Braylon Cordonnier led the way with 28 points on 11 of 13 shooting and the Raiders steadily pulled away in the second half to defeat Arlington 61-44 at the Stroh Center.
Joining the Raiders next Saturday at UD Arena is Marion Local. The Flyers put away North Robinson Colonel Crawford in the fourth quarter for a 52-38 victory in Division VI.
The Flyers (25-2) play for the program’s fourth title at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD against Woodsfield Monroe Central. Russia (28-0) will try to win its first title at 5:15 against Willoughby Cornerstone Christian.
“Feels great to be able to have the chance to come back and kind of think third time is a charm,” Cordonnier said. “But we know we got our work cut out for us with Cornerstone.”
The Raiders traded runs and baskets with Arlington for much of the first half. Then they scored the final six points of the half and the first four of the second half to stretch the lead to 35-23. The Raiders stayed in control and kept the lead in double digits most of the final 14 minutes.
“These guys stayed the course all year long and have believed it,” Russia coach Spencer Cordonnier said. “We’re six down one to go.”
Russia dominated the glass with a 32-14 rebounding advantage against a team with 6-10 center Calvin Willow. The Raiders had 17 offensive rebounds and scored 15 second-chance points compared to zero for Arlington. Vince Borchers added 14 points and Dominic Francis had eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Flyers made their first trip to the final and won it 50 years ago in 1975. This is trip six to the state tournament and the fifth time in the final. The other two titles came in 2003 and 2018.
“This team is awesome,” Marion Local senior Ryan Homan said. “We have so much fun. We’ve maximized the time that we can spend together. So I’m just happy to get another week, and we’re going for the gold.”
The Flyers started fast in each half and maintained a lead between five and 13 points that Crawford couldn’t crack. When the Eagles sliced a 13-point early third-quarter lead to five early in the fourth, the Flyers responded as they had before.
Brayden Mescher’s driving shot and Austin Niekamp’s 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run to lift Marion’s lead to 42-31 with 4:31 left. That was enough for the Flyers, who made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 1:37.
The big matchup was an old-fashioned low post battle between Marion’s 6-foot-8 Austin Niekamp and Crawford’s 6-5 Payne DeGray. Niekamp got the better of the matchup in the end. He scored 18 points, pulled DeGray away from the basket to hit two 3-pointers and blocked DeGray’s shot three times in the second half.
DeGray scored 10 of his 15 in the first half, spinning off Niekamp with quick moves for layups. But the coaching adjustment at halftime was to give DeGray more space, take away the spin move and make him shoot over Niekamp.
“He was an ox, I won’t lie,” Niekamp said. “He was big, but just keep battling. He kicked my butt a little bit, but just keep going.”
Homan and Brayden Mescher added 11 points each. And while Niekamp was keeping DeGray off the boards, Mescher got 10 rebounds and Homan got nine. Then there was the defense of 6-3 sophomore Kale Ahrens.
Ahrens' assignment: guard the Eagles' Brayden Holt, a 6-1 junior and the Northwest District Division VI Player of the Year. Holt scored four points in the first half and finished with 13 on 6-of-18 shooting.
“We were going to make him make tough twos,” Flyers coach Kurt Goettemoeller said. “He had to shoot over Kale. Most coaches maybe dream about shooters. I dream about long wing defenders.”
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