CENTERVILLE BOYS BASKETBALL HEADED TO STATE FOR FIRST TIME
Tom House SHARONVILLE — had to wipe his teary eyes with his sweaty jersey as he talked about how much Centerville High School’s first regional championship meant to him, his teammates and the program.
It was about more than just making history with Saturday’s 40-38 win over Moeller at Princeton High School. The Elks also were playing almost to help make up for the experience of former teammate Ryan Marchel, who was ejected during Centerville’s 2019 regional semifinal win over Springfield, costing him a chance to play in a regional final the Elks lost to Moeller.
Marchel was on hand at Princeton to watch House sink a 24-foot 3-pointer with 7 seconds left, giving Centerville a 40-38 lead. Five timeouts later, the Elks defended the Crusaders’ final possession to clinch their first trip to the state semifinals.
“This was for him,” said the 6-foot-5 House, a freshman on that 2018-2019 team.
“It was big for us and for him,” said 6-7 junior forward Rich Rolf, who led Centerville with 14 points and eight rebounds.
“One of the things we always talk about is being grateful for the people who got you here and put you in position to succeed,” Centerville coach Brook Cupps said. “We felt the ejection was unwarranted. We still do. It’s awesome that the guys recognize how important he was to the program.”
House and sophomore guard Gabe Cupps, the coach’s son, each scored 12 points for Centerville (243), which finished the regular season ranked fourth in the Associated Press Division I state poll. The Elks are scheduled to meet undefeated and No. 1 Mentor on Saturday at 5 p.m. at University of Dayton Arena. No. 8 Cleveland St. Ignatius faces No. 7 Westerville Central in the other semifinal. The state championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 21, at 8:30 p.m. at UD Arena.
Centerville extended its winning streak to 14 games. The Elks lost to Moeller in last season’s regional semifinals and also lost to a Jarron Cumberland-led Wilmington team in the 2016 regional finals.
Fifth-ranked Moeller (20-5), which won the 2019 state championship and was scheduled to play Lakota East in last season’s regional final before the tournament was cut short due to COVID19, took a 32-28 lead early in the fourth quarter. Gabe Cupps was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and sank all three shots before Rolf nailed a game-tying 3-pointer with 4:41 left in the game. The Crusaders regained a twopoint lead, but Gabe Cupps hit a 3-pointer for a 37-36 lead with 1:15 left.
Alex Williams connected on a short jumper to give Moeller a 38-37 lead with 50 seconds left, and Centerville ran 43 seconds off the clock before House hit the game-winning shot from the right wing.
“Our coaches always tell us to be strong with the ball,” House said about Centerville’s last-minute composure.
“Playing a tough schedule helps,” said Brook Cupps, whose team lost at Moeller in the regular season. “We always talk about toughness in those situations.”
Centerville went more than a quarter without a field goal, from Gabe Cupps’s driving layup along the left baseline with 2:07 left in the first quarter to House’s 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:05 left in the second quarter, but the Crusaders could manage only an 8-2 run during that span. Rolf followed House’s 3-pointer by sinking two shots during an Elks 7-0 run that helped them lead, 18-17, at halftime.
They hoped for a bigger lead, lobbying for a goaltending call on Jayson Hayes’ layup attempt at the buzzer, but they didn’t get the call.