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3/20/05

Second-team All-Ohioan Raymar Morgan made three clutch free throws in the final minute to help top-ranked Canton McKinley beat Cincinnati St. Xavier 51-42 for the school's long-awaited second big-school state championship on Saturday.

Canton McKinley 51, Cin. St. Xavier 42
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<!-- -->COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Canton McKinley hex is dead.

Second-team All-Ohioan Raymar Morgan made three clutch free throws in the final minute to help top-ranked Canton McKinley beat Cincinnati St. Xavier 51-42 for the school's long-awaited second big-school state championship on Saturday.


Before a loud crowd at Value City Arena, the Bulldogs buried a lot of old ghosts.


"I think they (the players) understand what it takes and they were focused on what they had to do," coach Dave Hoover said.


Morgan scored 18 points and third-team all-stater Ricky Jackson and Todd Brown each added 10 for the Bulldogs (26-1).


Johnny Wolf, a first-team All-Ohioan, carried the load for the Bombers (21-6), scoring 25 points and adding four assists.


"They're as good as any team we've played," St. X coach Scott Martin said. "You hate to come to the state title game and leave as the runners-up. It hurts really bad. We lost to a great basketball team. We had an opportunity to beat them but McKinley did what they had to do."


It was a sweet, sweet victory for a Bulldogs program whose fans have had their hearts broken again and again each March.


McKinley was making its record 27th trip to the state's final four, and was appearing in the title game for the 10th time _ something else no school has ever done. Unfortunately for the Pups _ as they are called by their fans _ no school has ever failed to win 25 times, either. McKinley's only previous title came with Gary Grant at point guard back in 1984.


The Bulldogs are renowned as the winningest basketball program in Ohio with 1,686 wins, but they're also known as the school that always seems to find trouble at the state tournament.


Not this year.


"It's huge right now," a smiling Morgan said. "There's no better feeling."


Brown hit a 10-foot pull-up jumper and Marcus Parker had a fortuitous layup _ after a loose ball was inadvertently kicked down the court directly on his path to the basket by St. X's Rob Schoenhoft, who will play quarterback at Ohio State this fall _ to give McKinley a 44-39 lead with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.


Wolf hit three free throws over the next 65 seconds, but they were offset by three McKinley foul shots.


With McKinley gripping a 47-42 lead, Xavier turned the ball over and then missed a shot. Morgan, who had hit a big free throw with 53.2 seconds left, stepped to the line with 22.9 seconds on the clock and hit both.


After another miss by the Bombers, Parker hit a layup right in front of the McKinley cheering section. The celebration had already begun.


"Once we started moving the ball better, we found some seams and we were able to get to the basket without having bodies on us," Hoover said.


Almost an hour before the opening tip, the all-boys cheering section for St. Xavier was already chanting, "Over-rated! Over-rated!"


McKinley also was involved in the gamesmanship, huddling in front of the St. Xavier bench and locking arms while chanting before the game, forcing St. X's players and coaches to stand and watch.


With the score tied at 27 at the half, McKinley slowly began taking control. Jackson hit a short jumper and a layup sandwiched around a Morgan basket for a 33-27 lead. Jackson's 12-foot jumper made it 37-31 with 2 minutes left in the quarter, with the Pups settling for a 37-32 lead at the third-quarter break.


A Wolf jumper and a foul shot by Greg Sweeney cut the lead to 37-35 early in the fourth quarter.


But in a physical matchup between two hustling, pressing defenses, McKinley made enough big plays to hold onto the lead. A foul shot by Morgan and Jackson's driving bucket made it 40-35 with 3:46 left before Nick Wolf came right back to hit a 3-pointer for the Bombers.


McKinley then hit free throws _ the Bulldogs ended up 11-of-14 at the line _ to hold off St. X.


"We don't mind scoring a lot of points if the other team will let us," Martin said. "But they played great defense."


The Bombers were making their third trip to the state's final four, taking their only title in 2000.


McKinley's victory meant that the voters in the regular-season Associated Press poll correctly picked all four No. 1 teams. The other top-ranked teams to capture championships included Upper Sandusky in Division II, Cincinnati North College Hill in III and Columbus Africentric in Division IV. It was the first time that the poll winners all went on to capture tournament titles.


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3/20/05

Bulldogs' Morgan leads Division I all-tournament
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<!-- -->COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Raymar Morgan, who saved his best for last for state champion Canton McKinley, is the most outstanding player on the 2005 Associated Press Division I boys all-tournament team.

Morgan, a 6-foot-7 junior, had 18 points, two assists and six rebounds _ and hit three huge free throws in the final minute _ as the top-ranked Bulldogs beat Cincinnati St. Xavier 51-42 in the title game.


Morgan also had nine points, seven rebounds and four assists in a semifinal victory over Mansfield Senior.


Joining him on the division's all-tournament team are: teammate Todd Brown (26 points, 13 rebounds in two games); Cincinnati St. Xavier's Johnny Wolf (44 points, five assists, six rebounds in two games); Mansfield Senior's Jon Avery (a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 12 points in a semifinal loss); and Cincinnati Moeller's Troy Tabler (12 points, four assists, four rebounds) in a semifinal defeat.


<!-- -->Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.