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It was the rubber match between two of the tri-champion teams in the SWC. The gym was packed and everyone in it knew it was going to be a good one.
Both host Dodgeville and River Valley didn't disappoint the game pretty much came down to the final shot.
The Dodgers enjoyed an eight point lead late in the second quarter, but River Valley charged back. Thanks to a three pointer and a missed three try by the Dodgers as time had almost expired - a long outlet pass and layup the halftime score was Dodgeville 22 River Valley 19.
Then the Blackhawks came out in the third frame on a 7-2 run and outscored the Dodgers 14-6, thanks mainly to seven points by junior Gale DeVita. He finished the night with nine markers and their leading point getter, all coming in the second half. Junior Tayt Caraway also hit nine. They also finished that frame on a 7-2 run with DeVita hitting a threy and Caraway a pull0up jumper at the quarter's end.
With the Blackhawks leading 33-28 after three, the Dodgers got to 33-32 on a medium jumper by senior Nick Crowley.
RV senior Brandon Noble popped in a three, but Dodger junior Austin Larson answered with his own from long range.
Dodger senior Mitchell Larson blocked a DeVita shot and on a Dodger fast break junior Nate Hottmann was fouled. He hit one of two and the score was 36 all.
Blackhawk senior Taylor Thering made a shot and Dodger Austin Larson was fouled on a jumper by RV 6'4" senior Adam Mueller (5th foul). He made one of two and the Dodgers were down one at 38-37.
Thering, a 6'5" senior, fouled Crowley on a rebound put-back try. That was his fifth foul and Crowley's free throws put the Dodgers back into the lead at 39-38.
"At that point with their two big guys fouled out, I though we'd be okay," said Dodger coach Ryan Bohnsack.
The Blackhawks, however, went on a 6-0 run. Senior Brandon Noble put in a lay-in after rebounding a missed shot. He sank two free throws after being fouled on a drive and then DeVita made a tough runner and suddenly RV held a 44-39 lead with just :54.3 left on the clock.
Crowley put his team to within three with a driving layup at :39.
After a Dodger miss, River Valley helped the Dodgers by throwing the ball out of bounds on a fast break at the :25.5 mark.
With 8.7 remaining the Dodgers had perhaps their final gasp go when a Larson three point try did everything but go in. Both teams and fans watched and gasped as it went down, come back out and rolled around the rim before it fell off into RV's hands.
DeVita was fouled at the .06.3 mark and made one of two tries - all they would need.
"There were three very good games this season with two evenly matched teams," said River Valley coach Jeff Johnson. "Our game plan was to not let Crowley get 38 points and beat us that way. He ended up with 18. We feel that was a win for us. We also couldn't let Hottmann get hot. He hurt us last time."
The coach also credited his reserves saying, "Much of the credit goes to our reserves. They had to resemble Dodgeville every day in practice to get us ready for this game. They did a great job."
"We had some turnovers, but in the end the guy who had the most got some key buckets and rebounds for us," he added. "And we showed we're a team. Note the scoring - 9,9, 8, 7, 6 - nobody in double figures and we won."
Dodger coach Bohnsack said, "This was a great game for the fans to see. I was very pleased where we were at defensively. Offensively we just came up short. We missed a bunch of layups and several free throws that we just left short."
"Credit River Valley," he added. "They did a nice job on all of our guys, but they did an especially nice job on Nick. Every time he got the ball they had two guys around him and they had hands right in his face when he shot."
"It was a big year for our seniors, Bohnsack pointed out. "They came a long ways to help us get where we are."
Seniors graduating are: Crowley, Evan Rohowetz, Taylor Fingerson and Mitchell Olson. Crowley finished his Dodgeville career with 1021 points.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
RV 10 9 14 12-45
Do 11 11 6 13-41
BOX SCORE
River Valley 45 (fg, ft, tp) Hoffman 2-2/3-6, DeVita 3-2/2-9, Noble 2-2/2-7, Bindl 1-0-2, Caraway 4-0-9, Mueller 2-0/2-4, Thering 4-0-8. Totals 18-6/9-45. F-14. FO-Mueller, Thering. 3-pointers: Hoffman, DeVita, Caraway.
Dodgeville 41: Nelson 0-0-0, Larson 2-0-6, Hottmann 1-2/3-4, Rohowetz 1-0-2, Crowley 6-6/8-18, Nagel 0-0-0, Gullickson 1-0-2, Olson 4-1/4-9. Totals 15-9/13-41. F-10. 3-pointers: Larson 2.