MARION, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW)—River Valley isn’t the league champion yet. But the Vikings took a major step in the right direction here Friday night with a tough 56-49 win over rival Marion Harding in a battle for first place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

“The first message was I was proud of them for withstanding their runs,” said RV head coach Rodney Brown.

“We had some foul trouble difficulties, and we didn’t hit a couple of free throws there late. But they stuck together and don’t get upset with what’s going on. It’s a veteran group,” he said.

River Valley (11-2, 8-1) led 18-13 after one quarter and held a 26-20 halftime lead. Carter Myers and Chase Ebert hit 3s to push the visitors ahead 9-0 to start the game.

The biggest lead was 13 points, which came midway through the final quarter.

The Vikings were led by senior guard Ebert with 21 points, 4 rebounds, two assists and a steal.

“We hit some big shots tonight. Chase had some huge ones. The one Eli (Snyder) hit was big,” Brown added.

“Chase hit a lot of shots tonight and has had some really good games shooting the ball against Harding over the years. He just added another one to it, which is great.”

Marion Harding (13-3, 8-2) was fueled by 17 points each from 6-foot-6 junior Boston Pearson and sophomore guard Kayden Paz. Pearson, who leads the MOAC with 18.6 points per game, added 4 rebounds and a blocked shot.

Presidents head coach Jamie Pearson credited RV for the victory.

“They outcoached us and they outplayed us. It’s as simple as that. In a big environment they were more prepared than we were,” he said. “We’ve got to get back to the drawing board.”

Harding on several instances cut the deficit to two points. Once was with the score at 32-30, when Paz made a driving basket.

But RV’s Chase Smith and Ebert kept the Prexies at bay with baskets before one play turned the tide toward the Vikings.

“We had that one foul where they made three shots. That was a giant momentum killer,” Pearson said.

Ebert, who had 10 points in the fourth quarter, sank all three free throws after being fouled as he launched a jumper from the right corner.

“Paz is a sophomore who’s getting better every day. He was real aggressive and made some plays for us. Some of our young guys are stepping up and getting varsity experience.”

Owen Osting, a 6-foot-5 senior, was a force inside for the Vikings, scoring 10 points and grabbing 6 boards.

“Owen was huge. Offensively, he did well. Boston is great. I think we did a great job on him, and he still had 17,” Brown said.

Harding has three games next week, starting with Mansfield Madison on Tuesday, followed by MOAC foes Clear Fork and Ontario.

“They made plays, and we didn’t. We’ve got three games next week so we’ve got to take some time off and figure out what we can get better at. We’ll get back at it Sunday and Monday,” Pearson said.

River Valley hosts Buckeye Valley Tuesday before hosting Shelby on Thursday night in a game that could decide the conference championship.

“We shot the ball really well. It’s a rivalry game, and the atmosphere that we wanted.” Brown said.

The Vikings coach knows his squad can win the league title and potentially make a deep playoff run again.

“We have to be patient. Sometimes we get a little squirrely. But playing for first place is something these kids want. It’s the whole team mentality and trusting the process.”

Box score

River Valley           18       8     14     16 — 56

Marion Harding    13       7     12     17 — 49

River Valley (11-2, 8-1 MOAC): Shots 20-42; 3-pt. shots 6-15 (Chase Ebert 3, Luke Axline, Carter Myers, Eli Snyder); Free throws 10-15; Rebounds 21 (Owen Osting 6); Turnovers 6. Scoring: Owen Osting 4 2 10, Sawyer Weston 1 2 4, Luke Axline 1 0 3, Chase Ebert 6 6 21, Chase Smith 3 0 6, Carter Myers 3 0 7, Eli Snyder 2 0 5.

Marion Harding (13-3, 8-2 MOAC): Shots 17-36; 3-pt. shots 2-7 (Boston Pearson 2); Free throws 13-14; Rebounds 16 (Landon Keller 5, Boston Pearson 4); Turnovers 10. Scoring: Logan Thrapp 4 0 8, Boston Pearson 4 7 17, Landen Keller 0 2 2, Parker Iden 1 1 3, Timani Barber 1 0 2, Kayden Paz 7 3 17.

JV: Marion Harding 52-42.