Photo by Paul Krajnyak The Monroe Central Seminoles and their fans in the stands celebrate as their OHSAA Division VI state semifinals game against Kirtland ends in a 58-54 victory for the Seminoles.

DAYTON — All the Monroe Central boys basketball team has wanted this season was to be playing on the final day.

“We’ve got here. Now there’s only one thing left to do, and that is to keep working and try to win a state championship,” head coach Mason Lang said, “but we must keep on working to get better.”

The Seminoles (25-3) will get their shot at a Division IV state championship Saturday when they tip off against Marion Local (26-2) at 2 p.m. inside the University of Dayton Arena. While the Flyers have three state titles on the hardwood – the last coming in 2018 in dramatic fashion, 52-51, over Cornerstone Christian in two overtimes – Monroe Central is seeking its first.

“They are a big team … a physical team,” Lang noted of Marion Local. “They run a 4-out motion offense. They have one kid (Senior Austin Niekamp) who is a really good player. He averages about 19 points a game and shoots 38 percent from three. He’s about 6-7 or 6-8.”

Monroe Central has only faced one team this season with a player comparable, that being Martins Ferry.

“The closest we’ve faced according to his size is probably Alex Reese at Martins Ferry, but I think Niekamp is a more well-rounded player. I think Reese is more of an inside presence where this kid is a better shooter on the perimeter. He’s comparable to Alex, but not as strong physically.”

Niekamp is signed to attend Malone University to continue his career.

“Everybody is good. They’ve got a lot of size. They can shoot the ball. They might not have as many good shooters that we’ve played, but they’ve got a couple that really can,” Lang said. “Number 11 (6-2 Sr. Ryan Homan) can and so can Number 5 (5-11 Jr. Grant Kremer). The other two – Number 24 (6-3, Soph. Kale Ahrens) and Number 32 (6-2 Jr. Brayden Mescher) both have good size and are lengthy. They are all good athletes. It’s going to be a different type of team than we’ve played all season.

“We’re going to have our work cut out for us, but as long as we play our game and try to keep our turnovers down, I think we have a shot.”

Marion Local, the Region 22 titleist, has captured six straight victories in the postseason since it lost on Feb. 15 to Russia (55-29), which is in the Division VII title tilt. It started with a rout of Allen East (66-39) and followed that up with nail-biters over Midwest Athletic Conference rivals New Bremen (40-30) and Coldwater (45-42); it blew out Miami Valley Christian Academy (64-29) and topped Anna (58-43) for the regional crown before ousting North Robinson Colonel Crawford (52-38) in the semifinals.

Monroe Central has also won six straight tournament games since falling to Wheeling Central in the OVAC Class 3A finals, also on Feb. 15. It started the tournament trail by routing Crooksville (73-33) at home in the sectional; eliminated Malvern (63-47) in the Eastern District semifinals at Harrison Central; took out nemesis Hiland (54-33) for the Eastern District title at a sold-out Cambridge High School; defeated North Adams (66-52) and Beaver Eastern (68-44) for the Region 23 championship at Ohio Dominican University; and held off Kirtland (58-54) in the Final Four at Otterbein University.

Quick starts have become a trademark of the Seminoles.

“Sometimes early on I think our (team) speed catches the opponent by surprise. Our guys always come out excited and ready to play, Lang added. “I think that helps us – their mindset all week and their preparation. They want to be physical and they want to throw the first punch..

“They also feed off of our crowds which have been tremendous, but they will be a little further away from the court on Saturday.”

Monroe Central is led by seniors Tucker Howell (6-2) and Chance Allen (6-4), the top two leading scorers in program history. Howell scores a little under 16 points a game while Allen is near 15. Both are near the top in rebounding and assists, as well. Junior Caedyn Silva (5-9) provides some speed in transition and can knock down the three-point shot. Sophomores Cooper Howell (6-0) and Corbin Farnsworth (6-2) are superb role players. The younger Howell is a good rebounder and leads the team in three-point shooting, while Farnsworth does the little things that don’t show up in the boxscore.

Seniors Tyler Whitacre (6-2), Dylan Parden (6-0) and Jacob Fogle (6-1) are all capable reserves off the bench, with Whitacre being a presence in the paint while Parden and Fogle can be deadly from long range..There are two areas which need improvement come Saturday and Lang is well aware of both – turnovers and missed free throws.

“There are times when we might be a little too selfish at times. We do a good job of passing the ball and we play well off of each other,” Lang continued. “I think when you’re as deep as we are, the chances of you shooting and making it are greater than trying to make the right pass because it can get deflected or whatever. We’ve got to do a better job at finishing off plays, and maybe being a little more selfish when you get to the basket, just put it in.

“We’ve got good (foul) shooters and I’ve got confidence in all of the kids,” Lang stressed. “Our foul shots didn’t fall last game, but I think we are better than we showed. I’m confident the boys will make the adjustments required and make those shots moving forward.”

When asked about playing in the bigger arena than they are used to, he replied, “We’ve been in an arena setting before, but it’s been a while,” Lang recalled. “It was probably in early December when we played in a shootout at Ohio University. It is a different backdrop but I don’t think that matters at this point. You’re going to have nerves … you’re playing for a state championship. We’ve just got to play our game and if we shoot well, we’re happy. If we don’t shoot well, we’ve got to find another way to win.”

Lang said the team plans on leaving Friday morning before getting settled into their motel.

“We are going to try and watch at least one (state tournament) game, so the first time we walk into the arena isn’t 60 minutes before we play.”