Saint Joseph Edges Riley in OT to Claim South Bend Sectional Crown

Peyton Miamba scored 17 points and the Huskies erased a four-point deficit in the final 35 seconds of regulation to beat South Bend Riley 62-53 in overtime Saturday night at The Cave in Mishawaka, giving Saint Joseph the Class 4A Sectional 3 championship and a date with Northridge in the regional round next Saturday, March 14.

Riley, which held the late lead after controlling much of the game, managed only two points in the extra period. Elijah King added 12 points for Saint Joseph in the championship game, while Dakori Parker led Riley with 14 and Tree Johnson contributed 12. Senior Notre Dame commit Nick Shrewsberry captured the moment afterward: "We fought for 16 minutes. We are a close group and love each other."

The title run began Friday night at The same venue, when Saint Joseph dismantled South Bend Adams 87-63 in the first semifinal. The unlikely catalyst was Ryder Place, a 5-foot-11 senior who averaged roughly five points per game during the regular season. He erupted for 21 points against Adams, 15 of them from beyond the arc, serving as the glue for a team built around standouts like Shrewsberry and King, who is the Huskies' junior leading scorer.

Adams gave Saint Joseph everything it could handle in stretches. Senior Jarvis Tolbert, the Eagles' leading scorer, dropped 20 points in what turned out to be the final game of his high school career. He was visibly emotional when subbed out for the last time. Junior Drew Dixon added 18 for Adams, which finishes its season at 16-8.

The Eagles will lose Tolbert and at least two other senior starters, plus a contributor off the bench, but coach Chad Johnston returns junior starters Dixon and his son Carter Johnston, among others. Johnston was already thinking ahead after the loss. "I'm really looking forward to getting back in the gym," he said. "It's really important that they continue to carry on what these guys did. Sixteen wins is a good number. The young guys are hungry."

In the other semifinal, Riley beat Penn 58-47, advancing on the strength of a senior whose willingness to hit clutch shots and take charges set the tone for the Wildcats throughout the bracket.

Saint Joseph now faces Northridge, which won Sectional 4 at Elkhart with a 48-37 championship win over Warsaw, in the Regional 2 championship on March 14. Regional winners advance to a four-team semi-state the following Saturday, March 21.