New Knoxville caps undefeated season with state title

Rusty Miller Associated Press, March 15, 2008 4:36 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For more than half a century, tales were passed along by the 900 citizens of New Knoxville about the 1947 team that made it to the state tournament. Now there will be new stories to tell. Brad Piehl controlled the paint and No. 1-ranked New Knoxville rocketed to a fast start from behind the arc to beat Worthington Christian 74-52 Saturday to win the Division IV state championship. "When I grew up, the 1947 team was what a lot of people talked about," said Rangers head coach Dan Hegemier. "Now they can start talking about another one." The title was the first for New Knoxville, making its first appearance at the state tournament since finishing second in 1947. The Rangers lost to eventual champion Georgetown last year in the regional championship. Piehl had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Rangers (27-0), the only unbeaten boys team in the state. Ryan VanderHorst added 13 points, Tony Meyer and Caleb Allen each had 12 and Austin Arnett 11. "Our balance makes my job easy," said the only senior starter, Meyer, the starting point guard. "I can pass it to anyone and they can finish it." The Rangers shot 52 percent from the field, including a white-hot 50 percent on 8-of-16 3-pointers against a Worthington Christian team believed to be a superior outside-shooting squad. It was also Hegemier's third title. He led Fort Loramie to state small-school crowns in 1987 and '93 before moving to New Knoxville. Brothers Zach Joseph and Tyler Joseph had 18 and 16 points for Worthington Christian (26-2), which was chasing its second title after winning it all in 1999 First-team All-Ohioan and division player of the year Brian Hecker never got untracked, finishing with just four points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field. Part of the reason for that was that the Warriors fell behind so far so early that they had to pump up perimeter shots and disdain their big man just to try to get back in the game. Worthington Christian coach Kevin Weakley said he thought the Rangers ranked among the best Division IV teams he'd seen. "They did today," he said. "The thing they do particularly well is to put five guys on the floor who are threats." The Warriors hadn't scored fewer than 59 points all season. The game was a huge deal for the little village of New Knoxville in northwest Ohio. The entire end of Value City Arena was decked out in red and gray, the school's colors. Inexplicably, one student was even dressed in a Spiderman costume. One could only hope that law enforcement officials back home were keeping an eye on all those empty houses and businesses. That might be a concern against next year at the state tournament. The Rangers start three juniors and a sophomore (VanderHorst). What's more, it was another championship for the Midwest Athletic Conference, easily the dominant small-school league in Ohio. The league has produced more than 70 state championship teams, with New Knoxville's title the 10th boys basketball crown. "This means a great deal, especially in a conference like we have," Hegemier said. "We're kind of the little dog in there. Now we can hold our heads high." What's more, they appear they were as disciplined a team as one could imagine in the glaring lights of the big stage. Through three quarters, they only had three turnovers. New Knoxville came out smoking, hitting seven of its first 10 3-point shots. Zach Joseph's basket at the 2:37 mark of the first quarter cut their lead to 12-9, but the Rangers ran off 11 of the next 13 points to take a 23-11 lead. Piehl scored inside before Meyer, VanderHorst and Austin Luck each hit a 3. "The first one dropped and I said, 'All right. A good night,'" Meyer said with a grin. "The second one went and I said, 'A special night.' Then it kept happening and I said, 'All right!'" The Rangers were on top 38-29 at the half and wasted no time in stretching that to 45-30, blending some pinpoint perimeter shooting with Piehl's shots from in close. The lead swelled to more than 20 late in the game before the starters came out to a standing ovation. They deserved a rest — and maybe wanted to get a head start on the partying back in New Knoxville. NEW KNOXVILLE (27-0) Arnett 4-8 3-3 11, Allen 5-10 1-2 12, Piehl 5-10 6-7 16, Meyer 4-7 0-0 12, VanderHorst 5-8 2-2 13, Dicke 0-0 0-0 0, Reineke 0-0 2-2 2, Horstman 0-0 0-0 0, Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Lawler 0-0 -0 0, Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Merges 0-0 0-0 0, Luck 3-7 0-0 8, Homan 0-0 0-0 0, Wolf 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 14-16 74. WORTHINGTON CHRISTIAN (26-2) Beals 2-9 0-0 5, Hecker 2-8 0-2 4, T.Joseph 6-14 0-0 16, Z.Joseph 7-13 1-2 18, Condon 2-3 0-0 4, Hawkins 0-0 0-0 0, Rivers 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Sinclair 0-2 0-0 0, Anglea 1-1 0-0 3, Scott 1-1 0-0 2, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-51 1-4 52. New Knoxville 23 15 12 24_74 Worthington Christian 13 16 8 15_52 3-point goals_New Knoxville 8-16 (Meyer 4-6, Luck 2-5, Allen 1-2, VanderHorst 1-2, Arnett 0-1), Worthington Christian 9-25 (T.Joseph 4-9, Z.Joseph 3-7, Anglea 1-1, Beals 1-4, Sinclair 0-2, Hecker 0-2). Fouled out_None. Rebounds_New Knoxville 30 (VanderHorst 9), Worthington Christian 26 (T.Joseph 8). Assists_New Knoxville 18 (VanderHorst 7), Worthington Christian 8 (Beals 3). Total fouls_New Knoxville 9, Worthington Christian 14. A_14,117.