Glenwood New Boston holds serve in 76-74 victory over River Valley

Playing what ninth-year head coach Adam Cox referred to as one of his program’s gutsiest wins since the days of the 2021 OHSAA Final Four group, the Glenwood New Boston Tigers’ boys basketball program emerged victorious in its season-opening contest Saturday evening, as Glenwood junior Tyler McQuithy drained a game-winning three-point field goal from the left wing with 8.5 seconds left to help lift the Tigers to a 76-74 victory over Bidwell River Valley Saturday evening at The Den in New Boston.

It couldn’t have been scripted any better for the veteran leader of the program — who not only got the victory in front of a packed house but did so against a River Valley squad that returned eight seniors to the 2025-26 version of its roster in doing so.

“Oh man, it was a big season-opening win,” Cox said. “For a team that has eight seniors and is Division V, that’s a huge jolt for us to start the season. We were probably 20-point underdogs coming into it, but we came out and played with a ton of heart.”

For much of the contest, the scoring ability of Glenwood senior guard Wyatt McNeil helped will the Tigers offensively.

With neither team outscoring the other by more than three points in each of the first three quarters, it was McNeil who played a large part in that on the Glenwood side as the 6-1 senior — one of six four-year statesmen on the New Boston roster — finished with 35 points while canning six shots from long distance and six from inside the arc while going 5-of-6 from the free throw line to boot.

“Wyatt played really well in all facets,” Cox said. “He had a really, really good game. He’s been red-hot, man. He can shoot the ball, that’s for sure. Wyatt was in here every practice with the OHSAA Division IV Final Four team since he was in seventh grade. He knows what New Boston means to me, and he knows how much New Boston means in general.”

Along with McNeil, fellow 6-1 senior standout Tyshoune Henderson tallied up 15 points while 6-3 sophomore Cam Voiers added in 10 notches for Glenwood in its season-opening win — a victory that Cox said came from pure effort.

“We play harder than any team that I’ve had since the 2021 Final Four team,” Cox said. “We’re not as talented as some teams, but we play freakin’ hard. We play freakin’ hard. We go about eight or nine deep, and really, our fourth guy through our ninth guy are all about the same. We have our three leading scorers that are our go-to guys offensively that we can count on, but our four-through-nine is pretty good. They’re all role players who have bought into their roles and play hard. It’s pretty awesome to rotate people in and out and keep the intensity where it needs to be.”

Some of the familiar last names that have contributed to New Boston’s success in years past that also contributed to Saturday’s win, along with the familial ties, made this victory all the more special for Cox.

“I got another McQuithy on the team (Tyler, after coaching Kyle), I got another Voiers on the team (Cam, after coaching Tanner and Brady), and Wyatt is my stepson,” Cox said. “Julian (Brady) is a four-year player, so we have a lot of kids that’s been around our program for a while and understand what it’s about.”

New Boston (1-0) was scheduled to take on Northwest (0-0) Tuesday evening barring a potential postponement or cancellation due to weather. The Tigers then play host to Oak Hill in a nonconference matchup Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. before its first SOC I contest of the 2025-26 season Friday, Dec. 12 against Notre Dame.