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Ohio State Basketball Signee Malaki Branham Wins State Championship

Branham captures second state title before heading to Ohio State.

Staff Writer

Ohio State Basketball Signee Malaki Branham Wins State Championship
Ohio State Basketball Signee Malaki Branham Wins State Championship /

Ohio State four-star basketball signee Malaki Branham led Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary to a 72-50 win over Columbus St. Francis DeSales in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state championship at the University of Dayton Arena on Sunday evening.

The 6-foot-4, 175-pound Branham – who was considered the sixth-best shooting guard and No. 29 prospect in the class of 2021 – scored a game-high 37 points, the most by any player in the state championship game since former Buckeye Jon Diebler scored 48 points in Upper Sandusky’s two-point loss to Dayton Dunbar in 2007. He also added four rebounds, three assists and one block for the Fighting Irish, who captured their ninth state title overall and eighth since 2000.

St. Vincent-St. Mary trailed by as many as 13 points in the second quarter but used a 17-1 run out of halftime to regain the lead. Branham scored 16 points in the decisive third quarter, including eight consecutive during the aforementioned run with a layup, transition dunk, pull-up jumper and two free throws, to put the Fighting Irish up 12 heading into the fourth.

"With 16 minutes left, I wasn't trying to lose," Branham told the Akron Beacon Journal after the game. "I was just trying to give it my all. I told my teammates before we stepped onto the court that it's the last 16 minutes and we're ever going to play with each other again, so let's just go out, have fun and try to win."

Branham, who averaged 22 points, five rebounds and three assists per game this season, finished the game an efficient 15-of-21 from the field and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line. He bookends his high school career with a state titles, as St. Vincent-St. Mary won it all during his freshman season in 2018, as well.

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