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HANNIBAL – A near-unstoppable first half effort from River High's Peyton Blue steered the Pilots to a strong start Friday night at the R.L. Potts gym against Shadyside in a Division VII sectional co-final.
The 6-2 senior forward scored 19 prior to intermission while coach Mark Romick's crew took advantage of icy Tiger shooting to earn a 41-28 win to advance to Wednesday's District Finals opposite 16-6 Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans, the two-seed.
"(Peyton) was lights out in the first half, but he's capable of that," Romick remarked, as Blue had a game-high 21 points.
Neither club could pry the lid off the hoop as the hosts hit 35 percent (14-40) to Shadyside's 20 percent (8-40).
"We couldn't make shots," understated Tiger boss Ed Andes of his young team, who finished their season 3-20 against a schedule filled with bigger schools.
Shadyside's Ryan Collins opened the scoring on a layup, before Blue muscled his way for two hoops in the paint and added a '3' after a steal to push the Pilots ahead for good.
Blue continued his hot touch with a pair of 'treys' and a low block hoop for a 15-5 first quarter lead.
Frosh Crestyn Isaly opened the second with a Pilot '3' and it was 20-10 after Blue's strong move underneath at 4:24.
Tiger sophomore Wyatt Parr canned two fouls, but again, Blue drew contact at the buzzer and swished both free throws for a 24-15 lead.
Shadyside's Ean Weatherson and Collins opened the third quarter with back-to-back 'treys' to pull the visitors to 24-21 as the Pilots were shooting one-of-11.
"We get those two '3's to start the second half, but that was it," Andes said, as River was only two-of-11 in a third quarter not fit for any instructional highlight reel.
Romick pointed out, "we were impatient to start the second half, but (Evan) Longwell gave a lift with that '3'," at 2:22.
It was 28-21 entering the fourth.
"(Lucas) Dennis gave us extra possessions with his hustle," added the River mentor, as his other senior had five boards and four steals despite foul trouble.
Isaly drilled back-to-back bonus bombs to open the fourth, Trail Thompson scored near the glass, and a Longwell '3' made it 39-21 on an assist from Blue.
Hendershot, who led Shadyside with 11, cut it to 39-26 at 2:34, but River, now 8-15, went into a delay and wrapped it up on two Blue freebies.