OHSAA Division II + III Semifinals Standouts

The OHSAA Division II and III state semifinals had a game played at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse. The Division II semifinal saw Massillon Perry take on North Royalton and the Division III semifinal had Louisville Vs Garfield Heights. In this article we'll break down the standouts from these two thrilling contests that saw the Stark County teams advance to the state title game.    My first time watching Wolf and he impressed me a lot as he continued to push Perry's Cinderella run to the state title game. Wolf is a taller wing who can knock down shots from the outside, shoot over defenders in the paint and rebound the basketball at a high level. When Wolf fills out his frame by adding weight and muscle, he'll be even tougher to stop in the paint and will add to his rebounding ability. Really impressive performance by a senior who is leading his team not just as a scorer but also as a decision maker as well. Regional small college programs should be very interested in Wolf.     The highlight of the day came when McLeod dunked all over a North Royalton defender to give Perry a four-point advantage with under two minutes to play. McLeod is an athletic guard who puts pressure on the rim as a ball handler and made plays with the dribble drive game. This Perry team got great contributions from not only Wolf and McLeod but also Drake Jacobsen and Preston Dazey on Sunday as well.     Heartbreaking end for a historic season for North Royalton, their senior group had a great effort to go out. Lakatos has a lot of wiggle off the dribble as a creator and wants to use his flashy ball handling ability to create space. With soft touch as a shooter, Lakatos got the friendly roll on an early top of the key 3-point which got him going throughout the game. Late in the game, Lakatos had a sweet scoop layup to tie the game and also hit a crazy 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one with under 30 seconds left. Great effort by Lakatos and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='2813470' first='Sasha' last='Sunjevaric'] in their final game with North Royalton.     In the first half, Gross put the Leopards on his back with 17 of his teams first 21 points as he was unstoppable in the paint. When Gross can put his shoulder into a skinnier defender he does an excellent job of leveraging his body so you can't block his shot at the rim. I was also impressed with Gross ability to get to the paint, being patient and waiting to attack until he saw a lane. Add in a big 3-pointer in the third quarter and the assist to give the Leopards the lead for good off an [player_tooltip player_id='1618925' first='Avery' last='Andrejcik'] 3-pointer. For Louisville, the performance their seniors showed on the big stage was the difference as seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1540136' first='Beau' last='Siegfried'], [player_tooltip player_id='2702467' first='Tate' last='Aljancic'], [player_tooltip player_id='2308137' first='Ashton' last='Marshall'] and more showed the poise and toughness to compete a dramatic comeback.     Johnson was sensational throughout the game with some tough shots in the third quarter allowing Garfield to stretch their lead to 11 points. One of the best start-stop players in Ohio, Johnson can stop on a dime and hit mid-range and fallaway shots at an elite rate. I was also impressed with Johnson's defensive effort on Sunday, fighting through screens and being active in passing lanes. Another big time performance on a big stage for Johnson as he continues to show why he's one of the most productive point guards in the country from the class of 2026.

The OHSAA Division II and III state semifinals had a game played at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse. The Division II semifinal saw Massillon Perry take on North Royalton and the Division III semifinal had Louisville Vs Garfield Heights. In this article we'll break down the standouts from these two thrilling contests that saw the Stark County teams advance to the state title game.