When it comes to the Division IV tournament, there was a lot of people that “thought” they knew how things would go. If there is one thing the Division IV session taught us it was what would thought was not the case.
Lima Central Catholic and Berlin Hiland met up to start things off. Hiland was without 2 starters and had needed a massive comeback to win their Region. LCC however had found a way to win up to this point in the year. One would think the Thunderbirds would be the favorites. Hiland must not have heard that. Or cared. The Hawks started the game out with a patient, halfcourt focused offense which gave them a quick 8-0 lead. LCC was forcing shots and giving the Hawks the ball back. So much so that Hiland got a comfortable 18-7 lead early on. The Thunderbirds made adjustments, but none bigger than extending their defensive pressure full court. That they could control. What they couldn’t control would follow. HIland’s standout, Sammy Detweiler (Sr), who had scored 13 points in the opening quarter, picked up his 3rd foul at the 5:32 mark in the 2nd quarter. Suddenly, LCC had an 8-2 run started. But Hiland countered once the lead got to 6. The Hawks would go into the half up 34-24, but showed some vulnerabilities. In the 3rd quarter, Hiland had their biggest moment of adversity as Detweiler picked up his 4th foul at the 6:50 mark with their lead. Not only that, but the Thunderbirds came out on a 9-2 run out of the half. Their defensive pressure and sudden perimeter shooting gave them momentum and the T-Birds went into the final quarter down 42-39. Then Detweiler got his groove back. The Hawks came out on a 5-0 run behind Detweiler to extend 47-39. The T-Birds started matching behind Carson Parker (Sr) who semmingly made shots whenever they were needed. The Birds got the game back to a 51-51 tie in the final 2 minutes. Jayden Priddy (So) had a look from 3 to try and win the game, but missed it. Billy Bourk (Sr) then had a chance to get a putback, but also missed. So we enter OT. It went about how the last 2 minutes of regulation went…both teams trading blows. With 7 seconds left, Detweiler got a shot from about 16-feet. But missed long. Priddy came down with the board and went the length of teh floor; getting a layup attempt up before the buzzer. It was a little too strong. Into the 2nd OT, the theme continued. Lima Central Catholic answered every Hiland bucket until the final possession. Hiland possessed the ball with Detweiler, who attacked the right side beofre the help came over. A skip pass and then touch pass put the ball into the hands of Nick Wigton (Jr). The shot will be remembered for a long time as one of the biggest shots in Hiland history. Nothing but net, and Hiland punched their ticket to the State Finals. After the celebration, we got into the rematch. Russia and Richmond Heights were squaring up for the 2nd straight year with a chance to face the Hawks on the line. Russia was familiar and confident entering the game. But Richmond Heights was a little more prepared. The Spartans used their size and pressure defense to jump out early 11-3. Russia couldn’t get any open looks, and the shots they did take weren’t great. Finally, the Raiders settled in. Russia would get some shots to fall and went into the first break down 17-11. That’s when things got interesting. Russia started going shot-for-shot with the mighty Spartans. Brayden Monnin (Sr) and Braylon Cordonnier (Jr) were connecting from the perimeter. But for every bucket, Dorian Jones (Jr) seemed to counter. Then Hosea Steele (Sr) picked up his 3rd foul with 2:55 to play. You could sense some momentum building for the Raiders. When Jeremy Wilson (Sr) picked his 3rd foul up 52 seconds later, it was even more apparent. Jones picked up his 3rd foul at the 1:21 mark. The blood in the water was there. Game got tied at 29 until a free throw gave Richmond Heights a 31-29 lead at the half. After the half, the Spartans got another blow as Jones got his 4th foul less than two minutes into the quarter, which came with an ovation from the Russia faithful as they saw their team had a chance. Richmond Heights shifted to a 3-2 zone in an attempt to slow the Raiders down and allow them to get their defensive pressure up. Russia would find some layups and was going punch-for-punch. Richmond Heights still held it 42-39. Jones then picked up his 5th foul. At the 5:45 mark, Jones drove baseline but was called for a charge sending him to the bench. One would think with their best player on the bench, Richmond Heights was in trouble. DeErick Barber (Jr) said wait just a second. The 5-foot-11 PG started attacking the rim, finishing shots through contact. Russia couldn’t get shots to fall. Fatigue started to settle in. Richmond Heights got the lead back up to 8. Then it was 10. The Spartans would hold on and secure their 3rd straight appearance in the State Final. And they were going to have a chance to go for the 3-peat against a hungry Hiland team.
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Written by: Tony Peters & Seth KeimEdited and Published by: Seth Keim Archives
January 2025
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