Lima Catholic wins Div. III state title
Published 11:05 am Sunday, March 28, 2010
COLUMBUS — It took 32 seasons for Lima Central Catholic coach Bob Seggerson to win his first Ohio boys basketball championship, and as soon as it ended he announced he wasn’t going for a second.
Seggerson’s Thunderbirds held off a furious rally and claimed its first state title in school history on Saturday with a 60-57 win over Orrville in the Division III championship in front of 14,008 at Value City Arena.
Afterward, Seggerson announced he was retiring from coaching with 517 wins. This was his sixth appearance in the state tournament, and he said he made the decision within the last month.
“I’ve coached my last basketball game,” Seggerson said. “It’s something I’ve talked about the last two or three years with people I respect.”
Austin Stolly scored 16 points and Desi Kirkman added 14 points, five rebounds and six assists in the win for the Thunderbirds. The duo combined to make 12 of 14 free-throw attempts.
Lima (23-4) led by as many as 14 points and held a nine-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but Orrville’s Zach Wasson scored 10 points in the final quarter. Wasson missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game in the final seconds.
Foul trouble sidelined Wasson for all but 16 minutes. Jacob Bolyard, one of the best long-distance shooters on the team, fouled out with 20 seconds left.
Wasson made two field goals and six consecutive free throws after that and pulled the Red Raiders to within 58-57 with 43 seconds left.
“They took me out of my game early and I couldn’t get it going,” Wasson said. “In the end, I got the ball inside and kind of got on a roll and hit my free throws.”