Sports
PHOTOS: Richfield Boys Basketball Can't Hold On Against Pioneers
Spartans lead until final two minutes before dropping regular-season finale, 51-50, to visiting Hill-Murray on Tuesday night.
It just wasn't meant to be for the Richfield boys basketball team in its regular-season finale at home Tuesday night.
The Spartans, after leading for over 34 of 36 minutes of play, were over-taken in the closing moments by Classic Suburban Conference (CSC) champion Hill-Murray in a 51-50 defeat that concluded Richfield's pre-playoff schedule with a 17-9 overall record—11-5 in circuit play.
While the Pioneers entered the game undefeated in CSC contests this winter, it was the Spartans that took the early advantage and held it throughout the majority of the matchup.
Find out what's happening in Richfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Richfield led by double digits in both the first and second half, but could not quite shake the Pioneers—ranked eighth in Class AAA—as the visitors managed to creep back into the game as the minutes drained away.
The Spartans did what they could to hold off hard-charging Hill-Murray, but eventually, the Pioneers caught up to their hosts and took their first lead of the night at 50-48 on a pair of free throws with 1 minute, 42 seconds remaining in regulation.
Find out what's happening in Richfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Richfield tied the score once more at 50-all on a basket by guard Daron Garvis with 1:25 to go, but one last free throw by Hill-Murray proved to be the difference maker.
Trailing 51-50 with 43 seconds to go, the Spartans played for the final shot as the concluding seconds trickled off the clock.
However, Richfield could not find an attempt to its liking and was forced to settle for a wild fling by guard Shawn Bear as time expired.
Bear's shot did not find the net and bounced harmlessly away as the Pioneers escaped with the triumph by the narrowest of margins.
Guard John Johnson led the home side with 15 points, while forward Jared Noonan and Garvis chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Spartans now look to put Tuesday night's disappointment behind them as they now prepare for the Section 6AA playoffs, which are set to begin on March 8.
Richfield figures to claim one of the top four seeds and with it a home game in the opening round next Tuesday night. Sectional seeding and pairings have yet to be announced.
