South Ripley hosted the ORVC Boys Junior High Basketball Tournament Saturday and the host 7th grade Raiders won the event.
In the opening round, South Ripley won big over Southwestern Hanover 49-19. Drew Volz led the Green and White with 14 points. Eli Gilpin and Riley Lannan followed with nine and eight points respectively. Tryson Warren had seven points to lead the Rebels.
Other first round games saw Milan beat Shawe and Switzerland County top Rising Sun.
In the semifinals, the Raiders defeated Jac-Cen-Del 45-31. Brogan Buchanan headlined South Ripley scoring in this one with 15 points. Volz posted 13. Blake Wagner netted 14 points in the loss for the Eagles.
The other semi was claimed by the Pacers over the Indians. That set up Ripley and Switz in the championship and what a game it was. The Raiders edged the Pacers 45-43.
The two teams were deadlocked at 21 at intermission. Switzerland County had a strong third frame and took a 36-29 advantage into the closing quarter. But the fourth belonged to the hosts, Ripley outscored Switz 16-7 to win 45-43.
For the Raiders, Volz put in 14 points, including eight in the final stanza. Gilpin collected 11 points which featured a fourth quarter three ball. Buchanan netted nine points on a trio of first half triples. In the loss for the Pacers, Isaac Williams had a game-high 17 points and Nate Williams put in 14.
Only one game was reported from the eighth grade tournament. Southwestern was a 63-17 winner over Jac-Cen-Del. Wyatt Comer, Caden Kohlman and Lane Carroll combined to score 13 of the Eagles 17 points.
I’m Bryce Kendrick, WRBI Sports.