COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Cleveland Villa Angela St. Joseph defeated Roger Bacon, 54-52 in the Ohio high school Division III boys basketball state championship game on Saturday at Value City Arena for the school’s record-tying seventh state championship.
Jerry Higgins scored 16 points, Alonzo Gaffney had 12 points and 10 rebounds and William Butler added 10 points.
Alec Pfriem had a double-double for the runner-up with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Johnson and James Johnson added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Leading by two with 1:07 to go, Higgins got behind the defense on an inbounds pass and scored a layup to make it a two-possession game. The Vikings made seven free throws in the final minute and led by as much as 10 before Bacon hit three 3-pointers in the final 31 seconds, but fell one possession short.
The Vikings scored 19 points fewer than their semifinal game against Fairland. VASJ head coach Babe Kwasniak said Roger Bacon was the best defensive team they had played all year.
“You include the national teams we’ve played, we’ve never been guarded like that,” he said.
St. Joseph led by two points heading into the fourth quarter when Butler knocked down a 3, then Noah Newlon hit two triples to give the Vikings an eight point lead with 5:36 to play.
“I thought the two 3s Noah made were as big as shots in any state championships we’ve ever won, just because it was so hard to find points,” Kwasniak said. “Those felt like touchdowns when we made them.”
Roger Bacon was outmatched in the paint with the 6-foot-8 Gaffney on VASJ’s sideline, but the Spartans still outrebounded the Vikings 28-26.
“We did a great job except in one area, and that was blocking him out,” head coach Brian Neal said. “(Gaffney) got three or four putbacks that were key. I can’t believe we outrebounded them. He had five huge offensive rebounds.”
The game was back-and-forth for three quarters, with the lead changing hands eight times. It was Newlon’s two triple that broke the game open for the state champs. The Spartans charged back with a 6-0 run, but couldn’t get over the hump.
“We were shooting pretty well throughout the tournament, but today, shots weren’t falling for us,” Justin Johnson said.
Roger Bacon shot 68 percent in the semifinal, but shot only 43 percent on Saturday.
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