DAYTON, Ohio — Joe Brand scored 23 points to lead four Knights in double figures as Kettering Archbishop Alter beat Zanesville Maysville 68-54 in the OHSAA Division II boys’ basketball state championship game at UD Arena on Sunday.
It marks the first time the Knights (23-7) have won the state championship since 2001.
“We tell these guys all the time, ‘Moments of work for a lifetime of memories,’” Kettering Archbishop Alter head coach Eric Coulter said. “They put the work in. I’m so proud of them.”
By the end of the third quarter, both teams combined for 16 3s, topping the previous record of 13 set by Upper Sandusky and Dayton Dunbar in 2007.
Zanesville Maysville (26-4) shot 33.3% in the third quarter and fell behind by as many as 16 points.
“I thought we got some good looks,” Zanesville Maysville head coach Dave Brown said. “We just didn’t shoot it particularly well in that third quarter. I loved where we were going into the break because, again, you’ve seen all year that we’ve been a second half team. We wear on teams, but we just ran into a really good basketball team today and they made some shots.”
But the Panthers wouldn’t go away.
Jordyn Watson made a 3 as Zanesville Maysville rallied at the end. The Panthers pulled within nine until Kettering Archbishop Alter went on a 7-0 run featuring six free throws in eight trips.
Kettering Archbishop Alter went 10-for-12 from the field in the final 10:32 of the game. The Knights shot 18-of-21 at the free throw line while Zanesville Maysville didn’t have an attempt.
“We knew we needed to lock in on defense. We knew we needed to sit down on the defensive end, stop the ball early and take out their main guys that could score the ball. On the offensive end, we knew we needed to get out in transition, and that’s our strength in the end. No fear.”
R.J. Greer totaled 17 points, Brady Conner had 13 and Gavin Leen had 12 for Kettering Archbishop Alter.
Zanesville Maysville made 14 3-pointers, the most by a team in any division in a championship game. Both teams also combined to make 22 3s, which is the all-time, all-division record in the Final Four.
Zanesville Maysville’s Alex Bobb finished 9-for-29 with 24 points including six 3-pointers, breaking Jon Diebler’s previous record of five for most in a Division II championship game.
Jordyn Watson also contributed 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
The Panthers earned their first regional championship since 1971 after making their second all-time appearance in the Final Four. They won a school-record 26 games and took a 21-game winning streak into the state championship game.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” Brown said. “They fought again for 32 minutes with no regrets. Just came up a little bit short against a really good basketball team. Their length and athleticism really affected us tonight.”