Lutheran East has the answers for Ottawa-Glandorf to win the Division III state title

DAYTON, Ohio – Lutheran East had so many answers during the Division III state championship game against Ottawa-Glandorf, it was like they had a cheat sheet for the test.

Every time Ottawa-Glandorf scored, the Falcons responded.

The result was a 67-61 win for “The Lue” and the school’s second state title in three seasons.

Lutheran East didn’t allow the Titans to score back-to-back baskets at any point in the game without the Falcons scoring between them and only allowed Ottawa-Glandorf to score four or more points in a row twice.

The first came when Colin White hit a 3-pointer with 3:13 left in the game after the Titans had hit two free throws, but T.J. Crumble answered with a jumper to push the lead back to 11. And then with 29 seconds left, White got a fastbreak dunk after two Titans free throws.

Cody Head answered by splitting two free throws.

When Ottawa-Glandorf hit 3-pointers on each of their last two possessions, Lutheran East responded by knocking down a pair of free throws both times as the Falcons hit nine of their last 12 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, with Anthony Bruce hitting his final six.

“To be honest, I knew (our coaches) wanted me to get the ball because all season I have been knocking down free throws,” Bruce said. “I knew I had to get the ball and hit them.”

These weren’t just any free throws, however. There was a state championship on the line. And the pressure was immense.

“It was a lot more pressure,” Bruce said. “It was bright, and everybody was cheering trying to distract me but I kept it calm and hit the shots.”

At one point in the third, the Falcons answered an Ottawa-Glandorf make with a 3-pointer four out of five times with four different players hitting 3s – Ronald Taylor, Cody Head, Chauncey Brashers and T.J. Crumble.

“It’s a credit to our schedule, we play one of the toughest schedules in Northeast Ohio, maybe in. the state,” Lutheran East head coach Sam Liggins said. “We have been in dogfights all year and we expected this to be a dogfight. We know how to get punched in the mouth and punch back.”

Head finished his high school career by scoring a game-high 19 points.

“Cody is a special player. I wish he would come back next year, I love that kid,” Liggins said. “He is so unselfish. He is such a talented kid, and he is a joy to coach.”

This was the sixth straight trip to the state tournament for Lutheran East, who now has four state titles.

“From the day they walk in the gym, we prepare them for this moment,” Liggins said. “Our standard is state or bust every year. That could be seen as too high for some people, or it could be looked at as arrogant but that’s the standard we set. We want to achieve greatness every chance we get so these guys work night and day in being in this moment and being in this game.”

While the Falcons won the title in 2021, it was with a different group of players as none of the kids on this season’s team played for that one. This group made it to Dayton last season but lost in the state semifinals.

“We won it in ’21, we followed it last year with a state semifinal loss and these kids were hungry,” Liggins said. “We won it in ’21, that was seven or eight seniors, so those guys last year were not a part of that team. They had to go on their own journey. Losing it last year fueled them and those guys finished the job today.”

And just maybe the Falcons were able to finish the journey because did sort of have a cheat sheet. They knew there was a chance they would see the Titans at some point in the state tournament and made sure they were prepared.

“We have been watching film on them since the beginning of the season,” Head said. “Our goal was to win a state championship, so we were watching them throughout the entire season.”

Photo Gallery (photos by Ben Jackson)