River Valley needs a late rally against Johnstown in a district final
· Yahoo Sports
MOUNT VERNON — Johnstown was trying to win its first boys basketball championship since 2021. River Valley was trying to go for back-to-back titles for the first time in school history.
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After seven lead changes, including one final time with less than five minutes to go, No. 2 seed River Valley prevailed over the No. 4 Johnnies 54-48 to win the Division IV crown March 6 at Mount Vernon Nazarene University's Ariel Arena.
It came after the Vikings (20-5) topped Johnstown 63-60 in overtime in the regular season finale Feb. 17.
"I think Coach (Kyle) Higgins does a great job. That’s a good basketball team, and playing them twice in two weeks might have helped us a little bit, but it didn’t look like it. They run good stuff, and we didn’t defend it well," RV coach Rodney Brown said.
The Johnnies (19-6) were in control most of the first half, leading 17-7 early in the second quarter and 24-14 with 2:23 left in the half, before going into halftime up 26-19.
"The plus side was I thought our offense was worse than our defense in the first half," Brown said. "I said we just held them to 26 points, which is good, and we’re playing bad, and we’re down seven. We’ve just got to get a flow offensively, and we’ve got to get some stops. We were able to get some stops and some big plays made."
Still, the Johnnies withstood River Valley's comeback attempts in the third quarter, taking a 35-32 lead into the fourth. They built 6-point leads twice in the final period, the last one 40-34 with 5:59 to go, but RV had another rally in it.
"We knew they were capable of runs, so we wanted to limit those possessions," Higgins said. "I think we did a good job in the first half. They put a lot of pressure on you, so you have to work really hard defensively. I thought we were excellent defensively in the first half. As I break down the second half, it’s easy points for them.
"They knocked down free throws, and we really didn’t knock down free throws, so in championship-level games, it’s a possession game and you’ve got to make free throws and defend. We were really good at times, and at times, we had a couple of breakdowns and they capitalized."
RV's Carter Myers knocked down a 3-pointer to cut it to 40-37, then the Vikes took advantage of a technical foul with 4:50 left. Chase Smith hit the two free throws, and Eli Snyder's driving layup on the ensuing possession put RV on top 41-40. Johnstown wouldn't lead again the rest of the way.
"I’m really proud of them. They never quit. They were looking a little worried, but I said take a deep breath. You’ve been here before," Brown said.
River Valley, which was playing in its fourth straight district final game, got 20 points from Smith, 19 from Myers and 15 from Snyder. They were 17-of-26 from the foul line, but no other Vikings scored.
"I thought (Ellis) McFarland did an amazing job defensively. He’s been hustling his butt off lately. It was big plays again by the big three," Brown said.
Johnstown was just 5-of-14 of free throws for 36 percent. They got 14 points from John Eckenrode, 11 from Liam Deering and nine from Will Taylor.
"These guys have laid that foundation," Higgins said. "These seniors are just phenomenal kids. It’s one of the most competitive groups I’ve been around top to bottom, and that gave us chances to win. We were competitive in pretty much every game but maybe one or two here and there. They hate to lose, and I hate to see them go because they are phenomenal kids."
River Valley (ranked No. 18 in Division IV by MaxPreps) will play in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row and fifth time in history. They will play at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 12, in Xavier's Cintas Center against either Dayton Northridge (23-1, No. 6 in D-IV by MaxPreps) or Cincinnati Taft (15-5, No. 14 in D-IV by MaxPreps) who will play each other Sunday, March 8 at 7 p.m. in the Cintas Center.
"The emotions are high. Back-to-back MOAC champs obviously and this one, it’s never been done," Smith said. "It feels like something we’ve never felt before. It’s never been done, so we’ve got to get past that and keep rolling."
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: River Valley, Johnstown meet again in a D-IV boys hoops district final