WESTERVILLE (MARION COUNTY NOW)—River Valley head coach Rodney Brown cut down the final strands of the net, held it overhead and let out a euphoric yell as the crowd cheered on the floor at Otterbein University’s Rike Center Sunday afternoon.
There was ample cause for celebration for those wearing the Columbia Blue and Gold.
It was 18 years in the making as the Vikings downed Buckeye Valley 50-30, for the Central District championship. Their next stop is a regional berth at Ohio University’s Convocation Center.
“There’s a lot of emotion. We didn’t shoot well, but I’m really happy with how we played defensively,” Brown said. “We rebounded and we battled through the fact we weren’t shooting well. We haven’t shot well in a while and hopefully that ends soon.”
The Vikings shot good enough (20-of-40) from the floor to take an early lead and never look back. RV went up 11-7 after one quarter and extended it to 20-11 at halftime.
“It feels amazing. Twenty years in a row. You think about the fact that it’s so hard to get here and it feels pretty good,” Brown said.
Carter Myers led the way with 14 points and 7 rebounds. His one-handed dunk midway through the first quarter put the Vikings up 7-2.
Sawyer Weston added 12 points, 2 rebounds and a steal and Chase Ebert 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Owen Osting grabbed 6 boards.
River Valley’s (23-2) next opponent is Chillicothe Unioto at 6 p.m. Thursday in a regional semifinal.
Buckeye Valley got 10 points from Logan Kroeger and 9 points and 6 rebounds from Le’Den Jones.
The Barons (15-10) were ice cold from the floor, hitting just 8-of-35 shots. They committed 14 turnovers, double that of River Valley.
“Trying to have them experience what I got to experience (as a player) … I think it’s more meaningful for me for them (to win) than when I was a player,” Brown said.
While the regional experience will be new for this group of Vikings, the venue is a bit familiar. Brown took his squad down there last summer for a camp.
“We tried to go there last year. (BV) Coach (Andy) Gast and some of my other buddies who are coaches go there,” he said. “It’s really good. They had a blast and played a lot of good teams and a lot of good basketball, and it was fun.
“The Convo was lit up a little bit more and they had two courts set up sideways, so we did not get to play on the main court. The shooting background is a little different.”
Weston, a senior guard, enjoyed winning the school’s first district championship since 2007.
“We’ve gotten runner-up the past two years, so it means a lot to see this gold. I’m tired of seeing silver around here. A lot of us seniors, for us it’s our last go-round. It’s do or die every night,” he said.
“We’ve got to keep our motivation and keep working every day. We put a lot of pride in our defense. Coaches have nailed it in our heads that defense wins games. So, we keep working on it in practice,” Weston said.
Playing at The Convo is special for basketball players in central and southern Ohio.
“I’m jacked for it. I think all of us are. We’ll put the time in this week to get ready.”
Not much is known about Unioto other than its 23-3 record and 13-1 which was tops in the Scioto Valley Conference.
“It’s hard for me to look too far ahead. I haven’t watched them yet,” Brown said.
“We’re about to go home and look at them. Hopefully, my students don’t mind me being tired tomorrow.”
Box score
Buckeye Valley 7 4 12 7 — 30
River Valley 11 9 15 15 — 50
Buckeye Valley (15-10): Shots 8-35; 3-pt. shots 3-10 (Logan Kroeger 2, Le’Den Jones); Free throws 11-14; Rebounds 23 (Le’Den Jones 6); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Le’Den Jones 1 6 9, Cameron Richardson 1 1 3, Harloh Hafner 1 0 2, Hayden Mayes 0 2 2, Logan Kroeger 3 2 10, Nathan Huss 1 0 2, Wade Carey 1 0 2.
River Valley (23-2): Shots 20-40; 3-pt. shots 1-10 (Sawyer Weston); Free throws 9-16; Rebounds 23 (Carter Myers 7); Turnovers 7. Scoring: Owen Ostin 4 0 8, Sawyer Weston 3 5 12, Luke Axline 1 0 2, Chase Ebert 5 0 10, Chase Smith 0 2 2, Carter Myers 6 2 14, Eyan Axline 1 0 2.