The past two years the Raiders (27-0) ran into eventual champion Richmond Heights in the Division IV semifinals. But with the change to seven divisions, the northeast Ohio power with Division I recruits landed in Division V.
The OHSAA will announce on Monday the state semifinal pairings and sites for all divisions. The Raiders will play Friday against either Arlington (an upset winner of Delphos St. John’s), South Webster or Willoughby Cornerstone Christian. If the Raiders win, they will return to UD Arena at 5:15 p.m. on March 22.
“It’s a fun ride being with the boys,” said Benjamin York, who led the Raiders with 18 points and made four 3-pointers. “Three years is hard to do. We’re going to try to finish it off this year. I know the last two years have come up short, but with this group I feel good about it.”
The Raiders will be joined at state by Marion Local in Division VI. The Flyers pulled away from Anna in the fourth quarter for a 58-43 victory and their first trip to state since winning it all in Division IV in 2018.
The Flyers (25-2) will play either Crestline Colonel Crawford, Kirtland or Woodsfield Monroe Central on Friday. If the Flyers win, they will return to UD Arena at 2 p.m. on March 22.
“Winning the regional finals is always one of the most pressure packed games to win,” Marion Local coach Kurt Goettemoeller said. “In my career at Marion, we’ve been there six times, and this is only the second time we punched through.”
Russia and Marion won in different fashions.
Russia, a team with 11 seniors, fell behind 8-4 before racking up 11 second-chance points to kickstart a 20-0 run that led to a 29-16 halftime lead. Then the Raiders put the Trojans (20-7) away with a 14-0 run in the third quarter.
The offense came from York, sixth-man Jaxon Grogean with eight timely points, Dominic Francis 11 and Vince Borchers 10. The Raiders shot 62.2% and held the Trojans to 21.7%.
“They’ve known how to guard since fourth, fifth, sixth grade,” Russia coach Spencer Cordonnier said. “When we set that into their heads early on, they’ve been able to carry that through over the years.”
Marion had to fight off Anna (16-11), a team that had won 10 straight and been a comeback team. In the region semifinal, the Rockets rallied from eight down in the fourth quarter to upset Tri-Village.
Marion led 32-22 in the third quarter before Anna cut the lead to six. Later a nine-point lead slipped to five. But the Flyers regained control and finished with a 17-7 run.
“Nobody would have given us a chance after hitting the 6-10 mark,” Anna coach Nate Barhorst said. “Things could have really, really been bleak for us. I told them you had a magical run, unexpected run, and I couldn’t be more proud of the effort. I’ve never been on a journey with a team like this.”
Marion 6-foot-8 center Austin Niekamp scored 14 points in the first half and finished with 17. Brayden Mescher scored 13 and Ryan Homan 12. Homan made 10 of 10 free throws, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Evan Myers led Anna with 13 points and Jacob Feroze scored 12.
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