CALEDONIA, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW)—River Valley found out that Shelby was little tougher the second time around.
After a 30-point whopping of the Whippets on Dec. 20, the Vikings built up a lead but had to withstand a strong second-half comeback for a 67-62 Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference victory here Thursday night.
The hosts put four players in double figures led by Sawyer Weston’s 18 points, 14 of which came in the first quarter. Weston added 4 rebounds and a steal.
Chase Smith had 15 and a team-high 7 rebounds, Chase Ebert 14 points and Carter Myers 12 for River Valley.
With the win the Vikings (14-2, 9-1) retain sole possession of first place with Marion Harding a game back in the loss column. Shelby (10-7, 7-4) is in third place.
“They were hitting everything. Even when we did play good defense, they hit some shots. We left a lot of guys open. We couldn’t hit anything,” RV head coach Rodney Brown said.
“I’m just proud of the kids. They kept battling and took care of the ball there late and made free throws. That’s it though. Shelby and River Valley, we’ve had a bunch of close ones.”
The Vikings hit 7-of-8 foul shots in the final quarter and were 11-of-14 overall.
Shelby fell behind 24-12 after the first quarter as Weston was nearly unstoppable and all five Vikings starters scored.
Shelby head coach Greg Gallaway said his team fought hard after falling behind early.
“That was our message in there. I wish people could have seen us at the beginning of the year until now, and the growth we’ve made as a team,” he said. “We’ve built a standard here at Shelby and our guys wanted to win that game.”
Junior guard Brayden DeVito had a quiet first half with just 3 points. But he erupted for 14 after halftime, including four 3s that kept his team in the game. He finished with 17 points, 3 rebounds and an assist.
Michael Shepherd added 16 points and 7 boards for the Whippets.
“We were down 12 at half (41-29) and to come out and be the aggressor in the third quarter. We got two kills, three stops in a row and we did that twice. We were getting good shots, and I love how well our guys play with each other.”
Braxton Dawson, a sophomore jayvee player, made his first start, for the injured Karsen Homan (hip) and scored 11 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.
DeVito hit a 3 from the top of the key — one of three in the third period —to pull within four at 43-39 as Shelby outscored River Valley, 18-9.
“Sawyer had a great start. We ran a play for him that we never ran for him off a double screen. He’s wide open and we were all like why didn’t you shoot the ball. He said, ‘I’m always the screener,’” Brown said.
“Chase getting to the basket for us and making (6-of-8) free throws and a lot of guys making plays. I think they believe in and trust each other.”
The Vikings clung to a 50-47 lead heading into the final quarter. But Shelby wasn’t done.
Shepherd scored from inside to make it a 52-51 game with just 5 minutes to play. However, Myers made a foul shot and added a basket to push the Vikings back to a 4-point margin.
DeVito drained another 3 ball, but Ebert, Smith, and Myers made foul shots to close it out.
River Valley still has four league games remaining, starting with Highland on the road next Tuesday and Galion on Friday.
“We’ve been the hunter,” Brown said. “We’ve been chasing these guys. Chasing and chasing and hoping somebody knocked them off. Now we’re in the lead and we’ve got to be able to finish.”
Brown said he’s emphasizing being composed under pressure.
“I’m trying to be real calm and I’m not a very calm person. I’m trying to push that and get them to relax and settle down.”
Shelby hosts Galion on Saturday.
Gallaway had a veteran team for the past few years, something that River Valley has this season.
“When you’ve got guys who’ve played together for so long … we were fortunate to have that last year. You can tell they are in synch from the time they step on the floor.”
Box score
Shelby 12 17 18 15 — 62
River Valley 24 17 9 17 — 67
Shelby (10-7, 7-4 MOAC): Shots 25-45; 3-pt. shots 10-84 (Brayden DeVito 5, Nic Eyster 2, Michael Shepherd, Anderson Brubaker, Braxton Dawson); Free throws 2-3; Rebounds 9 (Michael Shepherd 7); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Brayden DeVito 6 0 17, Michael Shepherd 7 1 16, Nic Eyster 2 0 6, Landon Foltz 4 1 9, Anderson Brubaker 1 0 3, Braxton Dawson 5 0 11.
River Valley (14-2, 9-1 MOAC): Shots 26-46; 3-pt. shots 4-13 (Sawyer Weston 2, Chase Smith, Carter Myers); Free throws 11-14; Rebounds 17 (Chase Smith 7); Turnovers 5. Scoring: Owen Osting 3 0 6, Sawyer Weston 8 0 18, Chase Ebert 4 6 14, Chase Smith 5 4 15, Carter Myers 5 1 12, Eli Snyder 1 0 2.
JV: River Valley 45-42.