Elwer scores 28 as St. John's fights off Kalida for state crown

Boys Basketball DIVISION VIIST. JOHN'S 56KALIDA 47DAYTON – Delphos St. John's was not perfect on Saturday.But the Blue Jays made enough 3-pointers to build an 11-point lead by the half and made enough free throws down the stretch to cap off a perfect 29-0 season with a 56-47 win over Kalida in the Division VII state championship game at UD Arena.Cam Elwer poured in 28 points to lead St. John's, which opened and closed its undefeated 2025-26 season with wins over Kalida. The senior guard, twice runner-up in voting for Ohio's Mr. Basketball Award and No. 6 on Ohio's career scoring list with 2,768 points, was 6-of-16 from the field but converted 14-of-16 free throws. Clutch 3-pointers gave St. John's a 17-10 edge in the second quarter and a 36-25 lead at the half. Tyce McClain's 3 put the Blue Jays up 27-19 four minutes into the second quarter, another trey by Andrew Elwer made it 32-21 with 2:19 left, and Cam Elwer's lay-up before the second quarter buzzer padded the lead to 36-25.St. John's lead grew to as much as 15 points in the second half. Kalida trimmed it to seven points three times but the deficit proved too great to overcome.St. John's won its fourth state title in its 13th trip to the Final Four. Kalida, the Cinderella story of the 2026 state tournament after starting the season 4-9 and just 11-11 overall entering post season play, ended up as state runner-up with a 17-12 record. DIVISION I PRINCETON 59 BRADLEY 28 DAYTON -- Amire Gill scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and led Princeton to a state-title game trouncing of Hillard Bradley. Princeton won the Division I state championship -- its first -- by winning Sunday, 59-28. Neal made 10 of 12 field goal attempts for the Vikings, who allowed just two points in the second quarter and were up 23-7 at the break. Krypton Norris and Jayden Reed-Davis each scored eight points for the Jaguars. DIVISION VIHILAND 54M. LOCAL 51DAYTON – Berlin Hiland converted four free throws in the final 56 seconds of the second overtime to beat Marion Local 54-51 and win the Division VI state championship on Saturday.Hiland overcame a four-point deficit in the final 1:20 of regulation, with Ashton Schrock's two free throws with 15 seconds on the clock tying the game 41-41.Hiland had the upper hand in the first overtime, but Grant Kremer's 3-pointer with 24 seconds left knotted it at 48-48 and set the stage for a second overtime.Ryan Zerger led Hiland with 18 points and Alex Miller added 11. Kremer led all scorers with 22 points. DIVISION II MASSILLON 68 WESTERVILLE NORTH 63 DAYTON -- Gio Jackson Jr. scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Massillon Jackson crept past Westerville North 68-63 in overtime on Sunday to claim the Division II boys basketball championship. Jadyce Thigpen and Xavier Williams each scored 15 points for the Tigers, who trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter. Westerville North's Elijah McCree scored 21 points to lead all scorers. The Warriors trailed by six with a little more than two minutes left in regulation before rallying to foce an extra session. Semifinal MASSILLON 75LIMA SENIOR 63DAYTON – Massillon Washington took a one-point lead at the half, then used a 43-31 advantage in the third and fourth quarters in beating Lima Senior 75-63 in a Division II state semifinal game on Saturday.Xavier Williams led Massillon with 20 points, including back-to-back transition lay-ups with the Tigers leading just 47-46 late in the third quarter. Marcus Garner's 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter boosted the lead to eight point s (56-48), and Massillon would use a 10-0 run to eventually lead by as many as 16 (68-52).Willie Foster scored 14 points for Lima Senior, which connected on just 3-of-33 3-point attempts and 26-of-72 shots overall. Elynn Stearns added 12 points and Shawn Foster 11 for the Spartans (22-5).Massillon went on to face No. 1-ranked Westerville North on Sunday in a matchup of two 26-1 teams. DIVISION VLUTHERAN EAST 50COL. ACADEMY 36DAYTON – Devontey Perkins scored 18 points and Dylan Zeigler added 14 to lead Cleveland Heights Lutheran East to a 50-36 win over Gahanna Columbus Academy in the Division V state championship.With the win, Lutheran East became the first school in OHSAA history to win a boys basketball state championship four years in a row. The Falcons have now appeared in nine straight state tournaments, excluding 2020 when the tournament was cancelled, and have won 28 consecutive postseason games, the second longest streak in state history.Columbus Academy was in the state tournament for the third time. The Vikings have finished as runners-up each time (1981, 2025, 2026).