“He made a lot of tough shots,” said Glenville coach Bryon Ottrix of Gator Nichols (above). “He had a lot of contested tough shots, and he hit them all night.” (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Gator Nichols put on an offensive show for Maysville that is rarely seen in a state final, and his hungry, expectant fans roared with every point.
Dayton, OH – You gotta love high school basketball fanatics becoming unhinged at every whistle against their beloved team. And every time they don’t get the whistle they want? Now, that raises blood pressure.
“Call it both ways!”
“That’s not your call!”
“That’s a foul!”
“Get his hands off!”
“You better get control of the game!”
Maysville atoned for their disappointing loss to Kettering Alter last year with Friday’s 74-67 win over Glenville.
And those were just the ones noted from the back of the UD Arena press row, seated in front of the zanies from Maysville of greater Zanesville. They screamed their opinions during the Division IV championship game against Cleveland Glenville.
But, you know what, it worked on a day that saw the best attendance at boys state finals since 2022.
The Maysville Panthers, led by a fearless guy called Gator, rode the emotion of their loyal crowd and big shot after big shot to win their first state title, 74-67.
“They’re blue collar – a lot of them construction workers, factory workers,” Maysville coach Dave Brown said. “They would give their last dime to see us be in the best of everything. They donate to our program. They come out in large numbers. When we were leaving today there was thousands of people lining the pike. They’re definitely our sixth man.”
Their part of Muskingum County is known as Southtown. Many fans wore shirts with “Southtown Against The World” written across the front. And, of course, to the delight of their boisterous and unrelenting sixth man, the Panthers came from seven points down in the final five minutes, channeling their community’s blue-collar ethic.
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Gator Nichols, who wears 0 on his back, is the basketball hero Muskingum County has been longing for since New Concord John Glenn brought a title back in 2016. The only other ones in the county belong to Zanesville in 1995, 1955 and 1926.
Nichols, a junior on a team with no seniors, made the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the state semifinal. In the final, he scored 36 points, hitting 3-pointers, mid-range shots and taking the ball to the rim. Every time he shot there was a singular assumption: It’s going in.
Maysville coach Dave Brown hoists the coveted long-awaited title trophy before his excited group of fans.
“How good is that guy?” Brown said. “He had 36 points in a state championship with two, three guys hanging all over him. A little six-foot guy just tore up Dayton Arena in front of 6,000 fans.”
Glenville coach Bryon Ottrix just shook his head when asked about how Gator didn’t need a sneak attack to punish his defense.
“That kid can play,” Ottrix said. “We thought we could pressure him. He wasn’t just hitting stand-still threes or getting open looks. He had a lot of contested tough shots, and he hit them all night.”
Nichols’ fearless and confident style comes from his dad and AAU coach Brian “Fritz” Nichols. He named his son Gator because of his love for the Florida Gators.
“Fritzy is blue collar as they come, and he’s pushing Gator and our entire junior class to be the best they can be,” Brown said. “And they’re fearless, because Fritz is fearless.”
Nichols is the first player to score 36 points in a state final since T.J. Metzger did it to lead Ottawa-Glandorf to the Division III title over Versailles in 2013.
So easy to do, even the guy next to you can do it….!
Maysville lost to Kettering Alter in the Division II final last year in front of 6,257 fans. This year’s attendance was 6,164, and the majority of them were from Southtown.
In Friday’s lid lifter, 7,178 witnessed Louisville defeat Cincinnati Aiken 63-61 in another thriller. That’s the biggest state final crowd since Pickerington Central defeated Centerville in 2022 in the Division I final in front of 8,561 fans. Since 2022, only the Alter-Maysville and Louisville-Aiken finals surpassed Friday’s Maysville win in attendance.
With five more games to play, the state tournament attendance is off to its best start since 2022 with a two-game average of 6,671. The 2023 average was 4,603; 2024 was 4,533.
“How can you not get excited to play for a crowd like that?” Brown said. “And it really energizes our guys when they get behind them.”
During a late timeout, one of the Panthers’ sixth men in the front row above press row and directly behind the bench, shouted over and over, “Who wants it more?”
Gator and the Panthers must’ve heard him.
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