One team, one dream: Hopewell Indians

DOVER – Hopewell Indians head coach Devin Rivera made an observation right away about his basketball team Friday afternoon.

"I could see that they had fire in their eyes," he said. "They were intense and focused from the start."

The Indians jumped out to a 27-9 first-quarter advantage and cruised to a 74-54 victory over Stark County DD in the Dick Ruff Memorial State Basketball Tournament at Dover Middle School.

"Everyone gave 100 percent effort," Rivera said. "They communicated well on defense and did all the fundamentals that they needed to do to get the win."

The win makes the Black Team 8-0 on the season and will face either Montgomery County or Lucas County for a Division II state championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Strasburg High School.

K-Marr Cooper had 27 points while Josh Noe added 18 to lead the Indians. Tanner Schie chipped in 15 points.

Cooper was one of the catalysts of a strong offensive attack that featured several fast-break baskets.

"Coach Rivera really emphasizes running up and down the floor and utilizing our opportunities when we get them," he said. "It makes it fun for all of us, and it feels even greater when we win."

The scoring throughout the game was also helped by solid inbounds plays, something Noe really enjoys running with his teammates.

"We have two inbounds plays called chaos and stack, which we run so well," Noe said. "We can score off those plays with some different players too, and that makes it fun."

Rivera has had so much fun with what he called his second family and hopes they can finish a memorable season with another state title Saturday.

"Having the chance to win back-to-back state titles on Saturday is going to be special," he said. "This has been so much fun, and I want us to finish this off the right way."

Cooper is just as excited.

"I wasn't on last year's team, so having the chance to do this is something I have been looking forward to all season," he said. "I'm really excited for the game, and we want to get this done."

The Hopewell Indians Red Team also competed at state in Division V at Kent State-Tuscarawas but lost 48-43 to Fairfield County.

Hugh Heart had 27 points, and Dakota Mobley had 16 points in the loss. The Red Team will play in a third place consolation game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dover Middle School.

jmickeyjr@gannett.com

Twitter: @TribuneJJMickey