Buchtel wins Akron City Series boys basketball title with 72-60 win over East

AKRON, Ohio – The Coach Joe Siegfert trophy will be returning to 1040 Copley Road for the fifth straight year, as Buchtel defeated East 72-60 on Friday night to win the Akron City Series championship game.

The Griffins start five seniors in Khoi Thurmon, Marcel Boyce, Jr, Amire Robinson, Jayden Maxwell and DaKota Taylor and they were the reason Buchtel was able to get off to a good start in the game, as they never trailed.

“Khoi, Amire, Marcel, Jayden, they really set the tone for the game and DaKota was giving us a lot of energy inside as well,” Buchtel head coach Rayshon Dent said. “They understood what it was and what was the task at hand.”

The group has held each other accountable all season, which is one of the factors in Buchtel being able to win the City Series title for the fifth straight year.

“We get on each other, we are really hard on each other,” Robinson said. “If somebody makes a mistake, you’re going to hear it from everybody. We are also good at picking each other up and playing off each other.”

Thurmon started his Friday night off by receiving the Akron City Series Player of the Year Award and wasted no time in showing why he was named the best player in the league, as he led all scorers with 25 points and also dished out five assists and had four steals.

“That’s pretty much who Khoi has been all season for us,” Dent said. “He has been the guy who has been answering the bell for us. Whatever we need, he has been stepping up and doing for us.”

The senior scored 10 of his points in the first quarter, which included a 3-pointer from about 30 feet where he received a pass from Marcel Boyce, Jr on the left wing, pulled up and let it go to give the Griffins a 16-8 lead.

“(My thought was no, no, no, yes, great shot,” Dent said. “I have seen him do it in practice, so I really don’t sweat a lot. At that time, I said hmm. But other than that, I have confidence in him taking that shot.”

The guard wasn’t as worried as his coach.

“I have been working on it and I felt confident in warmups,” Thurmon said. “I was knocking down shots and seeing the ball go through the net, so I felt confident in my shot, and I let it go.”

And then on the final possession of the quarter after East had cut the lead to 19-12, Thurmon had the ball near the East bench as the clock was winding down and hit a fallaway 3-pointer to give Buchtel a 10-point lead after one.

“That was a big shot and it kind of set the tone for the rest of the game,” Dent said. “What it did was it gave us a gap to play with.”

At the end of the third quarter, Thurmon again ended the period with a 3-pointer as time was expiring. This time he did it in front of the East fans and held the pose after the shot went in to make it 56-41.

“The crowd was talking a little crazy, so I had to make sure I had to knock the shot down,” Thurmon said. “It was just a little talking back and forth but it’s just the game of basketball.”

Speaking of the crowd, there were worries heading into the game after last season’s district semifinal gamebetween the two teams had to be called in the fourth quarter after a brawl broke out and then the first regular season meeting between the teams this season was stopped with more than six minutes remaining for the same reason.

But with extra security measures in place – such as limited tickets, no students from other school unless accompanied by a parent and extra police presence at the game – the crowd was under control throughout and there weren’t any issues on the night.

“That kind of ruined our season last year,” Thurmon said. “For us to play each other and be able to play a full game, it feels good. That’s not normal for Buchtel vs. East.”

Robinson, who was also named first-team All-City Series, believes the community played a big role in the game going off without a hitch.

“I think you can really start to see the community care a little more and see that we have two great teams who can potentially go pretty far in the tournament,” Robinson said. “I think they started to notice that and don’t want to ruin it for us or for the community.”

Robinson scored 16 points for Buchtel, while Maxwell and Boyce, Jr each had 13.

For the Dragons, they were led by their two first-team All-City Series selections, as Mike Woodall scored 22 and La’Grand Sewell added 14.

Winning the game was special for the group of Buchtel seniors, who will leave without ever having lost the City Series.

“For the seniors, this was our last game in the City Series ever,” Boyce, Jr said. “To go out with the win and especially to win the championship, this means a lot for us.”

It was also the second City Series championship this school year for a number of the Griffins, who were also the league champions in football with a 5-0 record and a 19-13 win over second-place East for the title.

“It’s a blessing and it shows hard work pays off,” Boyce, Jr said. “If you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you want. To win it in football and basketball, that’s a good feeling.”

With the City Series championship now secured, Buchtel has just one goal left – to be the last team standing in Dayton on March 19th.

“Every time we have workouts, or we have practice or any time we are on the floor, it’s just straight state championship,” Thurmon said. “That’s our motivation.”