OHSAA boys basketball scores I Canton McKinley vs. Toledo Whitmer regional semi live updates

Posted by author March 4, 2025 Basketball

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KENT — The Canton McKinley High School boys basketball team makes its return to OHSAA regional play tonight for the first time since 2020.

The Bulldogs (19-5) play Toledo Whitmer (17-7) in a Division I regional semifinal at Kent State. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

Return here throughout the evening for live updates on the game.

Halftime: McKinley leads Whitmer in defensive battle

The Bulldogs lead 26-19 at the break. Obviously, points have not been easy to come by. The two teams combined to shoot 7-for 30 from the floor (0-for-7 from the arc) in the second quarter. McKinley has forced 11 Whitmer turnovers. Davey Thompson leads McKinley with 10 points. Andre Young III has eight points and seven rebounds for Whitmer.

McKinley leads Whitmer 17-10 after one quarter

Davey Thompson has a game-high eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, for the Bulldogs. Whitmer has turned it over eight times.

McKinley out to early lead on Whitmer

Anthony Chavers has five points as McKinley leads 8-6 with 3:55 left in the first quarter. Whitmer has turned it over four times.

McKinley and Whitmer boys basketball regional semifinal underway

Winner advances to Saturday’s 7 p.m. regional final vs. the winner of St. Ignatius and St. Edward.

Canton McKinley vs. Toledo Whitmer: Tonight’s starters

For the McKinley Bulldogs:

Anthony Chavers, 6-4, jr.
Jaylen Jeter, 5-10, sr.
Ed Webster, 6-5, soph.
Davey Thompson, 5-10, jr.
Reed Sims Jr., 6-5, sr.

For the Whitmer Panthers:

Charles Johnson, 6-5, soph.
Antione West Jr., 6-3, sr.
Makhi Leach, 6-3, sr.
Jay Hooker, 6-3, sr.
Andre Young III, 6-2, jr.

Canton McKinley boys basketball OHSAA tournament scores

Toledo Whitmer boys basketball OHSAA tournament scores

Whitmer 81, Mentor 54
Whitmer 64, Brunswick 62

McKinley shared the Federal League championship with Jackson this season and enters tonight on a five-game winning streak. The Bulldogs are trying to return to a state tournament for the first time since winning back-to-back Division I state championships in 2005 and 2006.
McKinley head coach Sean Weatherspoon was a senior captain on the 2005 state championship team and played in two other final fours during his McKinley career.
The Bulldogs shot the ball extremely well in their two tournaments games last week, shooting 53.1% from the floor at Strongsville and 67.6% against Medina. The Bulldogs were a combined 11 of 21 on 3-pointers.
Reed Sims Jr., a 6-foot-5 senior, averages 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals. He shoots 46.0% from the floor and 80.0% from the foul line. He was a third-team All-Ohio pick a year ago, has scored more than 1,000 career points and scored 22 points in the district finals and 19 in the semis.
McKinley’s rotation also features seniors Jaylen Jeter and Keith Quincy, juniors Anthony Chavers and Davey Thompson, and sophomore Ed Webster.
This is McKinley’s first regional semifinal since 2020 when it lost to Shaker Heights in front of a limited crowd at Cleveland State in one of the last games played in Ohio before the Covid shutdown.

Whitmer owns an eight-game winning streak, winning six of those games by by double digits.
The Panthers reached the state tournament a year ago, their first final four since 2012.
Whitmer is led by 6-3 senior guards Antione West and Makhi Leach. West is a Purdue recruit and the school’s career scoring leader (1,763 points heading into last week). Leach averages 22 points per game on 51.6% shooting from the field. They each earned first-team All-Northwest Ohio District 7 honors. Andre Young, who has an IU Indy offer, made the second team and Jay Hooker was honorable mention.
Whitmer trailed Brunswick by double digits before coming back to win the district title game. West was scoreless in the first half, but hit a big 3 late in scoring 13 second-half points.

Tonight’s winner plays either St. Ignatius or St. Edward in the regional finals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Kent State. Those two longtime Cleveland-area rivals play in the other semifinal, which is Wednesday night at Kent State. Ignatius (20-7) is the defending Division I state champion. St. Edward (16-8) last reached a state tournament in 2022 and has been to six final fours since 2012, winning the 2014 Division I state title.