The breakdown: Blackman boys hold off Riverdale rally to reach 7-AAA finals

In the fourth quarter of Saturday's District 7-AAA boys semifinal contest at Blackman High, it was a battle between Riverdale’s 3-point shooting and Blackman’s free throw shooting.

Down by 15, Riverdale converted six 3-pointers to cut the gap down to five, but the top-seeded Blaze were able to convert at the free throw line to clinch a 63-55 win.

Third-ranked Blackman advanced to play in Tuesday's boys title game at 7:30.

Here is a breakdown of the game:

Blackman boys 63, Riverdale 55

Records: Blackman 23-3, Riverdale 11-17.

The skinny:  The Blaze built a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter (43-28) but the Warriors came charging back by connecting on six 3-pointers to cut the gap to five. Cody Grubbs and Johnathan Matthews each had three 3-pointers in the final quarter during the comeback effort. Blackman converted 14-of-17 free throws in the final two minutes to clinch the win.

Turning point: Blackman outscored Riverdale 17-6 in the third quarter. That gave the Blaze a double-digit lead, 41-28. They scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to make it 43-28. Riverdale’s fourth quarter comeback effort cut the gap to five, but the deficit was too great for the Warriors to completely overcome it.

Leading scorers: Blackman: Trent Gibson 14, Brandon Thomas 14. Riverdale: Cody Grubbs 20, Johnathan Matthews 18.

Quotable: “Their third quarter run killed us. We didn’t do a good job of matching up a couple of times and they really hurt us. I thought we showed a lot of character tonight and a lot of grit.” – Riverdale coach Michael Voss

“They jumped out and made shots over the top of us. I was pleased that we went to the free throw line and cashed in free throws.” – Blackman coach Barry Wortman