In what was supposed to be a day to showcase the might of Ohio Valley Conference boys' teams, turned into a nightmare.
This past Sunday, the OVC sent four boys teams into Ohio University's Convocation Center with high hopes of getting to the district title games and bringing hardware back along the river.
But as the day progressed and the final horns sounded, each team was eliminated one-by-one and the 2023-24 basketball season ended on the hardwood of the Convo.
The first to fall victim was South Point. The Pointers couldn't buy a bucket for three quarters. Even Caleb Lovely, last year's Southeast Ohio District Player of the Year, couldn't get the shots to fall. But like any good team, the Pointers crept back little by little and made it a two-point game with less than three minutes remaining. But in the end, Wheelersburg was able to stave off the comeback attempt and advance.
This year was a strange one for the Pointers, as they just never quite got everything to pull together at the right time.
Despite being regional runner-up in 2022-23, the Pointers were not the same solid basketball team from a year ago. South Point had a rollercoaster season with some key wins over Huntington and Unioto in non-conference play. They seemed to hit their stride at the midway point of the season — winning 7 of 8 games. But the Pointers began to stumble down the stretch against four tough opponents, losing all four.
The next victim on Sunday was Portsmouth. Despite a 27-point game from Deandre Berry, Northwest put the clamps on the rest of the Trojan scorers and held them to just single-digits. Meanwhile on the other end, the Mohawks played as perfect a team could, shooting 53% from the field and 46% from the 3-point line.
However, when you look at what was expected of this Trojan team, the fact that they made it to the Convo was a major accomplishment regardless of the outcome of the game.
Portsmouth wasn't expected to contend for the OVC crown, much less a district title. But under first-year head coach and former alum Jeff Lisath, the Trojans turned heads all season and finished with a 17-7 record. And while Portsmouth had ups and downs this year, they still enjoyed big wins over a 23-win Lawrence County Bulldogs team and swept Ironton in the regular season.
The next victim was the Fairland Dragons, a team that has enjoyed a lot of success much like their girls' teams has done as of late.
But that wasn't the case against the Minford Falcons. As the Dragons, despite holding the lead after three quarters, fell victim to a nearly four-minute scoring drought and allowed the Falcons to seize on the opportunity to win the game and advance to the finals.
For the Dragons, this team didn't have lofty the expectations they've had in past seasons, but they were expected to compete for a league title and be a serious contender for a district finalist.
But as it's been mentioned before, this team also had a rollercoaster season to some degree as well. The Dragons were still in contention for the OVC title despite suffering three losses in the league in the first half of the season. But a string of losses in the finals weeks put them out of the running.
One of the major components this Dragons team was missing was a consistent "one-two punch" on the offensive end. Whether it be two marksmen lighting it up from the outside or a dominate presence in the paint along with an outside scorer, the Dragons never quite had that luxury this season.
The last team to fall was Ironton.
Much like how South Point did earlier in the day, the Fighting Tigers dug themselves in a hole during the second period. Shots weren't falling and North Adams took advantage of their dribble-drive penetration to take a double-digit lead into halftime.
But Ironton clawed back, using full-court pressure to give the Green Devils' guards fits and get themselves back in the game.
The Fighting Tigers nearly pulled off the stunning comeback, actually tying the game up with less than three minutes remaining. But Ironton just couldn't get over the hump with some missed scoring chances in the final possessions of the game.
For Ironton, it was a solid season. This team was expected to challenge for the OVC title and did just that, finishing in second place.
This team had two things hamper them all season — scoring inconsistencies and foul trouble. Both of which came into play on Sunday, as Ironton struggled to score early and fall far behind. Then foul trouble saw their top scorer, Ashton Layne, foul out late in the fourth.
But this team will return most of its roster next season and should be an odds-on favorite to return to Athens next season.
And let's not forget the Chesapeake Panthers — who won the league title this season. They didn't even make it out of the sectional tournament because they were ousted by the Fighting Tigers in the finals.
The Panthers were expected to be competitive, but many felt a year away from challenging for a league title. But as the season came down to the final games, it became a realization that Chesapeake could end up on top of the heap when the dust settled.
The Panthers started the season 2-3, but ended up dropping just one game at home in the conference and posted a 6-game win streak to jumpstart their league title run.
So despite not being in Athens, Chesapeake still put together a memorable year.
In summary, it certainly was a disappointing day for each team and the league collectively. However if these games were played again tomorrow, I would venture to guess the outcomes would not only be different, but even reversed.
But as it is with all tournament games, the object is to survive and advance.
And next March, many of these teams will very well be back in Athens and could very well return the favor to some of the winners from Sunday's ball games.
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