Africentric finds redemption in win over Johnstown

Winning district championship trophies is common for Africentric but never taken for granted.

Although the second-seeded Nubians made it look relatively easy in beating Johnstown 59-43 in a Division III final game Friday night at Ohio Dominican, it was special for coach Michael Bates and his players.

"Whenever you lose a district title game like we did last year (to Wellington in Division IV), the motivation is there," Bates said. "We put that score, 52-50, up on our board all the time and the district runner-up medal is right there for the players to see. That's why we open up the gym at 6 a.m. for workouts. It all built up to this."

Africentric's win was fueled by senior point Tre' Baumgardner, who scored a career-high 33 points and added five rebounds and three assists. The Minnesota State signee outscored Johnstown by himself until the fourth quarter when Africentric began milking the clock.

"Big games are when I thrive," said Baumgardner, the district player of the year. "It wasn't that I felt on or anything. I just let the game come to me. I wasn't thinking, just playing. The pressure we put on them. … We knew they couldn't handle it."

Riding their halfcourt and fullcourt pressure, the Nubians (19-6) closed the half on a 12-2 run and didn't let up in the third. Johnstown (17-8), which upset Grandview and Wellington to get this far, couldn't match up with Africentric.

"We knew what to expect, but they're really, really talented," Johnnies coach Kevin Martin said. "We needed to play good enough on the offensive end that they couldn't get out in transition and get easy baskets. We were running a little wild at times, and that's to Africentric's credit."

Owen Hazelbaker had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead Johnstown before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

Africentric will face the Castalia Margaretta-Carey district winner Thursday at Bowling Green.

Harvest Prep 64, Ready 48

Ranked No. 1 in the state, Harvest Prep is best known for a breakneck offense scoring over 90 points. This time, the defense took the limelight as the Warriors won their first district title since 2015.

Leading just 28-27 at halftime, Harvest Prep (26-0) used a 17-4 third quarter to pull away. The Warriors' pace and in-your-face defense wore on Ready (20-5).

"We did not play Harvest Prep basketball in the first half and I got on the guys at halftime," coach David Dennis said. "We weren't on our game offensively, but our defense made the difference tonight."

Anthony scored 23 points and Claudio Penha 16 to pace Prep, which will face the PiketonWheelersburg winner in a regional final Wednesday at Ohio University.

Chanc Dawson led Ready with 16 points.