Windham overwhelmed by Columbus Grove aces

South Webster and Villa Angela-St. Joseph also won semifinal games.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS -- Columbus Grove sure didn't have any state tournament jitters.
Eric Maag scored 31 points and Kyle Meyer added 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead tiny Columbus Grove to a 75-62 victory over Windham on Thursday in a Division IV state semifinal.
The Bulldogs (21-5) will meet South Webster (25-2) in Saturday morning's small-school championship game.
Columbus Grove, nestled into the farmland not far from Lima, has just 106 boys in its upper three grades. It had never before climbed all the way to the state tournament.
The Bulldogs did not play like first-timers. They never trailed while shooting 53 percent from the field, holding a 41-28 rebounding advantage and outscoring Windham (22-4) 21-5 from the foul line.
Maag was 10-of-12 by himself to double the Bombers' output at the line and matched Windham with five 3-pointers. Meyer, a second-team Associated Press All-Ohioan, was 10-of-14 from the field and a horse on the boards.
First-team all-stater Ian McGuire had 22 points for Windham, with honorable mention choice Brett Apthorpe adding 20 points. Zach Jacobson had 10 rebounds to go with nine points.
S. Webster 61, Lockland 58
COLUMBUS -- This model of Jeeps is apparently good in rough terrain.
Jordan Lower made two foul shots with 12.8 seconds left and fifth-ranked South Webster played great defense on the final shot to beat No. 10 Lockland.
The Jeeps (25-2) put the clamps on the Panthers' best shooters in the last seconds, crowding Sheldon Johnson and Dajuan Harris and forcing Antoine Wilhite to heave an off-balance 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. It wasn't close.
Nick Aldridge, South Webster's all-time leading scorer with 1,956 points coming in, led the Jeeps with 21 points despite battling early foul trouble and a bad shooting day. He hit 7-of-17 shots from the field, most in heavy traffic within a few feet of the basket.
Lower added 18 points, making all six of his free throws. First-team All-Ohioan Brigham Waginger, who played at state qualifier Ironton last year and then transferred to South Webster, mustered just 7 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
Harris, a second-team all-stater, had a brilliant game with 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Panthers (23-4). Mack Ogletree added 16 points and Wilhite 12 for Lockland, which was making its first state tournament appearance since losing to Upper Arlington in the 1937 championship game.
South Webster is making its second trip to the final four in the last three years. The Jeeps lost to Holgate 31-28 in the 2003 semifinals.
Cleve. VASJ 71, Wheelersburg 62
David Lighty apparently likes the floor at Value City Arena -- and that's very good news for Ohio State coach Thad Matta.
Lighty lit up Wheelersburg for 32 points and flirted with a triple-double to lead Villa Angela-St. Joseph in a Division III state semifinal.
A member of Ohio State's incoming "Thad Five" recruiting class, Lighty was spectacular after getting off to a rocky start, making the most of his latest start on the court which will be his home for his collegiate career.
Lighty had struggled, scoring a season-low 10 points, in a lopsided loss to Dayton Dunbar during a January tournament at Value City Arena. He felt he needed to make amends.
The first-team all-Ohioan hit just one of his first six shots while trying to do too much. Once he settled into the rhythm of the game, he finished 10-of-19 from the field including 2-of-4 on 3-pointers and 10-of-11 at the line. He also had 11 rebounds and eight assists to go with four steals and a blocked shot.
Lighty scored 16 of the Vikings' 21 points in the fourth quarter.
On top of that, he scored all the points in an 8-0 run that put the Vikings ahead to stay.
VASJ (21-5) meets top-ranked Cincinnati North College Hill (25-1) in the championship game Saturday afternoon. North College Hill defeated Archbold 49-34.
Darryl Rushton added 17 points for VASJ, ranked No. 8 in the final regular-season AP rankings. The Vikings are seeking their fifth state title, following championships in 1991, '92, '94 and '95. They are making their first appearance at the state tournament since losing in the 1997 finale.
Camden Miller, a third-team all-stater, had 19 points, Nick Carrington 15 and Drew Spradlin 14 for Wheelersburg (23-3), making its fifth trip to the state tournament.