Centerville beats Wayne for 5th straight GWOC title
Any number HUBER HEIGHTS — of clichès and worn-out metaphors could describe the Centerville at Wayne boys basketball game Friday night. The head coaches went there, but they brought a little extra just like their — players did for 32 minutes.
Centerville’s Brook Cupps called the game “a knockdown, drag-out, tough-guy battle.” Wayne’s Nate Martindale said it was “an absolute possession-by-possession battle.”
From an early hard foul that led to a technical foul on Centerville, to four charging fouls, to Velcro defense that gave the game’s best shooters little room to succeed, to a warm gym that led to leg cramps for Wayne star Lawrent Rice at the worst possible time, the battle for the Greater Western Ohio Conference championship might not have been the stuff of legend, but it was, as the coaches said, a battle.
Centerville, ranked No. 1 for the first time this season in this week’s Division I poll, emerged from the fray with a 48-43 victory after 14 lead changes and four ties to win its fifth straight GWOC title and third outright. The Elks, 19-2 overall, won the league with a 14-0 mark for the second straight season and were led by Gabe Cupps with 20 points and Collin O’Connor with 15. Wayne is 17-4 and finished second in the league at 12-2.
The Elks, however, found themselves in an unfamiliar position entering the fourth quarter. Wayne outscored them 14-3 in the third to take a 35-29 lead. A Centerville run was coming, but when? The Elks didn’t hesitate and started the quarter with a 6-0 spurt to force the first of three ties in the final minutes. The Elks pressed, forced two turnovers and got two buckets from Cupps and a 15-footer from Emmanuel Deng.
The possession-by-possession tension continued until Wayne needed a 3-pointer to tie. The ball was in Rice’s hands and he pulled up for a 3-point shot at the top of the key with Deng in his face. Deng was called for fouling Rice on the arm with 11.6 seconds left. Rice landed and started limping. His right leg was cramping. But he was going to shoot.
Rice made 9 of 9 free throws in the first half, 12 of 14 for the game and scored 22 points. But his first attempt rattled out. He limped around trying to relieve the cramp. The second two were good and the Warriors trailed 44-43.
“That was tough, tough timing,” Martindale said. “But at the same time, he played his heart out. As a coach, it’s all you can ask of your players.”
O’Connor and Cupps made two free throws apiece to clinch the win and the Elks celebrated.
“The excitement tonight was there was growth in handling that adversity and that challenge,” said Brook Cupps, who isn’t one to put a focus on winning league titles above seeking continuous improvement. “It’s just like anything else when you have to fight and struggle for something it feels better when you get it done.”
O’Connor, however, got to experience a league title for the first time as a senior. He moved to Centerville in the offseason after playing on third-place teams at Tecumseh.
“It means everything,” he said. “We’ve been putting the work in this season with lifting, Breakfast Club (shootarounds) in the mornings, practice, so we’ve been working for this for about seven, eight months. So to see it come to fruition, it’s really awesome.”
O’Connor is averaging 9.3 points, third behind Cupps (15.2) and Jonathan Powell (17.5). At Tecumseh he led the Central Buckeye Conference last year at 22.0. He scored the Elks’ first seven points Friday and gave them the lead for good at 42-41 on a strong drive with 1:53 left.
“It’s really just confidence,” Brook Cupps said. “He’s capable of doing all that, and we’ve been trying to get him to do it. I think moving into our district, he didn’t want to step on toes in trying to figure out his role. He’s really good at attacking the basket and creating fouls and free throws.”
When the teams met Jan. 6, the Elks shot well from the start, built an early lead and coasted to an 85-56 victory.
“That game was more of an anomaly,” Brook Cupps said. “They’re really good, so it’s not going to be easy and especially playing them here on senior night.”
Rice, who became Wayne’s career scoring leader earlier this week, is happy with how his team has grown since the loss at Centerville.
“We didn’t get the win, but we obviously made improvements throughout the season,” he said. “So that’s really what I was looking forward to. We know we eventually might see them later in the tournament.”
If part three happens, a berth in the state final four will be at stake. And just another knockdown, drag out, possession-by-possession, tough-guy battle.