MOUNT BLANCHARD — Mohawk jumped out to an early lead and held off a late surge by Hopewell-Loudon in a 50-45 win Friday night at Riverdale High School. Sophomore Kaiden Hammer lit it up from long distance with a career-high seven 3-pointers to lead the Warriors to their first sectional title since 2007.

ELIDA — With Luke Denecker going down with an injury only a minute and a half into the game, Bluffton needed someone to step up. Gabe Denecker did just that. The 6-foot-4 senior forward scored 22 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Pirates to a 50-39 victory against cold-shooting Carey in a Division III sectional final boys basketball game Friday night at Elida Fieldhouse.

LEXINGTON — Wynford couldn’t keep up with South Central’s shooting clip in an 84-59 loss Friday in a Division IV sectional final at Lexington. The Trojans (15-9) shot 32 of 48 from the field (67 percent), including 17 of 23 (74 percent) in the second half.

TOLEDO — Five area wrestlers went 2-0 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Division III district tournament at Waite in Toledo. Carey’s Jevyn Pratt and Jon Racheter, Mohawk’s Chet Margraf and Cole Draper, and Riverdale’s Wayne Frey all picked up a pair of wins that assures them of placing in the tournament and puts them one win away from qualifying for the state tournament.

SHELBY — The charity stripe was very kind to Riverdale on Thursday. The Falcons made an outstanding 37 of 41 free throws in a 77-72 victory over Margaretta in their district semifinal at Shelby. No. 4-seed Riverdale moves on to face No. 2 Willard, which was a 46-37 winner over No. 8 Seneca East in the first semifinal.

Two-time defending champion Don McLaughlin enters this year’s Wyandot Match Game Invitational with the top average of 220.5 and the top seed. Competition begins Saturday at Wyandot Lanes. The 2014 champion and 2012 and 2015 runner-up, Al Garvin is the No. 2 seed with a 214.5 average, while Aaron VanHorn begins as the No. 3 seed at 210.3.

LEXINGTON — After falling behind 7-0, Wynford got two Jack Reed free throws and had its answer of how to turn the game in its favor. The Royals went 22 of 33 on free throws, including 14 of 19 by Reed on his way to 30 points, and Wynford cooled the Flames to 20.7 percent shooting in a 47-33 victory in Division IV sectional semifinal boys basketball action Wednesday night at Lexington.

BUCYRUS — Wynford is selling boys basketball sectional final tickets until 3 p.m. today and from 7-11 a.m. Friday. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students.

MOUNT BLANCHARD — Keith Jenkins’ dagger 3-pointer gave Mohawk five scorers in double figures and all but sank St. Wendelin. The eighth-seeded Warriors knocked off No. 9 St. Wendelin, 66-52, for their first tournament win since 2010.

ELIDA — In a year of firsts in many years, this one was emphatic. Parkway picked up its first tournament victory in nine years, running away from Riverdale, 70-40, in a Division III sectional semifinal game Tuesday night at Elida.