Lutheran East wins historic fourth straight title

DAYTON — Devontey Perkins scored 18 points and Dylan Zeigler added 14 to lead Cleveland Heights Lutheran East to a 50-36 win over Gahanna Columbus Academy in the Division V state championship game on Saturday. With the win in front of 2,813 in attendance at the University of Dayton Arena, Lutheran East became the first school in OHSAA history to win four consecutive boys basketball state championships. The Falcons have now appeared in nine straight state tournaments, excluding 2020 when the tournament was cancelled, and have won 28 consecutive tournament games, the second longest streak in state history. Lutheran East's seven total boys basketball state championships are tied with Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph and Middletown for second most in OHSAA history. Columbus Academy was in the state tournament for the third time. The Vikings have finished as runners-up each time (1981, 2025, 2026). Lutheran East (25-2) scored first and never trailed. The Falcons led 12-5 after the first quarter and 28-10 at halftime. Lutheran East opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 scoring run within the first minute that stretched the lead to a game-high high 26 points, 45-19. Columbus Academy (24-5) closed the game by outscoring Lutheran East 17-5 over the final seven minutes. Perkins made 8 of 12 shots from the floor and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for Lutheran East. Zeigler added five rebounds and four assists to his 14 points. Jason Singleton scored 17 points to lead Columbus Academy. He also had six rebounds and four steals. Mitch Zumberge added eight points and nine rebounds. DIVISION I Cin. Princeton 59, Hilliard Bradley 28 Cincinnati Princeton scored the game's first eight points and never looked back, defeating Hilliard Bradley, 59-28, in front of 4,635 fans in the big-school title game on Sunday. Princeton (25-3) won its first state title in its third trip to the state tournament. The Vikings finished runner-up in both 1972 and 2009. Hilliard Bradley (25-3) was making its first appearance in the state tournament. The Jaguars had won 16 straight games entering the state final. Amire Gill led Princeton with 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting, including 3 of 3 from three. He also collected a team-high seven rebounds. Rognny Santiago Lugo joined Gill in double figures with 12 points. Five different players scored as Princeton jumped to a 16-5 first-quarter lead. Princeton extended the lead in each period, leading 23-7 at halftime and 39-18 after three quarters. Gill scored 16 of his 24 points after halftime. Kypton Norris and Jayden Reed-Davis both scored eight points to pace Bradley. DIVISION II Massillon 68, Westerville North 63 Massillon Washington overcame a 15-point second-half deficit in a come-from-behind overtime victory over Westerville North, claiming the program's first state championship in front of 4,642 fans on Sunday. Massillon guard Gio Jackson Jr. led the team with 17 points as the Tigers featured three scorers with 15 points or more. The Tigers finished 27-1 and made the state tournament for the first time since 1945. Westerville North (26-2) made its fifth trip to the state tournament and returned to Dayton as the reigning Div. II champion. Senior Elijah McCree led all scorers with 21 points. The Warriors had two players achieve double-doubles. Junior Damion King finished the game with 12 points and 17 rebounds and Tony Cornett added 15 points and 10 rebounds. The game was back-and-forth for the most part, featuring fast paced action and strong defense. At the end of the first quarter, Westerville North was ahead 13-11. The Tigers rode that momentum into the fourth quarter with a 15-1 run to put them in front, 57-51, with 2:12 to go in the game. Westerville North countered with a 7-1 run of their own over the final 1:56 of regulation to tie the game at 58 apiece. With seconds remaining, Warriors senior Jacob Medhane had a fastbreak opportunity when Tigers junior Xavier Williams blocked the potential game-winning layup from behind, sending the game to overtime. In overtime, Massillon outscored Westerville North 10-5. Xavier Williams had six of those points. In the fourth quarter and overtime, the Tigers shot 10-of-12 from the floor. DIVISION III Trotwood-Madison 48, Steubenville 47 Darius Dennis scored on a pull-up jumper in the lane with nine seconds remaining, and Trotwood-Madison made one final stop on defense as the Rams defeated Steubenville, 48-47, in front of 5,771 Friday night in the state championship game. Dennis posted 17 points, 14 rebounds and four steals to lead Trotwood-Madison, which scored the game's first six points, led for more than 30 of the game's 32 minutes, and staved off a late rally that saw Steubenville take its first and only lead with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Trotwood-Madison (23-4) earned its second state championship (2019, Div. II) in its sixth appearance at the tournament. The Rams were runners-up in Division I in 2006. Steubenville (26-2) was in the state tournament for the first time since 1952, when it also finished runner-up in the Class A (large school) tournament. The game was played at a frenetic pace. The teams combined to attempt 101 shots from the floor, but the defenses helped force the tempo; the two sides were credited with a combined 17 steals on 24 turnovers. Trotwood-Madison led 25-19 at halftime and built a 10-point lead, its largest of the game, early in the third quarter. The Rams still led by seven, 43-36, when Dennis made two free throws with 3:34 remaining. Steubenville scored on its next three possessions to pull within a point, 45-44, with 2:15 left. Cole Bowers, who led Steubenville with 22 points, drew a foul and sank both free throws with 31 seconds remaining to tie the score for the first time, and Santino Haney split a pair of free throws nine seconds later that gave Steubenville its only lead of the game, 47-46. Dennis drove into the lane and hit what proved to be the game-winning shot from inside 10 feet. Steubenville's final shot caromed off the rim, and neither team could secure the rebound as time expired. Je'Carious Reaves chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for Trotwood-Madison. Haney posted 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals for Steubenville. DIVISION IV Cin. Wyoming 73, Cle. Glenville 48 Cincinnati Wyoming opened the game on an 11-0 run and never trailed en route to a big win over Glenville in front of 3,415 fans Friday night. Wyoming senior guard Kellen Wiley scored a layup in transition just before the six-minute mark of the first quarter to open the scoring for the Cowboys and start the 11-0 run. Wyoming held Glenville scoreless through over seven minutes of play with senior Darren Gray making a layup at the buzzer to extend the Cowboys lead to 16-5 at the end of the first quarter. The teams traded baskets to open the second quarter, but Wyoming went on a 9-0 run to finish the half and led 36-16 at halftime. Glenville senior Theodore Castro knocked down two three-pointers in the third quarter, but Billingsley's eight points in the frame contributed to Wyoming's 55-29 lead at the end of the third quarter. Wiley and Carlyle Billingsley each scored 20 points to lead Wyoming, while Glenville was led by senior Arvell Nelson Jr. who scored 19 points and knocked down four three-pointers. This was the first state championship game appearance for Wyoming and its fourth appearance in the state tournament. Glenville was making its second consecutive appearance in the state tournament, finishing as runners-up in 2025. DIVISION VI Berlin Hiland 54, Marion Local 51, 2OT Ryan Zerger had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Alex Miller had 11 points, four rebounds and five steals as Berlin Hiland outlasted Maria Stein Marion Local, 54-51 in double overtime, to win the Div. VI state title in front of 4,459 in attendance. It was the first double-overtime state championship game since 2018, when Marion Local defeated Willoughby Cornerstone Christian 52-51 in the Div. IV title game. Hiland claimed its fourth boys basketball state title in its 15th trip to the state tournament, tied for the fourth most appearances in state history. Hiland's three previous titles were in 1992, 2011 and 2012. Hiland finished 26-3 overall and won its final 21 games in a row. 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 its final 9 field goals and 10 of its final 13 free throws over the game's final 10 minutes, overcoming deficits in the final minute of both regulation and the second overtime. Marion Local led 39-34 with 1:31 remaining in regulation, but Hiland forced overtime by outscoring Marion Local 7-2 over the final 70 seconds. Miller keyed the rally, scoring twice on driving layups and forcing a turnover in the backcourt that set up Ashton Schrock's free throws that tied the game at 41 with 16 seconds left and ultimately sent the game to overtime. Hiland led 47-42 in the final minute of the first extra period, but back-to-back three-pointers by Kremer 11 seconds apart tied the score at 48 and forced the second extra session. Free throws were the difference for Hiland in the second overtime. Grant Bille made a pair of foul shots to give Hiland the lead, 52-51, with 56 seconds remaining. CJ Yoder then forced a turnover and drew a foul; his two foul shots with 17 seconds remaining extended the Hiland lead to 54-51. A long Marion Local three-point attempt out of a timeout drew the back of the rim, and Ryan Zerger secured the rebound as time expired. Zerger and Miller both played all 40 minutes for Hiland. Caleb Yoder and Ashton Schrock both scored nine points before fouling out. Kremer led Marion Local with 22 points. He was 8 of 14 from the floor, including 5 of 11 from three. Isaac Moeller scored nine points, while Brennen Hess and Kale Ahrens both finished with seven points. DIVISION VII Delphos St. John's 56, Kalida 47 Cameron Elwer, the Mr. Basketball runner-up for the second straight year, helped the Blue Jays play from in front from start to finish to win the school's fourth boys basketball title with Saturday's small-school win in front of the largest crowd of the weekend at 7,408 in Dayton. The Jays led 19-15 after one quarter and got the separation they needed with a 17-10 second quarter to take a 36-25 halftime lead. Elwer scored 28 points on 6-of-16 shooting for St. John's to go with seven rebounds and five assists. He finished among the top six scorers in OHSAA history. His unofficial total of 2,768 trails only Quinn Kwasniak (Willoughby Cornerstone Christian), Jon Diebler (Fostoria/Upper Sandusky), Zach Rasile (McDonald), Luke Kennard (Franklin), and Jay Burson (New Concord John Glenn). In the loss for Kalida, which finished the regular season at 11-11 before winning six tournament games, Owen Grime scored 18 points as the lone player in double-figures. This was Kalida's sixth state tournament appearance. It has one state title (1981) and three runner-ups (1988, 2009, 2026). Delphos St. John's — which also got nine points from Andrew Elwer on Saturday — was in the state semifinals for the 13th time. The Blue Jays also won state titles in 1949, 1983, and 2002. They were runner-up in 1954, 1973, 1998, and 2001.