State Tourney: D4 Regional Final

Final Score
Russia 56
Troy Christian 35

December 28, 2023. Russia met up with Troy Christian in the Piqua Holiday tournament. Both teams entered the game AP ranked in Division IV. Russia would win this matchup convincingly, earning a 64-39 victory. Many felt this game could be seen yet again.
 
And they were right.
 
Russia, returned to the Regional Final for the 2nd straight year. The Raiders had won 9 straight since their last and only loss of the year to Anna. In that winning streak, only once was the margin of loss single digits.
 
Troy Christian entered the game not losing in February. In fact, the Eagles had lost just one time during the 2024 calendar year. But the wins? Impressive doesn’t even describe it. Wins over Jackson Center, Chaminade-Julienne and Ottawa-Glandorf on the road and a total of 13 wins in a row. The hype behind this rematch was real and there was certainly electricity in the air.
 
The game started off in a 4-4 tie with both teams trading buckets in the first two minutes.
 
Russia then did what they did all season, clamp down the defense.
 
The Raiders would outscore the Eagles 12-0 in the final 6 minutes and took a 16-4 lead after the first period of play. Russia was keeping Parker Penrod (Sr), Troy Christian’s leading scorer and Southwest District Player of the Year in Division IV, to a minimum in his shots. The length on the perimeter made it hard for Penrod to get into his shot mechanics. If he did get penetration, 6’5 Felix Francis (Sr) was waiting in the paint. And just like he had done all year, Hayden Quinter (Sr) was making plays for the Raiders on the offensive end.
 
It didn’t stop there. Russia would continue their defensive performance, using their length to force Troy Christian into turnovers and keeping them to another single digit quarter. The Raiders would double their output and take a 32-11 lead into the locker room. Even bigger for them? Benjamin York (Jr) had brought so much off the bench and had 13 to pace Russia at the half.
 
Out of the half, Troy Christian was going to have to make adjustments to get Penrod open and get more shots out of him. Whatever they came up with worked. Penrod started to find rhythm and the Eagles began to try and get the ball out in transition to get more open shots.
 
It worked.
 
While it was an even quarter scoring wise, the Eagles at least doubled their first half scoring output with Penrod scoring 16 of 23 as the Eagles trailed 43-23.
 
From there, the game continued at the pace until the curtain calls began for both teams. For the Eagles, somber as their senior class of Penrod, Frank Rupnik, Alex Free, and Christian Brunsman came off the floor for the final times in their high school careers. This group had done something not seen at Troy Christian since 2013. An undefeated conference record, convincing victories in the tournament, Troy Christian earned the round of applause for those seniors.
 
On the opposite side of the arena, joy overcame the Russia faithful. For the 2nd time in a row, Russia was going to be playing in the State Final Four. Many of these players had been part of the run last year. Now they were going to try and make history. Their opponent? Talk about déjà vu…
 
Richmond Heights is awaiting the Raiders. Their quest for a 3rd crown means they have to beat Russia.  In Dayton.  For the 2nd time in a row.   Against a hungry and inspired Russia team.