Sunday, March 25, 2001
Akron SVSM 63, Miami East 53
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Everyone knew Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary would win the Division III state championship. That's what made it so difficult.
“It definitely feel different. I almost feel relieved,” coach Keith Dambrot said after the Fighting Irish defended their title with a 63-53 victory over Casstown Miami East on Saturday. “I think the kids handle it better than I do. It's difficult to put 16-year-old kids in a position where they have to win and win by a large margin.”
The game was played before 17,612 at Value City Arena — the largest crowd ever to witness a game in the tournament's 79 years.
Mr. Basketball LeBron James scored 25 points — and had a critical steal and layup in the waning minutes — to lead the way for the Irish.
James didn't score in the first quarter and barely touched the ball in the opening eight minutes. But he more than made up for it when the Irish (26-1) needed him most.
“Maybe I was a little frustrated,” James said of his early problems. “But I wasn't frustrated with me not getting the shots. I was frustrated with our shots not going down.”
Miami East (25-3) — which led by 10 points in the first half — trailed just 52-51 after Nathan Chivington's peekaboo half-hook and accompanying free throw with 3:24 left.
After a SVSM turnover, the Irish's fullcourt press forced the Vikings' Paul Hershberger into a bad pass that bounded near midcourt. James swooped in on the ball, dribbled in and under pressure banked in the layup for a 54-51 advantage with 2:51 left.
“Our halfcourt defense was awful,” Dambrot said, pointing to Miami East's 21 turnovers. “Our fullcourt defense game them problems.”
Miami East's Kenny Sandlin missed a 3-pointer and Romeo Travis stole another Hershberger pass that resulted in John Taylor's 3-point bomb from the left wing. After Hershberger missed a 3-pointer, Travis dunked for a 59-51 lead with 1:07 left and the lead never fell below six points again.
“We limited LeBron's touches on the outside, but LeBron went to the glass and showed he is a complete player,” Miami East coach Allen Mack said.
The title was the third for the Fighting Irish, following championships in 1984 and a year ago. They became just the 16th school to win back-to-back titles.
The Irish's only loss came to Oak Hill (Va.) Academy in an invitational tournament in Columbus two months ago. SVSM was ranked No. 4 in the most recent USA Today national prep poll.
Ranked No. 1 in the final regular-season Associated Press state poll, SVSM became just the 25th team out of a possible 142 in the poll's 53 years, to follow a poll title with a tournament championship.
James, a first-team All-Ohioan, hit 11-of-14 shots from the field and also had 10 rebounds and three assists.
“Every night we have to go out and play because everyone is capable of getting beat,” he said. “Sometimes the offense isn't going so well, but we can control our defense and intensity.”
Aly Samabaly, a second-team all-stater, added 12 points, while Taylor and Dru Joyce each had 10 points.
First-team All-Ohioan Travis Mumma had 16 points, with Chivington and Sandlin each scoring 13 for Miami East, seeking its second state title in its third trip to the final four. Coach Allen Mack, with a 199-98 record in 14 years, was denied his 200th career victory.
James, a 6-foot-6 1/2 sophomore, only touched the ball once in the first three minutes. The Vikings came out in a diamond-and-one defense, with Chivington and Dan Bentley alternating as the “one” on James.
“I was leaning on him, irritating him, but he kept his cool,” Chivington said.
James finally broke through for his first basket early in the second quarter. By halftime, he had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting including four points in the pivotal 16-0 run that turned the game around.
SVSM scored the first five points — Joyce hitting a perimeter shot and Samabaly a 3-pointer — but then the game spiraled out of control for a team accustomed to being in control.
The Fighting Irish missed their next 11 shots — failing to score on nine possessions in a row over a span of 5:14 — while the Vikings ran off the next 13 points. Sandlin had five points in the surge and Zach Comer had four.
Miami East led 17-8 after a quarter and was on top 20-10 early in the second period before the Irish overcame a 26-18 deficit with a press-fueled 16-0 run that turned the game around.
“Our defense pulled it out tonight,” Dambrot said.
AKRON SVSM (26-1) — Taylor 4-11 0-0 10, S.Cotton 0-1 0-2 0, Samabaly 4-12 4-6 12, Joyce 3-10 1-2 10, James 11-14 3-5 25, McWain 0-0 0-0 0, McGee 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Ja.Cavileer 0-0 0-0 0, Travis 2-13 0-0 4, Weems 0-0 0-0 0, L.Cotton 0-0 0-0 0, Jo.Cavileer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 8-15 63.
MIAMI EAST (25-3) — T.Mumma 7-16 2-4 16, Comer 2-2 0-0 4, Chivington 5-8 3-4 13, Hershberger 1-5 2-2 4, Sandlin 4-9 2-2 13, Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Wagner 0-0 0-0 0, Sowry 0-0 0-0 0, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Bentley 1-1 1-2 3, Armstrong 0-0 0-0 0, D.Mumma 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-41 10-14 53.
Akron SVSM 8 17 22 16—63
Miami East 17 9 12 15—53
3-point goals—Akron SVSM 5-17 (Joyce 3-8, Taylor 2-6, Samabaly 0-3), Miami East 3-12 (Sandlin 3-8, T.Mumma 0-1, Hershberger 0-3). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Akron SVSM 36 (James 10), Miami East 29 (Chivington 9). Assists—Akron SVSM 12 (James, Taylor, Joyce 3), Miami East 11 (Chivington 5). Total fouls—Akron SVSM 16, Miami East 18. A—17,612 (record).
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Akron SVSM 63, Miami East 53 
