Trotwood overcame a 10-point second half deficit to force overtime and eventually get the game-winner with roughly three seconds remaining, defeating Toledo Central Catholic 55-53 Thursday in the D-III state semifinals at UD Arena.
It will be the third state championship game appearance for Trotwood, which last made it in 2019 when it won a D-II state title.
The Rams will play Steubenville at 7:30 p.m. Friday back at UD Arena. Steubenville defeated Akron Archbishop Hoban 60-58 in the second semifinal game played Thursday.
The Rams have been getting used to close games, but they found a new way to win one against TCC.
Trotwood trailed 42-32 with 5:49 remaining after the Fighting Irish used a 10-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to break away for the first time all game.
Trotwood cut the deficit in half in just over a minute but struggled to get within three for most of what was left of regulation. Daveon Arnold got a layup with 24 seconds remaining to get back within two.
After fouling TCC’s Jordan Langford at the other end, he missed the first but made the second. Trotwood called a timeout after crossing over midcourt and after inbounding from the far sideline, Je’Carious Reaves attempted a turnaround three which missed hitting anything.
TCC’s Jason Lawson Jr. attempted to save the ball from going out of bounds after he failed to grab the rebound, but he threw it directly to Darius Dennis. He immediately ran to the corner in front of Trotwood’s bench and got off a 3-pointer with tenths of a second left on the clock that swished through the net to send the game to OT.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
“I had looked at the clock because I was facing this way with the rebound clock up there. I grabbed the ball, and I didn’t even look at my feet, I just made sure I was kind of lined up for the shot,” Dennis said.
Trotwood reclaimed the lead at 53-51 with 2:22 left on a Reaves layup. After TCC tied the game at the free throw line, Trotwood held the ball for nearly all of the remaining 1:53. Reaves and others dribbled around the perimeter until he made his move with six seconds left.
Dribbling to his left and straight down the line, Reaves absorbed contact from TCC’s Kingston Sito and bounced it off the corner of the square on the glass and in for the win.
“I know I’m a fast guard, and I seen we had like a minute thirty trying to do this. Like every time, I was just trying to just waste time since it was a tie game until I could score the winning points,” Reaves said.
Trotwood has won its last four tournament games by one, two, six and two points. Three times during that stretch the Rams have needed to make a basket in the final seconds of regulation to either win or send the game into overtime.
“That’s the way we’ve had to deal with things all season,” Trotwood head coach Carl Blanton Sr. said. “We’ve had adversity throughout the season, so we’ve been fighting, and our practices are strenuous, and we play hard and we really push our guys through some rigorous practice sessions so we’re ready for anything.”
Reaves had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead all players in both categories. Dennis had 12 points, and Arnold scored 11.
TCC’s Dre Wardrop led the Fighting Irish with 15 points.
The Rams attempted 21 more shots than TCC in part because they had a 20-4 advantage in offensive rebounding which led to 22 second chance points.
Trotwood led for the majority of the first half, getting out to a 7-2 lead in the opening minutes. TCC tied the score after the first before consecutive 3s by Reaves and Arnold pushed the Rams back in front for the remainder of the first half.
Credit: Steven Wright
The Fighting Irish grabbed its first lead at 29-28 midway through the third quarter.
Arnold said in the final moments before Dennis put up his shot he began thinking about the possibility of their final game taking place, but felt their fight was going to keep their dream of winning a state title alive.
“I couldn’t believe it. For real, I was happy though. I couldn’t really express my feelings. I just wanted to win the game and I just shot the ball hoping it went in,” Dennis said.
Blanton said the team’s goal all year has been to play in the final game of the season. They will finally see it realized Friday.
“I got a picture hanging up in the locker room of UD Arena from us going to the state championship,” he said. “You visualize it, and I thank God just for the opportunity to be able to coach these guys.”
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