Upsets happen every year and nothing is guaranteed. "We still had to show up and play the games, and I don't want anyone to take anything away from these guys and what they've done," Minor added. "They won the Firelands Conference outright and earned a No. 1 seed, and now they're district champions — and I'm ecstatic for them." ST. MARY CENTRAL CATHOLIC (9-16) Bryan Gibson 1-1—3; Cayden Wikel 3-0—7; Blake Finneran 4-0—8; Sam Lawrence 1-4—6; Leo Will 3-0—6; Reid Wikel 1-0—2; Brayden Gill 1-0—2; Gabe Burch 3-1—7. TOTALS 17-6—41. ST. PAUL (20-5) Jacob Zuccaro 0-2—2; Grant Kuhnle 3-3—10; Brock Houck 2-0—4; Korey Frazee 3-1—8; Nolan McCall 5-7—17; Landon Fries 4-2—12. TOTALS 17-15—53. SMCC 2 10 12 17 — 41 St. Paul 13 14 8 18 — 53 3-point FGs: (SM) Wikel; (SP) Fries 2, Kuhnle, Frazee