DAYTON, Ohio — Nate Wigton drained a 3 as the buzzer sounded in double overtime to lift Berlin Hiland ahead of Lima Central Catholic 62-59 in the OHSAA Division IV boys basketball state semifinal at UD Arena on Friday.
Berlin Hiland (23-6) led 42-39 entering the fourth quarter until the Thunderbirds took their first lead of the game after Carson Parker made back-to-back jump shots.
Lima Central Catholic (26-3) closed regulation on a 4-0 run as Demarr Foster hit the game-tying layup with 1:58 left. Both teams went 0-of-2 from the field sending the game to overtime.
Berlin Hiland’s Sammy Detweiler made a go-ahead 3 in the first overtime, but Jordan Priddy tied it back up with a layup as 46 seconds remained.
Alex Miller made a putback layup with 43 seconds left to give the Hawks a 59-57 lead. Parker, who scored eight points after halftime, sank two free throws to tie the game four seconds later.
Detweiler dribbled into the lane before kicking the ball out to Logan Hershberger, who found Wigton at the top of the key for the game-winning shot.
“When they sent a bunch of guys after Sammy, he made a great read and swung it to Logan
Hershberger, and then he passed it to me, and I just shot it,” Wigton said.
Berlin Hiland advances to its sixth state championship appearance. It made its third-straight trip to the semifinal.
“Both teams just really left everything on the court,” Berlin Hiland Head Coach March Schlabach said. “You got to have special players to win a game like that, and I thought that all of our guys did a tremendous job.”
Berlin Hiland shot 63.5% in the first quarter, and Detweiler went 3-of-4 from distance.
Detweiler finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Wigton totaled 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
“I knew I had to come out and be aggressive to start the game,” Detweiler said. “Credit to my teammates for getting me involved, getting me second touches on offense. Those guys making plays for me.”
Lima Central Catholic posted a valiant comeback. It held Berlin Hiland to eight points and forced six turnovers in the third quarter while cutting a 14-point deficit down to three in a game featuring four ties and four lead changes.
Priddy led the Thunderbirds with 24 points. Parker tallied 23 points.
“Anytime you got opportunities this late in the season, you got to capitalize on them because the team on the other side is trying to win just as much as you are,” Lima Central Catholic head coach Sean Powell said. “They prepared just as hard as we did so it's a game of inches this late in the season.”
Berlin Hiland will play the winner of Richmond Heights-Russia in the Division IV final on Sunday at 10:45 a.m.