Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
SAINT CLAIRSVILLE — Trailing 69-62 with less than a minute to play on Saturday, Minford could have rolled over in a matchup with the top-ranked Lutheran East Falcons.
But that’s never been in Minford’s makeup. The team’s never-say-die attitude and never-quit motor both showed up in full force.
A furious push gave Minford one last shot to go into overtime.
However, a deep 3 from Myles Montgomery was about an inch long, sending Lutheran East to its third consecutive state championship game as the Falcons fell in a Division V state semifinal at the ECO Center by a 76-73 final.
“It’s hard to put this into words. It got a little iffy in the third quarter and I was kind of thinking, ‘Don’t let this go downhill. Let’s keep this in perspective and compete,'” Minford coach Josh Shoemaker said. “But our guys we’re like, ‘No, no, no. We’re still coming at them.’ The fact that we had the possession to either tie or lead, it just speaks to their character.”
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
Coming into the battle, Lutheran East was ranked first in the MaxPreps computer rankings. Minford came in with a No. 2 ranking.
A matchup that matchmakers would dream of having played out in the state championship game, this time it just worked out to happen in the semifinals.
For head coach Sam Liggins and Lutheran East, it was their eighth consecutive time they had laced their shoes up for a state semifinal. But for coach Josh Shoemaker and his Minford Falcons, it would be the first in school history.
Minford’s Bennett Kayser got the scoring started, knocking down a midrange jump shot, coming out of a base line out-of-bounds play.
Lutheran East responded with a score from Chris Hill before Jayden Nellemsbey knocked down the first of a trio of triples for him on the night to grab the first lead for LE.
Minford’s Jackson Shoemaker scored on the interior after another basket from Hill, but TJ Crumble quickly countered with a corner 3, starting to show just part of why he is so highly sought after by college scouts across the country.
Following a controversial no-call on a goal-tended layup by Ashton Reeder, Crumble connected from downtown again to draw a Minford timeout with 4:33 to play in the opening quarter, trailing 13-7.
Myles Montgomery showed who he was right out of the timeout, hitting a contested 3 before beating his defender and scoring at the rim. Lutheran East eventually closed out the first quarter with a 20-14 lead with a late 3 from Nellemsbey, gaining plenty of momentum for the team from Cleveland Heights.
Minford’s Curtis Glenn drilled a triple to start the second, and his teammates built off of the momentum with a triple from Shoemaker and a driving score from Montgomery — before Kayser took a charge on the defensive end, setting up another layup for Montgomery to grab the lead back with five minutes left in the first half.
It would be Minford’s last lead of the night, however, as Lutheran East’s Ty Harrison connected on a corner 3 with 4:40 to play in the half to make it a 25-23 lead for LE.
Nellemsbey hit his third triple off a bank to extend the lead, before Lutheran East’s Ocho Davis scored consecutive interior baskets to force a Minford timeout with 3:10 to play in the second.
Out of the timeout, Hill added to the lead before a drive from Montgomery cut the deficit to a seven-point differential. But a tough score from Crumble kept Minford at bay before Kade Glockner stepped up and hit a triple from the wing to make it a 37-31 game late in the half.
Following a turnover, Montgomery would be fouled shooting a 3 with 3.7 seconds left. However, the senior guard was unable to connect on any of the three free throws and Minford went into the locker room trailing by six.
For Minford to come back, they would need a maximum effort for every player on their roster and they absolutely got it.
Kayser and Montgomery would need to take over offensively, while Glenn, Glockner and Reeder would need to excel on defense and score if they had chances to do so.
Shoemaker wouldn’t score again, but he held Crumble to only two field goals in the second half, keeping the top recruit to six points below his scoring average.
“Jackson scored five points tonight but probably played one of the greatest defensive games on Crumble that I’ve seen,” Shoemaker said. “He hell TJ Crumble to five field goals. That’s absolutely amazing. And that goes to how he’s an unsung hero.”
Minford cut the lead to 40-39 with 5:28 left in the third on a driving layup from Kayser, forcing a timeout. However, out of the timeout, Lutheran East rang it up from long distance again as Harrison hit from the corner and freshman standout Dylan Zeigler rattled one in that hit every part of the backboard before falling in from the top to make it 46-39 with 3:48 to play in the quarter.
LE eventually pushed the lead to 51-40 with 1:52 to play in the third before Minford came alive for the rest of the evening.
Kayser and Zeigler traded baskets before Montgomery nailed a pair of free throws. A missed layup through contact by Montgomery looked like a key miss, but Kayser rose above everyone and hammered down a two-handed put-back jam with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
A stop by Minford led to a runout layup from Reeder to close the quarter on an 8-2 run, making it 53-48 after three.
The fourth started with each team trading misses, but a huge offensive rebound from Reeder led to him finding Glockner on the outside for a triple with 6:35 to play, making it a two-point game.
A driving score from Crumble and a 3 from Zeigler looked to calm Minford’s push. But a three-point play from Montgomery brought the massive Minford faithful to its feet with 5:03 to play.
Zeigler dialed it up again for his third triple of the second half before a driving dunk from Kayser with 3:23 to play showed that Minford wasn’t going to go away quietly.
Lutheran East’s DJ Jenkins scored on a drive that was answered by a Kayser triple with 2:30 to play.
“Every year, he got a little bit better,” Shoemaker said of Kayser. “But this year, he was just different. His leadership was the biggest thing this year. The leadership. Him and Myles’ leadership were just impeccable. He never got down tonight and he played his butt off. How many times does your best player guard that well? That’s why we’re here. He’s just special.”
Out of a timeout, LE added to its lead as Zeigler scored on a drive before a late goaltending call on a Reeder block appeared to put the game on ice at 67-59.
However, Montgomery answered with a triple before Minford had to play the fouling game. Zeigler converted before a trio of free throws from Kayser made it a 69-65 game with 56.5 seconds to play.
Crumble made his free throws before another triple from Montgomery cut it to a three-point game. Free throws from Hill and Jenkins extended the lead before a drive from Montgomery made it a 73-70 tally with 10.8 seconds left.
After Crumble split a pair of free throws, Montgomery was fouled shooting three, but this time, he connected on all three to make it a 74-73 ballgame with 5.1 seconds to go.
After Crumble missed both free throws on the other end, Hill made the play of the game for Lutheran East as he pulled down a long rebound before being fouled with 3.7 to play. The sophomore then calmly knocked down both of his free throws before Montgomery got one final look from about 35 feet out. But it was just a hair too long, nearly silencing the pro-Minford crowd at the final horn.
Following the game, the teams showed respect through the handshake line in what was a true battle between two of the best teams in the state of Ohio.
It was played in front of a heavy Minford crowd that drove three hours to support their team in a beautiful facility. But all that were there will remember the battle between the Falcons that nearly ended in a classic upset by Minford.
In one last amazing fact for Minford, it was only the second time that the Falcons have lost in the last four seasons when they have scored 69 or more points — out of 53 games.
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
Lutheran East was led by Crumble and Zeigler with 17 points each, while Hill joined them in double-digit scoring figures with 11. The Falcons will take on Columbus Academy next Saturday in Dayton and will look for their third consecutive state title.
Montgomery ended his final high school game with 33 points and six assists while Kayser finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
“He’s just the little engine that could,” Shoemaker said of Montgomery. “He’s been doing this stuff his entire life. He brought all these other guys one and that’s where the teamwork comes in. It wasn’t about records for him. 2,000 points was just a part of it. Everyone starting getting better because of the standard he set. There’s no question that he’s had the greatest career in the history of Minford’s basketball program.”
Both will move on to play at the Division II level next year, and have, alongside their teammates, forever made an impact on the Minford community — for not only their team’s skill and talent, but their attitudes an effort on the floor as well.
“I think everyone thought that [Lutheran East’s] game with Richmond Heights was the state championship,” Shoemaker said. “I think tonight was the state championship. We had a shot to win at the end. We had a shot to send it to overtime. No other Division V team has come close to that this year.”
BOX SCORE
Minford: 14-17-17–25 — 73
Lutheran East: 20-17-16 -23 — 76
Minford: 26-58 FG, 10-24 3pt., 11-16 FT. Scoring: Montgomery 33, Kayser 23, Glockner 6, Shoemaker 5, Reeder 3, Glenn 3.
Lutheran East: 26-52 FG, 11-17 3pt., 13-25 FT. Scoring: Crumble 17, Zeigler 17, Hill 11, Nellemsbey 9, Harrison 9, Jenkins 7, Davis 6.
SPONSORED BY GLOCKNER FAMILY OF DEALERSHIPS
