Findlay hangs on to advance past Strongsville

STRONGSVILLE – Findlay High's season of redemption and resilience continued on Friday when the Trojans traveled to Strongsville and corralled the Mustangs 47-41 in a Division I boys tournament basketball game.Blade Wendt scored 16 points and Marcus Bishop had 14 for Findlay, which led by 11 points (21-10) at the half and by 14 (26-12) early in the third quarter. Strongsville, a team that relies greatly on the 3-point shot, finally overcame a frigid first half by nailing three 3-pointers in the third quarter and three more in the fourth. The last, by Matthew Heffke with just over a minute left, pulled the Mustangs within a point, 42-41.Strongsville later had a chance to take the lead, but missed a 3-point attempt. Wendt, a senior guard who has hit some clutch free throws in key situations this season, was fouled and converted both with 27 seconds on the clock.After another Strongsville miss, sophomore Cam Stechschulte made one of two free throws with 16.7 on the clock. When Bishop rebounded a final Strongsville miss and was fouled, the 6-foot freshman put some icing on the sectional final win, hitting two more free throws with 4.3 seconds left.Findlay was just 1-22 last season during a major transition year in the program. The Trojans lost their tournament opener 70-21 to Toledo St. John's.Friday's victory gave the Trojans, 10-13, double-digit wins for the 2025-26 season and earned then a spot in the Division I district semifinals. That will happen on Tuesday when the Trojans make another long trip to Northeast Ohio to face Cleveland St. Ignatius at Sullivan Gym, the Wildcats home floor.Following a 51-45 win over Sylvania Northview on Tuesday that earned Findlay a share of second place in the Northern Lakes League's Buckeye Division, FHS coach Ryan Grose said beating Strongsville would give Findlay a chance to go against "one of the storied programs" in the state. Part of that St. Ignatius story is seven regional championships and state titles in 2001 and 2024.St. Ignatius, which took a bye for the first round of the tournament, is 15-7 and seeded No. 3 among the 18 schools that comprise the field for the Northeast District.Strongsville's knack for knocking down 3-pointers showed up early. Shane McIntyre nailed one to open the scoring, but Findlay's zone defense turned the first-half tide. The Mustangs would turn the ball over 12 times against that pressure and made only one more 3 the entire first half. That also came off the hand of McIntyre and was Strongsville's only points of the second quarter.Cooper McKanna's four points sparked a 9-3 rally that gave Findlay a 21-10 lead at the half. McKanna added another basket and Bishop nailed a 3-pointer after a steal that ballooned the margin to 26-12.Abdul Awawda, a 6-2 senior, hit back-to-back 3s around a Heffke lay-up as Strongsville's comeback bid trimmed the deficit to 37-35 with 4:20 left in the game.Heffke's final three would make it a one-point game (42-41), but Findlay displayed the poise and patience to get to the line, capitalize, and finish it off.FINDLAY (9-13)Wendt 5-3—16, Crates 1-0—2, Bishop 5-3—14, Stechschulte 1-2—4, McKanna 2-2—6, Drew 2-0—5, Yeager 0-0—0. TOTALS: 14-10—47.STRONGSVILLE (9-13)Byers 3-0—6, McIntyre 3-2—11, Heffke 5-1—13, Awawda 3-0—8, Corder 1-0—3. TOTALS: 15-3—41.Findlay 12 9 14 12— 47Strongsville 7 3 18 13— 413-POINT GOALS: Findlay 5 (Wendt 3, Drew, Bishop); Strongsville 8 (McIntyre 2, Heffke 2, Awawda 2, Corder).