Slow start dooms River View against Coshocton

COSHOCTON - The Coshocton-River View rivalry is always filled with energy.

Add in the fact that Friday was senior night for Coshocton and that energy shot through the roof.

But when the game tipped off the energy didn't lead to points. In the first three minutes the teams combined to shoot 0-10 both River View's coach Jason Trout and Coshocton senior point guard Nick Kirkpatrick attributed that to nerves.

"You rush it when things are going that fast. Everybody wanted to play perfect at that point," Kirkpatrick said.

"It's such a fun atmosphere. It's a seven-mile trip, both student sections were full and everybody in both towns are here. If you aren't used to that there can be nerves for both sides," Trout said.

But after a substitution brought the original starting five on the floor for Coshocton they got going. Andrew Mason scored the first basket of the game and the Redskins ended the quarter leading 11-0.

Coshocton (17-4) carried that momentum to a 51-26 win over the rival Black Bears (3-18), pushing their win streak to 10 in a row.

"This is a good win for us. It keeps the streak alive and it's good to get a win like that because we've kind of struggled the last two games," Coshocton coach Jeremy Ady said.

All season long Coshocton has made a living by playing good defense and executing their sets on offense. They did that again, after starting the game 0-for-5 from the field, they finished the half 12-for-22 and held River View to four points, all of which were scored by senior Tanner Belangia.

"We got some subs in, got the normal routine going and then we made some shots," Ady said. "It was a systematic thing where we had kids where they weren't usually. It was more important to me that I got those seniors in."

Trout said they studied Coshocton more than they had any other team, but they couldn't get anything going.

"What makes them so good is that they execute all the time, even though you know what they are going to do. They are going to execute it and get the shot they want," Trout said.

While no game is out of reach at the halftime break, the pace at which Coshocton was scoring made it hard for the Black Bears to get back into the game.

Ady and his staff challenged his team to hold the Black Bears under 12, but River View continued to fight. River View would score 22 points in the second half, not enough to win the game, but enough for coach Trout to walk away with a positive, before Saturday's season-finale against Newcomerstown.

"That's a lot better than ending the way we played in the first half, as far as switching it. Hopefully it carries into tomorrow, the one thing even though we weren't playing well is that with three minutes we were still diving on the floor. We just have to do better executing," Trout said.

Coshocton will look to finish its season on a 12-game win streak as they travel to county-rival Ridgewood on Tuesday.

"There was a five-game stretch where I thought it would be a test of our will. The kids have stepped up," Ady said. "We have demonstrated what we can do in the tournament."

cteaguerob@gannett.com

740-295-3442

Twitter: @cj_teague

Stat Book

River View 0-4-10-12 — 26

Coshocton 11-18-15-7 — 51

River View: 9-37 FG, 7-9 FT, 1-9 3pt. (Belangia 1) 17 rebounds (Dart 8), 16 turnovers, 2 Assists (Brillhart 1), Steals 10 (Dart 4). Scoring: Belangia 5 4-4 15, Dart 2 1-3 5, Gossman 1 0-0 2, Brillhart 1 0-0 2, Vickers 0 2-2 2.

Coshocton: 20-38 FG, 7-8 FT, 4-12 3pt. (Roahrig 2, Kirkpatrick 2) 24 rebounds (Mason 4), 11 turnovers, 11 Assists (Roahrig 5), Steals 8 (Mason 3). Scoring: Roahrig 4 1-1 11, Jarvis 4 3-3 11, Mason 4 1-2 9, Kirkpatrick 3 0-0 8, Griffiths 1 2-2 4, Hardesty 2 0-0 4, Williams 1 0-0 2, Haas 1 0-0 2.