A hard-fought contest between district rivals led to an overtime 59-55 win for the Ravenwood boys basketball team (23-10), capturing their first region crown in school history over the Independence Eagles (22-8) on Thursday night at Summit High School.
"It means everything," said Ravenwood head coach Patrick Whitlock. "We have eight seniors and five that start. They played their butts off tonight. I could not be more proud of them. We faced adversity throughout the season and were able to overcome in some tough spots tonight."
"We had a bad first quarter," said Independence head coach Mark Wilkins. "I don't know if it was nerves or what, but we settled in the second half and really started playing like I knew we could play. It was a little too late to come out on the other side of this."
"We just got to play a little bit harder and get back grinding," said Independence sophomore Jett Montgomery. "We have to reset our minds and put this game in the past."
"It is a great feeling," said Ravenwood senior DJ Starr. "Just being able to come out here in my first year and do great things with my new teammates."
In the first quarter, Ravenwood captured an early lead with baskets by the trio of Starr, senior Jake Mulder and senior UConn football signee Lee Mollette to go ahead 14-7.
After having trouble scoring for almost three minutes at the beginning of the frame, the Raptors boosted their lead in the second quarter with three pointers and layups by Mollette, senior Matthew Williams and sophomore Evan Gainer to remain in front at halftime 24-15.
In the third quarter, it was a back-and-forth contest as Mollette, Mulder and senior Andrew Lamuno of Ravenwood were answered in scoring by Independence's senior Cameron Bell, senior Owen Ries, sophomore Jett Montgomery and junior Matthew Whitt to tie the game at 30.
The Raptors and Eagles continued to swap baskets throughout the fourth quarter. Each team had a shot to win before the buzzer, but neither could break through. The score remained deadlocked at 46.
In overtime, Ravenwood pulled ahead with timely free throws and points in the paint. Independence had a shot to pull within one at the buzzer, but could not get it to fall. The Raptors secured the Region 6 4A title, 59-55.
Independence's leading scorers were Montgomery with 24 points and Bell with 10.
"Jett is a dynamic player," said Coach Wilkins. "I am proud of him to keep battling, because he gets everybody's best defense every night. Cameron is tough and rebounds harder than almost anyone in our region. He is a competitor, and I am proud of how he is leading his senior year."
"They (Ravenwood) were crowding the inside, so I think that is how I was able to get points on passes from Tylan, Tyus and Cam," said Montgomery. "Cam was just getting great rebounds and working inside."
Ravenwood had four players in double figures: Mollette with 14 points, Starr with 13, Williams with 12 and Trevecca Nazarene signee Mulder with 10.
"It is a very balanced attack," said Coach Whitlock. "When we get four guys in double figures, we are tough to beat."
"We were feeling it since the jump," said Starr. "Lee has been fantastic in the postseason just killing it on the boards and offensive glass, cleaning up rebounds, getting put backs and has been dominating the paint; same with Andrew and Jake."
The members of the all-tournament team for the Region 6 4A division were Franklin's Davis Long, Independence's Montgomery, Columbia's Ronnie Bailey, and Ravenwood's Starr. Mollette won the Region 6 4A tournament MVP.
"Lee is one of the first people I met when I moved here," said Starr. "He reached out to me on Twitter before I went to Ravenwood. We met up, did a little workout and Lee has just been my guy ever since."
"It means a lot," said Mollette. "I could not be here without my teammates, so this is just one step forward to the next round and hopefully being able to get to the state tournament."
Independence will travel to Lebanon in a substate matchup on Monday night.
"It is going to be tough in that environment," said Coach Wilkins. "If we come out there and fight, we will definitely be right there at the end."
"We have played them a bunch of times," said Montgomery. "We have to come out hard and rebound really well."
Ravenwood will host Beech for substate Monday night.
"Beech is a great team," said Coach Whitlock. "They have been ranked number one in the state the majority of the year. We can't control who we play; we can only control what we do."
