Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS — Northwest will never forget the ride its basketball team took it on this season.
23 victories, the SOC II championship, a first sectional title since 2011 and the program’s first district title in program history spells out what has been a magnificent, magical season.
But the Cinderella story has officially come to an end, despite the Mohawks’ valiant effort to keep the pen moving.
Northwest (23-4) gave Malvern everything it could handle and put the pressure on the Hornets’ offense, but ultimately, the Mohawks couldn’t end the Hornets’ undefeated season and suffered a 58-52 loss in a Division III regional semifinal.
CREDIT: Renee Nemeth/SOSA
“We always play hard and that’s what I told the kids,” Northwest coach Rick Scarberry said. “Sometimes, you do that and you get beat. There’s a reason that [Malvern] is undefeated. That’s a good team. They have size, length and they matched our physicality. I didn’t think we shot it as well as we have been. But we can’t hang our heads. We had a wonderful year.”
Northwest opened the game with back-to-back buckets from Connor Lintz, followed by a triple from Tanner Bolin to quickly go ahead 7-2. Malvern, however, absorbed the early punch and countered with a 9-0 run behind Mitchell Minor, Rodney Smith and J’Allen Barrino, taking an 11-7 lead.
Minor splashed a triple and Smith continued to score, but the Mohawks continued to hang around. Lintz, Bolin and Caleb Lewis all scored to cut the deficit to 20-18. The Hornets then split a pair at the line, only for Lintz to bury a corner 3, tying the game at 21-21 after the first quarter.
Logan Wolfenbarker opened the second with a jumper, putting the Mohawks ahead for the first time. But the Hornets (27-0) answered with a 5-0 run behind Smith and Minor to take a 26-21 lead. They led throughout the remainded of the first half until Lintz came up with a steal, ran the floor and finished with a bucket at the buzzer, forcing a 31-31 deadlock at the break.
Malvern scored five straight points to open the third, only for Lintz to respond with five points of his own to tie the game once again.
“[Lintz] is an all-state football player and an all-state caliber basketball player,” Scarberry said. “He’s just a baller. He always plays with a chip on his shoulder and he always wants the ball when the game’s on the line. So does Tanner Bolin. Those two guys led us tonight, just like they’ve led us all year long.”
As physicality started to wear on both teams, the Hornets had just enough gas in the tank to go on a quarter-ending 6-1 run, taking a 42-37 lead into the final eight minutes.
It was a war throughout the fourth, but the Mohawks continued to keep pace.
Malvern had a 46-40 lead before Jay Jenkins banked home a 3, followed by a jumper from Bolin to cut the Hornets’ lead to two at 47-45.
That type of pace continued until the final horn and, although the Mohawks kept fighting, time wasn’t on their side.
The Hornets sealed the win with a pair of layups and multiple free throws to put an end to one of the most historical seasons in Northwest history.
Statistically, Lintz led the Mohawks with 30 points while Bolin finished with 15.
“I’m disappointed in the loss but I can’t be disappointed in our kids,” Scarberry said. “We battled hard, even though we were battling an uphill battle with the way we shot the basketball. We had opportunities to take the lead several times but we turned the ball over or missed a lay-up. You can’t do that against good teams.
“We’re going to be hanging a Sweet 16 banner in the gym and another conference championship number, which we haven’t had in a long time,” Scarberry continued. “We really did some good things. It’s unfortunate that someone has to lose at this level. But that’s how it works. Thanks goes out to our community. They were here tonight to support these kids.”
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