DAYTON, Ohio — Lutheran East now finds itself back on top of the mountain.
The Falcons took home the OHSAA Division II boys basketball championship Sunday in Dayton with a 67-61 win over Ottawa-Glandorf, which had entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the state. The game wasn't even as close as the final score might indicate, as Sam Liggins' squad took the lead for good late in the first quarter and had as much as a 14-point advantage in the fourth.
Cody Head played all 32 minutes for East (22-5), scoring a game-high 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting while also hauling in five rebounds. T.J. Crumble and Ronald Taylor each added 12 points, and while Michigan State recruit Jesse McCulloch scored just four and wound up fouling out, he did have six boards along with a blocked shot.
Collin White led the Titans (25-4) with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Glandorf actually won the rebounding battle 29-22, but couldn't keep up offensively as the Falcons made a crisp 55.3 percent of their field goal tries, including 47.1% from 3-point range.
With the victory, Lutheran East has its fourth boys basketball title, including three under head coach Liggins and two of the last three overall. Liggins was also a member of the Falcons' first state championship team as a player in 2005.
