Amire Gill Scores 24 as Princeton Routs Hilliard Bradley 59-28 for First Ohio Division I State Title

DAYTON, Ohio — Princeton waited 54 years between its first trip to a state final and its first state championship. On Sunday at University of Dayton Arena, the wait ended in a hurry. The Vikings scored the first eight points, led by 16 at halftime and beat Hilliard Bradley 59-28 on March 22 to win the OHSAA Division I boys basketball state title, the first in program history.

Princeton had come up short in its two previous finals, as Class AAA runner-up in 1972 and Division I runner-up in 2009. This time there was no drama. The Vikings finished 25-3, closing the season with 10 straight wins, according to the OHSAA and WCPO.

Bradley Never Found Its Footing

Princeton jumped out to a 14-2 lead, according to Press Pros Magazine, and led 16-5 after the first quarter. By halftime it was 23-7. Bradley, which entered the final having won 16 straight games, shot 12-of-41 from the field (29.3 percent) and 3-of-20 from 3-point range, Press Pros reported.

"We never found any rhythm or momentum right from the start," Bradley coach Brett Norris told Press Pros. The Jaguars had averaged 58 points per game. Press Pros noted that no team in the big-school final four had scored so few points since 1940.

Bradley was coached by Brett Norris, in his 12th season, and the OHSAA preview listed his son, sophomore Kypton Norris, as the team's leading scorer at 17.2 points per game, with junior Ben Mirgon close behind at 16. Entering the final, WCPO noted, Princeton was ranked No. 2 in the MaxPreps Ohio boys rankings and Bradley was tied for No. 4.

Princeton's length was a problem all afternoon. The Vikings put taller defenders on Bradley's guards, Kypton Norris and Ben Mirgon, and the Jaguars could not get anything going in the half court. Norris and Jayden Reed-Davis scored eight points apiece for Bradley, and Mirgon had seven points and five assists.

Gill Takes Over After Halftime

Junior Amire Gill was the state final's most valuable player, WCPO reported. He scored 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting, made all three of his 3-point attempts and grabbed seven rebounds, according to the OHSAA. Sixteen of his points came after halftime, when Princeton shot 14-of-20 from the field and stretched a 23-7 lead to 39-18 after three quarters.

Senior Rognny Santiago Lugo, who scored 28 in Saturday's semifinal, added 12 points. Press Pros reported that he became the sixth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. For the game, Princeton shot 24-of-42 from the field and 7-of-14 from 3-point range.

"Flowers" for a First Title

Coach Bryan Wyant had said after the semifinal that he had been praying for a state title for 25 years. After the final, he pointed the credit at his players.

"These guys deserve flowers for bringing the first championship back to Princeton," Wyant told Press Pros. "I can't even explain it," he told WCPO, adding that he was "just blessed to be in this position."

WCPO reported that a regular-season game against Lakota West at Xavier University's Cintas Center helped prepare the Vikings for playing in a big arena. If so, it showed. Princeton won its two games at the state tournament by a combined 57 points, beating Lakewood St. Edward 77-51 in Saturday's semifinal at Wright State's Nutter Center before Sunday's rout.

A Breakthrough Season for Bradley

The final was a tough ending for Bradley, but the season was a breakthrough. The school opened in 2009, and this was its first state tournament appearance, according to the OHSAA. Press Pros reported that the Jaguars went 8-15 the year before, then won the program's first regional title and edged Pickerington Central 44-42 in Saturday's semifinal to reach the final. They finished 25-3.

Reed-Davis, the team's only senior, summed up the run for Press Pros: "We earned everything we achieved."

Princeton's Banner Finally Has a Year

The title capped a big weekend for Greater Cincinnati at the 104th OHSAA boys basketball state tournament, with Wyoming winning the Division IV championship two days earlier. Press Pros also noted that Princeton's girls basketball team finished as state runner-up this season.

For the boys, the blank banner Wyant talked about on Saturday night has something on it now. It took three trips to a state final and more than half a century. It took one afternoon in Dayton, and a 31-point margin, to settle it.

Photo Credit: Cole Swafford/Undrafted