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River’s Magical Run Comes to an End

CAMBRIDGE–The cliche that all good things must come to an end reared its ugly head once again Friday evening.

Much to the chagrin of the River basketball team and its droves of fans that made the trip to Cambridge High School and the Gene Ford Gymnasium, the most successful season in Pilots’ hoops history came to a close a few victories short of achieving the ultimate goal.

Never fully able to get into an offensive rhythm because of relentless, physical defense applied by a talented and red-hot Hiland club, River found itself on the short end of a 42-29 score in the Division IV Eastern District Championship Game.

“We knew it was going to be a physical affair, but we had some good looks (at the bucket) and just couldn’t get some shots to go down,” a disappointed Mark Romick said shortly after addressing his team for the final time. “You realize, when you get to this point, how fine a line there is between winning, losing and finding a way to get to the next level. The little things do make a difference.

The physical, defensive mindset was actually the approach River utilized all season. Unfortunately, the Hawks were just a bit better … in both meetings.

“I thought we played excellent defense, but we just couldn’t do anything on the offensive end,” Romick said. “Their pressure was really good and it got to us. This game as a lot more physical than the game we played them at home. The officials let them play, which probably doesn’t favor us because we’re limited in our ball handling.”

Like so many teams, Hiland’s defensive approach was try to limit Pilot senior Lukas Isaly as much as possible, but also make River’s supporting players become the difference.

Isaly, who was named the Eastern District’s Player of the Year and an all-Ohio candidate, finished with 24, including all 15 of his team’s points in the second half.

Only John Murphy and Cody Hupp found their way into the scoring column for a River squad, which played without the services of senior Drew Dietz due to injury.

River found itself down, 11-8, after one and had the lead twice in the second quarter, but only by a point each time. Hiland closed the half with the final four for a 17-14 lead at the break.

“I thought we were amped up early, but did a nice job of settling down and coming back,” Romick said. “We had some open looks in the first half. At halftime, the kids were upset, but it was just a tale of two halves.”

In the third quarter, the Pilots’ offensive woes continued, while on the other end of the floor, the Hawks started to get it going. Scott Troyer scored eight of his 12 in the third and Andy Miller had four points as well.

All told, Hiland outscored River, 12-4, in the period to take a 29-18 lead into the final quarter.

“Once Hiland gets the lead on you, they’re really a handful,” Romick said. “They’re a lot like us, but with more ball handlers. We’re tough to come back on because we have a guy who can handle the ball and shoots 85 percent from the line. Hiland is the same way. It’s a chore, and I thought we battled them.”

River had some chances in the fourth to narrow the gap. Isaly hit his lone 3-pointer of the game, making it 31-25, but senior Damien Kandel was all alone behind the River defense for an easy layup. Junior Kendall Hochstetler recorded his lone field goal of the game after the teams traded several empty possessions.

At that point, the Pilots weren’t only playing the Hawks, but the clock was also an adversary.

“When we weren’t able to cut into it after those possessions at 33-25, they threw over us in the press and we were really fighting up hill from there,” Romick said.

The loss ends Isaly’s brilliant prep career with 2,172 points, which is the all-time mark in River history. Isaly’s evening ended early when he fouled out with just over two minutes remaining.

“Hiland had a great game plan and deserves all the credit in the world,” Isaly said. “It was a physical game and we knew how good they were. We had a good gameplan, but it was hard to execute. They had a good plan against me to stop me from scoring. Give them all of the credit. It was a good run for us.”

Hiland, which now heads to the Division IV regional on Tuesday at the Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University in Athens, was led by Troyer’s 12. Junior Kobe Troyer, who had the hot hand early with two first-quarter treys, also finished with 12. Miller added 11.

As much as the loss stings, Romick did find the composure to accentuate many of the positives his team accomplished this winter, including a school-record, 24 wins and the school’s first OVAC championship since the 70s as well as the berth in the district final.

“These kids worked their butts off all season,” Romick said. “These kids did what they could. They brought it every night defensively and never gave up.”

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