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1/8/06

NCH edges McKinley in battle of Ohio powers

By Tom Groeschen
Enquirer staff writer

COLUMBUS - Keenan Ellis swished a 15-foot jump shot at the buzzer to give North College Hill a thrilling, 69-67 victory over Canton McKinley Saturday night, in a marquee matchup of two nationally ranked boys' basketball teams.

Ellis, the Trojans' slender, 6-foot-11 junior center, scored off an assist from junior guard O.J. Mayo. Mayo streaked downcourt with the ball, reached the top of the foul circle, then snapped off a pass to Ellis on the left wing. Ellis stroked a line-drive jumper as the final horn sounded at Ohio State's Value City Arena, and Trojans players sprinted onto the court and gleefully mobbed their hero.

"I felt if I got the final shot, I would hit it," said a grinning Ellis, who said it was the first game-winning shot of his career. "O.J. made a great play to get it to me."

NCH (11-0) is ranked No. 5 nationally by USA Today. McKinley (8-2) is No. 16.

McKinley's only other loss was 51-50 to USA Today's No. 2-ranked team, Oak Hill Academy (Va.), in early December.

"Canton McKinley is good, but I feel like we're the best team in the state," Ellis said.

NCH is the defending Division III state champion, while McKinley is the reigning Division I champion.

The estimated crowd of 8,000 included former University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins. The game was the sixth of seven games in the daylong Ohio Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic at Ohio State.

Junior forward Bill Walker led NCH with 26 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four dunks.

Mayo had 25 points, seven boards and five assists. Ellis had 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Mayo deflected questions about whether this proves NCH is tops in Ohio.

"The main thing was to get the win," said Mayo, who played well despite flu-like symptoms.

NCH led by as many as 11 points (22-11) in the second quarter. The Trojans had their running game in full gear early, but Canton McKinley kept its poise and fought back behind 6-7 forward Raymar Morgan (24 points, seven rebounds), a Michigan State recruit.

"We kept the ball out of Mayo's and Walker's hands for the final shot, but Ellis stepped up and made a big shot," McKinley coach Dave Hoover said.

"Give him credit."

NCH led by nine points early in the fourth period and was up six points (58-52) midway through the quarter. But McKinley forged a 67-67 tie on two foul shots by Marcus Parker with 12.2 seconds left. That set up the final sequence, after an NCH timeout with 6.6 seconds left.

On the final play, Mayo drew several McKinley defenders toward him as he drove toward the goal.

"I didn't think I'd be able to get all the way to the goal against a good Canton McKinley team, so I was looking to draw Bill's or Keenan's man to me," Mayo said. "I was able to find Keenan, and I had confidence he would make the shot."

NCH coach Jamie Mahaffey said the play was designed for Mayo to create something, either on his own or for someone else.

"I thought he'd be able to draw someone to him and maybe get the ball to Bill or Keenan," Mahaffey said. "I don't know if it went exactly like I thought it would, but it worked out. It was a game where we showed a lot of determination against a great team."

It was the closest game of the season for NCH, which had been winning by an average of 40.5 points a game. The Trojans' closest game had been 17 points, a 78-61 win over La Salle on Dec. 29.

"We haven't had many close games, and this is the first time we faced a team that might have had more athletic ability than us," Mayo said. "That's why it's such a good win."

The Trojans extended their overall win streak to 32, dating to last season.

Taft beat Columbus Brookhaven 80-70 and Hamilton beat Upper Sandusky 79-70 in two earlier Play-By-Play games here Saturday.

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com

Canton McKinley (8-2) - Broyles 2 0 4, Morgan 10 4 24, Parker 1 2 4, Brown 3 1 7, Jackson 5 9 20, Freeman 3 2 8. Totals: 24 15 67.
North College Hill (11-0) - Walker 11 4 26, Mayo 11 1 25, Ellis 6 2 14, Butler 1 0 2, Evans 1 0 2. Totals: 30 7 69.

Canton McKinley11181523-67North College Hill18151719-69
3-pointers: CM 4 (Freeman 2, Brown, Jackson), NCH 2 (Mayo 2).