But he got one Saturday.

Berardo started at guard as Alter won the state basketball championship with a 49-47 overtime win over Philo at Value City Arena on Saturday. He also was a center-midfielder on the soccer team that won state titles in 1996 and '98.

"People have been asking me which one would be more exciting. I can tell you, this is," Berardo said.

"Winning a state championship in soccer is like winning a district in basketball. There is so much more excitement here. The support the whole way has been absolutely overwhelming."

Berardo's contributions were sparse as he struggled with his shooting in the Final Four. But nobody could fault his timing.

He was just 1 of 9 from the field against Philo but pulled up from behind the 3-point arc after a steal with one minute to go in regulation. Of course.

His 3-pointer knotted the score at 44-all and set up the final frantic minutes.

"He does that all the time," Alter coach Joe Petrocelli said. "He's one of those guys who always thinks it's going in."

In an 83-81 overtime win against Columbus Beechcroft in the semis Thursday, Berardo finished just 3 of 9 from the floor but opened the OT with a gutsy 3-pointer.

"I lost my confidence," Berardo said, "but Coach just told me to keep shooting."

He followed orders.

"You can't take that away from him," Petrocelli said. "It's just like (point guard Mark) Borland. Sometimes crazy things happen when he takes off on the dribble, but I haven't seen a better point guard. He has nerves of steel."

Alter, which finished 21-6 to Philo's 23-4, wasn't talking about a state crown when the season started. After all, the Knights were knocked out in the first round by Kings in last year's tourney.

"I don't think anyone was even considering that," Berardo said.

But four consecutive overtime wins later, and the Knights, in Petrocelli's words, had "gone from the outhouse to the penthouse."

The coach added: "It's hard for me to really realize we're here. We're a good team, but geez, there's an awful lot of good teams. We were just fortunate. And any coach that wins a state championship and doesn't think so is full of it. You have to be on a roll unless you have the best players in the state."

Alter doesn't have the best players in Ohio. But today, it has the happiest.

UD recruits: University of Dayton basketball coach Oliver Purnell must have been encouraged by the performance of two of his recruits.

Both Alter's Keith Waleskowski and Worthington Christian's Sam Smith were named MVPs in their tournaments.

Waleskowski scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Alter's Division II championship game and he scored 23 points and had nine rebounds in a semifinal victory over Columbus Beechcroft in overtime.

Smith, a 6-foot-5 junior who has verbally committed to UD, was named the outstanding player in the Division IV tournament.

He scored 28 points in the title game and grabbed 10 rebounds in his team's triple-overtime title win over Fort Recovery.