River Valley ends skid with dominant win over Highland
CALEDONIA — After a tough stretch in the schedule over the holiday break, the Vikings were glad to get it behind them.
"It’s been rough. We knew that was a tough run, and we talked about it," River Valley boys basketball coach Rodney Brown said.
After losing the season opener at Olentangy Berlin, the Vikings rattled off six straight wins. However, over their next three games, they suffered three straight defeats before bouncing back Thursday night with a home win in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference, handling Highland 72-52.
"We were close some games and winning some of those games," Brown said of the losses to MOAC-leading Shelby, DeSales and Worthington Christian. "The other night (at Worthington Christian) we led the whole game and didn’t execute. I felt tonight we did a better job of executing our offense and played better defense obviously."
Against the Whippets in a battle for outright first place in the league, RV fell on the road 70-56. Against Division I DeSales with a now 6-3 record, RV hosted and lost 62-54. At 8-2 WC, a Division III traditional power, the Vikes led most of the night, but saw the Warriors come back to drop River Valley 72-69.
Highland coach Mike DeLaney knew his Scots were going to get RV's best effort after riding the losing streak into Thursday night's matchup.
"Their loss to Worthington Christian, they had control the whole time. They let it slip away or whatever, but we knew they would be motivated coming back home and playing," DeLaney said.
River Valley never trailed against the Scots, making sure it set the tone early without any let-ups.
"That was the plan. If you weren’t upset about our game the other night, then we’re not as good a team as we thought we were," Brown said. "It was one of those gut-check things and try to dig deep and try to get out early at home and keep it that way. That’s what we were able to do."
In the first four minutes, RV established itself, taking a 10-2 lead and forcing the Scots into a timeout. It was 18-8 after the first period and 27-15 midway through the second quarter. Despite some foul trouble in the second period, the Vikes held a 34-17 lead late in the first half.
"Right now, without (Carson) Myers on the floor, we’re struggling a little bit rebounding the basketball. I thought the guys coming in did a great job, and the other starters picked up where he normally is. I thought we did a nice job of sustaining that lead," Brown said.
Highland tried to hang around, cutting the lead to 39-28 with 3:32 left in the third quarter.
"I thought our kids did a good job of coming out with energy, but we missed some opportunities early," DeLaney said. "Against a team like River Valley with their offensive firepower, you just can’t afford to miss those opportunities early on and play catchup the rest of the way.
"River Valley did a good job of pressuring us, and I thought we did a good job of not speeding up. The couple turnovers we had early were in the half-court. I don’t think they go anything our of their full-court pressure and that’s a growth area for us."
However, the Scots had no answer for Myers. The senior forward produced 26 points and his fourth straight game with double-digit rebounds despite missing five minutes of the first half with foul trouble.
"Tonight he was aggressive getting to the basket and getting to the free throw line," Brown said of Myers. "He was able to knock a couple down (from behind the arc) that he got open for. He can get up, and he’s rebounding like crazy right now."
After the Scots cut it to 11 points in the third quarter, Ayden Kenney hit a 3-pointer, then RV stole the ball with Sawyer Weston throwing a pass off the backboard on the fastbreak for Myers to dunk two-handed to build the lead to 44-28 within a 35-second span.
A little over a minute later, the Vikes had hit two more deep jumpers to make it 50-28. RV led 56-28 by the end of the period, using a 17-0 run to put it away heading into the final quarter.
Myers scored 16 of his game-high 26 in the second half. He was 6 of 6 from the foul line and made seven 2-point baskets to go with his two 3-pointers.
"He’s a great young man, and he’s worked so hard to get into the physical shape he’s in right now. He’s muscled up and has really, really worked hard," Brown said. "It’s crazy how he can jump right now. When he took the two hands off the backboard, he’s above the square. It’s amazing and I think he’s just scratching the surface. I really do."
Seven players scored at least six points for RV. Backing Myers was Brock Mosher with 10 and Kenney and Blake Mosher with 10 each.
Blake Prior was the only Scot in double figures with 12 points as Brock Church added nine points.
"We’re continuing to grow and get better, but it’s a process," DeLaney said. "In this league and the teams we’re playing night-in and night-out, you’ve got to be able to execute, and teams aren’t going to make it easy on you. No nights off."
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: River Valley ends skid with dominant win over Highland
