Koufos corralled in St. Xavier win
The Ohio State recruit had 13 points as GlenOak fell 45-34.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Cincinnati St. Xavier played better on Kosta Koufos' next home court than he did.
The Bombers, with everyone on the roster contributing in one way or another, surrounded and overwhelmed the Division I player of the year to beat Canton GlenOak 45-34 in a state semifinal Friday at Value City Arena.
The 7-foot-2 Koufos, who will play next year for the Buckeyes, came up short against a team with better average height, strength and quickness.
St. X (21-5) took over the game with an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter and never looked back. Brad Loesing was the only St. X player in double figures with 11 points, although Kevin Hickey (9), Walt Gibler (8), Pete Zestermann (7) and Michael Budde (5) also made big plays when the game was on the line.
The Bombers held a 36-17 edge in rebounding, with Zestermann and Budde each grabbing eight.
Tough game
Koufos led GlenOak (23-4), which was making its first trip to the state's final four, with 13 points, but was just 5-of-12 from the field and 3-of-7 at the line. He also had four rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots in 31 minutes.
Koufos was a first-team All-Ohioan, a lopsided choice for player of the year in the division and a close runner-up to Upper Sandusky's Jon Diebler for Mr. Basketball.
St. X didn't have anyone who could contend one-on-one with the tall and talented Koufos, but it did start the 6-8 Zestermann and 6-7 Gibler and brought 6-6 Budde and 6-6 Tom Williams off the bench. There always seemed to be a complement of players to pin Koufos in, no matter where he was at the offensive end.
Neither team found an opening for the first three quarters, with the Bombers leading 9-6 and 20-19 and then trailing 29-28 at the quarter breaks.
Taking control
On the first possession of the fourth quarter, Hickey popped in a 3 from the right wing to give St. X the lead for good. Hickey then had a steal at the other end and Loesing hit a 10-foot runner that he had to arch over the outstretched arm of Koufos.
Ninth-ranked GlenOak missed a shot after a timeout and Zestermann scored off an assist from Budde, an instant after Koufos had blocked Budde's shot.
Koufos then missed a shot behind the arc and Gibler tipped in a Budde miss. St. X was pulling away.
Koufos was fouled and missed both shots -- while being taunted by St. X's all-male student body -- with Gibler taking advantage of a size mismatch underneath to make it 39-29.
Koufos ended GlenOak's scoring drought by hitting a foul shot with 2:57 remaining, but the damage had been done. The Bombers were more than happy to work the ball around while melting time off the clock the rest of the way.
GlenOak started the year 3-4 but had won 20 in a row.
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