Photo by Andrew Grimm Steubenville junior Santino Haney goes up for a basket while being defended by Trotwood-Madison’s Justyce Taylor on Friday in the Ohio Division III state basketball championship. Trotwood-Madison prevailed 48-47 at the University of Dayton. Cutline goes here.

The Steubenville High boys basketball team was able to break a drought this week that had lasted 74 years – reaching the Ohio State Basketball Tournament.

The wait for a state title, though, will have to last at least one more year.

Down by as many as 10 points in the second half, Big Red rallied in a big way in the game’s waning minutes, actually taking its first lead with 22 seconds remaining in the game. But Trotwood-Madison junior Darius Dennis’ jumper with 9 seconds left sealed the game for the Rams, 48-47, for the Division III state championship at the University of Dayton.

It was just the second loss of the year for Big Red, which finishes at 26-2.

Cold shooting doomed Steubenville, which finished 16 for 53 (30.2%) from the floor and just 4 for 22 (18.2%) from 3-point range. Big Red made just one of its first 14 3-pointers for the game, which led to only 19 points for Steubenville at halftime.

Yet Steubenville was undeterred by its double-digit second-half deficit. Lockdown defense kept the Rams from making a basket for nearly all of the last three minutes of the game, as Big Red clawed back into the game and took the lead.

Yet it was that one last basket of Trotwood-Madison’s that decided the contest.

Cole Bowers (22 points) and Santino Haney (16 points) were the only double-digit scorers for Steubenville.