2A boys basketball: Seneca’s comeback falls short in regional final loss to Riverdale

SPRING VALLEY – With the Class 2A Hall Regional title on the line Friday, both teams came out a bit nervous but playing solid defense.

No. 3-seeded Riverdale managed to build a 10-point lead over No. 3 Seneca by the end of the first quarter.

Things picked up after that and both teams made runs.

The Rams led by as many as 14 points before the Fighting Irish put on a feverish charge to pull within three points late before falling 59-54.

“Both teams came out a little tight and both defenses played hard and we played pretty well for most of the game, but give them credit, they battled back and made great game of it,” Riverdale coach Alex Kelly said. “I guess we like to make games tight at the end, but I’m proud of the composure we showed at the end to get the win.”

The game saw the Rams get out to a 16-6 lead after the first quarter on the strength of a 10-0 run started by a layup from Dawson Peterson and back-to-back 3-pointers from Jake Willems and Paxton Kiddoo to head to the second quarter with a big lead.

But Seneca did not go away as the Irish battled back from 11 points down with a run of their own started by a 3 from Brady Sheedy and a pair of layups from Lane Provance to cut the deficit to 19-16 with just under four minutes to play in the half.

That’s when Willems stepped up as he did all night with two of his game-high 29 points to extend the lead to five. The Rams built the lead to eight at the half up 30-22.

Seneca struck first in the second half as Provance dropped in a layup as for two of his team-high 26 points, but the man for the Rams, Willems, hit consecutive step back jumpers to inch Riverdale’s lead larger.

The two stars exchanged hoops for much of the rest of the quarter and the score was 46-30 after three periods.

In the final quarter, Provance began to take over inside with two quick hoops, but Willems would not be denied as he answered with a three-point play and a layup of his own to make the score 51-37 with 6 minutes left.

Seneca got the next five points from a 3 ball and a deuce from Paxton Giertz, which were followed by a Provance hoop and a Sheedy 3 to cap off a run and tighten things up to 51-47 with 2:45 left on the clock.

The Rams battled back with four points - two each from Brody Clark and Willems - to extend the lead to 55-47.

Provance showed no quit as he muscled up a pair of layups to once again cut the lead to four with 42 seconds to go.

Seneca got another Sheedy 3, but it was not be enough as Willems knocked down four free tosses to seal the 59-54 victory for the Rams.

Riverdale (22-8) advances to play Byron (27-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Mendota Sectional.

The Irish finish 23-10.