CHESHIRE — Things started tough and got tougher. But as the old saying goes, When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

The Rock Hill Redmen got going.

Playing in a difficult environment, the Redmen rose to the challenge and beat the River Valley Raiders 64-52 Friday to set up a showdown Monday for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference race.

“This is the toughest place in the league to play and it was Senior Night so they didn’t want to lose,” Rock Hill coach Adam Simpson said.

“We played pretty well the first half. We had some turnovers in the second half, but they hit some unbelievable shots that got in the crowd into it.”

But Rock Hill held its composure and won its 10th in a row. The Redmen are now 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the OVC, one game behind Fairland. The two teams meet Monday at Rock Hill.

“It’ll be a big game. There’s a lot on the line,” Simpson said.

River Valley got off to a 9-3 lead, but the Redmen ran off 15 unanswered points to take an 18-9 lead. Nathan Davenport had 6 points and Andrew Stumbo and Wes Pierson 4 each to spark the Redmen surge.

Stumbo had 6 more points in the second quarter and the defense held River Valley to just 4 points to take a 33-13 halftime cushion.

“We played well, but just because you’re up 20 doesn’t mean the other team is going to stop playing,” said Simpson. “We really had to execute down the stretch to win.”

The Raiders scored 13 points over the first three minutes in the third quarter to get back in the game. Stumbo and Mike Ison combined for 11 points but Jason Jones scored 11 points and Bryan Morrow 5 to spark the Raiders comeback.

Leading 52-46 heading into the fourth quarter, Stumbo and Davenport combined for 10 points to counter Ryan Eggleton and Ian Lewis who had 10 points between them for the Raiders.

Stumbo led all scorers with 22 points to go with 8 rebounds. Davenport had 14 points and 3 assists. Mark DePriest grabbed 7 rebounds.

River Valley (10-8, 5-4) was led by Jones with 16 points.

Rock Hill18151912=64

River Valley942316=52

ROCK HILL (12-5, 6-2): Wes Pierson 4 0 0-2 8, Nathan Davenport 7 0 0-0 14, Matt Matney 3 0 1-2 7, Mark DePriest 0 0 1-2 1, Andrew Stumbo 10 0 2-2 22, Mike Ison 1 2 0-0 8, Aaron Butler 2 0 0-0 4.Totals: 29-51 4-8

64. 3-point goals: 2-9. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 10-20=30 (Stumbo 8, DePriest 7). Assists: 12 (Davenport 3, Pierson 2, Matney 2, DePriest 2, Butler 2). Steals: 6 (Pierson 2). Turnovers: 9.

RIVER VALLEY (10-8, 5-4): Jason Jones 6 1 1-6 16, Bryan Morrow 3 1 0-0 9, Ryan Eggleton 0 2 0-0 6, Mikchael Cordell 4 0 0-0 8, Tyler Tho9mpson 1 0 1-2 3, Ryan Henry 0 1 1-4 4, Ian Lewis 3 0 0-0 6. Totals: 17

5

3-12

52. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.