STVM tops Gilmour Academy to win Division II boys basketball state championship

DAYTON — St. Vincent-St. Mary left little doubt that it has the best Division II boys basketball team in the state of Ohio for the second year in a row on Sunday at the University of Dayton Arena.

Seniors Sencire Harris and Ramar Pryor and junior Lance Hayes relentlessly attacked the basket and led STVM to a 63-35 victory over Gates Mills Gilmour Academy.

The win gave STVM its 10th state championship.

"It never gets old," STVM coach Dru Joyce II said. "This is special. These guys have been through a lot. They have played hard and we have had a tough schedule. These guys make a sacrifice every day just to get to school, and to have them come and put in the time and the work just makes it even more special.

"As a team, this is a special group because you could just see the growth. Other years coming in, I kind of had an idea that we were going to be good. This year I knew we were going to have two good players, but I wasn't sure about the team because we were young and didn't have a whole lot of varsity time and the schedule was tough."

Harris led STVM (23-4) with 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot before a crowd of 3,845.

"We put in a lot of hard work and kept pushing," said Harris, a 6-foot-4 University of Illinois recruit. "Today is a very special moment for me."

Hayes totaled 11 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block.

Pryor, a 6-foot-3 Cleveland State University recruit, finished with 10 points, six rebounds, an assist and a block.

STVM held an edge in rebounds (30-22), assists (14-7), steals (8-2) and blocks (3-0). The Irish had three turnovers and forced the Lancers into 15 turnovers.

"We are going to guard you," Joyce said. "That is what we talk about and that is what we do. ... Three turnovers is definitely a season low. That is special to do it on the biggest stage."

In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, the STVM student section started chanting "This game's over. This game's over. This game's over."

Their thoughts were accurate Sunday, and were accurate with regards to STVM's entire tournament run that featured seven lopsided wins.

STVM opened the tournament with a 60-21 sectional final win over Warrensville Heights, and then topped Mentor Lake Catholic 78-36 and Buckeye 93-53 to a win district title. The Irish beat Youngstown Chaney 82-43 and Louisville 61-21 to earn a regional crown, and dispatched Kettering Archbishop Alter 72-47 in a state semifinal.

Senior Ryan Mueller paced Gilmour (23-6) with nine points and five rebounds. Lancers junior Brandon Rose scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds and junior Dorjan Flowers had seven points, four assists and three rebounds.

"They pressured us in ways we have never seen this year," Mueller said of STVM.

Added Flowers: "This was the best team we have played that can all defend one through five. That was pretty tough. There was no one with any weaknesses on defense."

Gilmour was playing in its second state final after being the Division IV runner-up in 1992.

"This was really a historic run for our program this year," Gilmour coach Dan DeCrane said. "Being in Division II for the last five years and not being able to get back to the state tournament, much less the state championship game, in 30 years. For myself, to see my fourth year end with nine seniors — one manager and eight players — do something incredible is great. ... This was an awesome journey that we will all remember."

STVM led 24-17 at halftime with Hayes scoring eight points, and Pryor and junior Darius Stratford contributing six points apiece.

Hayes also had five rebounds and two assists in a very active first half. Flowers paced Gilmour with seven points, three rebounds and three assists in the opening 16 minutes.

STVM held a 17-9 advantage in rebounds at halftime and committed three turnovers. Gilmour had six turnovers at the break.

Harris made four layups and one free throw to score nine of his 17 points in the third quarter and extend the Irish lead to 42-19 with 52.1 seconds on the clock.

"This was definitely a complete game for us," Harris said. "We really locked in at halftime. ... We executed, we limited the turnovers and we got our assists up in the second half."

Gilmour senior Lucas Grover made a 3-pointer to conclude the scoring in the third quarter, but STVM led 42-22 .

"We knew if we got the lead extended, they would have to come out of the zone [defense]," Joyce said. "When they came out of the zone, they couldn't guard us."

The Irish lead expanded in the fourth quarter with scoring from Harris, Hayes, junior Kevin Hamilton Jr., senior Ethan Connery, senior Clinton Thomas III, sophomore LaVelle Sharpe and freshman John Whorton.

Hamilton finished with seven points and Stratford scored six points.

STVM shot 50.9% from the field (27-of-53) and 63.6% from the free-throw line (7-of-11). Gilmour shot 38.2% from the field (13-of-34) and 54.5% from the free-throw line (6-of-11).

"I thought we gave a great effort for awhile today," said DeCrane, a 2003 Archbishop Hoban graduate who played basketball and was an assistant coach with the Knights.

"I didn't think we played very well overall. I know some of that had to do with the guys in white and green. We didn't shoot it well. It was hard to enter into some of our offense. ... They do some things defensively that I know is tough to beat."

STVM state tournament history

STVM's victory Sunday gave the boys basketball program its seventh state championship in Division II.

Joyce has served as coach on all seven (2003, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022).

STVM's other state titles were in 1984 in Class AA under coach Joe Suboticki and in 2000 and 2001 in Division III under coach Keith Dambrot.

"Ten state championships, I have been blessed to be a part of nine — seven now as a head coach [and two as an assistant to Dambrot]," Joyce said. "I am honored that I can have an opportunity to work with young men. The victories and the championships are good. They are special, but what is even more special is I want to see what kind of men they grow into. That is what is most important."

STVM was a Division I state runner-up in 2019 and Division II runners-up in 2002, 2013 and 2016. The Irish were a state semifinalist in Class AA in 1983 and 1987 and in Division II in 2006 and 2014. Prior to merging, St. Mary won the Class B state title in 1929 under Leo Engler and St. Vincent was a Class A state semifinalist in 1949.

"A lot of credit to St. Vincent-St. Mary," DeCrane said. "They are here pretty much every year for a reason. They are quite the monster. We have a lot of respect for their team and their program. Coach Joyce obviously does a terrific job."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary wins Division II state championship