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Marion Local's Grant Kremer (5) goes up into the air as Monroe Central's Caedyn Silva (14) prepares to go around during the Division VI state championship game at the University of Dayton Arena.
DAYTON - Marion Local was unaccustomed to trailing in the first quarter.
Monroe Central came out swinging, and the Flyers struggled to find a counter.
The Seminoles were up as many as 13 points in the first half, then fended off Marion's comeback tries to capture the first state championship in school history in beating the Flyers 43-35 in the Division VI boys basketball state championship game on Saturday at the University of Dayton Arena.
Marion, playing on the 50th anniversary of the team's Class A state title, finishes the season at 26-3, a school record for wins. Monroe Central also ends at 26-3.
"Give Monroe Central credit. They are a very, very good basketball team," said Marion coach Kurt Goettemoeller, who adds a runner-up finish to the state title won in 2018. "As I look at the stats, the difference was the first quarter."
"We've played from ahead almost the whole year," continued Goettemoeller. "You look at our scores, we have not been behind (much). It's probably the weirdest year I've had as a coach. We've played from ahead almost every single game. I don't know if we've trailed at half in many games all year. It was a different position for our kids to be in."
The Seminoles put pressure on the Flyers from the start as Marion turned the ball over on its first three possessions. That allowed Central to jump out 7-0 on a 3-pointer by Cooper Howell and back-to-back buckets off turnovers by Tucker Howell. Nearly 2 1/2 minutes passed before the Flyers managed to take a shot, and the first points came with 5:06 remaining in the opening quarter on a Grant Kremer layup.
"We always say when you're the underdog, you've got to come out swinging," said Seminoles coach Mason Lange. "(Marion Local) was the No. 1 team in the state. We were able to land the first punch and jump out to an early lead.
Each team tried to counter the other's go-to players. Flyer sophomore Kale Ahrens kept close with two-time East District Player of the Year Tucker Howell while Marion's Austin Niekamp was routinely double-teamed in the paint.
Marion Local's Austin Niekamp shoots over Monroe Central's Cooper Howell.
Corbin Farnsworth came up big in the first quarter scoring five along with five from Cooper Howell as Monroe Central led 14-6.
"We have been warned that (Monroe Central) was a fast-starting team. They surprised teams with their athleticism. That's what happened today," said Goettemoeller. "We had too many turnovers in the first quarter, not a lot of shots on goal."
The lead reached 13 at 23-10 as Farnsworth hit another bucket with 1:42 to play in the half. That seemed to spark the Flyers as Niekamp broke free for a bucket, than after a turnover, got a trey to fall, then right before the halftime horn, Brayden Mescher got a layup to get Marion to within six at 23-17 with 16 minutes to play.
Marion Local's Brayden Mescher (32) sticks close to Monroe Central's Corbin Farnsworth as he moves towards the basket.
"It was huge to make that run at the end of the first half to get it to manageable," said Goettemoeller.
Cooper Howell put the Seminoles up 24-17 with a free throw 10 seconds into the third quarter, but Niekamp got a bucket seconds later, followed by an Ahrens free throw with 6:15 remaining in the third to get Marion within four. Nearly two minutes ticked off the clock as the defense picked up again, but Niekamp got a bunny to fall with 4:35 to play in the quarter to get Marion to within two, the closest margin all game. Tucker Howell needed just 20 seconds to make it a four-point game at 26-22 at the under-four minute media timeout.
The teams traded scoreless possessions before Cooper Howell knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:54 remaining to get the lead back to seven. Marion got it back to within five on a Daniel Everman bucket off a steal, but a Cooper Howell free throw put the Seminoles in front 30-24 heading into the fourth quarter.
Marion Local's Daniel Everman shoots a 3-pointer against Monroe Central.
"I felt we did a really good job on them defensive in the second half once we got our feet under us," said Goettemoeller.
It took half a quarter for the first points of the final period to come into play. Monroe Central put Marion into the bonus just two minutes into the fourth quarter, but Ryan Homan was unable to make either of them. Mescher finally broke the ice with 4:19 to play to make it 30-26, only for Jacob Fogle to knock down a big 3-pointer with 4:06 remaining to get the margin back to seven heading into final media timeout. Niekamp knocked down two free throws to cut it to 33-28 with 3:40 as Monroe Central was content in slowing down the game and take time off the clock.
Nearly 90 seconds ticked off before Allen got a bucket to fall to push the margin back to seven. Kremer scored with 1:58 to play to make it a five-point game at 35-30 as Goettemoeller called timeout. Forced to put Monroe Central on the line, Caedyn Silva was fouled with 1:54 to go, making one of two to put the margin at six. Kremer missed two free throws on Marion's next possession, while Allen made two after getting the rebound to make an eight-point game. After another Flyer miss, Tucker Howell hit a free throw to get it to nine. Another Flyer miss turned into another Seminole rebound followed by a trip to the stripe, where Allen applied the coup de grâce with 70 seconds remaining with two free throws. Kremer hit a trey with 1:04 to play to get back to within eight, but Allen got a layup with 51 seconds remaining. Mescher provided the final points of the game with 32 seconds remaining, but all the Seminoles had to do was hold the ball and run out the clock.
"We got it to two, but couldn't get over the hump," said Goettemoeller. "I thought if we could get the game tied or get the lead, maybe things would swing our way. But great teams like (Monroe Central) have been in this situation a lot."
"That's a well-coached team, a really good defensive team," said Lang. "They challenge on the offensive end. We struggled to score, but our defense was able to step up."
Marion Local's Troy Homan goes up for a shot as Monroe Central's Chase Allen defends.
Niekamp finished his Flyer career with a 13-point, nine rebound effort to lead both teams. Kremer added 11 with Mescher scoring six.
Farnsworth led Monroe Central with 12 points. Cooper Howell and Allen each scored 10 with Tucker Howell, the Seminoles' all-time leading scorer, finishing with five.
Although the fourth title in program history didn't come to fruition, the players and coaches were happy with the season.
"In four years of basketball, I never had so much fun playing basketball," said Niekamp. "It sucks that it ended this way, but that's life."
"In the postgame, there was tears and laughter at the same time," said Goettemoeller. "Every single dude hugged every other dude in there. This was theclosest team that I have had. The 2018 team was a close team, but this is easily the closest team. Sometimes in sports you go to war and it doesn't go your way, but this was about building relationships. We built relationships that we'll never forget."
