COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It took until the final game, but we got an exciting finish on Saturday at Ohio Dominican.

Dublin Jerome, down by two, had a shot to win the game that was in the rim and popped out, allowing Westerville South to get a 62-60 victory and claim their second straight district championship.

A more than sloppy start from both sides gave way to Luke Kuhlman’s first points of the day on a three-point jumper.

Jerome jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before Westerville South used a three-pointer from Kruz McClure to tie the game at six with 4:03 on the clock in the opening frame.

Jerome standout Ryan Nutter hit two straight baskets to tie the game at 12 as it got late in the opening quarter.

The end of the quarter moved quickly, with both teams striking and nailing shots. Jaden Wheeler hit a corner three that was matched by the sharpshooting Sasha Stavroff to send the teams tied at 15 as they went to the bench after the opening eight minutes.

While Jerome had a 5-0 run to open the game, Westerville South had a 6-0 run to start the second quarter that started with a Kruz McClure layup and finished with a fast break layup from
McClure.

Ryan Nutter ended the run with a layup of his own to cut the lead to 21-17 in the second.

South’s JuJuan Ray buried a free throw to go back up by six before Stavroff’s three cut the lead to 23-22.

Towards the end of the half, South’s Jadi Cunningham and Ryan Nutter exchanged baskets to keep Westerville South up by one-point.

The half ended with Jadi Cunningham hitting a triple before the buzzer sounded, and despite missing the free throw, the Wildcats went into the break up 30-24.
After the break, the third quarter action heated up as both teams began to knock in shots. Jalen Wheeler dropped in a pull-up midrange jumper to take a 32-26 lead early in the frame.

The Wildcats eventually stretched the lead out to 10 by the end of the eight minutes.

Entering the final quarter down by eight, Dublin Jerome fought back after being down as much as 13 points in the fourth.

Stavroff nailed a three and Lachlan McDonald hit a shot to get back to a single-digit deficit. Luke Kuhlman got to the basket and finished, then McDonald had a brilliant drive to the hoop to get his team within four.

Tyler Kielmeyer hit a pair of free throws to go back up six.

A couple of missed free throws from Westerville South allowed Jerome to hang around as the clock was getting close to striking zero.

Sasha Stavroff hit a three to get down 60-57 with under
a minute remaining. An errandant pass resulted in a foul where South once again only hit one free throw, leaving the door open for Lachlan McDonald to hit a three and bring his team close to a comeback.

Down 62-60, Dublin Jerome ran a beautifully drawn up and executed play that left Luke Kuhlman open for a game-winning three that unfortunately was half way down then popped back out, leaving South to survive 62-60.

Dublin Jerome was led in scoring by Sasha Stavroff, who poured in 20 total points. Ryan Nutter added 18, while Luke Kuhlman and Lachlan McDonald both pitched in nine.

Max Hanneman put in four points to round out the scoring for the Celtics.

Kruz McClure scored 18 to lead the Wildcats, followed by Jalen Wheeler with 17. JuJuan Ray and Jadi Cunningham both scored 11, while Tyler Kielmeyer also scored five for the well rounded Westerville South.

Westerville South heads off the regional semi-finals this upcoming week where they will take on top-seeded Pickerington Central on Thursday night at 7 p.m. back at Ohio Dominican.