SIDNEY — Sidney dropped to 5-5 overall and 4-4 in Miami Valley League play after a loss to Tippecanoe on Jan. 5. Its hopes of an MVL Valley Division title looked bleak.

But the Yellow Jackets cut down the nets after beating Greenville 63-48 on Friday to celebrate finishing first in Valley Division standings for the third time in five years.

Sidney finishes regular-season play 15-7 overall and 13-5 in MVL play. The squad won 10 of its last 12 games, including a nine-game winning streak between Jan. 6 and Feb. 2.

“I’m not going to say we’d thought we’d get 15 wins, but I thought we’d be pretty good,” Sidney coach John Willoughby said. “I thought we’d battle for the league. I thought we would be one of the top four teams overall in the league.

“After we got started 5-5, we had to reevaluate. Our message was not to lose another league game. We didn’t quite do that, but we got very close, and that ended up being what we needed to win our division.

“Great fight by our team to get back. Really proud of the way these guys fought and improved.”

Sidney is hoping to beat one more Valley Division foe this season. The Yellow Jackets are scheduled to open tournament play on Thursday against Stebbins at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activity Center.

Stebbins (14-8, 12-6) finished second in divisional standings. After a 10-3 start, the Indians lost five of their last nine games, a stretch that started with a 55-39 loss in Sidney on Jan. 19.

The Yellow Jackets beat Stebbins 60-49 on Dec. 12 in Riverside.

“We can’t take them lightly. We know how good they are,” Willoughby said. “They’re athletic as all get out. We’re going to have to be ready to play.”

While no current player was in high school at the time, Willoughby said he still remembers the 2019-20 season, when the Yellow Jackets won the overall MVL title and beat Stebbins twice in regular-season play, only to lose to the Indians in a second-round postseason game.

This year’s Indians are led by 6-foot-5 senior forward Bryson Bishop, who averages 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He scored 19 points against the Yellow Jackets on Dec. 12 and had 10 points and nine rebounds on Jan. 19.

Three guards average between five and seven points per game.

“Their guards are very athletic, and Bishop is nice,” Willoughby said. “… We’re going to have to keep him in check. Our big thing is to keep them out of the lane. We can’t let them penetrate and open things up, because that’s when they hurt us. Defensively, we’ve got to keep them in front of us. We’ve got to be able to handle their pressure.”

Aside from normal starting forward Mitchell Davis, Sidney started seniors Gavin Gillum, Tucker Herron and Cory Blackford against the Green Wave on Friday.

They (and junior guard A’Zon Steele) did well on senior night and helped the squad amass a 25-11 lead by halftime.

“Defensively, the first half, I thought was excellent, with starting all the seniors and them not having played much throughout the year,” Willoughby said. “Holding them 11 points in the first half, we felt great about that. We laid an egg in the third quarter and got a little sloppy.

“A’Zon had a good game and kept us going. We got a lot of hands on balls the first half, got a lot of deflections. We didn’t convert on a couple of fast breaks, but other than that, it was a pretty good half.

“… They played well, and I think they enjoyed it. That’s what high school is all about; you’ve got to enjoy it.”

Steele finished with 24 points, six steals, six rebounds and three assists.

Gillum scored a career-high eight points. Junior guard Julius Spradling added eight points and four steals.

All nine of Sidney’s players scored. The last to do so was Blackford, who hit a jumper in the final seconds, much to the crowd’s delight.

Quinter named SCAL player of the year

Russia senior Hayden Quinter has been named Shelby County Athletic League player of the year.

The SCAL released its all-star teams last week. Aside from Quinter, Jackson Center junior Reed Platfoot, Botkins junior Collin Doseck, Russia senior Brayden Monnin and Anna senior Trey Heitkamp were named first team.

Quinter, a senior point guard, averages 10 points, 3.5 rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Raiders. He is a four-year varsity player and is one of five players who average between 10 and 11 points per game for Russia.

Russia senior Felix Francis, Anna senior Mason Carey, Russia junior Braylon Cordonnier, Jackson Center senior Lucas Hartle and Botkins senior Jordan Herzog were named second team.

Anna’s Evan Meyers, Botkins’ Rylyn Paul and Noah Topp, Fairlawn’s Drew Westerbeck, Fort Loramie’s Max Maurer, Jackson Center’s Lucas Heitkamp and Russia’s Benjamin York were named honorable mention.

Russia No. 1 in penultimate D-IV AP poll

Russia was again ranked No. 1 in the state Associated Press Division IV poll this week. The polls were announced on Tuesday, a day late due to President’s Day. The final polls of the year will be released this Monday.

The Raiders (21-1) finished regular-season play by beating Fort Loramie 68-31 and Marion Local 57-52 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Friday’s game was the last varsity contest scheduled to be held in Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium before the Russia Community Center opens later this year.

Richmond Heights, which has won the last two Div. IV state titles and beat Russia in a state semifinal last year, has steadily climbed in the polls this season and is now ranked No. 3.

The Spartans have played a loaded schedule that features many of the state’s top D-I teams. They were 5-8 after an eight-point loss to Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (ranked No. 1 in D-III) on Jan. 7 but rattled off seven straight wins before losing by 12 points to Huntington Expression Prep on Saturday.

If both Richmond Heights and Russia advance, they will again face off in a state semifinal this year.

Russia is scheduled to start tournament play on Friday at Troy High School against Yellow Springs.