'We did it. State champs': Buchtel wins thriller for first OHSAA boys basketball state title

DAYTON — The Buchtel boys basketball team is a state champion for the first time.

Senior Marcel Boyce Jr. made two free throws with 14.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter Sunday to lift the Griffins to a 51-49 win over Lutheran West in the Division II championship game at the University of Dayton Arena.

Seniors Boyce, Khoi Thurmon, Amire Robinson and Jayden Maxwell led the way for Buchtel (23-6) in front of 4,135 spectators.

Lutheran West (25-4) almost forced overtime when 6-foot-6 sophomore Joshua Meyer made a layup, but his shot came after the buzzer sounded.

Officials initially counted the basket and then reviewed the play for a couple of minutes to determine that the ball had left Meyer’s hand after the buzzer.

The decision set off a celebration for Buchtel's players and coaches that included hugs, a championship trophy and medal presentation and the cutting of the nets on Blackburn Court.

“This game right here should be the ideal game that everybody wants to see for a championship game,” Buchtel coach Rayshon Dent said. “It was two teams battling all the way to the last second. I am just grateful that we persevered and came away with the championship.”

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Buchtel, which knocked off 28-0 Columbus Bishop Ready in the semifinals, is the first Akron Public Schools team to win a boys basketball state championship since Central-Hower in 1986.

“This is a great feeling knowing that we did something that had not been done in school history,” Boyce said. “Since ‘86, APS had not won a state title, so it feels good to bring one back to the city for all of the APS schools.”

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Marcel Boyce Jr. leads the way for the Buchtel Griffins

Boyce finished with 18 points and six rebounds. He led Buchtel in scoring in six of the seven tournament games.

Boyce, a 6-1 Wayne State football recruit, said he "kept calm" before making the game-winning free throws.

"All of the emotions, flashbacks from when I was little — it was a lot," Boyce said. "It was be calm, focus in, lock in on the free throws one at a time. When you see one go in, that is a good feeling and you hear the crowd. Then you gotta block everybody back out and then you gotta do the same thing over again. That was a little nerve-wracking, but once I saw that second one go in emotions were just going crazy."

Dent, a 1986 Buchtel graduate, credited assistant Steve Culp for drawing up the play that led to Boyce's free throws.

"That was a beautiful play that Steve drew up," Dent said. "... I call coach Culp 'Cool Hand Luke.' He has seen every situation on the basketball court. We converse a lot, and Mike Williams as well. My younger coaches, they are the spirit of the staff. Donald Garth, Darius Knight, Kevin Simpson and Greg Clark lock in with the young men."

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Buchtel star Khoi Thurmon 'low-key shocked' by Griffins' state championship

Thurmon, a 6-2 Purdue Fort Wayne basketball recruit, totaled 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.

“I am low-key shocked, but this is a great feeling, especially doing this with the guys I love,” he said. “These guys are my brothers. I know they always got my back. I could not do this without them. This is a great feeling for me and I know this is a great feeling for the community as well.”

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Maxwell scored 10 points. Robinson, a 6-3 Nevada basketball recruit, contributed five points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

“It was probably one of the longest waits I have ever had,” Robinson said of the video review. “Just standing there looking at everybody and seeing everybody’s faces and the emotions they were going through. It was definitely one of the scariest decisions because we had no say on it, but I definitely was very confident if we went into overtime that we were going to get the win, regardless.”

Buchtel junior Diaire Pride Jr. scored five points and had two assists. Sophomore Stevie Diamond had two points and five rebounds. Griffins juniors Dakota Taylor and Qi'Marreon Marks contributed defensively.

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"I love my brothers and I love my coaches," Maxwell said. "We did it. State champs."

Matthew Meyer, a 6-6 sophomore, paced Lutheran West with 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Junior Jayson Levis had 10 points and five rebounds and junior Derek Fairley contributed nine points and seven assists.

The Longhorns won their semifinal 56-54 over Dayton Chaminade Julienne on Joshua Meyer's layup and dunk in the final 38 seconds. Meyer nearly delivered a much more dramatic moment in Sunday's state final.

“I said after our semifinal game that somebody has got to win and somebody has got to lose,” Lutheran West coach Jordan Duke said. “It is a game of who makes the last shot and who misses the last shot. It came down to that today at the end. It is the state final four so everybody is good. Everybody is going to have the opportunity to win. They made some shots, they made some free throws and we took a loss.

“... Buchtel did a really good job in transition. They did a really good job with their force to the rim. We struggled all day long to get back and to match up [defensively]. I think their quickness bothered us on some offensive rebounds.”

The final two minutes of the game featured six timeouts and Boyce's two free throws. Lutheran West's final possession started with 3.8 seconds left. Levis started the final sequence dribbling the ball toward the paint. Thurmon poked the ball away, and Joshua Meyer grabbed the loose ball and ultimately ran out of time.

"A lot of people have underestimated how tough these kids are," Culp said. "We have been going with no center and no power forward all year long. We just have guards. ... These guys are gym rats behind the scenes."

Lutheran West jumped out to a 5-0 lead Sunday in the opening moments of the first quarter, but Buchtel rallied back as Maxwell made two 3-pointers to help the Griffins take a 11-9 lead into the second quarter.

Buchtel trailed 30-27 at halftime after Lutheran West ended the second quarter on a 5-0 run via a 3-pointer by Junior Kambomba and a layup by Levis. Boyce and Maxwell each scored eight points in the opening 16 minutes.

Thurmon scored eight points in the third quarter as Buchtel drew even with Lutheran West at 42-42. He scored six points during an 8-0 run that gave the Griffins a 38-34 lead with 3:35 on the clock. Maxwell capped the run with a layup.

Boyce scored eight of Buchtel's nine points in the fourth quarter with a layup, a 3-pointer and three free throws.

"I graduated from Buchtel in 2005 and this is a surreal feeling," Buchtel athletic director and football coach Bryan Williams said after hugging players, coaches and principal LaCresia Beecher.

"The guys played six games to get to this state final. This is a beautiful feeling. We had great support from our community. At 10:45 a.m, we had this whole section packed [with fans]. I am happy for everyone."

Buchtel wins OHSAA boys basketball title in seventh state tournament appearance

Buchtel made its seventh appearance in the state tournament after being a participant in 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1997 and 2019. The 1997 Griffins team finished as state runner-up in Division II.

Buchtel joined West (1932), North (1935 and 1939), Ellet (1944) and Central-Hower (1980 and 1986) as Akron public schools with a state title in boys basketball.

"I actually saw [former C-H coach] Mike Meneer [Saturday] at our Hall of Fame meeting," APS assistant athletic director Ron Linger said. "I told him, 'Coach, this Buchtel team reminds me so much of your 1986 Central-Hower team that came down here to Dayton and won [the Class AAA state title].' Somebody steps up every game. There is not really a big man per se. Everybody on the team contributes in some way. They play hard and they play great team defense."

The list of APS schools that have competed in the boys basketball state tournament also includes Central, East, Firestone, Garfield and South.

"The key word with this team is team," APS athletic director Joe Vassalotti said. "All year, this team played selflessly and believed in one and another. Coach Dent and his staff deserve a lot of credit for instilling in these players the idea of teamwork. This is a great example for kids and adults to follow.

"... This is a great source of pride for Buchtel, west Akron and all of APS."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Buchtel boys basketball wins first OHSAA state championship