ORWELL — Hillsdale’s magical postseason run came to an abrupt end Monday night, but the journey is something senior Braylen Jarvis and his classmates won’t soon forget.
Making their first district tournament appearance in almost a decade, the 10th-seeded Falcons ran into a buzzsaw in top-seeded Warren JFK. The high-flying Eagles, with three 1,000-point scorers in the starting lineup, soared to a resounding 81-49 victory.
Hillsdale finished its most successful season since 2015-16 with an 18-7 record.
“Nobody expected us to get 18 wins this year, especially with the way the last few years have been,” said Jarvis, one of four seniors on Hillsdale’s roster. “This was a lot of fun. I couldn’t have asked to do it with a better group of guys.
“Ultimately, laying the foundation was the goal. We had a good seventh-grade class and a good eighth-grade class and a solid junior varsity team. Hopefully this tradition sticks for a while.”
The bright lights of the district tournament got the better of first-year coach Ben Ferguson’s bunch during the early going. The Falcons committed four unforced turnovers in the opening minutes as the Eagles (18-6) raced to an 11-3 lead midway through the opening period.
“That was uncharacteristic of us this year. We had done a good job of taking care of the basketball for the most part,” Ferguson said. “The stage was big for us.
“It was the first time in a long time we’ve been to the district tournament and the first time ever for this group of kids.”
The Falcons trailed 20-11 after the first quarter, but settled down early in the second. A Jarvis 3-pointer off a Bradey Krichbaum assist with 6:26 to play in the half cut JFK’s advantage to 22-19.
YettThe Eagles responded with a lightning-quick 7-0 run and opened a 29-19 margin on a Michael Condoleon layup with 5:28 showing in the quarter.
“I told them we couldn’t keep trading baskets,” JFK coach Mark Komlanc said. “I’m glad we started to play a little better defense in the second half.”
The Falcons made thing interesting in the opening minute of the third, cutting the Eagles’ advantage to 45-36 on a pair of Troy Bennett free throws. An 8-0 JFK run pushed the advantage to 53-36 and the Falcons never threatened again.
“They are a great team. They’re big, they’re strong and everybody can shoot the ball,” Ferguson said. “They are exactly who we expected.”
Jarvis scored a team-high 17 for the Falcons. The athletic 6-foot-1 swingman set Hillsdale’s single-season scoring record and capped his career with 1,060 points, 27 shy of career scoring king and Ferguson assistant Eric Pickering.
“He’s going to be hard to replace, as will all (fellow seniors) Jack Fickes and Gabe Stack and Byron Bickel,” Ferguson said. “I’m not just talking about their production on the floor. I’m talking about their leadership.”
Krichbaum backed Jarvis with 12 points. Sophomore Troy Bennett added 10.
“We knew Jarvis was very good and we knew their big (Krichbaum) was very good,” Komlanc said. “They play really hard on every single possession.
“I think we caught them on an off-night and we had a really good night.”
Nick Ryan paced the Eagles with a game-high 22 points. Condoleon and Nico Ciminero scored 16 points apiece, while Jaden Rishel added nine.
Ryan, Condoleon and Rishel all have scored more than 1,000 career points.
While the loss was disappointing, Ferguson was pleased with what the Falcons were able to accomplish this winter. In addition to the 18 victories, Hillsdale finished third in the rugged Wayne County Athletic League at 8-6.
The eight conference victories were more than the previous five seasons combined.
“These guys really bought in. They’ve been fantastic,” Ferguson said. “I’m really blessed to have had this group my first year.
“This group was loaded with athletes who wanted to win and wanted to work hard.”