John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS — One of the best seasons in Portsmouth West’s history came to an end this past weekend.
But the end of the road certainly included a special journey to get to that point.
The Senators (19-7) fell to Berlin Hiland by a 48-35 final on Saturday in a Division VI regional championship game at Ohio University’s Convocation Center.
But, despite the loss, West put on display exactly what worked so well for them during the historic year — a gritty defense, the ability to turn miscues into points on the other end, and another total team effort.
“I couldn’t put it into words with how proud I am,” West coach Caleb McClanahan said. “A three-point game going into the fourth quarter against the premier small school program in the state. The physicality that [Hiland] brought to the game, we had to match that and take care of the ball. We didn’t have a lot of live ball turnovers and I thought our defense did enough to frustrate them. But the big boy [Hiland’s Ryan Zerger] did get going a few times.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
A driving layup from West’s Braden Adkins cut Hiland’s lead to 33-31 with 7:17 to play in the game, but the Hawks (24-3) finished on a 15-4 run to dash any hopes of the Senators breaking through to the Final 4.
Both teams entered the contest with double-digit win streaks. Hiland’s streak stood at 16 games while West had a sturdy 11-game win streak intact, which led the Senators to their first conference and district titles since 1985.
Neither team played clean early with both turning the ball over and missing open looks in the first two minutes of play. But West got on the board with a drive from Will Kegley with 5:18 to play in the first quarter, taking an early advantage.
It, unfortunately, was the Senators’ only lead of the night.
Hiland found Zerger, a sophomore, for a layup inside on the ensuing possession to tie the game, spearheading an 11-2 run to end the quarter.
It was a run that looked like it may be more of the same throughout the rest of the night as West really struggled to get going on the offensive end. The Senators missed their last six shots of the quarter, only scoring on a pair of free throws from Kegley.
But even though the offense was off to a pedestrian start, West’s vaunted 1-3-1 defense was still holding up its end of the bargain.
The Senators forced the typically tidy Hawks into nine first half turnovers, which gave West time to make offensive adjustments and slowly gain some momentum throughout the second quarter.
Hiland had built its lead to 16-4 midway through the second, but Owen Richards scored on a baseline out-of-bounds play to finally staunch the bleeding on the offensive end for West. After a stop, Kegley connected with Braxton Kammer at the top of the key for a triple and the first run of the game for the Senators.
Zerger answered with three consecutive scores for the Hawks, but West had an answer for each of those, topped off with Kegley scoring the last seven points of the half to cut the deficit to 23-20 going into the final possession.
On that final possession, Hiland got the ball to Zerger near the rim, only to be stuffed by Kammer at the horn to give West even more momentum as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
Kegley started the scoring in the second half with an acrobatic drive and finish to make it 23-22.
Hiland then responded with a trey from Alex Miller, only for the Senators to counter with one of their own via Cristian Quirasco from the wing. Zerger and Kegley traded baskets, and Kegley’s slick post move with 2:59 to play in the third cut Hiland’s lead to 30-29.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
West got no closer, though.
Zerger scored the next three points before the aforementioned score from Adkins cut the Hawks’ lead to 33-31. Hiland’s Caleb Mishler connected from downtown before an inside score from Zerger pushed the lead to seven.
West’s Logan McIntire answered to bring the Senators to within 38-33 at the 5:42 mark in the fourth, but another triple from Miller would all but put away a win, forcing West to up its tempo and play more from the outside.
Hiland continued to add on in transition, and at the free throw line, for a sizable final difference.
Kegley finished his historic Senator career with a game-high 19 points. He ends the season as the SOC and District Player of the Year while also being a part of an outstanding senior group alongside McIntire, Quirasco and Corbin Miller.
Hiland advances to its 15th state semifinal appearance in school history. The Hawks were led in scoring by the 6-foot-7 Zerger, who finished with 18 points.
“The toughness and the heart that Cristian Quirasco brings every year, it’s hard to replace that,” McClanahan said. “Corbin Miller is graduating a year early and is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. Just a humble, great person, but also a great basketball player. Logan McIntire doesn’t have to score a point to make a big impact. If you look at his career win percentage, it is off the charts. And you talk about a program-changer in Will Kegley. His will to compete and never back down, to bring it every day and never have a bad day, while bringing guys along with him, he’s going to be a heck of a player for someone at the next level.”
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