Lutheran East has the answers for Ottawa-Glandorf to win the Division III state title

The Falcons won their second state championship in three seasons

Photo by Ben Jackson
Photo by Ben Jackson

DAYTON, Ohio – Lutheran East had so many answers during the Division III state championship game against Ottawa-Glandorf, it was like they had a cheat sheet for the test.

Every time Ottawa-Glandorf scored, the Falcons responded.

The result was a 67-61 win for “The Lue” and the school’s second state title in three seasons.

Lutheran East didn’t allow the Titans to score back-to-back baskets at any point in the game without the Falcons scoring between them and only allowed Ottawa-Glandorf to score four or more points in a row twice.

The first came when Colin White hit a 3-pointer with 3:13 left in the game after the Titans had hit two free throws, but T.J. Crumble answered with a jumper to push the lead back to 11. And then with 29 seconds left, White got a fastbreak dunk after two Titans free throws.

Cody Head answered by splitting two free throws.

When Ottawa-Glandorf hit 3-pointers on each of their last two possessions, Lutheran East responded by knocking down a pair of free throws both times as the Falcons hit nine of their last 12 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, with Anthony Bruce hitting his final six.

“To be honest, I knew (our coaches) wanted me to get the ball because all season I have been knocking down free throws,” Bruce said. “I knew I had to get the ball and hit them.”

These weren’t just any free throws, however. There was a state championship on the line. And the pressure was immense.

“It was a lot more pressure,” Bruce said. “It was bright, and everybody was cheering trying to distract me but I kept it calm and hit the shots.”

At one point in the third, the Falcons answered an Ottawa-Glandorf make with a 3-pointer four out of five times with four different players hitting 3s – Ronald Taylor, Cody Head, Chauncey Brashers and T.J. Crumble.

“It’s a credit to our schedule, we play one of the toughest schedules in Northeast Ohio, maybe in. the state,” Lutheran East head coach Sam Liggins said. “We have been in dogfights all year and we expected this to be a dogfight. We know how to get punched in the mouth and punch back.”

Head finished his high school career by scoring a game-high 19 points.

“Cody is a special player. I wish he would come back next year, I love that kid,” Liggins said. “He is so unselfish. He is such a talented kid, and he is a joy to coach.”

This was the sixth straight trip to the state tournament for Lutheran East, who now has four state titles.

“From the day they walk in the gym, we prepare them for this moment,” Liggins said. “Our standard is state or bust every year. That could be seen as too high for some people, or it could be looked at as arrogant but that’s the standard we set. We want to achieve greatness every chance we get so these guys work night and day in being in this moment and being in this game.”

While the Falcons won the title in 2021, it was with a different group of players as none of the kids on this season’s team played for that one. This group made it to Dayton last season but lost in the state semifinals.

“We won it in ’21, we followed it last year with a state semifinal loss and these kids were hungry,” Liggins said. “We won it in ’21, that was seven or eight seniors, so those guys last year were not a part of that team. They had to go on their own journey. Losing it last year fueled them and those guys finished the job today.”

And just maybe the Falcons were able to finish the journey because did sort of have a cheat sheet. They knew there was a chance they would see the Titans at some point in the state tournament and made sure they were prepared.

“We have been watching film on them since the beginning of the season,” Head said. “Our goal was to win a state championship, so we were watching them throughout the entire season.”

Photo Gallery (photos by Ben Jackson)

Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson1
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson2
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson3
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson4
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson5
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson6
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson7
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson8
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson9
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson10
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson11
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson12
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson13
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson14
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson15
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson16
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson17
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson18
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson19
Ottawa-Glandorf's Colin White raises up for a dunk in the 2023 Division III state championship game
Ben Jackson, SBLive Sports
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson21
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson22
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson23
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson24
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson25
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson26
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson27
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson28
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson29
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson30
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson31
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson32
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson33
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson34
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson35
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson36
Ben Jackson, SBLive Sports
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson37
Ottawa-Glandorf's Colin White raises up for a dunk against Lutheran East in the 2023 OHSAA Division III state championship game.
Ben Jackson, SBLive Sports
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson39
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson40
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson41
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson42
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson43
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson44
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson45
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson46
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson47
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson48
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson49
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson50
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson51
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson52
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson53
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson54
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson55
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson56
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson57
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson58
Lutheran East's Jesse McCulloch cuts down the nets after the winning the 2023 OHSAA Division III state championship
Ben Jackson, SBLive Sports
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson60
Lutheran East celebrates winning the 2023 Division III state championship
Ben Jackson, SBLive Sports
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson62
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson63
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson64
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson65
Ben Jackson, SBLive Sports
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson66
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson67
Lutheran East vs Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball state championship Ben Jackson68

Published
Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
RYAN ISLEY, SBLIVE SPORTS

Ryan Isley is a Regional Editor for SBLive Sports, covering Ohio and Pennsylvania.