COLUMBUS: The locker room celebration was ongoing as St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball coach Dru Joyce II and senior players Jayvon Graves and Jonathan Williams spoke with the media on Thursday afternoon.
Irish players could be heard whooping it up through the walls as Joyce, Graves and Williams reflected on a dramatic 62-60 victory over Trotwood-Madison in a Division II state semifinal at Ohio State University’s Value City Arena.
Moments earlier, Graves had converted the game-winning shot to propel St. V-M (24-5) into the Division II state final, where it will meet Wauseon (27-1) at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.
Joyce was obviously in a great mood, but remained serious about the tournament.
“We didn’t come here to win the semifinal,” he said. “We didn’t come here to just win that. We came here to win it all. … We have put ourselves in the position to win it.”
St. V-M will look to do just that with Graves, a 6-foot-3 guard, and Williams, a 6-1 guard, leading the charge. The Irish starting lineup also includes 6-3 senior Justin Sampson, 6-2 sophomore Lunden McDay and 5-9 sophomore Chris Painter.
Graves (22 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks), McDay (15 points) and Sampson (11 points) led St. V-M on Thursday. Williams had seven points and seven assists.
Wauseon beat Columbus Eastmoor Academy 42-35 on Thursday. The Indians start 6-3 junior Brooks Gype, 6-2 senior Carter Bzovi, 6-4 junior Owen Newlove, 6-9 junior Austin Rotroff and 6-0 senior Brendan Britsch.
Gype had 14 points, four assists and four rebounds on Thursday. Bzovi scored 13 points, Newlove had eight points and five rebounds, and Rotroff totaled six points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.
Depth could benefit St. V-M, which played five reserves on Thursday to three for Wauseon.
Lucky No. 7?
St. V-M will be seeking its seventh state championship in its 14th appearance since 1983. The Irish won a Class AA state championship in 1984, Division III state titles in 2000 and 2001 and Division II state titles in 2003, 2009 and 2011.
Middletown holds the OHSAA record for state titles won in boys basketball with seven between 1944 and 1957. St. V-M and Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph are tied for second with six each. VA-SJ won its state semifinal game Friday to advance to the Division III state final that will be held on Saturday.
St. V-M was also a state runner-up in 2002, 2013 and 2016, and a state semifinalist in 1983, 1987, 2006 and 2014. St. Mary won a Class B state title in 1929 and St. Vincent was a Class A state semifinalist in 1949 before the two schools merged in 1972.
One more for Summit?
The state boys basketball tournament started in 1923. Since then, 16 titles have been won by Summit County high schools according to the OHSAA.
The list includes the St. Mary and St. V-M teams, and the following: West (Class A in 1932), North (Class A in 1935 and 1939), Ellet (Class B in 1944), Manchester (Class AA in 1974), Barberton (Class AAA in 1976), Central-Hower (Class AAA in 1980 and 1986) and Archbishop Hoban (Division III in 1989).
OHSAA records also indicate that the following Summit County schools have reached the state tournament: Buchtel, Central, Copley, Coventry, East, Firestone, Garfield, Mogadore, South, Springfield and Stow.
West, Central, Central-Hower and South High schools are all closed.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.