Staff report

DAYTON — Jackson Center didn’t hit a field goal for most of the final period, including the last five minutes, but used the free throw line to come away with a 46-43 victory over Cincinnati Christian in a Division 4 District championship game at UD Arena Wednesday.

The win advances the Tigers to the regional tournament starting Tuesday at 5:30 at Fairmont High School’s Trent Arena in Kettering. The opponent will be either Fort Loramie or Southeastern, who play tonight.

Brady Wildermuth hit nine free throws in the final period alone, including four in a row that brought Jackson from a 34-32 deficit to a 36-34 lead.

Cincinnati Christian hit a three-pointer to make it 37-36, but Wildermuth hit two more free throws for a 38-37 lead. The Tigers did not trail again, even though things got hectic at the end.

Two free throws by Ethan Zorn gave the Tigers a 45-39 lead with under a minute left, but Christian hit a free throw, then took advantage of a turnover to hit a three and cut the lead down to two with still 24 seconds left.

The Tigers missed three out of four free throws after that, but still survived a couple of three-point attempts to come away with the win.

Wildermuth finished with 25 points for the Tigers.