Mr. Basketball lifts Northland to state crown

COLUMBUS (AP) — If the poll voters were right, then they were right in a photo finish.

Mr. Basketball Jared Sullinger hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds left as top-ranked Columbus Northland edged No. 2 Cincinnati Princeton 60-58 on Saturday night to capture the Division I Ohio state championship.

It will go down as one of the weirdest finishes in the tournament’s 87 years. Players were fouled on 3-pointers twice in the final 15 seconds.

The 6-foot-9 junior Sullinger finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He’s committed to go to Ohio State in the fall of 2010.

Xavier-bound teammate J.D. Weatherspoon had 18 points for 27-1 Northland, which edged Princeton for The Associated Press poll crown.

Jordan Sibert also is headed to Ohio State in 2010. He led 25-2 Princeton with 21 points. Miami (Ohio) recruit Orlando Williams went for 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Division II

Akron SVSM 59, Dayton Marshall 53

What coach Dru Joyce II stressed to his Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary players was that this wasn’t just their game, it was one that would belong to history.

Daylen Harrison scored 21 points and hit four free throws in the final 11 seconds to lead SVSM past Dayton Thurgood Marshall to win the Division II state championship.

Proud alumnus and Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James was sitting in the first row behind the bench and joined in the celebration after the victory — the first title for the school since he won three before graduating in 2003.

Div. III

Cleve. Cent. Cath. 45, Defiance Tinora 38

Chall Montgomery had 16 points and Cleveland Central Catholic held Defiance Tinora to 27-percent shooting.

Defense, obviously, was the story for the Ironmen (24-3), ranked ninth in the final regular-season Associated Press poll. It was the lowest-scoring title game ever in the division.

Derrick Bufford and Brandon Campbell each added 10 points for the Ironmen, who won the school’s first title in their second trip to the state tournament.

Gregg Gerken had 17 points for Tinora, which missed all nine shots from the field and had five turnovers in the first quarter while falling behind 11-0. The Rams came back to take the lead in the second quarter, but couldn’t keep up offensively.

Div. IV

Oak Hill 48, Kalida 43, 2OT

Kyle Ondera hit the go-ahead free throws and then clinched it with two more to give Oak Hill a thrilling win in the Oaks’ first trip ever to the state tournament.

Ondera finished with just six points, but had 10 rebounds an assist while handling the ball against Kalida’s furious defensive pressure. Borden and Hale each had 13 points to lead the way for Oak Hill (25-2).

Jordan Basinger scored 19 points for Kalida (23-5).