Buford’s shooting off, but Toledo Libbey wins

Libbey beat St. Paris
Graham, 51-44, to advance to the Division II final.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s “Mr. Basketball” William Buford had an off-day shooting but still scored 21 points Thursday to help Toledo Libbey hang on for a 51-44 win over St. Paris Graham in a Division II state semifinal.

The fourth-ranked Cowboys (24-2) advance to their first state championship appearance since blowing a huge lead in the fourth quarter of the 1966 title game, eventually losing to Dayton Chaminade, 55-52. That stunning failure has haunted the school ever since.

Libby will play Chillcothe on Saturday at 10:45 a.m. in the championship game. Chillicothe advanced with a 78-70 win over Poland Thursday.

Buford, who on Wednesday was named the 2008 recipient of the Associated Press Mr. Basketball award, was 9-for-24 from the field, including misses on all four of his 3-pointers. He was only 3-of-7 at the line, but had 10 rebounds and three assists.

Lance Jones added 10 points for Libbey, whose point total was one under its previous season low.

Ethan Ward led No. 4 Graham (26-1), a perennial state champ in wrestling that was making its first trip to the boys state tournament, with 14 points. Josh Schuler, averaging 20 points a game, didn’t score in the opening half and finished with eight.

Both teams were tight on offense. In all fairness, both also played gritty, physical defense before a crowd of 12,776 at Value City Arena.

Libbey started to assert itself in the third quarter. While their man-to-man defense squelched the Graham attack, the Cowboys began to look more for the open man.

Brad Sandridge scored, pulling a loose ball off his arm for a bucket inside. After a Graham turnover, Jones was fouled intentionally and hit both shots. On the ensuing possession, Sandridge scored off a follow for a 35-28 lead. Graham turned it over again, with Bradley Burton hitting a bucket inside off a rebound.

The Cowboys took the first 12 shots from the field in the quarter, with Graham not getting off a shot until Schuler’s leaner at the 4:34 mark. The Falcons got the rebound and Schuler was fouled, hitting both shots for his first points of the game.

Schuler got on track in the fourth quarter, hitting a 3-pointer and another basket and assisting on a 3-pointer by Ethan Ward that cut what was a 10-point lead with under 3:45 left to just 45-41.

It narrowed even more when Buford missed the front end of a bonus situation and Travis Crooks scored off a long lob pass from Ben Rosenberger with 45 seconds remaining.

The Cowboys responded, however.

Jones hit two free throws for a 47-43 lead with 36.5 seconds left.