OAKLAND — Armstrong had a long talk with coach Brian Kovalovsky at halftime, and it let its playing do the talking in the second half.
The River Hawks, trailing 29-27 at the half, opened the third quarter on a 15-0 run, and they led by at least six points the rest of the way.
Behind 21 points from Quinton Olsen and 10 3-pointers, Armstrong defeated No. 3 East Hardy, 70-59, on Friday to advance to the championship game of the 45th Southern Snowball Classic.
“For the first half, I didn’t think we were who we are,” Kovalovsky said. “We were allowing (Jordan Teets) to get free looks. We turned it over four or five straight times, not making good passes, so we really had a long conversation at halftime.
“I really questioned our character and who we were, and we really responded.”
Armstong (4-5) is playing in its second Snowball Classic after going 1-1 last year, losing to eventual champion Wheeling Central Catholic in its opener.
East Hardy’s loss Friday was its first of the season after a 4-0 start.
The Cougars were led in scoring by Teets, a first-team All-Area player a season ago, with 21 points and four 3-pointers.
They pulled to within 47-41 entering the fourth quarter with a 5-0 flurry, but Armstrong outscored East Hardy, 23-18, in the fourth to secure the victory.
“I thought they did a really good job of passing out of our pressure, making open shots,” East Hardy head coach Chris Hahn said. “I thought (Olsen) and (Jayden Oliver) had tremendous games.
“Defensively, we didn’t do a good job tonight staying connected. Three or four of our guys would be doing good, and one or two would just fall asleep.”
Armstrong had four in double figures. In addition to Olsen’s total, Oliver and Chase Jablonski each finished with 13 points, and Jacob Szep added 10.
Jablonski is recently back in the lineup after suffering an injury in football, Kovalovsky said, and he kept Armstrong in the game with nine first-half points.
Gideon Good and Evan Hamilton were second on the Cougars with 13 points apiece, and Mason Hamilton added eight.
Armstrong upped its pressure to begin the second half, holding East Hardy without a point until Mason Hamilton hit a trey with 2:07 remaining in the third period.
“I think we came out flat, but I think we came out flat because they started putting that high pressure,” Hahn said. “We should’ve done a better job of attacking it. … We just never really ran our sets. We played undisciplined basketball.”
East Hardy plays in the consolation game at 6 p.m. Saturday against Hereford.
Armstrong takes on Southern in the championship game at 8 p.m.
“These folks do a great job,” Kovalovsky said of the tournament. “We really enjoyed it (last year). That’s why we wanted to come back down.”