Monroe Central head coach Mason Lang will cut the net following a 43-35 victory for the Marion local Seminoles at the Ohio Division VI State Championship Game held at UD Arena on Saturday. (Photo provided)
Dayton – Monroe Central Seminole is the state champion.
The boys basketball team won the Ohio Division VI State title Saturday afternoon. Monroe claimed a 43-35 victory.
The Seminole brought the title home before a crowd of 7,285 people was packed inside the University of Dayton Arena.
The wire-to-wire victory made Monroe Central the Ohio State basketball team in-person for the Ohio Valley since Yorkville won the Class B Championship in 1943.
“I thought our boys played really well today. We talked about unity… we trusted each other and we really saw today,” said Monroe Central head coach Mason Lang.
The Seminoles’ offense scored enough points, and their facial defense gave them the winner of the school’s second state championship.
“It was a really good coaching team,” Lang said of the Flyers (26-3). “They challenged us on the offensive edge and we really struggled to score, but our defense stepped up on the other side. I thought Chance Allen and Corbin Farnsworth would play great defensively and Tucker Howell would get a rebound on the back.”
Monroe Central’s trademark was to get a fast start throughout the season and play the team at that pace. That’s right.
The Seminoles took a 7-0 lead after a quarter, leading 14-6 as sophomore Farnsworth scored six points on Tray on six of the 12 points from Team High. However, it was the Seminole tenacious defense that pushed the flyer to six turnovers in the first eight minutes, including three on their first four-minute possessions.
“I think we’ve been doing good defenses all year round. These guys trust our game plans,” emphasized Lang. “I thought Corbin did a great job with the (Austin) Knee-Kamp kid. He held him to 13 points, but most of them came in the second half. If you play against such a team, you have to do great team defense.
Monroe Central built a lead of 9, 10 in a basket by junior Caedin Silva, with a consecutive bucket by Farnsworth earning a margin for the game’s biggest lead, while Marion rolled up seven quick points on the 23-17 trail in the final 90 seconds of the quarter.
The Flyers ran 5-1 to begin the third quarter, sliced the deficit to 24-22 near the midpoint of the period. However, Tucker Howell’s basket was 26-22 with a media timeout, and his brother Cooper filled in for a 30-24 advantage from the right wing as the designated host gained a 30-24 advantage with a quarter of play.
The surge in turnovers by both teams to start the final eight minutes negated the opportunity to score, but the basketball by Marion’s local Brayden Mescher was 30-26, with the Flyers still loyal.
However, Monroe Central’s Jacob Fogle quickly put the same fan back in his seat. The senior took down a huge 3-pointer from the left corner for 33-26, and the Flyers never made a stretch below five times.
“Please provide Monroe Central Credit,” said local head coach Kurt Gettemoller at Marion. “I knew they liked to start fast and play at a pace. They did just that.”
In addition to his 12 points, Farnsworth handed out three assists and grabbed the rebounding trio. Cooper Howell and Allen evenly split 20 markers, and Allen tickled the strings on all six of his free throw attempts. Tucker Howell grabbed nine rebounds. Each of the Howells had three steels.
