Beaver Local senior Owen Hill was named a second team All-Ohioan in Div. IV. (Photo by Ron Firth)

CALCUTTA — The Beaver Local boys basketball team had a chance to win every night 6-foot-7 senior Owen Hill was on the court.

As a junior, he was the first Beaver Local boys basketball player to capture first-team All-Ohio honors and he backed it up by earning second-team Division IV All-Ohio recognition Wednesday despite being slowed late this year by a stress fracture in his foot.

“He is the most decorated basketball player we’ve had come through the halls at Beaver Local,” Beavers coach Nick Miller said. “He is going to be remembered forever.”

A four-year letterwinner and two-time Columbiana County Player of the Year, Hill guided the Beavers to 53 victories, their most ever in a four-season stretch.

Beaver Local finished 17-7 this season, including a 14-4 mark when Hill was in the lineup.

“Unfortunate he had the injury,” Miller said. “I would have liked to see how we would have done in the tournament if he was healthy.”

Hill played injured late in the season and it was painful to run. He recently had ankle surgery.

“I never had that kind of an injury,” Miller said. “A lot of people that have it say it’s painful. I was impressed with the way he gutted it out.”

Hill got a full ride to NCAA Division II West Liberty University and will begin his collegiate career in early August.

He leaves Beaver Local as the all-time leading boys basketball scorer with 1,437 career points.

Hill had an outstanding senior season, averaging a team-high 23.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 assists a game. He had two 20 rebound games and six double-doubles. He also shot 58% from the field, 43% from three-point range and 70% from the foul line.

“He also was the anchor in the middle on the defensive end,” Miller said.

Hill’s career also included 681 rebounds and 129 assists, while shooting 51% from the field, 36% from three-point range and 68% from the foul line.

A former Beaver Local player, Canfield junior Jace Riccardo, was named to the All-Ohio first team after averaging a team-high 15.5 points a game in helping the Cardinals to a 24-4 season.

Riccardo played at Beaver Local through the eighth grade before being a key contributor at Youngstown Ursuline his freshman and sophomore seasons when the Irish went 40-10.

West Branch had a pair of players recognized — senior Jeremiah Thomas received special mention and senior Gavin Gregory got honorable mention. They led the Warriors to a 16-9 record and lost in the district final to eventual Division IV state runner-up Cleveland Glenville.

Thomas averaged a team-high 14.1 points, 3.3 assists 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals a game, while shooting 72.5% from the foul line.

Gregory shot 50% from the field while averaging 11.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists a game.

See page B6 for the complete Division IV through Div. VII All-Ohio boys basketball teams.