Sunday, March 25, 2001
Tipp City Bethel 79, Delphos St. John's 53
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio — All year he had labored in the shadows, just another drone in the supporting cast of a couple of all-staters.
When Shawn Zink finally stepped into the light, his timing couldn't have been more better.
Averaging just 7 points a game, the 6-foot-4 senior scored 24 on 11-of-13 shooting as Tipp City Bethel used a mix of outside quickness and inside muscle to beat Delphos St. John's 79-53 Saturday and win the Division IV state championship.
“How's it feel? It feels great. But I don't like all the questions,” Zink said, quickly sliding back into the shadows. “I'm not much of a talker.”
At least for one day he was quite a player — a player they'll never forget back in tiny Tipp City.
“The kid played great,” said Delphos St. John's coach Brett Norris. “You look at tournament action and how many times a kid will have a career game, be it in high school or the NCAA. It just happens.”
It was the first state championship for Bethel (23-4), which had lost to Mansfield St. Peter's 78-60 in the 1978 title game in its only previous trip to the state tournament.
The 26-point margin matched the largest in a small-school title game since 1953. St. Henry beat New Madison Tri-Village 71-45 in the 1991 final. The record is 43 points, set in Cincinnati Mariemont's 87-44 win over Philo in 1953.
The victory was Bethel's 10th in a row, including wins over No. 7 Cincinnati Country Day and top-ranked Maria Stein Marion Local in the tournament.
The Bees hit 64 percent of their shots from the field, including 71 percent in the second half. Many came on layups and rebound follows.
Delphos St. John's (22-5) was limited to 36 percent shooting.
The kingpins for the Bees all season have been first-team All-Ohioan Matt Witt, averaging 25 points a game, and second-team all-stater Matt Plunkett, who adds 20 points and 9 rebounds per game.
Not this night and not in the glaring spotlight of the state finals before 14,933 at Value City Arena.
Zink carried the Bees in the first two periods. He hit 7-of-8 shots for 15 points — almost half their total — and also had five rebounds as Bethel took a 31-30 lead at the half. The Bees scored the final six points of the quarter — two apiece by Zink, Drew Bowman and Eric Holtvogt.
“It's fantastic for him to have the game of his life,” Bethel coach Steve Fisher said. “It's almost a Cinderella story.”
The Bees wasted little time in asserting themselves in the second half. The new offensive weapon, Zink, scored again off an assist from Plunkett to open the third quarter. While St. John's was missing its first three shots, Witt was hitting a foul shot and then speeding past a defender on the left baseline for a layup that made it 36-30, capping an 11-0 run.
After Joe Kapcar scored for the Blue Jays, Bethel came right back with six more points on a Brian Shoup drive, Witt's layup off a long pass and Plunkett's 15-footer off the dribble.
That made it 42-32. The Bees' lead never fell below eight points again as they continued to run the floor, scramble for loose balls and muscle their way on the boards. Bethel outscored the Blue Jays 17-6 in the third quarter and 48-23 in the second half.
“It was important for our defense to pick up the pressure,” Fisher said. “I thought St. John's inexperience would show with their three sophomores.”
Zink wasn't alone, however. In addition to his 24 points, Plunkett had 21 and Witt 18. Plunkett had six assists and Witt five — with Zink the beneficiary of most of them.
Delphos St. John's made it all the way to the state tournament for the 10th time despite graduating all five starters from a year ago and finishing only second in its league.
Joe Kapcar scored 13 points for the Blue Jays.
A year ago, Bethel had lost in the regional finals, a step away from making it to the biggest show in high school hoops. The Bees lost only one of their top 12 players from that squad. The replacement for that graduate? Zink.
“We didn't come out here happy that we beat the No. 1 team in the state,” Fisher said. “We came here to prove we were the No. 1 team.”
TIPP CITY BETHEL (23-4) — Zink 11-13 2-4 24, Holtvogt 0-0 2-2 2, Witt 8-15 1-2 18, B.Shoup 2-4 2-4 6, Plunkett 8-15 5-5 21, Ca.Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Bowman 1-1 0-0 2, K.Shoup 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Ginter 2-2 0-0 6, Ch.Swanson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-50 12-17 79.
DELPHOS ST. JOHN'S (22-5) — Recker 3-7 1-3 7, Hershey 3-13 0-0 6, Kapcar 6-8 1-3 13, N.Klaus 2-9 2-2 7, Grothaus 1-3 2-2 4, Clark 2-11 0-0 5, Ralston 1-1 0-0 3, Ostendorf 0-0 0-0 0, C.Klaus 1-2 0-0 3, Schwinnen 0-0 0-0 0, Hohman 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony 2-3 0-0 5, Holdgreve 0-1 0-0 0, Moenter 0-1 0-0 0, Knippen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 6-10 53.
Tipp City Bethel 15 16 17 31—79
Delphos St. John's 13 17 6 17—53
3-point goals—Tipp City Bethel 3-8 (Ginter 2-2, Witt 1-5, Plunkett 0-1), Delphos St. John's 5-26 (Ralston 1-1, C.Klaus 1-2, Anthony 1-2, N.Klaus 1-5, Clark 1-9, Grothaus 0-1, Recker 0-1, Hershey 0-5). Fouled out—Clark. Rebounds—Tipp City Bethel 27 (Zink 7), Delphos St. John's 32 (Kapcar 7). Assists—Tipp City Bethel 16 (Plunkett 6), Delphos St. John's 10 (N.Klaus 4). Total fouls—Tipp City Bethel 14, Delphos St. John's 19. A—14,933.
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Tipp City Bethel 79, Delphos St. John's 53 
