From clevewland.com:
Canal Winchester Harvest Prep (23-4) vs. Ottawa-Glandorf (24-3)
When: 5:15 p.m. Friday
Where: UD Arena
About the Warriors: After last year’s state semifinal loss to eventual champion Lutheran East, Harvest Prep went on a postseason run that included a one-point win vs. Africentric in the district finals, a blowout of North Adams and a 20-point win to hand Malvern — Ohio’s only undefeated team through the regular season — its first loss. “I feel like we had to earn everything,” said coach David Dennis, who plays a deep lineup with a pressing defense that leads to a balanced offense. “We play full-court basketball and free will. When someone is open, they have free will to shoot. It doesn’t give us a dropoff when we sub.” Six players averaged at least 8.5 points per game, led by senior Adonus Abrams (14.7 points, 3.9 steals) and junior guard Brandon Roddy (13.0 points, 2.3 steals). They lead a guard-oriented attack with 6-4 sophomore Ephraim Campbell (8.8 points, 6.6 rebounds) their biggest inside threat. Leads are not safe against this Harvest Prep team, which came back from a 25-15 deficit in the second quarter vs. Malvern with a 13-1 to close the half. Roddy led the Warriors with 15 points, while Abrams had 13 in that one.
About the Titans: After last year’s loss to Lutheran East in the state finals, O-G is back for its fourth straight appearance in Dayton. The constant for all four runs has been White, the 6-6 guard who can do it all and was
named Mr. Basketball on Wednesday. He averaged 24.9 points with 8.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists through the regular season, which saw the Titans finish
atop the Associated Press state poll, just ahead of Lutheran East by a few points. “There’s just not another Colin White,” coach Tyson McGlaughlin said Tuesday during the OHSAA coaches teleconference. “He’s an unbelievable basketball player and has an unbelievable work ethic, but he’s just a great kid.” White had 26 points Saturday last week in a 57-43 win against Castalia Margaretta in the regional finals at Bowling Green. His supporting cast includes 6-4 senior forward Caden Erford, who had 13 points in the regional final, junior guards Grant Schroeder and Grady Toumazos and senior guard Alex Wagner. They played three state semifinalists on the road to Dayton, including wins against Division II qualifier Shelby, Division IV qualifier Lima Central Catholic and Division IV qualifier Berlin Hiland. They also pushed Division I Findlay in mid-January before a two-point loss. “For us, we said all year we knew the bull’s-eye was going to be on our back as far as getting back to Dayton,” McGlaughlin said. “We told our guys the whole time, we’re going to cherish these memories together.”
Camden Preble Shawnee (24-3) vs. Lutheran East (21-5)
When: 8:30 p.m. Friday
Where: UD Arena
About the Arrows: With Shrout leading the way, Preble Shawnee is making its first state semifinal appearance. Shrout scored 28 points Saturday last week to make that possible in the Arrows’ 53-32 win vs. Versailles at Kettering Fairmont’s Trent Arena. They will make a similar trip to UD Arena with all eyes on Shrout and a potential matchup vs. McCulloch. “I think he’s 24th all-time in Ohio and has a chance to get in the top 20 (in scoring),” Preble Shawnee coach Jake Turner said of Shrout. “He puts the time and effort in. He’s been a great role model for our community. These kids and community look up to him.” They also will lean on him with a short lineup, one that has had to deal with the loss of 6-3 junior guard Isaac Blankenship to injury after he started 48 games for Turner. The Arrows lost him just before the regional semifinals against New Madison Tri-Village. “He’s been a big loss,” Turner said. “We only play really seven guys, so without him it’s six. It’s been really tough without him. If we didn’t have him, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
About the Falcons: Lutheran East is
two wins shy of making school history with back-to-back state titles. It has four blue banners on its gym wall, indicating state titles, but none have come in consecutive years. McCulloch and Co. can take care of that this weekend. Senior guard Chauncey Brashers is another three-year starter for the Falcons, who have made a state final four every year since 2017. Senior guards Ronald Taylor and Anthony Bruce have provided big baskets, inside and out, while freshman guard Chris Hill is already among Northeast Ohio’s most tenacious defenders. His effort should travel, and the Falcons are now starting a second freshman guard in D.J. Jenkins. Make no mistake, though. This run starts with the seniors. “They’ve been a part of this program for four years,” Liggins said. “They know what our culture is and what it means. They just bought into it and wanted to make their own mark on Lutheran East history.”
How to watch: All games will be available to watch on
OHSAA.tv and listen on the
OHSAA Radio Network. Games on Friday will be available on Spectrum News, while Saturday and Sunday games will be on Spectrum News 1.
State championship: 2 p.m. Sunday