Wayne (19-5) was led by senior Kaden Post, who finished with 13 points, shooting 4 of 8 from the 3-point line. Sophomore Dontay Chivers added 12.
Princeton sophomore and five-star recruit Kam Mercer scored a game-high 20 points. Senior Rognny Santiago-Lugo had 19 and hit the only three 3-pointers made by the Vikings.
Wayne started off hot from the floor to grab an early lead before Princeton used a 12-0 run over 2:26 of game time in the second quarter to take the lead for good. The Vikings sped up the pace and began forcing Wayne into consecutive turnovers.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
“They’re dynamic in transition and being able to take care of the basketball,” Martindale said. “Those two categories, we didn’t do extremely well for four quarters.”
Wayne closed the deficit to 28-23 by halftime, but Princeton got back after it when the break ended and quickly led by 13.
Wayne got as close as seven near the end of the third, but a five-minute scoreless stretch by the Warriors had them forcing up shots as the deficit continued to grow. It ended as a 15-0 run for the Vikings that grew its lead to 56-34, the largest of the game, and was punctuated by a breakaway dunk by Mercer.
Wayne shot just 20.6 percent from the floor in the second half.
“Pressure can do that,” Martindale said. “Emotions play a part in that. When you’re down by five or 10, that’s one thing, and then you’re down by 15 or more, you start to feel like this could be my last game.”
Princeton (22-3) forced Wayne into 14 turnovers and dominated inside, outscoring the Warriors in the paint 44-18.
Wayne finished the regular season as the runner-up in the Greater Western Ohio Conference and won its first district title since 2022 with its overtime win against Moeller.
“I’m just so thankful for our five seniors what they meant to our program,” Martindale said. “They had an amazing season and we’re gonna hurt for awhile after this game, but I’m still thankful and blessed to have had these guys impact not only our program, but the younger guys for future teams.”
Princeton advanced to play Oak Hills, which beat St. Xavier 49-38 in the other semifinal, at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Region 4.
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