Cavaliers open tourney with big victory; Panthers fall to Falcons

ST. MARYS - Hot shooting in the second and fourth quarters allowed Coldwater to pull away and advance to Friday's Division III sectional final with a 67-48 win over Hopewell-Loudon in sectional action at Murotech Court in St. Marys.

The Cavaliers (11-11) face Delphos Jefferson in the second sectional final of the night at approximately 8 p.m.

The first final on Friday features Riverdale against top seed and defending state champion Lima Central Catholic. The Falcons advanced by beating Parkway 65-56 in Tuesday's first semifinal.
Coldwater 67, Hopewell-Loudon 48

Hopewell-Loudon stayed with the Cavaliers early thanks to hot three-point shooting from Garrett White, who knocked down a trifecta of treys in the first quarter to trail the Cavaliers 19-17 after one quarter.

The Chieftains tied the game at 19-all and 21-all early in the second before back-to-back Andy Brunet baskets - the second a slam dunk off a missed basket - started a 9-0 run. Malave Bettinger added a bunny basket and Jack Hemmelgarn closed out the run with a three-pointer to make it 30-21 with 2:09 left in the first half before Hopewell-Loudon cut it to 30-25 at the half.

"(Hopewell-Loudon) played a very good game," Coldwater coach Mike Bruns said. "They hit the threes and when we did come out too quick (to defend the perimeter), they penetrated.

"Andy was a little more aggressive. I think he was a little passive in the St. Henry game. This game, we were trying to get him to be more of a force. He knows that, too."

An early burst in the third quarter put the Chieftains within two at 30-28 but the Cavaliers cut off the rally with buckets from Ted Fisher, Aaron Harlamert and Derek Thobe that pushed the lead back to 41-34 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.

The Cavaliers led 46-39 after three quarters and iced the game in the fourth quarter with a 21-9 run. The Chieftains began to foul to force the Cavaliers to the free throw line. Coldwater converted 11-of-14 free throw attempts in the second half, most of which came in the final two minutes of the game.

"It was a good game on this court to start (the postseason)," Bruns said. "In this case with this team, I wouldn't want the bye. I want to get on the court and play. This is something better than we can get in a Tuesday practice."

Derek Thobe led four Cavaliers in double figures with 19. Brunet had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Harlamert scored 12 and Fisher chipped in with 11.

"I like how we were diversified," Bruns said. "We had four guys in double figures and that's huge."

The Chieftains' White was 7-of-16 from the three-point line to finish with a game-high 21 points.
Riverdale 65, Parkway 56

The Panthers and Falcons were evenly matched throughout much of the first two quarters of play. Riverdale stayed with the Panthers thanks to solid outside shooting from Chad Pever to go along with backdoor passing that had Grant Loveridge getting several open layups behind the defense.

Parkway had a 15-11 lead after one quarter before Riverdale tied it at 24-all midway through the second on Pever's fourth three-pointer of the half. The teams traded baskets before Loveridge hit a three-pointer with 54 seconds left to give the Falcons a 29-26 halftime lead.

"We didn't take away the middle and they got the ball inside," Parkway coach Rick Hickman said. "Their objective was to kick it out to players on the perimeter. They did a good job of it. They did a good job getting it into their big guy (Noah Hough) and got some good looks."

"We talked all week about ball movement against their zone," Falcons coach Craig Taylor said. "Then we got into a rhythm and started moving the ball more. That opened up Chad, and Noah distributed from the high post. ... (When the) shots fall, basketball is an easy game."

Parkway fought back. Sage Dugan and Logan Huff hit early baskets and Tanner Bates knocked down a pair of free throws to put Parkway up 34-33 with 2 1/2 minutes gone in the half. Bates later tied the game at 36-all with 3:40 to go, but Hough's bucket with 3:02 left in the quarter put the Falcons up for good.

Riverdale tried to pull away, but the Panthers fought hard to stay within at least single digits before the final horn.

"In my 30 years of coaching, we dealt with more adversity this year than any team I've coached," Hickman said. "Whether it was injuries or whatever, the kids kept coming back and playing hard. That's a tribute to their character."

Bates led Parkway with 19 points. Brody Adams added 11 and Huff scored nine.  

Loveridge led the Falcons with a game-high 22 points. Hough had 16 points and nine rebounds and Pever finished with 15 on 5-of-10 shooting from the three-point line.