Division II Final
Dayton Dunbar Defeats Wooster Triway 73-46
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The climb back to the top took 19 years
for Dayton Dunbar.
Led by the big three up front of Ohio State-bound Daequan Cook
and 6-foot-8 bookends Aaron Pogue and Mark Anderson, the Wolverines
pulled away to beat Wooster Triway 73-46 Saturday in the Division
II state championship game.
Cook finished with 23 points, three rebounds, five steals and an
assist. Pogue had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Anderson added 14
points and eight rebounds.
The Wolverines (26-2) were pretty good on the perimeter, too.
Norris Cole II had 18 points and five assists and Darran Powell
directed the attack with nine assists.
The title was Dunbar's first since the team led by Mark Baker
(Ohio State), Mike Haley Jr. (Wright State) and Kirk Taylor
(Michigan) won the 1987 championship at the University of Dayton
Arena.
The Wolverines, making their fifth appearance at the state
tournament, were ranked No. 3 in the final regular-season
Associated Press poll. They lost in last year's semifinals.
It was another heartbreaking close call for the Titans, who have
made four trips since 1988 but have never captured a championship.
They lost in last year's championship to Upper Sandusky, 94-86.
Only three other teams in the tournament's 84 years have
finished second two years in a row.
Jeff McCartney scored 12 points and first-team All-Ohioan Linc
Rottman added 11 for the Titans (26-1), ranked fourth in the last
poll.
Jamie Breneman, a hero of last year's run to the final, never
got untracked at Value City Arena. After hitting just 1-of-11 shots
including misses on all four of his 3-pointers in the 58-56
semifinal victory over Columbus DeSales, he hit only 4-of-17 shots
and missed all six shots behind the arc while scoring 8 points
against Dunbar.
The win was Dunbar's 21st in a row. It has not lost since
dropping a 51-46 decision to Ridgeway (Tenn.) on Dec. 26. The
Wolverines' other loss was a 69-54 setback to national power
Lawrence North (Ind.), which features two Cook's future Ohio State
classmates in 7-0 Greg Oden and point guard Mike Conley.
Even though the Wolverines led for most of the game, Triway
didn't fade away. Rottman's 14-foot jumper to open the fourth
quarter cut the lead to 43-37.
But Dunbar started to flex its muscles inside to pull away with
a 10-0 spurt - the Titans remaining scoreless for more than 3
minutes.
Pogue started it with two baskets in the paint before Cole
scored on a follow and Cook hit two foul shots. After Cole added
two free throws, Powell scored on a fastbreak layup to crack the
lead to 55-37 with 4� minutes left.
Triway went cold at the worst time, missing four shots and
committing three turnovers over the Dunbar run.
Dayton Dunbar used a combination of its muscle inside with
Cook's athleticism to take a 27-20 halftime lead.
With the score tied at 16, the Wolverines took the lead for good
on Cook's dunk following up a missed layup by Powell. After a
Triway turnover, Anderson scored inside on another putback for a
20-16 lead.
Powell hit two foul shots to extend the lead to 24-19. Triway
picked up a foul shot by Rottman, but Cook meshed a long 3-pointer
from the right corner in the final seconds of the half.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
