March 10th News

By Shaun Spence

March 10, 2008, 8:16AM

Shaun Spence - ohioHSsports.com

Check back each and every weekday for the top prep headlines from across the state. Here are a list of summaries from some of the major stories around Ohio for Monday, March 10th:

Boys Basketball: Lakewood St. Edward Rallies to Defeat Warren Harding

St. Edward found themselves trailing the Raiders by 17 points before making an unlikely comeback to send the game into overtime. St. Edward's senior point guard Frankie Dobbs sent the game into an extra session with a cluth three pointer as time expired. Dobbs also had the go ahead basket in overtime with 5 seconds to spare as the Eagles went ahead for what beame the final score of 77-75. St. Edward will play Cincinnati St. Xavier in a state semifinal matchup Friday at Value City Arena in Columbus. Dobbs finished with 20 points and fellow seniors Connor Tillow (21), Justin Staples (12), and Tom Pritchard (7) added to the scoring effort. The Eagles are now in contention for three state titles in winter sports. They already won wrestling, will play in the hockey final tonight, and are two wins away from a basketball state title. The Plain Dealer

Boys Basketball: Toledo Libbey Advances to State

Ohio State recruit William Buford of Libbey was in foul trouble all for much of the regional final against Lexington. Buford still managed to score 20 points while only playing 21 minutes before fouling out with a few minutes in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys closed out the game and defeated Lexington 65-51 to earn the school's fourth trip to the state tournament. With Buford out, seniors Julius Wells (15 points, 12 rebounds), Brad Sandridge (11 points, 7 rebounds), and Tony Brown helped carry the Cowboys to victory. Buford eclipsed the 2,000 career point total with a crowd energizing dunk in the fourth quarter. Libbey (23-2) will face undefeated and top ranked St. Paris Graham (25-0) Thursday morning in Columubs. The Toledo Blade

Boys Basketball: Cincinnati St. Xavier tops Withrow

St. Xavier returns to Columbus as they defeated Withrow 52-51 in the Division I regional title game at Xavier University's Cintas Center. The lead changed 11 times in the fourth quarter before the Bombers' 6-7 forward Walt Gibler made a pair of free throws with 15.1 seconds to play as St. X took a 52-51 lead. Withrow had a chance to at least tie the game with 2.4 seconds remaining, but 6-9 senior center Yancey Gates (who was 4-4 from thre foul line prior to that point) mised both free throws. Gates finished a bitter-sweet high school career (Withrow lost with a last-second layup to St. X in a regional final last season) with 16 points and 6 rebounds. The gifted senior takes his talents to the University of Cincinnati. As for the Bombers, they will meet Lakewood St. Edward in a state semifinal game on Saturday. The Enquirer

Boys Basketball: Pyamatuning Valley's Run Ended by VASJ

It has been 58 years since a boys basketball team from Ashtabula County made it to the state tournament. That streak continues as Pymatuning Valley came up short to Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph on Sunday afternoon at the Canton Fieldhouse. The Lakers (23-2) became the first Ashtabula team since 1984 to reach a regional final. The big and talented Vikings were just too much for the Lakers. With the win, VASJ advances to the state final four for the third year in a row. In 2006 they came up short in the state final against OJ Mayo, Bill Walker, and the rest of North College Hill. Last year a primarily junior squad fell in the state semifinal. Seniors Ashen Ward (30 points) and Nate Barnes (15 points) have suffered dissapointment in Columbus each of the past two seasons. The two experienced guards, along with senior post players 6-7 Klein Harper and 6-8 Dominick Haynes, will play Friday at 2:00 in a Division III state semifinal. The Vikings are seeking their 5th state title since 1991. Star Beacon

Boys Basketball: St. Peter Chanel Overcomes Malvern Crowd

A few thousand fans (the vast majority for Malvern) jammed into the Canton Field House to watch a Division IV regional final between Malvern and Bedford St. Peter Chanel. Many fans left dissapointed as Malvern fell to Chanel, 75-65. The Firebirds closed the game on a 20-5 run to advance to the state tournament later this week in Columbus. With 6:30 left in the game, Malvern gained a 60-55 lead with Trevor Halter's breakaway dunk. The Hornets (24-1) dropped their first game of the season as talented seniors Zak Kapron and Halter end their excellent high school careers (each finished with over 1,200 career points) on a sour note. The Firebirds (16-8) played a very tough schedule that has helped prepare their run to the Final Four. Junior Lamar McKnight led Chanel with 31 points, 16 of which came in the opening quarter. The Firebirds will play Worthington Christian (25-1) on Thursday evening for a chance to play for their first basketball state title since 1999. The Canton Repository

Boys Basketball: Sugarcreek Garaway Advances to Columbus

Garaway jumped out to a 27-15 halftime lead over Columbus Bishop Ready and held off the Silver Knights' late surge to win the Division III regional final, 51-47. The Pirates will meet Cleveland VASJ in a state semifinal in Columbus on Friday morning at Value City Arena. Gateway was ranked third and VASJ seventh in the final Division III AP poll. Garaway was up 11-0 in the first quarter and they never gave up their lead. Ready got within two points halfway through the final quarter, but the Pirates were helped by a strong game from Tyler Gerber (22 points) to seal their trip to Columbus. The Pirates were 17-23 at the free th row line and Gerber hit six of seven in the fourth quarter. The Athens Messenger

Don't see news from your area of the state? Post a comment below with your local paper's web address and we'll feature your prep coverage throughout the week.