Xavier Williams helps Massillon boys basketball hold of Warren, advance to OHSAA districts

MASSILLON — It's survive and advance. That's all that matters to Massillon Tigers boys basketball coach Josh Hose.

His Tigers survived what could've been a second-half collapse Saturday and advanced to district play for the first time in three years.

A last-minute put-back by freshman Xavier Williams gave the Tigers a 64-63 victory over Warren Harding in a Division I sectional championship. Harding overcame a 20-point deficit before Williams scored his game-winner and the Raiders then had a shot to win at the buzzer, but came up empty.

"Those first one are always the hardest one to get it seems in the tournament," said Hose, whose Tigers had a first-round bye. "We have a young group, and it was cool to watch them come together."

Massillon beat Harding early in the regular season, but not in a game with near the intensity of Saturday's tournament game. Harding entered with momentum after upsetting Barberton 53-52 on the road Wednesday. The Raiders then jumped out to big lead at Massillon before the Tigers regrouped and took their own big lead.

Harding star Chaz Coleman brought his team back, scoring 10 straight points at one point, on his way to scoring 34 points. But the Tigers hung on to win when Coleman was unable to score on a drive in the final seconds.

"He's just a tough matchup. Who do you put on him? We had some guys who really struggled," Hose said. "Either you're undersized, or he's too quick for you in the perimeter, and then when you put some shooters around him, it made it tougher on us."

Massillon wasn't making anything in the first quarter and fell behind 11-0 with 2:04 left to play.

"We took some bad shots," Hose explained. "We took some quick ones and tried to force things."

Massillon starters Jadyce Thigpen, Chris Knight and Brady Manson got into early foul trouble, creating further problems. Hose had to lean on his underclassmen for most of the game. Junior guard Terrence Keyes came off the bench and got Massillon going by knocking down three 3-point baskets. Williams and Giorgio Jackson also contributed off the bench. The Tigers outscored Harding 25-10 and led 38-24 at the half.

"The game of basketball is funny," Hose said. "When shots are going, everything looks good. I think we hit some shots. We talked about it at halftime. Don't bank on shooting as well as we shot in the first half. ... We came out a little eager to get going in the second half. We kind of ride that momentum. That's a dangerous way to play basketball."

Massillon pushed its lead to 20 points before Harding began its comeback in the third. Massillon was holding on for dear life in the fourth. A 3-pointer by Davion Herron gave Harding its first lead of the second half.

Massillon regained the lead on two Jalen Slaughter free throws. Trailing again late, Williams scored after grabbing an offensive rebound to win it for the Tigers. Williams scored a career-high 19 points. Keyes also scored 19, while Slaughter added 10 points.

Harding head coach Keeylyn Franklin was pleased by his team's resilience.

"I couldn't have been more proud of them," Franklin said. "They fought their butts off. When the odds were against them, they stood together and made the huge run, and quite frankly, we had two opportunities to win."

Next up for the Tigers, in the district semifinals, is traditional basketball powerhouse St. Vincent-St Mary. The two meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, at Lakewood High School.

"I think we go into that one a little relieved to get a sectional championship and move on," Hose said. "So we're back to districts for the first time since COVID year, 2020-21. It will be a good opportunity."

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Massillon Tigers boys basketball advances to OHSAA district tournament