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DAYTON, Ohio — Four scorers reached double figures as Cleveland Heights Lutheran East won a third-consecutive state title 53-49 over Gahanna Columbus Academy in the OHSAA Division V boys’ basketball state championship game at UD Arena on Saturday.
In a game that featured seven lead changes and two ties through three quarters, Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (25-4) and Gahanna Columbus Academy found themselves tied at 37 points in the first-ever Division V state title game. The OHSAA expanded to seven divisions before this school year.
-WATCH THE GAME REPLAY HERE-
The two teams went scoreless the first 2:52 of the final quarter. Cleveland Heights Lutheran East’s Ty Harrison hit a 3-pointer on the wing, and the Falcons held a 40-37 lead.
Theo Falkenhain completed an and-one opportunity bringing the Vikings within 42-40 and Jason Singleton knocked down his third triple of the game to bring them within 52-49 with 18 seconds left, but Gahanna Columbus Academy couldn’t get any closer. Cleveland Heights Lutheran East’s TJ Crumble made a free throw with 13 seconds remaining to ice the game.
“I haven’t experienced the feeling of losing in the playoffs. Chris (Hill) hasn’t either. None of us have, so we just didn’t want to feel that,” Crumble said. “This past week we played really hard in practice, 110% gave it our all and followed coach Sam (Liggins)’s game plan and ultimately it led to success.”
Crumble led Cleveland Heights Lutheran East with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dylan Ziegler added 13 points, Hill scored 12 and Harrison finished with 10.
The Falcons made their eighth-straight trip to the final four and came away with their fifth title since 2017. Liggins, who finished his sixth season at Cleveland Heights Lutheran East, guided the school to become the fifth to win three-straight championships and first since Richmond Heights from 2022-24.
“You have to challenge them, and I believe in putting them in the most adverse situations possible so that ultimately we dance in March,” Cleveland Heights Lutheran East head coach Sam Liggins said. “That’s what we say. And we lose big games in the year sometime and other people celebrate, and we go in the locker room saying, ‘Hey, listen to me, we dance in March.’”
Gahanna Columbus Academy (28-1) entered halftime with a 27-25 lead, though the Vikings trailed for nearly 12 minutes across the first two quarters. Singleton had 14 of his team’s 27 points in the first half and put the Vikings ahead with a layup as 32 seconds remained. Singleton finished with a game-high 27 points.
“I thought we still were able to execute some things, but yeah, they bumped us off some things, came through over the top of some screens where we couldn’t get them picked off,” Gahanna Columbus Academy head coach Jeff Warstler said. “And I thought they did a great job with us defensively. But I just thought they just picked it up a little bit and made execution difficult.”
