Boys tourney: Centerville falls to Moeller in D-I regional final

Unbeaten and defending Division I state champ Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller pulled away in the second half and wore down out-manned Centerville 59-41 in a boys high school basketball D-I regional final at Xavier University’s Cintas Center on Saturday night.

Moeller (27-0) qualified for its third straight D-I state final four next week. The Crusaders have mounted a 47-game win streak over the last two seasons and haven’t lost to an Ohio team since the 2017 D-I state final.

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Centerville (22-6) had an 18-game win streak snapped. Ironically, the Elks’ last regular-season loss was Jan. 5 at Moeller, 54-33.

Sophomore sub Alex Williams hit all seven of his shots and led Moeller with 16 points. Max Land added 15 points for the Crusaders and University of West Virginia signee Miles McBride 13.

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No one hit for double digits for Centerville. Kaleb Mitchell led the Elks with nine points. Matt Pearce and Davis Mumaw had eight points each. Junior center Mo Njie, so effective in the regional semifinal defeat of Springfield, had two points, four rebounds and five blocks. He went for 14 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks against Springfield.

It was a matchup of what might have been for the Elks. Starting guard and floor leader Ryan Marchal was hit with a two-game suspension after receiving two technical fouls in the final 69 seconds against Springfield. The Ohio High School Athletic Association denied Centerville’s appeal and Marchal did not play against Moeller.

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The Centerville girls basketball team also was bounced in a D-I regional final, losing 70-63 to Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame last weekend at Fairmont’s Trent Arena. MND defeated Pickerington Central 52-31 to win a D-I girls state championship at OSU’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Saturday night.

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