Massillon wins first basketball state title

DAYTON — The Massillon boys basketball team reached the state tournament for the first time in 81 years and came home with its first state championship Sunday.

The Tigers rallied from a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter to beat defending Division II state champion Westerville North in a 68-63 overtime thriller in front of 4,642 fans at University of Dayton Arena.

Massillon’s previous best finish was as state runner-up in 1937 under coach Paul Brown, better known as a football coach.

Trailing 45-30 with less than 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Tigers clawed back to lead 57-51 with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Westerville North countered with a 7-1 run of it own over the final 1:56 of regulation to tie the game at 58-58.

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, Williams scored six points as Massillon held a 10-5 edge for the victory.

Massillon shot 10-of-12 from the floor in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Gio Jackson had a team-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting with nine rebounds. Williams and Isaiah Lamp added 10 points apiece. Braylon Gamble grabbed 10 rebounds.

Massillon finishes with a school-best 27-1 season and a 24-game winning streak

Westerville North (26-2) made its fifth trip to the state tournament.

Lutheran East makes it four in a row

DAYTON — The Cleveland Heights Lutheran East boys basketball team became the first in OHSAA history to win four straight state championships.

The Falcons did it by beating Gahanna Columbus Academy, 50-36, in the Division V state final Saturday in front of 2,813 fans at University of Dayton Arena. It was their 28th consecutive postseason victory and ninth straight state tournament appearance.

Lutheran East had another dominating performance by taking a 28-10 halftime lead and leading by as many as 29 points at 45-19.

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 2026 Division V state championship game.

Six-foot-7 junior Devontey Perkins had a 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 12 rebounds and sophomore Dylan Zeigler added 14 points for the Falcons.

Lutheran East finishes at 25-2 with an all-underclassman starting lineup with all five players averaging in double figures.

In the regular season, the Falcons played five teams that reached the state tournament.

They defeated Division VI state champion Berlin Hiland (57-54), Divison II state runner-up Westerville North (51-49) and Division IV state runner-up Cleveland Glenville (71-59). The two losses were to Division I state semifinalist Lakewood St. Edward (62-58) and Division IV state semifinalist Zaneville Maysville ( 82-76).

Wheeling Central repeats in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Wheeling Central boys basketball team repeated as the West Virginia Class AA state champion.

The No. 1 Maroon Knights held No. 2 Wyoming East to 11 field goals over the final three quarters for a 55-39 win in the Class AA state championship game Saturday at Charleston Coliseum.

Eli Sancomb — the two-time Gatorade West Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year– led Wheeling Central with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Sancomb and Max Olejasz each had 10 points.

The Maroon Knights have completed a 23-0 season, including wins over Ohio Division III state runner-up Steubenville (82-72), Oak Glen (84-41), and extended their winning streak to 35 games.

Former teammates, now rivals

COLUMBUS (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge and Hannah Hidalgo were teammates on the USA Basketball Under-17 national team in 2022. On Monday, they will be on opposing sidelines trying to get their teams into the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Cambridge and third-seeded Ohio State (27-7) face Hidalgo and sixth-seeded Notre Dame (23-10) in a matchup featuring both guards, who were AP All-America second-team selections last week.

“Two great guards are going against each other, so I’m excited to play,” Cambridge said before the Buckeyes practiced on Sunday.

Hidalgo — a two-time ACC Player of the Year — leads Division I in steals with 181 and is third in scoring at 25.2 points per game.

Cambridge led the Big Ten in scoring and is eighth in Division I (22.7 ppg). She is the fifth player in Ohio State history with at least 700 points in a season.

Hidalgo dominated on both ends of the court of Saturday’s 79–60 victory over Fairfield with 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists.

The eight steals by the junior were a single-game NCAA Tournament school record, surpassing the previous mark of seven which was shared by Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey.

“She can do everything, especially on the defensive end. She’s a two-way player, so I really look up to her and how she carries herself,” Cambridge said. “We have to take care of the ball and make sure we’re consistent on the offensive end.”

Cambridge, a sophomore, creates plenty of matchup problems due to her quickness and open-floor drives to the basket. The sophomore led the way with 21 points in Saturday’s 75-54 win over Howard.

Hidalgo said trying to go toe to toe with Cambridge, especially down the open floor, was a challenge when they were teammates four years ago.

“I just remember her speed. She’s a great guard, dynamic guard. Knows how to get her teammates involved,” Hidalgo said. “I thought I was the fastest one in the camp and she beat me by a mile.”

Family affair

Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff was an assistant at Notre Dame under Muffet McGraw for six seasons (1996-2002), including when Ivey was a player. Both were part of Notre Dame’s first NCAA championship in 2001.

Ivey’s first coaching job was on McGuff’s staff at Xavier in 2005. She was an administrative assistant for two seasons before returning to Notre Dame and joining McGraw’s staff.

Ivey is still close with McGuff’s wife, Letitia Bowen, who also was a former ND player and assistant. Ivey is also a godmother to one of McGuff’s daughters.

“One of the reasons she’s been such an effective head coach so far is when I look back at her as a player and when we won the national championship, she was certainly one of the leaders of the team,” McGuff said. “The thing that made her such an effective leader was her ability to connect with everybody on the team. I see that in her as a head coach, the way she connects with young people in recruiting, the way she connects with the young people in her program. It’s really cool to see, and I think that’s something that has put her in this position to be successful and will continue to do so.”

Ivey and Bowen have talked this week, but all of that will be put aside for a couple hours on Monday.

‘I’m not friends with him tomorrow. He knows that,” Ivey said. “We’re both trying to advance. We support each other outside of playing each other obviously but you know how to keep it competitive and business oriented.”

This will be the first time since 2017 the two teams have met. Notre Dame won that game 99-76 in the Sweet 16 in Lexington, Kentucky.

Notre Dame has a 4-1 edge in the all-time series, but hasn’t faced the Buckeyes in Columbus since 1997. Ohio State won that meeting 74-67.

Getting out of the first weekend

Ohio State has lost in the second round the past two years despite playing at home. It was seeded second in 2024 before losing to Duke in the second round. They were the No. 4 seed last year before Tennessee’s victory in the round of 32.

Notre Dame has been to the Sweet 16 in its last 14 tournament trips, but this is only the second time since 2015 it has not been not hosted the first two rounds on the first weekend.