Garaway beats Marion Pleasant in Div. III regionals, 40-26
Published 12:00 am Monday, March 17, 2003
ATHENS, Ohio (AP) - Ryan Gerber scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as Sugarcreek Garaway beat Marion Pleasant 40-26 Saturday in a Division III regional final.
Garaway led 22-20 at the end of the third quarter but outscored Marion Pleasant 18-6 in the fourth.
Marion Pleasant was within 30-24 with 3:30 remaining but Tyler Renner made two free throws and Gerber made a jumper to put the Pirates up 34-24 with 1:36 left.
Abe Sparling's jumper made it 34-26 but Gerber answered by making four free throws. John Regula also made a pair of free throws to put Garaway up 40-26 with 44 seconds left.
Renner finished with 10 points for Garaway, which advanced to the state tournament for the first time.
Kyle Ridge scored 10 points and was the only player in double figures for Marion Pleasant.
Garaway shot 14 for 26 from the field and made all 12 free throw attempts, including nine in the fourth. Marion shot 10 for 35 from the field and made 6 of 11 free throws
Garaway outrebounded Marion Pleasant 26-14.
Wellington 50, Whiteoak 44
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) - Austin Black scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Columbus Wellington beat Mowrystown Whiteoak 50-44 Friday in a Division IV regional final.
Wellington took 20-point lead and then weathered a late charge by Whiteoak.
The Jaguars closed the first quarter with an 11-0 run to take a 19-6 lead.
Midway through the third quarter, after Wellington had stretched its lead to 39-19, the Wildcats made their run. Turnovers on five consecutive possessions left Wellington nursing a 46-40 lead with 3:25 left.
Marcus McCants went coast to coast with a steal at the 3:01 mark to stop the bleeding. Whiteoak (18-4) couldn't get within six again.
Wellington (19-6), which hadn't won a district championship in any sport since opening in 1981, will play Convoy Crestview in the state semifinals Thursday.
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary's 69, Ottawa-Glandorf 59
TOLEDO (AP) - LeBron James wasn't about to let a torn fingernail stop him from a fourth straight trip to the state final four.
Playing with a bandage over his right index finger, James scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Saturday to lead Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary to a 69-59 victory over Ottawa-Glandorf in a Division II regional final.
It was the closest game of this year's tournament for the No. 1 Fighting Irish.
James needs just two more victories to win his third state title in four years - the only tournament loss coming in last year's state championship game.