River Valley completes the comeback against Alexander
By: Coleman Bacon
Posted on:
BIDWELL, Ohio (WOUB) – The Alexander Spartans (4-16, 1-9) took a trip to Bidwell to take on the River Valley Raiders (7-11, 4-5) in an exciting TVC showdown. Both squads were looking to right the ship tonight as they’ve struggled in the past few games. Early on it looked to be the Spartans night but with a big momentum shift in the second half and hometown crowd riding behind them, the Raiders were able to pull off the comeback win with a final score of 60-50.
Coming into tonight both teams were looking to gain momentum heading into the tournament after a rough stretch of games. Early on this game was a defensive battle going blow for blow, there was no telling who was going to pull out a victory.
In the first quarter the defense was the main story, both teams not being able to establish any rhythm with the score only being 2-2 with four minutes left. After gaining some momentum from their stout defense, the Spartans were able to capitalize on offense with some quick transition points and the score remained close at the end of the first with Alexander on top 9-4.
Jumping into the second, Alexander looked to carry their momentum and they did not waste any time as they hit three shots in a row from beyond the arch to go up 18-4 still with six minutes to go. River Valley refused to quit and slowly started crawling their way back as they both traded shots back and forth. With some foul shots to end the half the Spartans jogged into the locker room up 27-18.
In the third the emotions started running high and so did the offenses in the River Valley gymnasium, as the Raiders picked up the momentum right away with a steal and transition layup. Both teams traded blows back and forth until a River Valley coach was hit with a technical foul, firing up the home crowd.
Feeding off of that energy the Raiders were able to chip into the Spartans lead and with time expiring they ended the quarter just as they started only this time the layup was for the lead. River Valley takes the lead into the fourth quarter 44-42.
Starting the fourth, Alexander wasn’t ready to give up as they kept trying to keep themselves in the ball game. A combination of turnovers and missed opportunities became the demise for the Spartans as River Valley was able to pull away with some foul shots and disciplined defense. Putting the finishing touches on this game to send Alexander home empty handed with a comeback win 60-50.
Both teams have tough competition to close out the season as Alexander travels to Wellston to take on the Golden Rockets on Monday.
River Valley will look to keep up their winning ways as they look to defend their home turf against the Sugar Creek Christian Eagles also on Monday.