Centerville tops Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, extends win streak to 30

Centerville's Tom House shoots from 3-point range against SoCal Academy at Flyin' To The Hoop on Jan. 16. On Saturday at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, House made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to rally the Elks to victory. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Centerville's Tom House shoots from 3-point range against SoCal Academy at Flyin' To The Hoop on Jan. 16. On Saturday at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, House made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to rally the Elks to victory. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Centerville’s boys basketball team keeps winning and moving up in national polls.

On Wednesday the defending state champion Elks appeared in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 for the first time at No. 24. They also moved up from No. 15 to No. 7 in the MaxPreps national ratings.

The Elks, the state’s unanimous No. 1 team in Division I, ran their winning streak to 30 games with wins over Spire Academy, Miamisburg and most notably top-ranked Division II power Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary on Saturday in Akron.

The Elks (14-0) rallied from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter behind Tom House and Gabe Cupps to top SVSM 52-46. The win avenged the last time the Elks lost when SVSM beat them 74-66 on January 30, 2021.

House made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including one for a 48-46 lead with 2:29 left. Cupps then made 4-of-4 free throws for the final margin of victory. House and Cupps combined for all 17 of the Elks’ fourth-quarter points. Cupps finished with 19 points, House 13 and Quinn Hafner 11.

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