ATHENS (Marion County Now) — Survive and advance is an overused sports axiom, but it clearly applied to River Valley Thursday night.

The Vikings edged Unioto 66-65 in overtime after trailing much of the Division IV regional semifinal game from The Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University.

It marks the 17th straight win for head coach Rodney Brown’s squad. They play for their first regional championship at 2 p.m. Sunday against Maysville, which beat New Lexington 74-44.

The Shermans were red-hot from 3-point range to open the game, hitting on 5-of-6 attempts.

Caden Cutright’s trey put Unioto on top 15-8, and RV trailed 23-15 after one quarter.

K.B. Perkins and Blake Hoops did most of the damage as Unioto led at one point 30-20 in the second frame.

But Eli Snyder came in and hit a 3 of his own to start a Viking rally with 6:30 in the half. Sawyer Weston added a steal and three field goals.

A Carter Myers hoop and subsequent foul shot tied the game at 30-30 with 1:50 left in the half.

Myers, a sophomore post, had 21 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and a blocked shot. Weston added 19 points and 4 assists.

River Valley (24-2) trailed 33-32 at halftime, with most of its points coming off 6 Shermans’ turnovers.

The Vikings fell behind after three quarters, 50-42 and only led for 4:47 of the game.

RV cut it to 41-38, thanks to a 7-0 run, midway through the third period.

Weston hit a 12-footer and Ebert took charge, which led to a Chase Smith 3-ball for a 52-51 RV lead at the 5-minute mark. He finished with 11 points.

Chase Ebert knotted the game at 56-56 as River Valley went on a 14-4 run. Neither team scored in the final 1:52 of regulation.

In overtime the Vikings took over.

Myers hit a deep 3 right off the tip and Weston pulled up a 10-footer to give RV a 61-56 lead.

A Luke Axline steal and a Weston free throw made it a 6-point lead before Blake Fitch countered for Unioto.

After several missed foul shot attempts, River Valley went up 3 on an Ebert put-back for a 65-59 lead before the teams exchanged free throws. Perkins scored a late bucket to make it 66-65.

Hoops led Unioto with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

Both teams were sloppy at times, with River Valley committing 16 turnovers to Unioto’s 9. The game featured 5 ties and an equal number of lead changes.

Unioto ends its season at 23-4.

Box score

River Valley 66, Unioto 65 OT

River Valley   15   17   10   14   10 — 66

Unioto           23   10   17      6     9 — 65

River Valley (24-2): Field goals: 22-44; 3-point shots: 7-18 (Carter Myers 4, Chase Smith 2, Eli Snyder); Free throws: 15-22; Rebounds: 29 (Carter Myers 12); Turnovers: 16. Scoring: Owen Osting 2 0 4, Sawyer Weston 7 5 19, Chase Ebert 2 2 6, Chase Smith 4 1 11, Carter Myers 5 7 21, Hudson Pollock 1 0 2, Eli Snyder 1 0 3.

Unioto (23-4): Field goals: 20-48; 3-point shots: 8-15 (Caden Cutright 3, Blake Hoops 3, Blake Fitch, Jack Welch); Free throws: 17-23; Rebounds: 27 (Blake Hoops 9); Turnovers: 9. Scoring: Blake Hoops 4 6 17, K.B. Perkins 4 6 14, Blake Fitch 6 0 13, Caden Cutright 3 4 13, Isaac Coy 2 0 4, Jack Welch 1 1 4.