DAYTON, Ohio (JMN Sports) – Saturday’s opening Division IV state semifinal game was tied after the end of the first quarter, 13-13.
What followed was a Richmond Heights offensive storm that did not stop for the next three quarters.
The Spartans outscored Hiland, 46-8, in the final three periods of what would be a 59-21 victory that sends Richmond Heights to Sunday’s Div. IV state final.
The Hawks, meanwhile, saw their season come to an end at 23-5, and their third Final Four appearance in four seasons coming up short.
Jaiden Cox-Holloway and London Maiden both led the Spartans with 12 points apiece, while Josiah Harris (10 points, six rebounds), Dorian Jones (eight points, seven rebounds), and De’Erick Barber (seven points, 11 assists, three steals) pitched in for the Richmond victory.
“When you’re playing Richmond Heights, you can’t play your normal fundamental way that you play,” Hiland head coach Mark Schlabach said after the game. “You have to give some things up, and we basically had two put two guys on Maiden, two guys on Harris, take chances on who we thought their shooters were. Those kids made shots in the first half, they made shots…really, throughout the game.”
The first quarter saw Hiland overcome a quick Richmond Heights start to tie the game at the end of the period. Grant Miller, who would lead the Hawks with nine points for the contest, sank a long 3-pointer to even the score as the first-quarter buzzer sounded.
However, the Spartans overcame early turnovers and foul trouble to allow just three points to Hiland for the second period, leading 21-16 at halftime.
Coming out of the break, Heights exploded for a 7-0 run out of the gate and outscored the Hawks, 22-5, in the third quarter, shooting 7-of-12 (58%) from the field – compared to Hiland’s 2-of-10 (20%) shooting.
Richmond capped off the team performance with a 16-0 shutout final period.
The Spartans (24-4) will face either Tri-Village (25-3) or Antwerp (26-1) in Sunday’s final. The two schools are set to play in their Div. IV semifinal at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at Dayton’s UD Arena.