DAYTON, Ohio — The St. Ignatius Wildcats are back on top.
On Sunday night, Cleveland's St. Ignatius High School won the OHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship after defeating Centerville 66-56 in Dayton.
The win was a long time in the making for St. Ignatius, as the Wildcats took home their first state championship in hoops since 2001.
Sunday night's game started out in back-and-forth fashion, with St. Ignatius leading Centerville 15-14 at the end of the first quarter. However, the Wildcats began to pull away, going on a 9-0 scoring run to close out the first half, giving them a 30-24 lead going into halftime.
St. Ignatius continued to build off their first-half momentum, leading 45-32 at the end of the third quarter. The Wildcats went on to close out the game, winning 66-56.
The crown also marks the first for St. Ignatius Head Coach Cam Joyce, son of Akron St. Vincent St. Mary's legendary coach Dru Joyce II. Joyce has been with the Wildcats since 2019 and previously brought the team to the Final Four during the 2022-23 season.
In addition to the championship, some school history was made as the Wildcats finished the season with 26 wins, the most in the program's history.
The Wildcats were led by Jack Zapolnik, who scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Matt Ellis and Reece Robinson also scored in double digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Michael Lamirand also added 11 points and 7 rebounds.
In addition to St. Ignatius's Division I title, the Richmond Heights Spartans won the OHSAA Division IV Boys Basketball State Championship after beating Berlin Hiland 62-35. In the OHSAA Division III championship, Cleveland Heights Lutheran East also took home the hardware, defeating Canal Winchester Harvest Prep, 45-36.
