Rocky Grove wins nail biter to advance to title game

2/25/2025

From the tipoff, the Region 2 champion Rocky Grove knew they were in a game. Eisenhower came to play and jumped out to an early lead thanks in part to the unusually cold shooting Orioles.

But, as has been the case all year long when faced with adversity, the players dug deep and found a way to come back and win 53-51 at the Haggerty Center in Erie Tuesday.

Ike jumped out to an 11-3 lead, mostly on shots in the paint early. Noah Baughman's three after over two scoreless minutes was sandwiched in between several misses, including a couple short, but contested layups. Connor Ritchie was able to hit a bucket, the they found themselves down 14-5.

Landen Carter was fouled driving to the bucket and he added a pair of foul shots and Baughmen scored again. The quarter ended 14-9 with seven missed Rocky Grove field goals in the frame.

The second quarter was similar. The Grove pulled within a couple with a Carter three before Eisenhower went on short run to take an eight-point lead. Again the Orioles weren't shooting their best, but managed to keep it close going into halftime only down four at 22-18.

Schiffer Anderson came out in the second half on a mission bringing the Orioles to within two. But Ike responded going on a 10-0 run to put the Grove on their heels again.

The Orioles again dug deep and a few steals led a needle thread pass from Anderson to Ritchey to stop the bleeding and begin their own 19-2 run to not only take their first lead of the game but end the quarter up by four.

Th built the lead to nine points, but Ike wasn't going away. battling back to tie the game at 51 with just 26 seconds left.

Anderson again put the team on his shoulders and found the lane for the go ahead basket and Ike took a timeout with just five seconds left to design a play.

The Grove held on to advance to fave Lakeview Friday for the District 10 Class AA championship at the site and time to be determined.