Hughes defeats Trotwood-Madison 96-86 to win D-II district title

DAYTON, Ohio - Senior Angel Rivera’s triple-double propelled Hughes to a 96-86 victory over Trotwood-Madison Friday night in a Division II Ohio boys' basketball district championship game played at UD Arena.

The 5-foot-8 Rivera finished with a game-high 30 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Big Red. Rivera only attempted six shots during the game (4 of 6), but connected on all three of his 3-point attempts and 19 of 22 free throws to lead Hughes.

Rivera, who had 21 points during the first half, was fourth in the Central Metro Athletic Conference in scoring this season (16.2 points) and led the league in assists (8.8 assists).

Dwight Nared pitched in 25 points and seven rebounds and Kevin Daniels added 18 points to help the Big Red to their fifth straight win and 12 in their last 13 outings.

Hughes (21-5) took a 12-point lead into halftime thanks to seven 3-pointers and 17 of 18 shooting from the free throw line during the first half. The Big Red went 35-for-47 from the charity stripe for the game to reach 90-plus points for the third time this season.

Trotwood-Madison (22-4) fought back and outscored Hughes 46-44 in the second half to get back in the contest. The Rams were led by the offensive attack of Ravonn Lovett (23 points), Chris Mack (19), Andre Foster (17) and Dazhontae Bennett (13), all of whom played at least 23 minutes during the contest.

Hughes will play the winner of the Shawnee/Dunbar district title game at Kettering Trent Arena Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m.