Benjamin York hit 3 of 5 three-point shots in scoring 19 overall for Russia, which defeated Troy Christian to advance to the state semi-finals Friday afternoon. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
Russia blew by Troy Christian in the early going of the regional title game and never looked back. Now, the Raiders head to the state’s final four, where they’ll meet Richmond Heights in the semifinals for the second year in a row.
Kettering, OH – The Russia Raiders are a miserable team to play basketball against.
Alan Brads is a journalism student at Cedarville University, and writes sports at large for Press Pros.
They’d already proved it to Troy Christian three times in the last two years, but they proved again for a fourth time Friday.
Russia did all the things that makes life so frustrating for its opponent and earned a second consecutive trip to the state semifinals in the process.
The Raiders outran, out-jumped, out-shot, out-rebounded, and straight up out-played the Eagles in every aspect of an eventual 56-35 regional final win.
“Plain and simple these kids are fighters, and they’re winners.” coach Spencer Cordonnier said.
A 27-1 record can testify to that.
The Russia defense did typical Russia defense things. It disrupted and distressed Eagles’ ballhandlers with massive wing-spans and quick hands, forcing 12 turnovers in the first half…a wildly uncharacteristic figure for the sure-handed Eagles.
Benjamin York caught fire off the bench in the first half, knocking down threes, which addressed Russia’s only weak spot from the semifinals. York finished with a team-leading 19 points, including three-for-five shooting from deep.
Russia’s Vince Borchers hovers over Troy Christian’s Christian Brusman, giving him no room to operate.
No tournament team has really threatened the fourth-ranked Raiders, who have won their postseason games by an average of 42.5 points. But going into the evening, the fifth-ranked Eagles certainly posed a bigger challenge than anyone else so far. Not-yet-healed wounds from a 25-point beat-down by Russia in December, plus a gutting regional semifinal defeat a year ago, only fanned TC’s flames.
But as great as passion is, it often can’t make up for length, height, speed and sheer athleticism. Russia has all of that and then some. Plus, it’s not like the Raiders lack passion of their own.
The one-loss Raiders are used to getting everyone’s best shot by now.
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“Everyone talked all year long about how this is just where we’re supposed to be,” Cordonnier said. “Well it’s not that easy. It’s just not easy. You gotta fight all year long. These kids played 28 games and lost one game. That’s a testament to what these kids are all about.”
The Eagles best shot didn’t faze them the first time around, and possibly even less in this bout.
Braylon Cordonnier reaches for two of his six points in the win over Troy Christian in the Regional Championship.
But the road gets bumpier for Russia now, as bumpy as it can get. Friday afternoon, they face the top Division IV team in Ohio, Richmond Heights, in the state semifinals.
“We’re just gonna prepare and see what happens,” Cordonnier said. “You know our guys, you know their fight. I’m not saying we’re gonna win, but we’re gonna fight for 32 minutes.”
The players were willing to go just a little bit further.
“I’m ready for ‘em,” junior guard Vince Borchers said. “I want to play them again. They’re the number one team in the state, but we’re ready for them.”
York wants a shot at the top dogs too.
It’s gonna be fun,” he said. “We’re ready for the challenge. You never know what’s gonna happen.”
Russia fell to Richmond Heights in the semifinals a year ago at UD. Now they get their shot at revenge, but it will be anything but easy.
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Richmond Heights averages 86.2 points per game so far in the post-season. Its slimmest margin of victory is 34 points against JFK Catholic.
Whoever triumphs will await the winner of Hiland and Lima Central Catholic in the state championship on Sunday morning.
Brayden Monnin heads for the hoop up against Troy Christian defender Frank Rupnik.
The Raiders crushing win over Troy Christian took a couple of minutes to jumpstart. That grace period is a luxury they may or may not be able to afford next weekend. On the first possession of the game, TC’s Frank Rupnik scored the first, and his final, bucket. Two minutes in, the Eagles led 4-2.
Then the dam broke.
A lid sealed the Eagles bucket shut, but it may not have mattered because the Raiders forced so many turnovers. Russia scored in bunches. Fast breaks and rapid ball movement opened up easy buckets and the Raiders converted. They finished the quarter on a 14-0 run, grabbing a 16-4 lead at the break.
“We talked about starting hot and we definitely did,” Borchers said. “We got out running and that just set the tone for the rest of the game.”
The Eagles scoring drought lasted nearly eight full minutes, and by the time Parker Penrod snapped it with a free throw, the Eagles already trailed by 17.
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As turnovers led to a widening gap, Troy Christian felt the pressure, and Russia sped TC’s offense up, leading to even more turnovers. For well over a decade, Ray Zawadzki’s squads have thrived off of turning their opponents over and taking care of the ball, but the Raiders athleticism flipped the script.
“It’s length and athleticism is what it is,” Cordonnier said. “When we’ve got 6-4 kids guarding point guards, it’s a problem for them. We kinda go against the grain with some of our matchups, but it’s worked out for us.”
Troy Christian’s Christian Brusman (1) and Russia’s Hayden Quinton (12) race for possession.
By the end of the half the Eagles had lost their sense of calm and committed multiple unforced turnovers. Their first half turnover total of 12 easily surpassed their average of nine per-game.
“We wanted to come out and protect the basketball and get quality shots, but they were able to speed us up and turn us over. Twelve turnovers in the first half is not a good formula when you’re playing Russia.”
Penrod, seemingly the only Eagle who could keep pace with Russia’s frantic energy, scored seven of the Eagles 11 first half points.
Meanwhile 13 of the Raiders 32 halftime points came off turnovers. Easy buckets led to 57% FG shooting.
“It was big for us to see those shots go in,” said York, who scored 13 in the first half. “Tuesday was a very rough shooting night for us. We focused on it a lot in practice this week and made sure we were ready for today.”
2024 OHSAA Division IV Regional champion Russia Raiders
On the first possession of the second half the Eagles turned the ball over, and at that point even the most optimistic TC fans surely lost a little hope. It was more of the same as Russia pushed the lead to 25.
Borchers stepped up in the second and finished with 11 points, with Felix Francis and Brayden Monnin not far behind with seven each.
The expression says it all… The trophy, the medallion and the net… equals a trip to the state semifinals for the Raiders Friday at UD Arena.
Despite facing double, and even a few triple teams, Penrod led all scorers with 20 points, keeping things from getting far uglier than they already were.
The Eagles resigned themselves to their fate with a couple minutes left, and gave an ovation to one of, if not the most talented senior class to ever wear the Troy Christian uniform.
“Their legacy will last a long time,” Zawadzki said.”There aren’t gonna be many classes like this that walk through the halls at Troy Christian. They’re very special.”
Troy Christian is perhaps a case of the right team at the wrong time. Over the last two years they’ve lost just seven games, but Russia accounts for four of those losses.
As for Russia’s talented squad of seniors, well, they get at least 32 minutes more.
When the clock showed all zeroes and a 56-35 Raider win, one thing was clear: Russia isn’t just going to state; it’s ready. The Raiders run, rebound, shoot and defend. That’s the DNA of a championship team. So far they’ve won a conference, sectional, district, and regional championship. There’s just one more left to check off the list.
Felix Francis blocks an attempted three-point shot by Troy Christian’s Ethan Grise.
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