Frankton and Marquette Catholic are two teams used to getting deep in the state tournament. The teams met for a chance to play in the class 2A state finals on the line.

Frankton scored the first points of the game on a Kayden Key shot in the lane. Marquette responded with the next 14 points. It looked like the game might be over before it even began. Colin Kenney and Buddy Jaffee had the Marquette offensive clicking. Jaffee gave Marquette a boost with his shooting in the first quarter.

The Frankton offense had very few opportunities inside of 15 feet in the first quarter. That changed in the second period as the Eagles looked to slash to the basket more frequently. Kayden Key and Maurice Knight started to have success each time they drove.

Marquette continued to knock down outside shots in the second quarter. As the large Frankton crowd got louder, the Blazers hit shot after shot. Kenney, Jaffee, Joe Andershock, Jon Andershock, Max Willoughby seemed to take turns making important plays for Marquette.

Maurice Knight was huge in the second half for Frankton. He was much more aggressive after halftime. He settled for three-point shots often in the first half. Knight was looking to drive each time he touched the ball in the second half. He had tremendous success once he reached the paint.

“It was a mindset thing,” Maurice Knight said of his increased production. “In the first half, none of my shots were falling, and I decided that I needed to attack the rim.”

Each time Frankton was starting to pull away from Marquette, the Blazers would hit a tough shot in the mid-range or a rhythm three-pointer. Marquette displayed a lot of mental toughness to respond to the charge that Frankton put on them to start the second half.

Frankton was up by seven points with under five minutes to go in the game. Buddy Jaffee responded with five straight points to get Marquette back in the game.

Frankton has no problem being patient on the offensive end. With four minutes left in regulation, the Eagles pushed their offense up to look for backdoor layups only. The Marquette pressure bothered Frankton, though. Despite the shakiness of Frankton against the Marquette defense, it didn’t lead to any extra possessions for the Blazers.

The Eagles shot 70% on the year from the free throw line. They shot even better against Marquette but missed a front end of a one and one then split a pair with 22 seconds left. Those missed free throws left the door open for Marquette.

With the game on the line, Marquette turned to sophomore Colin Kenney. He was huge all game for the Blazers. Kenney was able to get to the basket on the final possession for Marquette. He scored to tie it up.

There was time left for Frankton to get the ball down the court with the game tied. Frankton had the ball in the hands of the player that it wanted, Maurice Knight. The senior faced two defenders in the paint and was unable to win the game for Frankton.

The overtime was played at a frantic pace with each team trading blows. Knight was great in the second half but took his game to yet another level in overtime. Knight scored eight points in the four minute overtime period. Kenney answered with six of his own.

Frankton had a two-point lead with four seconds left. Marquette had to go the length of the court to tie or win the game. The Blazers set up an inbound play to get Kenney the ball with his momentum heading towards the Blazer basket. He had his speed slowed up just enough that his shot was from about 28 feet. It looked on target but rimmed off as time expired.

There was contact on the shot by Kenney but no foul was called. The officials let the teams play down the stretch. There had to be tremendous contact for a foul to be called in mediocre spots.

Frankton advanced to the class 2A state title game with the 77-75 victory. Maurice Knight finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Kayden Key and Landon Weins joined Knight in double figures for Frankton with 16 and 12, respectively.

Colin Kenney finished with 24 points in the loss. Buddy Jaffee added 17, while Joe Andershock had 13.

This is Maurice Knight’s second trip to the state finals. He was a member of the 2015 team that lost to Park Tudor.

“It still feels amazing, but it feels a little bit better because it’s my senior year. It’s definitely the way I want to go out,” said Knight about advancing to the 2A championship game.