COLUMBUS — Not since Dan Monteroso led St. Clairsville to the 2012 Ohio

Chance Allen laying ball off glass

Monroe Central (24-3) overcame some early-game jitters with another early lights-out shooting performance in rolling to a convincing, 68-44, victory over Beaver Eastern (23-4) in the Division VI Region 23 Championship Game before a sold-out crowd of 3,600-plus inside Ohio Dominican University’s Alumni Hall.

With the cherished win, the Seminoles will play late next week against an opponent, and at a site, to be determined by OHSAA officials. The other three semifinalists include Kirtland, Marion Local and North Robinson Colonel Crawford.

“Games like this aren’t necessarily won on days like today,” Monroe Central second-year head coach Mason Lang said. “This game was won last March when we got into the weight room. We felt like we were pushed around last year in the district championship game, so we got in the weight room and the boys have bought in and they got stronger.

“When we were allowed, we started working on skill development,” he added. “Then we traveled. We came here and played in a shootout. We went to Marietta and played in a shootout. We played high-quality teams and high-quality competition. That’s what prepares you for games like this.”

Tied at 7 and having already turned the ball over four times in the first four minutes of the initial quarter, sharp-shooting sophomores Cooper Howell and Corbin Farnsworth caught fire and ignited the Seminoles to a 22-11 lead after eight minutes.

Howell and Farnsworth knocked down two treys each and senior Dylan Parden came off the bench to add a fifth as Monroe Central shot 66.7 percent.

“I think they (Eastern) were really packed inside trying to take away Tucker (Howell) and Chance (Allen). They probably saw in some of our earlier games where those two took over the game on the interior early,” Lang said. “Today some of our younger guys stepped up and hit some shots from the outside. That’s what you need. It’s a team effort to win every single game. Whenever you get into a big game like this, you are well-scouted and everyone will try and take away your best players, so you need someone to step up.

“Cooper and Corbin did that today,” Lang added. “They got us off to a good start in the first quarter.”

The 6-2 Farnsworth had 15 points in the win.

“We got into a rhythm early and hit some big shots,” he said. “We made them work on defense and when we found an open player, we got them the ball.”

Allen scored four of his game-best 18 points in the second quarter when the Seminoles extended their margin to 33-19 at the half.

Tucker Howell finally got untracked offensively as he netted eight points in the third quarter as Monroe Central started pulling away.

Allen had seven points in the final quarter, including an exclamation-point, two-handed throw-down that made it 60-39.

“We shot well and that came from our inside-out passing,” Lang noted. “We hit a couple of step-in threes. Once you get that lead and the opponent has to space out, you’ll see layup after layup like you did at the end there. A lot of that can be attributed to our defense because I don’t think they (Eastern) felt comfortable with the shots we were forcing them to take., and they felt they had to pressure us to get turnovers and easy buckets.”

In addition to Allen and Farnsworth in double digits, the Howell brothers evenly divided two dozen. Parden finished with seven.

Lang praised the large Monroe County contingent of fans for their support.

“We have a great community and I am proud to be a part of it,” Lang stressed. “I think the whole town was here today, and those they weren’t were at the Monroe Theatre. I heard they were packed in there today. They were packed in there on Wednesday. The support and outpouring of donations to help the boys out, the meals that everyone has been providing for us has been awesome.”

Tucker Howell capped his double-double with 14 of Monroe Central’s 33 rebounds. Cooper had seven and Allen six. The Seminoles shot 60.9 percent (28-46) from the floor and recorded 12 turnovers.

Tucker Leist led the Eagles with 15 points. They had 18 rebounds and nine turnovers. They were 14-for-43 (32.6 percent) from the floor and just 11 of 20 from the foul line.