Tai Perkins drains a three pointer, one of eight on the day as the Warriors defeat Big Walnut to advance to the Final Four. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Akron-bound senior Tai Perkins hit a program-record eight three-pointers and scored 32 points as North walloped Big Walnut to capture a Division II regional championship. Louisville downed Hartley in a Division III regional final.
Columbus, OH – The reputation of the Taft Coliseum at the Ohio Expo Center as a shooter’s dungeon predates Westerville North senior Tai Perkins by, oh, at least a decade or so. The Barn’s cavernous shooting background suits him just fine.
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“I hadn’t heard that before,” said the 6-foot-1 sniper and University of Akron signee with the slightest smile. “I played here in the district final and regional semifinal, so I was used to the depth perception. I just came into the game confident, thinking about helping my team win.”
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Perkins, the Central District player of the year, knocked down a program-record eight three-pointers on the way to a 32-point performance as North blitzed Big Walnut 79-50 in a Division II regional title game. Six of his treys and 22 points came before halftime as the Warriors took a huge lead they never relinquished.
Winner of 22 straight games, North (23-2) – top ranked in MaxPreps’ power poll – captured their fourth regional title but first since reaching the big-school final four in 1994, ‘95 and ‘96. The 1994 team was state champion.
North coach Shan Trusley was an assistant on those teams coached by Dave Hoover (‘94 and ‘95) and Kevin Thuman (‘96) and has extended this coaching tree into a fourth decade.
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“This is a just as special day for Westerville North,” Trusley said. “For me, doing this here in this building means everything to me. My Dad used to bring me down here when I was 10 or 11 years old to watch City League games. The Central Pirates were my favorite team.”
Brody Hatfield got plenty of attention from an aggressive Warrior defense during D2 Regional Final play at the Taft Coliseum.
When the Ohio High School Athletic Association decided to expand from four to seven divisions about a year ago, Trusley knew his team was a few boys shy of the big-school cutoff and had a much better chance of succeeding in Division II.
“That’s true, but with this special group we have our goal has been to set out to prove that we’re one of the best teams, regardless of division,” he said.
North has succeeded with flying colors. It owns quality wins over 2024 state semifinalist Delaware (twice), defending state champion Richmond Heights, regional champion Louisville, City League champion Northland, Massillon Jackson and, now, Big Walnut (three times). The only defeats came to defending state champion Cleveland St. Ignatius and regional champions Olentangy Orange (57-55), who are ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in Division I.
Micah Young and Tyson Perkins each added 12 points, but this day belonged to their brother.
Tyson Perkins goes to the glass and scores two of his 12 points on the afternoon.
“When I hit my sixth (three-pointer), I knew I had the program record (held jointly by him and Elijah McCree),” One night it might be me, another night it might be somebody else. I was feeling it tonight and my teammates found me.”
The Warriors, who came in averaging 77.2 points and allowing just 51.4, went 11-of-15 from three-point range in the first half en route to a 46-22 lead. They ended up with 16.
“We came in with a lot of respect for Big Walnut,” Trusley said. “We know each other really well and understand what each other is trying to achieve. Our guys always respond to every challenge, though. The kids were really locked in and focused today.”
Braden McCruter scored 18 points and Owen Pollock 14 for Big Walnut (16-10), which dropped the previous Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division games by margins of 35 and eight points.
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Louisville 52, Hartley 45
It was obvious from the tipoff of this Division III regional final, this matchup would boil down to Louisville’s ability to get inside against Hartley’s relentless trapping and pressing.
Jaden Calloway scores on an easy lay-in but the Hawks fall to Louisville.
Ultimately, it came down to Hartley’s inability to put the ball in the basket as the Hawks were outscored 9-2 over the final four minutes in an entertaining game that featured nine ties and seven lead changes.
“The guys really responded to what we wanted to do on the defensive end,” Hartley coach Andreas James said. “We sure would have liked to knock down some of those shots down the stretch. It seemed like we had a bunch that rolled around or hit the rim twice and just wouldn’t go in.”
A putback by Marcus Hemphill pulled Hartley to 47-45 with 1:44 remaining, but Louisville spread the floor in hopes the Hawks would make a mistake double-teaming the perimeter. That’s exactly what happened as Devin Bailey got open on a back cut and scored a pivotal layup-and-one at 1:07.
“We have a set we call dice in those circumstances where opponents double-team us and it worked like a charm,” Leopards coach Tom Siegfried said. “We weren’t planning to hold the ball. Gosh, you can’t hold the ball for 10 seconds against those guys. It was designed to break them down and score.”
Six-seven Walsh University signee Brayden Gross scored 17 points to pace Louisville (22-5), which reached the final four for the first time after falling in a regional title game a year ago. Three of his teammates scored between nine and 11 points.
“We had this in our sights going into the season,” Siegfried said. “We wanted to make our schedule as tough as possible. We’ve spent 11 nights in hotels. We’re well traveled and have played a lot of great teams. This was one of the top teams we’ve faced for sure. It was sort of a pick your poison scenario in trying to guard. Fortunately, some of the secondary guys weren’t hitting.”
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Louisville, which entered ranked No. 4 by MaxPreps.com, beat the likes of Lakewood St. Edward, Cleveland St. Ignatius, Richmond Heights, Kettering Alter and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary with three defeats coming to out-of-state opponents.
Jakhi Calloway scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half to pace Hartley (20-6), which was seeking its first final four since 2011. Older brother Jaden Calloway added 12 and Hemphill 10, but the remainder of the team managed just two points. The Hawks turned seven steals into transition baskets.
“Obviously, to get into a game like this, every opponent you face is really good and your margin of victory is slim,” James said. “When they scored out of the spread and we went down on the other end and missed, that was probably the ballgame. But I’m really proud of the way we battled back in the second half.”
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