Timely Response

River Valley rallies in fourth quarter, tops Northern Cambria in double overtime

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nick Russell makes his Substack debut by coving a thriller at River Valley.

BURRELL TOWNSHIP — River Valley’s home opener turned into an early-season challenge, and the Panthers needed two overtimes to meet it.

River Valley held off Northern Cambria, 60-55, on Thursday night in the Heritage Conference opener for both teams, leaving coach Rick Spallone more than satisfied with how his players handled their first conference test.

“The way we responded was what I liked the most,” Spallone said. “It was an emotional roller coaster, and it’s a shame that one team had to lose. Like I just told our guys in the locker room, they’re learning what it takes to win, and this was a step in the right direction against a scrappy Northern Cambria team.”

Trailing by 12 with just over four minutes left in regulation, River Valley (2-1) leaned on senior center Bryson McDowell to claw back. McDowell poured in nine points over the final 3:55 and added a block and a steal on consecutive defensive trips before sinking two free throws with 57 seconds remaining to trim the Colts’ lead to 47-45.

Northern Cambria forward Parker Shutty missed two free throws on the next possession, opening the door for junior guard Max Persichetti to slash to the rim for the tying layup with 30 seconds to play. The Colts (0-1) still had a chance to win it, but Malik Fox’s contested look from the top of the key at the buzzer caught mostly backboard, sending the game into overtime knotted at 47.

“We played well, but our inexperience showed tonight,” Colts coach Clint Gochnour said. “We only have one returning starter, and that got us at the end tonight. It hurt at the end of regulation; we had that lead in the first overtime, but we could not finish. A couple of bad shot selections, missed some crucial foul shots, that’s where our inexperience hurt us.”

In the first overtime, Colts center Luke Blickenderfer scored all five of his team’s points on a pair of layups and a free throw.

McDowell, who piled up a game-best 21 points, answered with two free throws at the 1:18 mark — the final points of the period — sending the game into a second extra session tied at 52.

Northern Cambria (0-1) jumped ahead early in double overtime as Fox, who paced the Colts with 20 points, hit one of two from the line and converted a layup off a feed from junior point guard Daniel Farrell to make it 55-52 with under three minutes left.

But those were the last points the visitors scored.

Persichetti took over, scoring the next six on back-to-back pull-up jump shots and two free throws with 19.8 seconds remaining to give the Panthers a 58-55 edge.

Desmond Reilly then sealed it with a steal and made two more from the line to ice the victory.

Spallone pointed to the leadership of Persichetti and McDowell — who combined for 41 points — as the difference late, praising the way his veterans steadied River Valley when the game hung in the balance.

“That’s what Max does,” Spallone said. “He doesn’t ride that roller coaster. Part of that comes from being the quarterback and having that experience. He has that mental aptitude and low heart rate, and that paid dividends in overtime.

“I’ve been telling Bryson McDowell for a while now that I know he can shoot and knock down some 3s. But when he plays to his strength — like being 6-foot-4 — he’s a very, very good basketball player. He carried us a lot at times tonight, too.”

The game swung back and forth after a cold first half ended in a tie at 16. River Valley warmed up in the third, with Reilly’s 3‑pointer pushing the margin to 31‑21 with 3:50 left.

Dylan Bodek answered with three straight 3s — each set up by Shutty — to trim the gap to 33‑30 heading into the fourth.

The Colts kept firing from deep, with Blickenderfer and Fox connecting at the start of the fourth quarter to flip the lead. After a second 3-pointer from Fox with 4:10 left, the Colts built their largest lead of the night at 45-33.

Spallone immediately called a timeout, and the defensive changes that followed helped steady the Panthers while they clawed back into the game.

“We started in man and switched to zone,” Spallone said. “That one was on me. (Bodek) hit three 3s that really got them back in the game. I should have gotten out of that zone earlier. I’ll wear that one. But the guys picked me up and battled the rest of the game.”

That adjustment sparked the Panthers, who finished the quarter on a 14-2 run. It also gave them the rhythm they had been searching for and helped them clear their first conference hurdle of the season.

Both teams play Monday. River Valley travels to Marion Center, and Northern Cambria plays host to Blacklick Valley in a non-conference game.

Northern Cambria (0-1)
Cavallo 1 0-0 2, Fox 7 3-4 20, Shutty 1 0-2 2, Blickenderfer 5 2-3 14, Farrell 2 2-2 6, Bodek 4 0-0 11, Totals 20 7-11 55
River Valley (2-1)
Persichetti 8 4-5 20, McDowell 8 5-7 21, N.Mortimer 0 1-2 1, Reed 0 0-0 0, Dinger 1 0-0 2, Pynos 1 0-0 2, Reilly 3 2-2 11, Brezinski 0 0-0 0, T.Mortimer 0 0-0 0, Twinchek 0 0-0 0, Doak 1 0-0 3, Torres 0 0-0 0, Totals 22 12-16 60
Northern Cambria 5 11 14 17 5 3 — 55
River Valley 7 9 17 14 5 8 — 60
3-point field goals: Northern Cambria 8 (Bodek 3, Fox 3, Blickenderfer 2), River Valley 4 (Reilly 3, Doak).