A moment 64 years in the making has been difficult for Northmont’s players to process.
“Sunday night at practice, I took a few moments and I just asked guys what they were thinking and feeling,” Northmont head coach Allen Spears said. “And we got a range of, ‘I couldn’t believe we did it,’ ‘I’m so happy for the community,’ and one of the more significant things that I heard was ‘we just got this one, and I want more.’”
The taste of success is a difficult thing to manage for the first time. Northmont feels ready to jump head first into its new reality as a regional participant.
Northmont will take on fellow No. 1 seed Winton Woods at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Springfield. The two teams played on Jan. 31 and Winton Woods won 40-39 in overtime.
The winner plays either No. 1 Lima Senior or No. 2 Cincinnati Aiken at 2 p.m. Saturday at Springfield.
Spears said he hopes the Bolts play similarly to the first meeting against Winton Woods when it had the ball with a chance to win against who he described as one of the top D-II teams in the state this season.
“That opportunity playing them early definitely makes me feel comfortable that we’ll be ready for the challenge,” he said.
Northmont held a one point lead with 6 minutes left against Loveland and went on an 11-3 run over the next four minutes to take control of the game.
Loveland got the best of Northmont a year prior at the same stage of the tournament. This time the Thunderbolts had that experience, along with the growth it has experienced during the second half of this season, displaying less anxiety and better intensity according to Spears, to earn a piece of memorable history for the program.
The Bolts have been game for anything put in front of them. Their 16 wins are the most since 2017 and have come while using a core of four sophomores, a junior and one senior.
Spears said he hopes to stress to his players his belief they are able to take a win away from Winton Woods and keep their season going. That’s because they now have shown the ability to not be handed, but rather take and earn a piece of history as they did Friday.
“There’s so many realizations that we want to talk about and articulate so they understand what they’ve accomplished,” Spears said. “But it’s just setting that foundation for things to come.”
Regional boys previews
The final 16 teams in each of the seven divisions are set for a run at state in the OHSAA boys tournament.
Here are the regional semifinal games involving local teams with action taking place this week:
Division I - Region 3
No. 1 Centerville (18-6) vs. No. 9 Pickerington Central (16-8)
5 p.m. Thursday at Ohio Expo Center’s Taft Coliseum
No. 1 Lakota West (23-1) vs. No. 13 Olentangy Berlin (17-7)
6:45 p.m. Thursday at Ohio Expo Center’s Taft Coliseum
Centerville has a pair of 20-plus point wins against Beavercreek and Sycamore en route to a district title that eluded the Elks last season. The trio of juniors that are double-digit scorers – Sam Keely, Trey Sam and Ty Rohrer – are supported by freshman Julian Sam’s 9.7 points per game.
A three-point win against Upper Arlington has Pickerington Central in the regional round. The Tigers have beaten Dunbar and Northmont this season. The game’s start time was moved up to allow for attendance at the school’s girls state semifinal game against Fairmont at UD Arena later that evening.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Lakota West has cruised through its first two tournament games over Middletown and Fairmont. The Firebirds shot over 60 percent from the floor in both wins and defensively has held nine of its last 10 opponents under 40 points.
Berlin were the runners-up in the OCC Cardinal Division and have a pair of tournament wins by single-digits over Dublin Coffman and Westland, which were both higher seeds. Noah Burns leads the team in scoring at 20.6 ppg.
The winners play Saturday at a still to be determined location at either 2 or 7 p.m.
Division I - Region 4
No. 2 Wayne (19-4) vs. No. 2 Princeton (21-3)
6 p.m. Wednesday at Xavier University’s Cintas Center
The Warriors have won seven straight following a late January thumping at Centerville. Wayne lost the second half by 32 points that evening, but since then have been a second half team by outscoring after halftime each opponent it has played.
A 50-49 overtime win against Moeller is one of the signature wins of district final weekend. Senior Alphonso Ward of half-court heave fame earlier this season again hit the game-winner with two seconds left.
Princeton has several impressive wins against teams advancing to regionals — Trotwood, Lima Senior and North College Hill — in addition to a victory against Indiana power Indianapolis Cathedral.
Junior A’mare Gill shoots better than 40 percent from three and averages 18.2 ppg.
The winner plays either No. 3 Cincinnati St. Xavier or No. 5 Oak Hills at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Cintas Center.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Division III
No. 1 Trotwood (19-4) vs. No. 2 Tippecanoe (20-5)
6 p.m. Tuesday at Xavier University’s Cintas Center
No. 1 Badin (23-2) vs. No. 5 Hughes (20-5)
8 p.m. Tuesday at Xavier University’s Cintas Center
Two memorable comebacks got Trotwood and Tippecanoe into regionals. Trotwood got a pair of free throws in the final seconds to beat Goshen and finish a 14-point recovery. Tippecanoe trailed by 19 in the second half and were still down by nine with 90 seconds remaining before rallying to stun La Salle.
Tipp boasts senior C.J. Bailey, the D-III player of the year in the Southwest District, who scores 15.4 ppg and led the Miami Valley League in assists at 4.9 per game.
Senior Je’Carious Reaves makes Trotwood go and is one of two shooters for the Rams, senior Daveon Arnold the other, performing better than 40 percent from outside the arc.
Badin are the co-champs of the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed along with Alter. The Rams defense limits opponents to 40.2 ppg.
Badin has won all three tournament games it has played by at least 26 points, including a 66-40 victory against Tecumseh on Saturday.
Hughes hung on in the final minutes Saturday to defeat Bellbrook. The Big Red finished atop the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Red Division and are led by guard Le’Shawn Hill, the division’s player of the year who scored 19.4 ppg and dishes out 5.3 apg.
The winners play at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Cintas Center.
Division IV
No. 1 Wyoming (23-2) vs. No. 2 Alter (18-6)
6 p.m. Thursday at Xavier University’s Cintas Center
No. 1 Northridge (24-1) vs. No. 2 Caledonia River Valley (20-5)
8 p.m. Thursday at Xavier University’s Cintas Center
This is the third straight season Alter and Wyoming meet in the regional round. Alter won in 2024 as part of its state title run, and Wyoming got revenge in 2025, both games being regional finals.
Wyoming cruised past Urbana with a dominant effort in the paint and shutting down perimeter shooting opportunities.
Alter struggled to stop CHCA’s three-point shooting in the first half Sunday, but burst out of the gate in the third quarter and eventually won by 11 to capture its fifth consecutive district title.
The Polar Bears hold one of three winning streaks of more than 20 games in the Miami Valley. The 23-point comeback against Taft on Sunday earned Northridge consecutive district titles for the first time in school history.
River Valley defeated Johnstown-Monroe in its district final game Friday. The champions of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference for the second straight season are led by Carter Myers and his 24.6 ppg average. River Valley advanced to the Region 15 championship game last season.
The winners play at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cintas Center.
Division V
No. 1 Waynesville (23-2) vs. No. 3 Versailles (17-6)
7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fairborn
Waynesville came on strong in the third quarter to overcome Arcanum and push its win streak to 21 in a row. The Spartans swept SWBL Buckeye awards with senior Zevin Sesslar getting player of the year, senior Lucas Rocha defensive player of the year, and Brandon Philpot being named coach of the year.
Versailles cruised past undefeated Williamsburg in its district title win. The Tigers had an early barrage of threes to get ahead quickly and weren’t challenged down the stretch.
Senior Drake Ahrens was named the D-V player of the year in the SW District.
The winner plays either North College Hill or Summit Country Day at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Cintas Center.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Division VI
No. 1 Tri-Village (25-0) vs. No. 2 Troy Christian (20-5)
6 p.m. Tuesday at Butler
No. 4 Fort Recovery (15-10) vs. No. 1 Marion Local (23-1)
7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Butler
Fort Recovery is the only team to stay within single digits against Tri-Village this season, a 66-60 win for the Patriots on Feb. 14.
This is the sixth straight year Tri-Village has won a district title. It is 1-4 in the past five seasons in the regional semifinals. The only win came in 2022 when the Patriots advanced to the D-III state championship game.
Patriots senior Trey Sagester recently eclipsed 2,000 career points.
Troy Christian has already failed to beat TV on Jan. 10 in a 60-43 road loss, but has won 12 of 14 since then. The Eagles had four players score in double figures in its district title win against Deer Park.
FR has gotten hot in the tournament and knocked off Emmanuel Christian 63-44 Friday. Marion Local won an early season matchup between the two teams 53-39.
The Flyers only loss this season came against unbeaten Delphos St. John’s.
The winners play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Butler.
Division VII
No. 2 Botkins (22-3) vs. No. 3 Lehman Catholic (20-5)
7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Butler
Botkins has won 10 straight games. The Trojans have found new offense during the postseason, averaging 75 points per game after only scoring 54 on average during the regular season. Junior Eli Pitts is the Shelby County Athletic Conference player of the year and was joined on the first team by sophomore Will Monnin.
Lehman Catholic has rebounded after losing four of six in the middle of the season following its 12-0 start. The SW District player of the year in D-VII is junior Shane Frantz, who scores 19.4 ppg.
The TRC has three teams remaining, tying the GWOC and MAC for the most in Miami Valley.
The winner plays either Delphos St. John’s or Cincinnati College Prep at 5 p.m. Saturday at Butler.
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