SHOOTER — Toronto’s Austin Buchanan looks to lead the Red Knights during Saturday’s OVAC Class 2A title game. - Andrew Grimm

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Toronto boys basketball time is on the verge of reaching the summit of the mountain for the first time in more than three decades, and all that is standing in No. 1 seed Toronto’s way is No. 2 seed Caldwell.

The Red Knights and Redskins are set to renew their rivalry in the OVAC Class 2A Tournament Final at 2 p.m. Saturday at the ECO Center down in St. Clairsville.

Toronto enters the game with a stellar record of 17-3, while Caldwell is currently 15-3 on the season.

Toronto had to work extra hard to defeat No. 4 seed Lisbon in the semifinals as the Red Knights eventually able to put the Blue Devils away as they recorded an 88-80 victory in overtime Tuesday night inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium.

“We saw a lot of different things watching the game on film,” Toronto head coach Sean Tucker said about his team’s win against its former EOAC rivals. “We saw things you don’t necessarily remember right away or after a game. One of those things was our free-throw shooting. I did not realize how bad it was. We were 10-of-23 in regulation, but we came back and we were 7-of-8 in overtime. Going back and looking at those free throws we missed, quite a few of those free throws were rushed. We did not concentrate very well at the line in regulation. If we make one more of those free throws, the game does not go into overtime.

“Another thing was we get outrebounded at different times. We allowed them to get multiple shots at the basket. We gave them second and third shots. If you take away a couple of those, it may be an eight-point swing, and we don’t go into overtime but we gave them extra opportunities to score.

“Another key was putbacks and layups. We missed eight putbacks and layups. Winning and losing doesn’t come down to the final seconds. Winning and losing is about what happens throughout the game. It is about what leads up to the final seconds. Fortunately, our leadership, our experience and our team’s schedule put us in a good position to win that game.”

The Red-and-White led the boys in blue by 14 points at the end of the first quarter and 11 going into the locker room at halftime, however, the Blue-and-White were able to take advantage of some key Toronto turnovers to get back into the game and to ultimately force overtime.

“Going back to the turnovers, they weren’t bad turnovers, they were just untimely, and with them being untimely, they made them seem worse than they really were,” Tucker said. “If we don’t miss those layups and since we didn’t box out which led to them scoring more points, the turnovers don’t hurt us. They don’t really matter a whole lot. We only had 12 turnovers which is not bad.

“When we went back and looked at the film, in the fourth quarter, we had some untimely turnovers. They were bad in the sense that they happened at the wrong time and led to points for them. I told the guys last night that the turnovers wouldn’t have mattered if we make our free throws, we make our layups and if we box out. We have to limit teams to just one opportunity to score, and we did that in the first quarter. We limited their opportunities, we took care of the basketball and we were patient with the ball. Once we got away from that, things started to snowball in the second half.

“We have to do a better job as coaches of keeping the guys focused. We have to get our point across. We reiterated that at the start of overtime. We explained to our guys that in order to win, we were going to have to take care of the basketball, and we were going to have to play our style of basketball. When we play our style of basketball, good things happen, and they did. We limited their opportunities, we finished our layups and we were 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.”

The boys from Columbiana County closed to with two points at the end of the third quarter before knotting the score at 66 at the end of regulation sending the game into overtime.

Overtime belonged to the boys from the Gem City as they tallied the first eight points of the period before leading by as many as nine in the extra session.

“We started overtime on an 8-0 run, and that was very important,” Tucker said. “We told the guys we needed to get the momentum back on our side. The moment was definitely on their side at the start of overtime. We wanted to try and take the momentum back, and that was the key as we talked to them prior to the overtime tip. We wanted to come out swinging, and we wanted to throw the first punch. They had the momentum, and we wanted to get back on our side.”

The game was the second-straight overtime game for the Red Knights as Toronto defeated county-rival Indian Creek, 52-44, in overtime Feb. 4 on the road on Coach D Court.

The Redskins had a much easier time Tuesday as Caldwell defeated No. 3 seed Bridgeport, 72-52, at home in the other semifinal.

“I was able to scout them a couple of times,” Tucker said. “They are extremely disciplined. They are a very good team. They have great athletes. They are similar to our team. Our guards can shoot the ball, and they have a some guys who can shoot the ball. They have a good point guard who can handle the ball, and our point guard can handle the ball. They are very smart. They have some really basketball IQs. They put in just as much or possibly more time as we did in the offseason. They are in the gym as often as they can.

“They have got a great coach. Clint Crane does a great job with his team. He is an old-school coach. Once their season is done, at the first opportunity he gets, they are back in the gym. They put in the time, and they put in the work year in and year out. I have lot of respect for him. We are very close. It is a battle whenever we play. There is a lot of respect between he and I. There is a ton of respect of between the coaches. I admire the job he does and the program he runs. I think it is going to be a really good basketball game.”

Last season, the No. 2 seed Red Knights defeated the No. 3 seed Redskins, 62-35, in the 2A Semifinals.

“We played extremely well at our place,” Tucker said. “It was one of those situations where we played a near perfect game. We explained to our guys, this is not the same Caldwell team we played last year. They are a very good team. We watched them on film, and they are not the same team they were last season. It is going to be a dogfight. It is going to come down to who can play a perfect game or as near a perfect game as they can.”

Catholic Central – the No. 1 seed – defeated Toronto, 43-38, in the final. The Crusaders went on to make it to the regional tournament in Ohio last season.

Four players scored in double digits for Toronto against Lisbon in the semifinals. Offensively, the boys in white were led by Austin Buchanan, who netted a career-high 33 points in the win.

“Caldwell is so deep defensively,” Tucker said. “They are not a bad matchup for us per say. I think we matchup well with them overall. We are going to have to execute in all phases of the game. We know we are going to need to have more than two guys score. We are going to need to have all five guys contribute offensively down at the ECO Center Saturday. Our bench is going to be very important. They are going to have to play a key role if we are going to have success. Everyone is going to have to score. We know we can score, and they can score. It is going to come down to who can shut down the other team. Some of our other guys are going to get some opportunities to score, and they are going to have to take advantage of that.”

Playing in the afternoon should not pose a problem for the Red Knights.

“What is good for us is we have played early two times before this season,” Tucker said. “One of those times was down in Florida. A lot of teams don’t have the opportunity to play early games. Some teams will try and play at like 1 p.m. if it is a make up game or something. They will try and do that. I don’t think it will be a big factor for our guys. We have played early multiple times. I don’t think it will be a huge deal for guys to have to deal with.

“We are going to get on the bus and head down early. We are going to watch one of our local teams – Steubenville – play, and then we are going to check out the second game. We want to get down there early and get use to the atmosphere.”

Toronto has experience playing on the court inside the ECO Center.

“The size of the court helps and hurts both of us,” Tucker said. “There is going to be a fair advantage for both teams. We like to play full-court man pressure defense. Caldwell likes to play halfcourt and run and jump and trap you in the corners. It is a wide floor. It is a big floor. It will be a little difficult to play the way we want to play. It will be a little more difficult. It is different if you want to work on spacing and balancing the floor. The court will make that very difficult to do. The floor is not a big worry. You can’t play 32 minutes, 90 feet the whole time. There are advantages, and there are disadvantages.”

Toronto is looking to capture its first OVAC championship since the 1991-92 season.

“I believe it has been 35 years since it happened,” Tucker said. “It has been since 1992. I feel the kids are really excited. One of the things I told the kids is this is just a game. It is another game. If you win it, you are champions of the OVAC. If you lose it, you are runner-up. I told them this game will not define them at all. If they win, it just means they are crowned OVAC champions, but will not define them.

“The people who put this on for the OVAC do a fantastic job. It is great for the kids. It is a great stage. They treat you really well down there. It is a great experience for the kids and for the coaches. It is a great time. They put a lot of effort into it. It has a tournament feel. It is great preparation for the state tournament.”

Toronto – the No. 2 seed – also advanced to the final in 2024 before falling to No. 1 seed Monroe Central, 60-32. The Seminoles went to win a state championship that season.

“In 1992, there wasn’t a tournament,” Tucker said. “It was just if you were the No. 1 seed, you would win the OVAC. Now with the tournament format, it is awesome. You get to compete in tournament before you compete in the state tournament. It helps you compare for the state tournament. There were times where Toronto has been the No. 1 seed going down there and did not win the title. This is big for the kids and for the coaching staff. The kids have done a great job of representing the school and the community. They are a team the community and the school can be proud of.”

Toronto has won 11 straight games.

“Go Red Knights,” Tucker said.

The postseason draw is scheduled to be held Sunday.