by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

Canton -- The biggest obstacle for the St. Peter Chanel boys basketball team on the road to the state final four was the same obstacle most Northeast Ohioans dealt with last weekend.

The blizzard that hit Northeast Ohio forced the Firebirds Division IV regional championship game with Malvern to be postponed from March 7 to March 9 -- and forced Chanel coach Bernie Tarr to live at Chanel over the weekend.

"I must have watched 'Rocky IV' about 13 times," Tarr said, with a laugh. "My room at Chanel doesn't have cable."

Tarr said his choice of viewing wasn't an accident because he knew his team -- like Rocky -- would walk into a hostile environment in the final.

Malvern, a community of about 1,200 in northwest Carroll county, packed more than the entire population of the village into the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

In the end, however, Chanel overcame all the obstacles.

Chanel forward Lamar McKnight put up a career-high 31 points to lead the Firebirds to a 75-65 win the Hornets.

Chanel, now 17-8, advanced to the state final four for the first time since 2003. The Firebirds will play Worthington Christian in the Division IV state semifinals March 13 at Value City Arena in Columbus.

Tarr was all smiles after the win.

"That's a great team that we played tonight," Tarr said. "I tip my hat to them. We always play a tough schedule to get ready for games like this."

"I'm speechless right now," Tarr added. "These guys have all played their roles very well."

Tarr noted McKnight played one of the best games, even if it wasn't a traditional effort from a center.

"He's a special player," Tarr said. "He looked more like a two [shooting guard] or a three [small forward] than a five [center] tonight. He's got such a great touch; you should see him drawing. He might be the best artist we've had come through Chanel."

McKnight certainly painted a masterpiece March 9 -- he finished with 31 points, including four 3-pointers, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Firebirds start red-hot

McKnight showed it was going to be his night early as he opened the game with a 3-pointer and keyed a 9-0 run to start the game for the Firebirds, forcing Malvern to call timeout. McKnight was just getting warmed up, as he scored 16 points in the first quarter alone.

"I've never been in that kind of zone before," McKnight said. "I worked on my shot all week because I knew we'd have to outscore them. Once I hit that first three, I knew it was going to be a good night."

McKnight also was an integral part of the Firebirds' full-court pressure, which gave the Hornets fits all night.

However, a solid effort from Malvern's 1,000-point trio of guard Tyler Tucci, forward Trevor Halter and center Zak Kapron helped the Hornets trim the lead to 19-16 after one quarter.

With early foul trouble mounting for the Firebirds, Malvern pounded the ball inside in the second quarter and Kapron did most of the damage. A putback layup by Halter gave Malvern its first lead at 24-23.

Chanel took the lead back, thanks to good work by guard Jo'Vaughn Brown and reserve center John Moseley, but Malvern kept the Firebirds from getting comfortable. Chanel took a 36-33 lead at halftime.

Chanel came out the locker room firing, as 3-pointers from McKnight and Mosley pushed the lead to as many as nine. However, every Chanel spurt was answered by Malvern push. Hornets point guard Jamar Stephens hit a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to 52-51 after three.

Birds weather late charge, win at the line

Malvern made its move early in the fourth quarter.

Tucci would hit a jump shot and an old-fashioned three-point play to start the quarter. Chanel's Jordan Duke hit a 3-pointer, but a layup from Kapron and a dunk from Halter gave Malvern a 60-55 lead and had their fans in a frenzy.

Brown hit a jump shot to trim the lead to three and Tarr called timeout.

"We knew they were going to make a run," Tarr said. "Our pressure wore them down a bit and I wanted make sure we could keep going. We wanted to make sure they knew from the moment they were 90 feet from the basket we'd be on them."

The move worked to perfection as Malvern's offense fell apart during the last six minutes.

Chanel also took advantage of the fact Malvern was in foul trouble. Chanel shot 12-of-18 from the line in the final quarter, compared to the Hornets' 2-of-3 from the line.

Fouls dealt a major blow to the Hornets as Kapron fouled out with 3:11 left in the contest. With the Hornets' center out, Chanel took over the boards in the game's waning moments and continued its march to the free-throw line.

One foul call with 30.4 seconds left enraged Hornets coach Dennis Tucci, who was hit with a technical foul. After Mosley split four free throws to move the lead to 73-64, McKnight put an exclamation point on the win with a one-handed dunk.

McKnight's big night was aided by a season-high 16 points and six rebounds from Mosley. Brown finished with 13.

Tucci led the Hornets with 22, while Kapron had 18 and Halter had 13.

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

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