Frontier’s Jacob Bowersock (10) handles the ball as Heartland Christian’s Brody Conaway (33) defends during Saturday’s OVAC 1A finals at the ECO Center. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — For the second year in a row, Frontier came up just short against Heartland Christian in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference 1A finals Saturday at the ECO Center.

The Cougars fell to the Lions 71-67 a year ago and were looking for redemption this time around. However, the Lions had other plans, overcoming an early deficit to claim a 66-55 victory.

“We fought for years to try to become part of a league,” said Heartland Christian head coach Josh Scott. “For us to be able to come down and be part of this kind of league with so many different, really quality, good basketball teams — it means the world to our kids.”

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Avery Powell and Jacob Bowersock helped propel Frontier to a 10-2 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Collin and Reagan Kalaher answered with two treys apiece to knot the score at 14-all by the 2:48 mark. The Lions took their first lead at 2:09 on Brody Conaway’s three-point play.

Frontier’s Caleb Kirkpatrick, left, makes a move with the ball as Heartland Christian’s Jacob Reed defends during Saturday’s OVAC 1A finals at the ECO Center. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Hunter Taylor responded with a pair of free throws to put FHS back on top, but Jack Morgan’s transition layup and Isaiah Matthews’ 3-ball in the final minute put Heartland up 22-18 after one.

Frontier (12-6) committed turnovers on its first three possessions of the second which led to seven straight points for the Lions, a 12-0 run going back to the first, to make it 29-18. The Cougars clawed back within seven before Collin Kalaher hit back-to-back triples to put Heartland up 36-23. Frontier closed the half on an 8-2 run, which included two 3-pointers by Powell, to get within seven, 38-31, at the break.

Buckets by Kason Hoff and Bowersock gave Frontier some life at 38-35, but the Lions punched back with six straight points to pull ahead by nine. A 3-ball by Caleb Kirkpatrick and a bucket by Bowersock kept FHS in it, and Taylor’s three-point play to end the quarter cut the deficit to 48-44.

The Lions opened the fourth strong with a layup from Conaway and a stepback 3-pointer by Reagan Kalaher to extend the lead to nine. Frontier got within six three times, but couldn’t draw closer as Heartland held on down the stretch.

“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Frontier head coach Roger Kirkpatrick. “Didn’t rebound a couple shots, then turned it over a couple times. Missed too many free throws tonight. They shot the ball extremely well again. They’re guard-oriented. This was a tournament atmosphere, and I thought we gave effort, but a few mental mistakes cost us at the end.”

Bowersock led the Cougars with 17 points and five rebounds. Powell added 16 points. Caleb Kirkpatrick netted nine, Taylor tallied seven and Hoff chipped in six.

Collin Kalaher was named MVP for Heartland after contributing 23 points, five assists and five steals.

“He means so much to our program,” Scott said. “He’s a dynamic player. He can score at all the different levels. He finds guys open. When he’s engaged defensively, he can be a great defender, too. Our guys feed off of him. He’s definitely deserving of MVP today.”

Reagan Kalaher added 13 points and eight rebounds. Corban Setuia scored 11 points while Conaway finished with nine points, six boards and five dimes. Jack Morgan pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

“Just glory to God. Can’t do it without Him,” said Scott, whose team improved to 17-4.

“(Frontier) shot it really well today. I think both teams in spurts shot it really well. They’re well coached. They had a good gameplan against us, kind of mixing up their defenses and over-helping. It was just good to see our kids overcome that.”

2A: Toronto 54, Caldwell 48

Caldwell squared off against Toronto in the 2A championship game. The Red Knights never trailed, prevailing 54-48, but the Redskins didn’t make it easy.

Down 40-35 late in the third, Guiler Preston’s three-point play with two seconds left gave Caldwell some momentum going into the final eight minutes. Another Preston basket tied it to begin the fourth, but a 3-pointer by Austin Buchanan put Toronto (17-4) back in front for good.

The Red Knights were up eight with 2:40 remaining, but four straight points from Izic Cool kept Caldwell in it before Kyler Starr’s transition layup with 38 seconds left cut it to 50-48.

However, Brady Fair buried a pair of free throws on the other end, making it a four-point game, and Caldwell was unable to find the bottom of the net in the final 20 seconds.

Buchanan nabbed MVP honors with a game-high 21 points. He knocked down five treys. Fair added 15 points while Colt Joynson chipped in nine points and eight rebounds. The Red Knights, who defeated Caldwell in last year’s OVAC semis, also got eight points from Landon Grimes.

CHS (15-4) was led by Preston’s 15 points, nine boards and five steals. Dylan Schott added 13 points and three assists while Gentry Brown and Dalton Egnot netted six points apiece.

3A: Wheeling Central 83, Monroe Central 55

The 3A championship game was a rematch that pitted two defending state champions against one another.

Wheeling Central used a 21-6 run in the second quarter to put Monroe Central in too deep of a hole to climb out of, and the Maroon Knights rolled to an 83-55 victory to repeat as conference champs.

The Seminoles (15-4) trailed 18-12 after one before watching the game get out of reach in the second as the Knights went up 39-18 at halftime. MCHS shot just 23.1% (6 for 26) from the floor in the first half.

Wheeling Central star Eli Sancomb was surgical at point guard, finishing with 28 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, all game-highs. Max Olejasz added 17 points, six boards and four dimes while Luke Sancomb and Nico Kusic chipped in nine points each. The Maroon Knights, who are perfect on the year at 15-0, also got eight points and 10 rebounds from Steven Brodegard.

The ‘Noles, who looked much sharper in the second half, were led by Caedyn Silva’s 22 points. Cooper Howell added 10 points and nine rebounds while Corbin Farnsworth netted eight points.

Contact Jordan at jholland@mariettatimes.com.