Congrats to OAK HILL STATE CHAMPS!!!!

[Yossarian]

Outstanding high school basketball. Congrats to Oak Hill's players and coaches. A truly classic matchup of two of the best coaches in Ohio.

[orange-n-brown 365]

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE OAK HILL BASKETBALL TEAM AND COACHES!!

[sleepy floyd]

Great win for SOC and all of players, coaches and community of oak hill Norm turned things around quicker than most could imagine. Like him or not he can coach the game and has always producded wins only this time he won the BIG one.

[oldcoachb]

You have made us all PROUD! Great job!!!!

[crazee-oakaholic]

congrats OAKS!!! STATE CHAMPS!!

[IronTigerMum]

Way to go Oak Hill!!!

[alabama mike]

Congrats to the players, coach's and entire community of Oak Hill. You represented southern Ohio with class.

[osubulldog]

This is terriffic for the program and school. This school is building the much needed respect in several programs. Great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[footballfan2008]

CONGRATS OAKS FROM THE REBELS GREAT GAME

[THE GOVENOR]

Congrats Coach Persin and the 2009 STATE CHAMPS "OAK HILL OAKS"

[rh40]

FROM THE HILL TO THE HILL CONGRATS WAY THE GO BOYS AND AND THE SCHOOL

[Space Cowboy]

Way to go Oak Hill boys. Enjoy you moment, you earned it.

[Keyser_sozeThrice]

Here's the game story for the Times-Journal. Let's just say this was my first state championship winner story, and I had a lot of fun writing it. There will be others all week as well. Enjoy.


State champs!

Oaks rally to win county’s first state title

By PAUL BOGGS

Sports Editor

COLUMBUS — On the biggest of stages, and in the most dramatic of ways, the Oak Hill High School boys basketball team put the perfect finishing touch on its historic season Saturday afternoon.

The Oaks, in one of the most epic games in not only Schottenstein Center history but also state tournament history, captured the Division IV state championship by outlasting the Kalida Wildcats 48-43 in double overtime at Value City Arena in Columbus.

With the win, and more importantly Jackson County’s first-ever state championship — boys or girls — in a team sport, the Oaks end the greatest season in school and county boys basketball history by finishing at 25-2.

It marked the final game for six Oak Hill seniors — J.D. Hale, Ryan Borden, Cody Cannon, Jordan Strickland, Michael Evans and Ryan Boggs.

But it ends — in front of 13,582 in Value City Arena — with a coveted state championship, something unthinkable three years ago considering the state of the Oaks’ program.

That year, Oak Hill won just four games, following back-to-back seasons of two wins and one win respectively.

But with the return of head coach Norm Persin, the Oaks immediately turned things around, and advanced to three straight regional tournaments before capturing their first-ever state tournament berth just 10 days ago.

Turns out that was just the sundae.

The Oaks, in a double-overtime thriller which will be discussed daily for years to come, put the proverbial cherry-on-top on Saturday.

“I said we’re going to win this thing,” said Persin. “I told the kids before the game started we’re going to win it. I told my wife at breakfast this morning we’re coming back to Oak Hill as champions. You have to believe.”

Oak Hill, after trailing Kalida by as much as 26-18 in the third quarter, rallied to within two after the period, thanks to back-to-back threes by Borden and Westen Hale.

But Borden was not done.

Not by a long shot.

Actually, it was a long shot — two to be exact.

After missing his first three shots — which were all three-point attempts — and sitting the final 10 minutes of the first half with three personal fouls, Borden brought the Oaks back from certain defeat in the final 30 seconds.

Twice.

With the Oaks trailing 33-30 in regulation, and following a key missed free throw by the Wildcats’ Matt Warnecke, Borden bagged the game-tying three with 23 seconds remaining from the left wing.

Then, in the first overtime, Borden buried another triple from the left wing, this one with 30 seconds to go to tie the tilt at 38-38.

Finally, in the second overtime, Oak Hill gained a 44-43 lead on a pair of free throws by Kyle Ondera, and got a much-needed break when the Wildcats were whistled for an over-and-back call with a minute-and-a-half remaining.

From there, it was all Oaks on the free-throw line to seal the win.

Oak Hill, avoiding a turnover, forced Kalida to foul over the next 1:09, but the Wildcats couldn’t put the Oaks on the line until just 19 seconds remained.

Kalida finally fouled Westen Hale, but the sophomore who tied Borden for a team-high 13 points hit both of the one-and-one free throws to put the Oaks ahead 46-43.

Desperate to tie, the Wildcats misfired on three-pointers by Jordan Basinger and Scott Schnipke over the next 11 seconds.

On Schnipke’s game-tying miss, Ondera grabbed the rebound was fouled with 7.4 seconds to go, as he proceeded to sink the two biggest free throws of his life to make it 48-43 with the state championship in the bag.

Indeed it was.

Justin Kahle missed another three-pointer in the final five seconds, as Ondera grabbed the rebound and the unforgettable championship celebration was on.

The 58-year-old legendary Persin, coaching in his first state tournament after 32 seasons as a high school head coach, was already in tears of joy.

The Oaks, their cheerleaders and even some of their fans stormed the Schottenstein Center court, as the next half-hour was nothing but screams, hugs, high-fives, crying eyes and championship trophy and medal presentations.

The Oaks proceeded to cut down the nets, as Persin and the players gave multiple television interviews prior to the postgame press conference.

As Persin, Borden and Hale entered the press conference, Persin told the pool of reporters, “I’m hot, I’m tired, but I’m on cloud nine right now.”

As he should have been.

Persin had just captured his 573rd career victory, but his first state championship as a head coach after 11 regional appearances without ever making it to the Final Four.

But he was most happy for his players, including Borden, who kept the classic going not once but twice.

“These guys right here (Borden and Hale) made clutch shots,” said Persin. “I feel so great for our players. Did they ever battle tonight. Refusing to lose.”

Borden’s trey which pushed the game to overtime was a drawn-up play in a timeout, taken just seven seconds earlier.

Jesse Slone reversed the ball back to Borden, who squared up to the basket and drilled the 33-33 game-tyer.

“The first one that he (Borden) hit, it was such a quick-hitter that I don’t think they even got out there on him,” said Persin. “We run our sets, but we don’t show them early. We save our sets for late. It was a perfect pass by Jesse who hit Ryan right in the numbers and Ryan got his feet square.”

Unlike the next one.

Borden made his second game-tying trifecta, in the initial overtime, as he was falling down in front of Persin at the Oak Hill bench.

“I don’t know if he got knocked down or his feet got tangled, but either way, that was just huge,” said the coach. “I’ll be honest. The first one he knew was going in. The second one he didn’t see. He was rolling into me. But I’ve seen him make shots like that before. Ryan is the type of kid that when he gets in a rhythm he can make shots like that.”

But Borden said he “didn’t get a very good look at all.”

“When I caught the ball, I got bumped a little,” he said. “That made my feet come out from under me. I kind of shot it falling down. But I got the shot off and that’s what did it.”

Borden’s first three from the left wing cut the deficit to 26-21 with 2:10 remaining in the third.

That was the Oaks’ first points of the second half, and first points in almost eight minutes.

Oak Hill had trailed 19-15, but a Slone three from the left corner cut the Oaks’ deficit to three (19-18) at halftime.

Kalida, which scored the first seven points of the game, duplicated the feat in the third quarter with Basinger bucketing all seven on two deuces and a trey.

But Borden bagged his first three, followed by a Kalida turnover and a three from Hale, which made it 26-24 entering the fourth.

Hale, with two threes in the second stanza, brought the Oaks back from deficits of 9-5 and 15-12 as Oak Hill had trailed 9-3 at the end of the first.

“I just came out and played as hard as I could for as long as I could,” Hale said simply. “It was the last game of our season, and we may never get the chance to do this (play for state championship) again. My dad (assistant coach Mike Hale) told me to leave it all on the floor. It paid off.”

Hale hit his two-point goal to put the Oaks on the scoreboard just 2:23 into the contest.

“Westen was only a sophomore and averaged just four points a game,” said Persin. “But they backed off him, let him open, he just pulled the trigger and put them right in their face tonight. Westen can score, but Westen is the ultimate team player. He’s been making shots all year in practice and in games. Westen is a tough kid with a tough mentality. He’s not going to back down from anything. Those shots he hit today proved that.”

His two key free throws in the second overtime forced the Wildcats to tie the game with a three at 46-43.

That never happened, though, as Kalida couldn’t connect on the two three-point tries.

Ondera added two free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining to make it the five-point final.

Oak Hill doubled up the Wildcats (10-5) in the second overtime, limiting Kalida to just two free throws by Basinger, one by Preston Ellerbrock and a basket by Schnipke.

For the game, the Oaks forced Kalida into 5-of-17 (29-percent) from beyond the arc, including just two over the final 24 minutes.

The Wildcats — especially with the lead — played a patient and deliberate brand of offensive basketball, sometimes running as much as two minutes off the clock before attempting a shot.

For the majority of the game, it was a snoozer for the offensive purist.

Aside from Oak Hill’s 15 points in the second quarter, neither team scored more than 10 in any period in regulation.

The Oaks combined to score 15 in the two overtimes, which are four minutes apiece.

“I think people that watched the game early probably fell asleep at times,” said Persin. “But we knew going in that if Kalida got the lead, they would just sit on the ball. We had some matchup problems with them, so it was evident for us to keep the game close. After Ryan and Westen made those threes in the third to cut it to two (26-24), I knew we were in good shape. I said just keep hanging around. Once we got the lead down the stretch, we were able to adjust our defenses and switch them up again and things went pretty well. If they get the lead and we’re in zone, they’ll just hold it with their two guards. We told our kids again yesterday that we’d have to play some man-to-man. Our defense kept us in the game.”

Indeed it did — both early and late.

The Wildcats, which led 9-3 after a basket by Ryan Kleman, went five-and-a-half minutes without a point as Oak Hill took its first lead at 10-9 on a pair of free throws by Slone.

The Wildcats’ Warnecke then canned his first three, putting Kalida back ahead, part of nine lead changes and 11 ties in the tilt.

The first-half ties included deadlocks at nine, 12 and 15, followed by ties at 26, 28, 30 and 33 in the fourth.

The tie at 38-38 forced the second overtime, as the game was later knotted at 40, 42 and 43.

Ondera’s second of four free throws in the second extra session pushed Oak Hill in front for good (44-43).

With the Oaks trailing 43-42, Ondera drew a foul on the floor which appeared to be in the act of shooting.

Regardless, Ondera made both of the one-and-one situation, giving the Oaks the lead with 2:04 to play.

The Oaks then caught their big break, according to Persin.

Poised to potentially play for the last shot, the Wildcats were forced into a poor pass and an over-and-back violation with 1:27 remaining.

“We switched defenses on them, and I don’t think they exactly knew what we were in,” said Persin of the sequence. “But to win this game, you needed a break. We didn’t catch one early. That play was probably our break. Kids make shots, but you need a play like that to win a state championship.”

That set up the Wildcats to foul, and they didn’t until they hacked Hale with 19 seconds to go.

Persin said the Oaks aimed to milk the clock once they got the lead (44-43) and the ball back.

At that point, J.D. Hale had already fouled out, and Borden and Ondera were saddled with four apiece.

“I told our assistants that if we ever got the lead or were even tied and we got the ball back, we’re not shooting it again,” said Persin. “We had to get through that. If we continued to play, our bench was really in trouble.”

But the game never reached a triple overtime, as Ondera closed it out with his final pair of free throws.

Ondera, who led the Oaks with 20 points in the semifinal win against Ada, scored just seven Saturday on one field goal and 5-of-6 free throws.

His only other points came on a first-quarter free throw and the Oaks’ only other field goal of the first overtime.

That pulled the Oaks to within one at 36-35.

Ondera was just 1-of-11 from the field in the final, but grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Division IV all-tournament team.

Borden, who scored his two two-point baskets on back door cuts, joined Ondera on the five-man unit.

Borden and Hale had 13 points apiece, as their three three-pointers apiece aided the Oaks into 37.5-percent shooting (15-of-40).

They shot 47-percent (7-of-15) from beyond the arc.

Hale had half of the team’s six steals, while Slone dished out four assists.

J.D. Hale had eight points, including field goals in the fourth quarter and second overtime and 2-of-3 free throws in the fourth.

His backup, Cannon, came off the bench for a second-quarter basket to trim the deficit to 9-5.

The Oaks also took care of the basketball, committing only eight turnovers but only two in the second half and overtimes.

Kalida was forced into 13 giveaways, but 11 of those came after the first quarter.

Basinger, on six field goals and 6-of-7 free throws, paced all scorers with 19 points.

He had all seven in the third quarter, and added six more points in the fourth and two overtimes.

Schnipke netted nine, all after the first half, as Warnecke wound up with seven thanks to the two second-quarter threes.

Kahle scored all five of his in the first quarter, as he and Schnipke sank the team’s other two treys.

He and Basinger boarded six rebounds, as Kahle dished out four assists.

Both teams missed only four free throws apiece, but all four of Kalida’s misses came in either regulation or the overtimes, including Warnecke’s back end of the one-and-one with 47 seconds remaining in regulation.

Had he made it, the score would have been 34-30, and maybe the Wildcats would be celebrating a state championship in what was likley head coach Richard Kortokrax’s final game.

The 75-year-old Kortokrax, the state’s all-time winningest coach with 788 career victories, and Persin combined for 1,360 victories entering Saturday’s state championship.

Kortokrax coached the Wildcats to four of their five state tournament appearances, including as the state champion in 1981 and the state runner-up in 1988.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association believed that there were more coaching victories between the two coaches than in any game in the 87-year history of the state tournament.

After Kalida claimed victory over Cleveland Heights Lutheran East, that left the Oaks as the highest — and only — ranked team remaining in the Division IV tournament.

The Oaks finished fourth in the Associated Press Division IV statewide poll — and as the state champion in the division for the 2008-09 season.

[email protected]

[trojandave]

Congratulations to the Oak Hill Oaks on their state championship!!

The SE District has now produced 3 state champions in the last 4 years.......South Webster in 2006, Chillicothe in 2008, and now Oak Hill in 2009.........

[marshallman]

I was there and what a great game it was. I really had my doubts when Kalida had the lead and played "yawn" ball. But, heart and desire won this game. CONGRATS Oak Hill! Now, put the sign up on the borderlines to town!

[rickoshay]

Fix the picture on the opening page of the forum.
Some of the kids were "croped" from the picture.
Surely there is a picture that can be sized to fit the page.
The kids earned the right to be in the picture!!!!

[m_martin]

Great job representing the Scioto County area

[rivercat]

Wow, what a game. GREAT job Oak's. Southeast Ohio is proud of your accomplishment ! Also, great story Keyser_Soze78 !

[rickoshay]

If the picture was cropped, I didnt crop it. It was taken from the OHSAA web site. I'm sure there will be other pics perhaps later that they just havent had time to post yet. You would think someone from Jackson County was on the floor with a camera.

I was refering to the picture on the page where the "enter' for forum
is located. Pic by Kent Sanborn...

[lady_oaks_fan3362]

It was without a doubt the best boys high school game I have ever watched. Little did the Kalida coach know but he was coaching into Persin's hand with the slow down ball.

GREAT JOB TEAM AND COACHES> WE ARE ALL PROUD TO BE OAKS BUT NEVER MORE SO THAN SATURDAY>