Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS — On Jan. 23, Valley handed Portsmouth West a 14-point loss in conference play.
At the time, the loss marked the Senators’ third in their past four games as they fell to 8-6 overall.
And, while the Senators would certainly tell you they’d still like to have that game back, they also might tell you that it sparked something special in their locker room.
Because they haven’t lost since.
On Sunday afternoon, West’s white-hot winning streak reached its climax as the Senators (18-6) handed those same Indians a lopsided 56-27 loss in a Division VI district championship.
The victory marks the program’s 10th consecutive and, more importantly, it brings the first district title back to the West Side since 1985.
41 years.
“If you look [into the stands], this means everything,” PW’s Logan McIntire said. “They were just as excited as us. 1985. It’s been awhile. It feels good to get another one.”
“The community has played a big part in our team,” senior Will Kegley added. “Getting that [win] and seeing how hyped up everybody was, I think, will really help us push forward in the tournament. I think we can keep that feeling.”
While West had virtually no issues putting the ball in the net, Valley shot woefully.
The Indians, who came into the night as a well-respected 3-point shooting squad, simply just couldn’t get a shot to fall.
Statistically, Valley was 8-of-33 shooting and 0-of-14 from the 3-point arc. West also forced 18 turnovers.
“It was our entire game plan coming in,” McIntire said. “We knew that this court was bigger, so we went to Shawnee [State University] and practiced. We used our JV guys that are good at shooting and we put them in those spots. We made sure we had it on lock before we got here.”
Kegley began the night with two free throws before Valley (17-6) took a 4-2 lead with a bucket from Christian Copen and two freebies via Jalen Dunham.
Braxten Conaway hit a jumper for a 6-2 score before Kegley dialed long distance to bring West within a point at 6-5. After Valley’s Blake Lundy scored on the other end, Kegley hit two free throws with 4.1 seconds to go, producing an 8-7 score after one.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Copen scored with 6:39 left in the second, later followed by a basket from Dunham to put Valley the Indians ahead 13-9 with 5:12 left.
And that’s where everything started to shift.
McIntire splashed in a trey, which was followed by a score from Braden Adkins to give West a 14-13 lead with 2:31 remaining. PW’s Corbin Miller then joined the party with a 3-ball to make it a 17-14 game at the break.
That momentum that the Senators picked up in the second carried over to the third, too.
Kegley hit a foul shot to begin the quarter, Miller drilled another triple and Kegley scored in transition for a 23-14 count. When Miller hit yet another 3 at the 6:03 mark, it capped a 9-0 run and gave the Senators a 26-14 advantage.
And simply put, they were off to the races from there.
After taking a 36-20 lead into the final eight minutes, they didn’t let off the gas. In the fourth, West owned leads of 42-22 and 49-25 en route to a 29-point win.
“We knew if we could limit their shots, and then get rebounds and limit them to one possession, then we’d be fine,” Miller said. “We did that and handled our business.”
Miller led the Senators with 17 points, Kegley added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists and McIntire finished with 15 points and five assists.
The Indians were led by Dunham, who had 12 points and five rebounds while Lundy added six points and six boards.
While Valley’s season comes to a close, West advances to a Division VI regional semifinal at 8 p.m., Thursday night at Ohio University.
The Senators will face Peebles, who beat Eastern by a 56-54 final to advance.
“We played [Peebles] last year and it’s a similar team [to Valley],” Mcintire said. “But they shoot a lot better than they did last year. We’re going to break the film down, get in the lab and see what they like, and shut it down.”
SPONSORED BY GLOCKNER FAMILY OF DEALERSHIPS
