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3/20/05

Ellis finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocked shots in the win.

CIN. N. COLLEGE HILL 71, IRONTON 65
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<!-- -->COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One down, two to go.

Mr. Basketball O.J. Mayo had an assist on a critical basket and then scored the final four points for No. 1-ranked Cincinnati North College Hill in a 71-65 win over No. 2 Ironton in the Division III state championship game on Saturday.


Second-team All-Ohioan Bill Walker had 19 points and 14 rebounds, with 6-11 center Keenan Ellis adding 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.


"We had a goal way back in November _ to play for the state championship," Walker said. "We did it. Now the goal is to get two more."


Mayo took a back seat to his teammates most of the game, but with the game teetering in the balance in the final minute the 6-foot-6 sophomore asserted himself in a big way.


What had been a 12-point lead early in the quarter melted away for the Trojans (27-1) until they held a 64-63 advantage with time sifting away.


The Fighting Tigers had a shot at taking the lead with 43.9 seconds to go but Marcus Williams missed two free throws.


North College Hill inbounded to Mayo and he brought the ball down the court and drove the right baseline. He ran out of room at the end line and as he was falling out of bounds, whipped a pass to teammate Damon Butler on the other side of the basket. Butler just got off a shot as he was fouled, the shot going in and his free throw pushing the lead to 67-63 with 30.5 seconds left.


On the ensuing possession, the Fighting Tigers (26-1) missed a shot, rebounded it, and then turned the ball over _ Mayo stealing a pass in the corner. He raced down the court and glanced at a teammate on a 2-on-1 before dunking with 12 seconds remaining.


"We had a trap on the baseline and my job was to rotate to the closest player," Mayo said. "I didn't rotate right away because I wanted him to think he was wide open."


He later closed the scoring with two clinching free throws.


Mayo finished with 22 points, six assists and three rebounds, despite carrying four fouls for most of the second half.


"It was like playing an all-star team out there," Ironton coach Roger Zornes said. "They're very good."


Ironton, which was making its second trip to the final four, received 28 points from center Cliffton Howard, who also had 16 rebounds. Dennis Gagai, a special mention All-Ohio selection, tossed in 22 points.


The Trojans, shuffling players in and out because of foul trouble, took the lead on Butler's 3-pointer and then expanded it to 36-30 with Walker scoring the last eight points for his team.


The Fighting Tigers foundered because of bad free-throw shooting. They hit just three of their first nine and ended the half 7-of-15 at the line _ then hit just 1-of-3 in the second half.


North College Hill was holding a 44-43 lead midway through the third period when Ellis scored on a baseline drive, Walker stole a pass and found Mayo for an easy layup _ Mayo waiting for the defender and then drawing the foul as he flipped in the layup. Ellis then tipped in a Mayo miss before Walker brought the crowd to life.


He stepped in front of a pass at midcourt and soared in for a dunk, windmilling it in while 14,749 at Value City Arena roared. That gave the Trojans a 53-43 lead.


Ironton trailed 64-52 early in the final period after Mayo's 15-foot bank shot, but scratched its way back with an 8-0 run _ Gagai drilling two 3-pointers and also hitting a baseline drive.


"We were getting the right people to shoot the ball and they were showing doubt," Zornes said.


That set up the wild finish, leading to North College Hill's first state title in its second trip to the final four.


"It's a great feeling we'll keep for a couple of months," Trojans coach Jamie Mahaffey said. "Now everybody's going to come after us and we've got to be prepared for everybody to come after us.


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