D-II Regional Boys Basketball: Avon fights to finish before falling to Massillon Washington in semifinal

WOOSTER — For a little over three quarters Avon was beating Massillon Washington at its own game in the Division II regional semifinals at the College of Wooster. Then the Tigers pulled away. The Eagles' dreams of advancing to the regional final were dashed Wednesday when the Tigers notched an 84-73 victory. The teams exchanged the lead nine times in the second half before a Jadyce Thigpen 3-pointer gave Massillon (24-1) a 61-59 lead with 6:30 remaining in the game. The Tigers led the rest of the way, ending the game on a 16-9 run. "It was fast-paced game. We lost by 11 but it was a two-point game most of the night," Avon coach Mike Fitch said. "It wasn't the game plan to try to beat them at their own game. Gavyn (Kittelberger) was getting to the basket at will and passing it when he should. I am just so proud of that kid." Although it's the Tigers who are moving on to Saturday's regional final, Kittelberger was the star of the game, scoring a career-high 29 points, 17 of which game in the first half. "They didn't come out as hard as we thought they would," Kittelberger said. "We thought they were going to play up top immediately but they played back so I had a hole to get to the basket." Avon led the entire first quarter until Braylon Gamble was fouled on a successful layup attempt with less than a second to go in the period and made the free throw to give the Tigers a 17-16. That one-point lead held for the next two quarters as Avon went into the half trailing 37-36 and then trailed 58-57 after three quarters. Avon's biggest lead came in the second quarter when it went on an 8-0 run to take a 26-20 lead with 5:42 remaining in the half. "We talked about it at halftime, we knew they were going to come out and trap us and three straight possessions we were able to get layups," Fitch said. "That got them out of that and then it was just a man-to-man ballgame." The Eagles were only down four, 68-64, with 3:20 to play in the game after a Kittelberger basket but Avon had to foul the Tigers down the stretch, which allowed them to extend the lead. Massillon scored eight points on free throws in the final 1:08. Joey Ziegler has 18 points for Avon while Brooks Good added 15. The Tigers had all five starters in double figures, led by junior guard Xavier Williams, who scored 26 points. Both teams shot 54 percent from the field. However, one of the differences in the game was Massillon made 10 3-pointers, compared to just four for Avon, three of which came from Ziegler. Avon was also forced to play without its big man, 6-5 junior Dean Abdul, who was injured in a district final win over Highland. With a win Saturday, Massillon will advance to the state tournament for the first time since 1945. Avon is still looking for its first trip to state, but after consecutive runs to the regional semifinal and just three seniors graduating from this year's team, the Eagles might be closer than ever. "Last year, I walked in this place afraid I was never gonna get back," Fitch said. "Now that's not a thought in my mind. We have a lot of returners, but that doesn't mean anything. We have to work harder to get back, because now we have a target on our back." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Massillon 84, Avon 73 MASSILLON (84): Terrion Wells 2-0-4, Gio Jackson Jr. 6-0-12, Isaiah Lamp 3-1-10, Jadyce Thigpen 6-1-15, Braylon Gamble 6-4-17, Xavier Williams 8-6-26. Totals 31-12-84. AVON (73): Trevor Sykora 2-0-4, Gavyn Kittelberger 11-7-29, Preston Johnson 1-0-2, Holden Krugman 2-0-5, Joey Ziegler 6-3-18, Brooks Good 7-1-15. Totals 29-11-73. Massillon&emsp;17&emsp;20&emsp;21&emsp;26&emsp;—&emsp;84 Avon&emsp;16&emsp;20&emsp;21&emsp;16&emsp;—&emsp;73 Three-point goals: Massillon (Willams 4, Lamp 3, Thigpen 2, Gamble), Avon (Ziegler 3, Krugman). Field goals: Massillon 31-57 (54 percent), Avon 29-54 (54 percent). Free throws: Massillon 12-21 (57 percent), Avon 11-13 (85 percent). Rebounds: Massillon 28, Avon 30. Turnovers: Massillon 8, Avon 10. Team fouls: Massillon 11, Avon 16. Technical foul: Thigpen.