What to watch: Thursday's Stark County-area OHSAA boys basketball district semifinals

Federal League rivals meeting for a third time highlight Thursday's OHSAA boys basketball tournament action.

Five district semifinals involve Stark County-area teams: Canton McKinley vs. GlenOak, Jackson vs. Dover, Massillon vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary, Alliance vs. Villa Angela-St. Joseph and Northwest vs. Canfield.

Below is a look at each of those semifinals. Click here to view previews of Wednesday's district semifinals.

Canton McKinley (15-8) vs. GlenOak (18-6)

Division I, Northeast 2 at Alliance HS 

• This should be fun. Crosstown rivals McKinley and GlenOak will have a Round 3 this season, and it will happen in Alliance's Harry Fails Gymnasium with a spot in the district championship at stake. The Bulldogs took both regular-season matchups, winning at GlenOak 64-61 in overtime on Dec. 14 and 65-59 at Memorial Field House on Jan. 26. Sophomore Anthony Chavers hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of OT to win the first one, capping McKinley's rally from down 15 points in the first half. The Bulldogs never led until late in the third quarter in the second meeting. McKinley's Reed Sims Jr. scored a game-high 21 points in each contest. The 6-foot-5 junior averages a team-high 20.9 points and 6.7 rebounds. Je'Cis Moody, McKinley's lone senior starter, adds 11.9 points a game. GlenOak senior guard Ja'Corey Lipkins averages a team-high 20.0 points while shooting 42.2% from the 3-point line. Junior center Reese Zerger, who is coming off a season-high 30 points in GlenOak's sectional final, averages 14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds. No. 9 seed GlenOak seeks its first district final berth in 13 years. No. 17 seed McKinley was last in a district final in 2021. This is the first McKinley-GlenOak tournament matchup since the Bulldogs won a 2019 sectional semifinal 49-45 against the Golden Eagles.

• Up next: District final, Saturday, 2 p.m. vs. Louisville-Medina winner at Alliance.

Jackson (20-4) vs. Dover (20-3)

Division I, Northeast 3 at Euclid HS 

• The No. 13 seed Polar Bears entered the tournament as maybe the hottest team in the area, and they did not cool off in the sectionals. Jackson walloped its two opponents by 45 and 30 points, respectively, to run its winning streak to 12 games. But now the challenge jumps up a notch with No. 7 seed Dover, which needed double overtime to beat No. 41 Maple Heights in a sectional final. That happened to be the Tornadoes' 12th straight win as well. The Polar Bears, co-champions of the Federal League with Green, are led by Kyle Monterrubio. The junior forward averages 16.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 59.4% from the floor. Jackson shoots 50.7% from the floor and 39.4 from the 3-point line as a team. Junior guard Cameron Weekley is averaging 13.2 points while shooting 64.7% from the floor and 57.9% from the 3-point line. Dover seniors Carter Grove and Trey Ridgeway were first-team picks for Divisions I-II by the District 5 coaches association. Grove scored 20 points in the Tornadoes' 46-44 win at Perry in their regular-season finale. Since getting bumped up to Division I for the 2015-16 season, Dover has not appeared in a district final. This is just its second district semifinal appearance in that span. Jackson seeks its fourth straight district championship appearance and 10th in the last 11 years.

• Up next: District final, Saturday, 2 p.m. vs. Green-Mentor winner at Euclid.

Massillon (15-8) vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary (12-12)

Division I, Northeast 6 at Lakewood HS 

• The No. 23 seed Tigers survived a wild game with Warren Harding to get to a district semifinal. Now they'll try to reach their first district final since 2006. In their way is a basketball behemoth that doesn't appear as daunting as usual. But No. 30 St. Vincent-St. Mary, which just knocked off No. 15 North Royalton on the road, cannot be taken lightly. Senior guards Noah Chambers and Jayson Walker and 6-7 junior forward John Whorton lead a battle-tested group that has faced a who's who of Ohio high school basketball teams. Massillon is led by junior forward Chris Knight, who averaged 18.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals while shooting 46.2% from 3-point range in the regular season. Sophomore guard Jadyce Thigpen added 15.6 points and 3.2 assists a game. But in the sectional final, it was junior Terrelle Keyes and freshman Xavier Williams coming up big with 19 points each for Massillon.

• Up next: District final, Saturday, 2 p.m. vs. winner of Garfield Heights and Berea-Midpark at Lakewood.

Alliance (9-14) vs. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (16-7)

Division II, Northeast 3 at Akron North HS 

• It was a tough end to the regular season for the Aviators as they lost three straight, five of six and eight of 10 for first-year head coach Chet Harper. But things quickly changed in a sectional final as No. 33 seed Alliance went on the road and knocked off No. 22 Holy Name 61-51. Now the Aviators have a chance at their first district final appearance in 10 years. To get there, they must go through the No. 17 Vikings. VA-SJ senior guard Quandell Wright is on the All-Northeast Lakes District third team. He averages a team-high 16.0 points to go with 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals. Junior guard Jeremiah Martin adds 15.7 points and 5.6 assists a game. Alliance sophomore guard JR Jackson averages a team-high 16.5 points to go with 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Senior K'Vaughn Davis adds 12.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 steals a game.

• Up next: District final, Saturday, 4 p.m. vs. Poland-CVCA winner at Akron North.

Northwest (15-8) vs. Canfield (20-4)

Division II, Northeast 5 at Louisville HS 

• No. 11 seed Northwest closed the regular season by losing four of five games, capped by a humbling 102-70 loss at D1 power Louisville. Northwest must wash away those vibes as it returns to that same gym with a spot in the district final on the line against No. 5 seed Canfield. Northwest is in a district semifinal for the first time since 2019. It hasn't been in a district championship since 2004, when Jim Lower, the father of current head coach Mike Lower, took the program on a Cinderella ride to a state runner-up finish. Senior Ian Ziegler averages team highs of 19.9 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting a team-best 60.3% from the floor. Sophomore Tristan Pennington averages 13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Junior Chase Badger adds 11.3 points a game. Canfield enters this semifinal on an 11-game winning streak. Senior Dom Cruz leads the Cardinals, who lost in a district final last year. Cruz averages a team-high 15.3 points for veteran head coach John Cullen, a Canal Fulton native who owns more than 600 career wins. Former Canton McKinley head coach Andy Vlajkovich is a Canfield assistant.

• Up next: District final, Saturday, 7 p.m. vs. Buchtel-Glenville winner at Louisville.

Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com 

On X: @jweirREP  

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school boys basketball district semifinal previews: Thursday