DAYTON, Ohio − Seven Hills and Mariemont each traveled to the University of Dayton Arena Thursday night searching for a Division III district championship.
When the dust settled, both teams saw its season end, finishing as district runners-up.
More:Who made Ohio's Southwest District boys basketball all-star teams?
More:5 things to know as Cincinnati College Prep basketball plays in 1st-ever district final
Preble Shawnee pulls away from Seven Hills, 42-47
Preble Shawnee (22-3) held off Seven Hills for a district crown in Thursday's opener.
Seven Hills finishes the year 14-9. The Stingers made an underdog run to Dayton as a No. 9 seed with upsets over No. 7 Georgetown and top-seeded Madeira.
3 keys to Seven Hills' season-ending defeat
- Seven Hills shot just 25.7% from the field (9-of-35) and were held to 27 points, its fewest in a game since a 30-27 loss to St. Bernard on Feb. 17, 2021. The Stingers were led by sophomore Isaiah Richardson, who scored all nine of their first-half points on a trio of 3-pointers. He finished with 15 points. Jaden Sims was the first Stinger besides Richardson to score with an and-1 early in the third quarter.
- Preble Shawnee's height was a big difference. Southwest District Division III Player of the Year Mason Shrout had 23 points, 16 rebounds and 5 steals. Logan Hawley, a 6-foot-8 junior, had his own double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Preble Shawnee had 30 points in the paint to Seven Hills' 8.
- Seven Hills held Preble Shawnee to a season-low 42 points. The Stingers caused 17 turnovers and had four players register multiple steals. However, Seven Hills committed 17 turnovers of their own, leading to 14 Preble Shawnee fast-break points. The Arrows went on an 11-3 run over the final seven minutes of the third quarter to pull away.
Senior sendoff
Seven Hills' seniors were Jaden Sims, Will Wiles, Logan Bien, Ryan Meador, Will Wiles, Logan Bien, Ryan Meador, Will Gabriel, Jack Ringel, Daniel Yi and Garrett Lacata.
Miami East rallies past Mariemont, 53-49
In the nightcap, Miami East used a 20-point fourth quarter to get past Mariemont for a district crown. Mariemont (15-9) was making its third consecutive district championship appearance. Last year, the Warriors won the program's first district title since 1995.
3 keys to Mariemont's season-ending defeat
- There were nine lead changes in the second half after Mariemont took a 22-19 lead into the intermission, including six in the third quarter. The final lead change came on a pair of free throws from Miami East's Connor Apple with 1:06 remaining. The Vikings would hit five more times from the charity stripe to seal it. The difference came at the free-throw line with Miami East going 18-of-21 to Mariemont's 6-of-10 performance.
- Miami East's Jacob Roeth scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. He also had 10 rebounds for a double-double. Vikings' guard Wes Enis finished with 12 points.
- Mariemont started hot out of the gates, getting key buckets from Will Stephens, Tim Stewart and Charlie Tully to take an 18-12 lead early in the second quarter. Miami East was able to hold Mariemont scoreless over the final 5:38 of the first half and took the lead early in the third quarter on back-to-back and-1s from Roeth.
Senior sendoff
Mariemont had not been to a district championship game in 20 years when the Warriors went in 2021. The senior class played a big role in reeling off three consecutive district final trips, going 49-28 overall in that span.
Mariemont's seniors were Sam Northrop, Jackson Laite, Will Stephens, Tim Stewart and Jake Bowling.
Stewart, a first-team All-Ohio guard, finished with 12 points, giving him a career prep total of 1,273. Stephens had a team-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Elsewhere, Mariemont freshman Sam Stalzer had 9 points off the bench while Tully had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
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