Bedford Chanel falls in semifinal

Worthington Christian advanced to the Division IV final against New Knoxville.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS— Tyler Joseph scored 17 points, first-team All-Ohioan Brian Hecker added 15 and Worthington Christian blended its 3-point shooting with a solid inside game to beat Bedford Chanel 66-58 Thursday in a Division IV state semifinal.

The third-ranked Warriors (26-1) will go for their second state championship — they won the title in 1999 — when they play New Knoxville in Saturday’s 2 p.m. championship game. They’re making their fifth trip to the state tournament.

The stars were many for the Warriors.

Tyler Joseph’s brother Zach added 14 points, five assists and six rebounds, Bobby Condon had 13 points and Brady Beals only scored three points but had 11 rebounds.

Lamar McKnight, a third-team all-stater, had 21 points and Arthur Jordan chipped in with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Firebirds (17-9), also making their fifth trip to the state tournament and with a Division III state title in 1999.

The Warriors live and die with their outside shooting. On this night, they had a decided advantage behind the arc, hitting 9-of-23 3-pointers to just 5-of-20 for Chanel.

The Warriors led just 21-20 going into a media timeout midway through the second quarter. From then on, they went on a 13-5 run to the halftime horn.

Hecker drove the lane and hit an 8-footer in the lane, then turned a loose ball into a 25-20 lead when he sliced into the paint for another basket.

New Knoxville 62,
Wayne Trace 41

Sixty-one years later, New Knoxville is back in a state championship game.

Ryan VanderHorst scored 16 points to lead top-ranked New Knoxville past Haviland Wayne Trace.

Brad Piehl, a 6-foot-7 junior, had a sterling all-around game, totaling 13 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots. He frequently would come up with a steal and then bring the ball up court on the break.

Austin Arnett added 11 points.

The only previous time a New Knoxville team made it to the state tournament was in 1947, when the Rangers beat Phillipsburg in the Class B semifinals before losing to Columbiana in the championship game.

Aaron Hockenberry, an honorable mention all-stater, had 14 points for tiny Wayne Trace (21-5), which has just 34 students in its senior class. Alex LaBounty chipped in with 10 points.