OHSAA Division VI + VII State Finals Standouts

The OHSAA Division VI and VII state championship games were held on Saturday evening at UD Arena. In this article I'll break down the standout performers from these two games.    A dream season for Delphos St John's ends unbeaten with a state championship. Elwer, one of the top players in Ohio finishes his career as a state champion, a two-time Mr Basketball finalist and one of the top scorers in OHSAA history. Elwer was unable to be stopped from getting to the paint, using his physical advantages to draw fouls and get to the foul line. The game swung when Elwer had a power finish off two feet to end the first half and then Elwer had an and-1 layup and pull-up 3-pointer to extend the lead to 17, the largest it got all day. Elwer also helped close the game after Kalida made a run to make it interesting again in the fourth quarter. Congrats to Elwer for finishing his historic high school career on top.     The glue guy for the Blue Jays, Klaus does things that don't appear in the stat sheet every game. Between setting screens, diving on the floor, getting offensive rebounds and finishing layups on the block, Klaus is a perfect complimentary piece on a team that spaces the floor and shoots the ball as well as anybody in the state. While the scorers usually hear the most praise, Klaus' physicality and motor has helped the Blue Jays win many of their biggest games.     I was extremely impressed with Grime, who leads Kalida in scoring as just a Sophomore. Playing with confidence on the ball, Grime had a nice isolation move from the top of the key where he scored on a drive and hit multiple 3-pointers throughout the game. Having some quick twitch athleticism in the open court and on the ball, Grime is a talented scorer who broke out on the state's biggest stage as just a sophomore.     Another big game for Zerger, who led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding with a 18 point, 11 rebound double-double performance. Zerger has the height and length to shoot over most bigs at the Division VI level, as he is quick off his feet and does a nice job extending past shot blockers. I liked what Zerger showed with his back to the basket with a couple buckets over his right shoulder. A player you can't double team in the post, Zerger hit open teammates with a nice kickout pass to set up 3-point shots. The addition of Zerger pushed Berlin Hiland past the competition in Division VI this season.     Kremer made some huge shots throughout the game on Saturday and finished with a game high 22 points. In the fourth quarter, Kremer had a tough mid-range bucket followed by a 3-pointer the next possession to help the Flyers maintain their lead. In overtime, Kremer had two 3-pointers, including one in the corner to send the game to double overtime. Marion Local looked like the better team for a majority of the contest but unfortunately 10/25 from the free throw line and 3/14 from their starting backcourt allowed Berlin Hiland to stretch the game to overtime and end up winning.

The OHSAA Division VI and VII state championship games were held on Saturday evening at UD Arena. In this article I'll break down the standout performers from these two games.