Louisville captures state title

DAYTON — Louisville raced to a 21-point first-half lead, then withstood a second-half rally by Cincinnati Aiken and emerged with a 63-61 win in the Division III state championship game Friday in front of 7,178 fans at University of Dayton Arena.

Louisville (24-5) won its first boys basketball state championship in its first trip to the state tournament. Aiken (27-2) finished runner-up in its second trip to the state tournament and first appearance in the championship game.

Malone University recruit Tate Aljancic — the son of former Northeastern Buckeye Conference standout Jon Aljancic — led Louisville with 17 points. He made 5 of 6 shots from the floor and 5 of 6 at the foul line.

Beau Siegfried, an Ashland recruit, and Avery Andrejcik both scored 14 points, while Walsh recruit Brayden Gross had nine points and 12 rebounds and Ashton Marshall finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

Louisville opened the game on a 13-2 run and led 38-17 with less than a minute remaining in the first half.

Aiken opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run to pull within 38-34.

The Falcons could get no closer than three points until the final 26 seconds when they pulled within 61-59 and than 62-61 with eight seconds left. Marshall made two free throws with three seconds remaining to close out the scoring.

Louisville defeated West Branch, 79-56, on Jan. 11.

Gator guides Maysville

DAYTON — The Zanesville Maysville boys basketball team finished on a 16-2 run in the final five minutes to rally past Cleveland Glenville, 74-67, in the Division IV state championship game Friday at University of Dayton Arena.

Junior Gator Nichols scored a game-high 36 points, tied for the eighth most in boys basketball state championship game history, regardless of division. Nicols was 11-of-21 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and 10-of-12 at the foul line.

It is the first state title for the Panthers, who reached the state final for the second straight year.

Junior Jordyn Watson joined Nichols in double figures with 19 points along with a team-high eight rebounds.

Trailing 65-58, the Panthers went on a 10-0 run to go ahead 68-65 with 1:51 to play.

Nichols converted both free throws on an intentional foul to put the Panthers up 70-67 with 45 seconds remaining.

Kane Roehrig and Nichols both converted a pair of free throws in the final 28 seconds as the Panthers pulled away.

Xavier Vickerstaff made five three pointers and led Glenville with 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Maysville, which has no seniors, finishes at 27-3, including a 73-57 district victory over East Liverpool on Feb. 25.

Maysville’s only other OHSAA state title was in softball in 1985.

Dayton goes on the road

DAYTON — So much for a homecourt advantage for the Dayton Flyers.

The Flyers, a No. 1 seed in its region in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), has played the first two rounds on the road because University of Dayton Arena was hosting the First Four on Monday and Tuesday and the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s seven state championship games on Friday and Saturday.

Dayton has played its last 11 NIT games on the road in eight states.

The Flyers will travel to Chattanooga at 11:30 a.m. Saturday after winning 86-79 at Florida Atlantic on Tuesday.

Dayton sold out every home game for the fourth consecutive season, a streak now at 77 straight home games.

Foreman wrote many chapters

(AP) — George Foreman, the fearsome heavyweight who lost the “Rumble in the Jungle” to Muhammad Ali before his inspiring second act as a 45-year-old champion and a successful businessman, died Friday night. He was 76.

Foreman’s family announced his death on social media.

“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose,” his family wrote.

A native Texan, Foreman began his boxing career as an Olympic gold medalist who inspired fear as he climbed to the peak of the heavyweight division by stopping Joe Frazier in 1973. His formidable aura evaporated only a year later when Ali pulled off one of the most audacious victories in boxing history in Zaire, baiting and taunting Foreman into losing his belt in one of the greatest fights ever staged.

Foreman left the sport a few years later, but returned after a 10-year absence and a self-described religious awakening.

He then pulled off one of the most spectacular knockouts in boxing history in 1994, flooring Michael Moorer — 19 years his junior — with one perfect combination to claim Moorer’s two heavyweight belts.

Foreman’s transformation into an inspirational figure was complete, and he fought only four more times before moving onto his next career as a genial businessman, pitchman and occasional actor.

He was best known as the face of the George Foreman Grill, a rudimentary cooking machine which sold more than 100 million units and made him much wealthier than his sport ever did.

Skenes card brings $1.1 million

(AP) — A one-of-a-kind Paul Skenes baseball card was purchased by Dick’s Sporting Goods for $1.11 million after a two-week auction.

There was a total of 64 bids on Skenes’ debut patch card, which is autographed and contains a patch that was on the pitcher’s jersey for his heralded major league debut in May.

The final price announced by Fanatics Collect late Thursday night included a 20% buyer’s premium. Fanatics Collect plans to donate its proceeds from the sale to the LA Fire Relief Fund.

The 22-year-old Skenes is slated to make $875,000 while in the major leagues this year with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dick’s plans to display the card in a new collectors’ space at its House of Sport store at Ross Park in suburban Pittsburgh. Dick’s has its headquarters in Pittsburgh.

“Acquiring the Paul Skenes MLB debut patch card enables us to celebrate his incredible talent while giving our athletes a unique opportunity to experience a piece of baseball history up close,” Ed Stack, the executive chairman of the company, said in a release. “We’re thrilled to bring this special card home and display it in our Pittsburgh House of Sport store where it can inspire the next generation of athletes and collectors.”

The card’s journey over the last few months has generated the kind of buzz typically reserved for iconic collectibles featuring Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr.

The debut patch cards are featured in Topps Chrome Update. There were 91 in the first year in 2023 and 251 last year. While the cards have attracted the attention of some young major leaguers and longtime collectors alike, most of the attention has been focused on Skenes’ card in particular.

A combination of Skenes’ burgeoning stardom, the considerable reach of his girlfriend, LSU gymnast/influencer Livvy Dunne, and a head-turning offer the Pirates made in hopes of securing the card fueled the hype for the one-of-one collectible.

It was claimed by an 11-year-old in the Los Angeles area after he discovered the redemption code for the Skenes card in a pack he received as part of a Christmas present. He declined the Pirates’ offer and instead turned over the card to Fanatics Collect, which has given it the “white glove” service for the last two months.

Skenes was voted the National League Rookie of the Year after he went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts for Pittsburgh last year. The right-hander is slated to start for the Pirates on opening day next week.

Ohio State wins opener

COLUMBUS (AP) — Taylor Thierry had 16 points, and No. 4 seed Ohio State used a balanced attack to beat Montana State 71-51 on Friday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State shot 50.9% from the field, and each of its starters scored in double figures. Cotie McMahon and Chance Gray each had 15 points, and Jaloni Cambridge finished with 12. Ajae Petty had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Next up for the Buckeyes (26-6) is the winner of Tennessee versus South Florida.

Esmeralda Morales scored 20 points and Natalie Picton had 12 for No. 13 seed Montana State (30-4), the champions of the Big Sky.

Bothered by several close calls that went against his team, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff received a technical foul with 5:23 left in the first half. Picton hit the two technical free throws and then converted a layup for a 27-23 lead. But Ohio State responded with nine straight points to end the half.

McMahon had five of those points as OSU grabbed a 32-27 lead at the break. It was part of a larger 32-3 run that spanned 12 minutes of the second and third quarters.

“I think we just got back to being aggressive in the press, not really being stagnant,” Gray said. “That’s our best basketball. Getting steals and converting the steals, I think that’s what kind of got us going. We talked in the huddle. They went on their run, and it was time for us to go on our run.”

Asked about his technical, McGuff responded: “Yeah, there were just disagreements on things that were going on out there. So I voiced my displeasure and that’s about it.”

Gray made three straight 3s to open the second half and increase Ohio State’s lead to 41-27.

“I was just kind of ready to shoot whenever my teammates got me the ball,” Gray said. “We were moving the ball really well. That’s something we’ve been emphasizing last couple weeks.”

Takeaways

Montana State: The Bobcats set a school record for wins this year for Tricia Binford, who wrapped her 20th season as the team’s coach.

“They came out in that third quarter and really jumped on us super fast,” Binford said. “It was like in the blink of an eye. Their pressure’s great, they’re super fast, and I want to wish them the best. They had a great game.”

Ohio State: The Buckeyes are hosting NCAA opening weekend action for the third time in four years. They won their tournament opener for the eighth consecutive time dating to a first-round loss in 2012.

Key stats

Ohio State enjoyed a 44-14 advantage in scoring in the paint and a 21-2 margin in fast-break scoring. Montana State committed 26 turnovers.

Bowling results

Sportsman League

at Walnut Lanes

TEAM STANDINGS: Brian’s Pro Shop 33 1/2, AK Nahas 33, SJK Construction 32 1/2, Safelite 30, Chaney’s 28, TBD 24, Sanford Plumbing 23, Walnut Lanes 20, American Legion Post 70 19.

HIGH GAME: Jason Carter and Tres Click 258, Tim Pancake 256.

HIGH SERIES: Tim Pancake 743, Tres Click 736, Jason Carter 668.