Harvest Prep falls to Lutheran East in OHSAA Division III boys basketball state final
DAYTON – Harvest Prep boys basketball coach David Dennis Sr. thought, for the most part, Sunday’s Division III state final was evenly played.
Cleveland Heights Lutheran East held a mere 26-24 edge in rebounds and committed 12 turnovers to the Warriors’ 11.
The glaring difference was in shooting.
Harvest Prep went 1 of 15 on 3-point attempts and 3 of 9 from the free-throw line, and the Warriors’ field-goal drought to start the second half proved too much to overcome in a 45-36 loss at University of Dayton Arena.
“It was a bad day to not make shots,” Dennis said.
“I knew they could play defense, but so can we, so I didn’t think it would be an up-and-down game. To hold them to 45 points is good. It’s really good.”
Harvest Prep (24-5) fell short of capturing its second championship and first since 2019, when it beat Lutheran East. It also was a rematch of Lutheran East’s 65-44 win in a semifinal last year.
Lutheran East (23-5) shot 50% from the floor (19 of 38) to Harvest Prep’s 37.2% (16 of 43) in winning its second consecutive championship, third in four seasons and fifth overall. The Falcons came in averaging 68 points.
Constantly shadowed by Lutheran East guards Chauncey Brashers and Chris Hill, Warriors senior guard Adonus Abrams was held to six points on only five shots, two days after posting 26 points in a 61-59 semifinal victory over Ottawa-Glandorf.
“I was getting pressured more this game and I struggled,” Abrams said. “Their defense beat our offense. We were getting pressured and getting tired, not taking great shots.”
Lutheran East coach Sam Liggins called Hill, a freshman who also had 10 points and three steals, one of the best defenders in the state. Brashers, a senior, dished out six assists and made four steals.
“We just wanted to keep a guy in front of (Abrams) at all times, make it tough when he caught the ball, apply pressure and make him take highly contested shots,” Liggins said. “Our kids are tough. We are defensive-minded. We take pride in that. We watch a lot of film. We have a lot of great defenders.”
Khalil Daniels’ 9 points and seven rebounds led Harvest Prep, which was ahead for just 19 seconds in the second quarter at 14-13. London Foggie added seven points.
Michigan State signee Jesse McCulloch, a 6-foot-10 center, had game highs in points (18) and rebounds (9) to lead Lutheran East.
The Falcons made what became the game’s decisive run in the second quarter, going on a 13-4 spurt after trailing for the only time. They led 30-22 at halftime, and Harvest Prep missed its first eight shots of the second half. In fact, it missed 14 of its first 15 coming out of the break.
Still, Harvest Prep used an 8-0 run to pull to within 39-32 with 3:31 left, but the Warriors got no closer in their first state final appearance since 2019.
Harvest Prep also was state runner-up in 2015 and 2007. The same finish in 2011 later was forfeited because of violations of Ohio High School Athletic Association rules.
Sunday’s loss snapped a 17-game winning streak dating to Jan. 5.
“We all learned from each other (this season),” Daniels said. “We just have to keep our heads high.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Harvest Prep falls in Division III boys basketball state final
