Top 10 moments from the boys state basketball tournament

By Mike Conley

February 19, 2008, 11:22AM

Here is a list of the top 10 moments from the past decade of the boys state basketball tournament in Columbus.

10. March 28, 1998: He's on fire.

J.T. Hoyng of Sparta Highland starts firing in 3-pointers early and doesn't stop until he's taken out late in the fourth quarter, setting a state tourney record with 8 3-pointers in all as the Scots defeat Cincinnati Indian Hill, 81-60, to win the Division III title. Hoyng scores 36 points, the high individual mark on a weekend remembered for its dominating Cleveland teams, the back-to-back Benedictine champions in Division II and the dominant St. Edward Eagles, who defeated arch-rival St. Ignatius to win the Division I crown.

9. March 27, 1998: The miracle.

Yes, the final state tournament played in St. John Arena had plenty of magic. With just over one second left in a Division II semifinal, Dover forward Ben Swartzwelder catches a full-court baseball pass in traffic from Marcus von Kaenel, spins away from a defender and sinks a 16-foot jump shot as time expires, putting his team in the state final with a 46-45 win over Akron Hoban.

Mike Conley2007 North College Hill Trojans.

Minus the star power and above-the-rim game of the departed Bill Walker and O.J. Mayo, Cincinnati North College Hill wins its third straight Division III title, grinding out a 50-45 title game win over Findlay Liberty-Benton. Southwest Ohio wins all four 2007 state titles; Georgetown (DIV), Dayton Dunbar (DII) and Archbishop Moeller (DI) also cut down the nets.

7. March 25, 2006: Double Dogs.

An ultra-talented Canton McKinley team wins back-to-back big-school titles and finishes its run in impressive fashion, blowing out Trotwood Madison, 63-33, in the state final. A loaded senior class, led by Raymar Morgan, Marcus Parker, Todd Brown and Rickey Jackson, stakes its claim to being one of Canton's best, which is no small feat.

6. March 27, 1999: Light it up.

A Division IV final for the ages finally ends after three overtimes, with Worthington Christian topping Fort Recovery, 95-91. Sam Smith leads the winners, ranked eighth in the final AP Poll, with 28 points. Junior post player Chuck Bihn has a game-high 34 for fifth-ranked Fort Recovery, including the basket to send the game to overtime tied at 64.

5. March 19, 2005: The track meet.

Maybe the best Division II state tournament ever ends with Upper Sandusky cutting down the nets, celebrating a 94-86 win over Wooster Triway. Upper Sandusky survived a 95-90 shootout with Dayton Dunbar two days earlier in the semifinal, then overcame a Triway team that won its semifinal, 71-70, over Columbus Linden McKinley, and battled back from as many as 17 down in the state final.

John Kuntz/The PDLeBron James won 3 state titles as a member the fighting Irish.

Just a freshman at the time, LeBron James scores 25 points as Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary defeats Jamestown Greenview, 73-55, to win the Division III state title and finish 27-0. The best individual performance of the day, though, comes from 5-foot-1 freshman Dru Joyce, who goes 7-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line for the Irish, who repeated as state champs in 2001 and won the Division II title in 2003.

3. March 25, 2006: The dynamic duo.

O.J. Mayo scores 34 points, and Bill Walker adds 22 points, 10 rebounds and one of the all-time thunderous dunks as North College Hill survives a fight with Cleveland Villa-Angela St. Joseph to win its second straight Division III title, 90-73.

2. March 24, 2007: The thriller.

Dayton Dunbar wins back-to-back Division II state crowns, surviving Upper Sandusky (and 48 points from Mr. Basketball Jon Diebler) in the final to win, 87-85. Three Dunbar players score in double figures, and the go-ahead points come from Josh Benson in the final 1:30 of a classic game that was tied after three quarters.

1. March 23, 2002: The shocker.

An overflow crowd comes to see The King, but Cincinnati Roger Bacon has four players score in double figures, led by Josh Hausfeld's 23, to pace one of the all-time upsets, a 71-63 win over St. Vincent-St. Mary. LeBron James scores 32 points, including a 40-footer at the third-quarter buzzer to bring his team within five headed to the final quarter, but it's not enough to overcome a Roger Bacon team that shoots 53% from the field and wins the rebounding battle, 32-18, to lock up the Division II title.

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