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Ottawa-Glandorf rallies in the fourth quarter to upend Africentric in state semis

By Mark Francis Jr., 03/18/22, 1:15PM EDT

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Africentric saw its season end in heart-breaking fashion on Friday

DAYTON, Ohio - - With a berth in the Division III state championship on the line, a masterful Mr. Basketball performance from the superstar junior prospect Dailyn Swain was not enough to overcome a fourth quarter rally from the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans. 

Swain’s 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven steals paced Africentric, but Glandorf sophomore Colin White matched him big play for big play and big shot for big shot, taking his team to their first state championship game since 2013 with a 53-48 win over the Nubians. 

Ottawa-Glandorf took a 4-0 lead early in the quarter before Swain was able to get the Nubians on the board before Josiah Smith hit two free throws to tie the game at four. Glandorf would not allow Africentric to take the lead in the first frame, staying ahead by basically two points the entire quarter. Colin White scored eight of his 31 in the first eight minutes and put the Titans ahead 12-8 after those eight minutes. 

The defense of Africentric took control of the game in the second quarter, holding the Titans to two points in the quarter as they went on to put 13 on the board in the frame. Dailyn Swain scored 11 in the quarter as the Nubians cruised into the locker room with a 21-14 advantage over Ottawa-Glandorf. 

Head coach Mike Bates told his team in the locker room to be prepared for the Titans to make a run at some point in the second half, his team was up for the challenge as they were 16 minutes away from a state championship appearance. 

Africentric came out in the third quarter and looked like a team on a mission, with Swain immediately catching a body on a posterizing dunk to open the half. White was able to match that basket with one of his own but the Nubians bounced back and scored six straight to stretch the lead to 29-19 midway through the third quarter. After a Glandorf timeout, senior Dan Wagner scored on a transition bucket and junior Preston Steele kept the lead at ten points before the Titans began to chip away at the lead. 

The Nubians led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, which did not deter the Titans, who were able to cut it to six at the end of the third quarter. Colin White continued his tear, scoring seven points in the final minutes of the third quarter. Swain scored another bucket to give Africentric a 37-31 lead heading into the final quarter. 
Ottawa-Glandorf was able to kick the quarter off with a Colin White score to get within four points, which was followed up with a triple from senior Caleb Kuhlman to cut the lead to one. White’s midrange jumper early in the fourth gave Glandorf their first lead since 5:54 in the second quarter at 38-37. The Nubians were never able to get the lead back after that.

It was a more than questionable technical foul for hanging on the rim too long on Dailyn Swain in the fourth quarter after a steal and dunk that changed things around midway through the quarter. Trailing 43-39, Swain had a breakaway dunk where the officials determined that he hung on the rim for longer than the allotted time. The Titans hit one of two at the line, right after that Swain had another steal and breakaway but this time he rose above the rim and lightly touched it before getting back on defense. 

With Africentric trying to fight back, it was White and his upperclassmen teammates that was able to knock down free throws to end the dream season of the Nubians by a final score of 53-48. 
A spectacular season from Africentric included a city, district and regional championship. The 2021-2022 season for the Nubians will go down as one of the best in school history.

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