Staff report
SIDNEY — The Fairlawn Jets notched one of their most impressive wins of the season, handing Miami East a 65-59 setback in a non-league matchup of backyard rivals Saturday night at Fairlawn in high school boys basketball.
The Jets go to 15-7 on the year with their fourth straight win and eighth in their last nine games. They open tournament play at Piqua on Feb. 24 against either Riverside or Triad.
Miami East lost for only the fourth time this season and concludes the regular campaign 18-4.
Junior phenom Nathan Lessing exploded for 38 points — without the aid of a three-pointer — to lead the Jets again, and head coach Justin Tidwell says he can thank his teammates.
“Miami East plays zone, and we had a lot of success against it,” he said. “Nathan was inside and he was doing a great job of kicking the ball out. Once we started hitting from the outside, they had to pick their poison, and Nathan just started dominating inside. Luke Hickman put on a great shooting performance. He’s really been playing well for us.”
Hickman finished with 12, all of them coming on four three-pointers to force the Vikings to come out further in their zone.
Miami East (59) — Haney 2, Mackesy 17, Donaldson 2, West 2, Mack 12, Werling 4.
Fairlawn (55) — Lessing 38, N. Brautigam 2, Kurtner 6, Johnson 5, Hammond 2, Hickman 12.
Score by quarters:
Miami East—17 31 44 59
Fairlawn—18 37 50 65
Three-pointers: ME 4 (Mack 4); Fairlawn 7 (Hickman 4, Kurtner 2, Johnson).
Records: Fairlawn 15-7, ME 18-4.
Reserve score: ME 47, Fairlawn 24.
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Jackson 51, Riverside 36
DEGRAFF — The Jackson Center Tigers continued to play strong defense and it led to a 51-36 victory over Riverside Saturday night in a game marked by a milestone.
Tiger 6-foot-6 junior center Brady Wildermuth went over 1,000 points for his career in the victory. He entered the game needing 15, and finished the game with 19.
The Tigers, who finish the regular season at 18-4, steadily pulled away from the Pirates, leading 25-17 at the half, then 40-24 after three.
They will open tournament play at Piqua on Saturday against Ansonia.
Only three Tigers scored, and all in double figures. Drew Sosby had 20, Wildermuth 19 and Ethan Zorn 12.
Jesse Kean had 12 to lead the Pirates, who finish the regular season at 7-15.
JC (51) — D. Sosby 20, Zorn 12, Wildermuth 19.
Riverside (36) — Sanford 3, Kelsey 7, Bollinger 2, Shane Crawford 2, Stephens 8, Keane 12, Barhorst 8.
Score by quarters:
JC—8 25 40 51
Riv.—5 17 24 36
Three-pointers: JC 6 (Sosby 5, Zorn); Riverside 6 (Stephens 2, Keane 2, Sanford, Kelsey).
Records: JC 18-4, Riverside 7-15.
Reserve score: Riverside 36, JC 27.
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Houston 55, Bradford 40
BRADFORD — The Houston Wildcats ended the regular season on a positive note, going on the road and beating the Bradford Railroaders 55-40 in non-league play Saturday night.
The win gives Houston an 8-14 record heading into sectional tournament play Friday at Piqua against Mississinawa Valley in the first round.
After a 10-10 tie in the first quarter, the Wildcats held Bradford scoreless in the second to build a 23-10 lead.
Domyneik Phipps had 16 and Zach Jolly had 14 to lead the Wildcats.
Houston (55) — Phipps 16, Beaver 2, Arnold 9, Shaffer 3, Sluss 3, Jolly 14, Freytag 7, Ludwig 1.
Bradford (40) — Smith 8, Millhouse 8, Branson 2, Swabb 9, Patty 13.
Score by quarters:
Houston—10 23 37 55
Bradford—10 10 22 40
Three-pointers: Houston 4 (Phipps, Arnold, Shaffer, Sluss); Bradford 4 (Smith, Swabb).
Records: Houston 8-14, Bradford 2-19.
Reserve score: Houston 43, Bradford 23.
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Tri-Village 50, Loramie 48, ot
NEW MADISON —It was an outstanding effort by the Fort Loramie Redskins, but unfortunately it fell two points shy in an overtime thriller against defending state champion Tri-Village on the road, 50-48, Saturday.
Tri-Village entered the game as the No. 6-ranked Division 4 team in Ohio, and now sports a 19-3 record going into tournament play.
The Redskins continued to show how much they’ve improved. They entered the contenst on a four-game winning streak and nearly pulled off a huge upset.
It was tight throughout, but the Redskins fell behind 39-31 with under five to play in the final period. But they battled back to send it to overtime, and when Drew Wehrman hit a three-pointer, Loramie was up one. At the other end, however, Tri-Village got a stickback to retake the lead.
Loramie had a one-and-one with :08 left but missed, and the Patriots added another free throw. Loramie got off a three-pointer at the end but did not connect.
“We talked about going over there and laying it on the line,” said Loramie coach Corey Britton. “I was extremely proud of the way the kids played. We were up twice in the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold it.”
Wehrman and Dillon Braun both finished with 12 points for the Redskins, who finish regular season play at 10-12. They play Mechanicsburg in sectional play at Piqua Friday.
Loramie (48) — Wehrman 12, Berning 7, Rosengarten 7, Braun 12, Pleiman 2, Gasson 2, Siegel 6.
Tri-Village (50) — Morris 4, VanWinkle 7, Wilson 5, Boyter 3, Richards 16, Couch 15.
Score by quarters:
FL—12 20 29 43 48
TV—10 19 30 43 50
Three-pointers: FL 5 (Braun 2, Wehrman, Berning, Rosengarten); TV 4 (VanWinkle 2, Boyter, Richards).
Records: Loramie 11-11, TV 18-4.
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Bluffton 74, Lehman 35
BLUFFTON — The Lehman Cavaliers dropped to 4-16 on the year after losing on the road to Bluffton, 74-35, in non-league boys basketball action Saturday night.
The Cavs return to action Tuesday at home against Triad.
Bluffton bolted to a 22-10 lead after a quarter, but the Cavaliers stormed back to pull within 32-27 at the half, outscoring the hosts 17-10. But Bluffton exploded for 29 points in the third quarrter to open up a 61-35 bulge, then held the Cavs scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Lehman was led by Kam Lee with 11 points.
Lehman (35) — Schutt 3, Monnin 2, Arnold 8, Lee 11, Frantz 2, Bunker 9.
Bluffton (74) — Bassitt 4, Bricker 4, Ault 13, Siefker 11, Friesen 17, Schriner 16, Myers 2, Denecker 7.
Score by quarters:
Lehman—10 27 35 35
Bluffton—22 32 61 74
Three-pointers: Lehman 6 (Lee 3, Arnold 2, Schutt); Bluffton 9 (Schriner 4, Siefker 3, Friesen, Ault).
Records: Lehman 4-16, Bluffton 13-7.
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Anna 49, Covington 35
COVINGTON — The Anna Rockets completed a good weekend with a 49-35 victory over Covington in non-league action Saturday.
The Rockets, who led 45-27 after three, go to 15-7 on the season and open D-3 sectional play Saturday against Northwestern at Northmont.
Kain Luthman led the Rockets with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Blake Stephens added 16 points.
Anna (49) — Bensman 2, Huelskamp 3, Cathcart 6, Luthman 18, Stephens 16, Flesher 4.
Covington (35) — Maschino 3, Miller 13, Blei 13, Sowers 6.
Score by quarters:
Anna—16 32 45 49
Covington—8 17 27 35
Three-pointers: Anna 5 (Stephens 3, Cathcart 2); Covington 3 (Blei 2, Miller).
Records: Anna 15-7, Covington 8-14.
Reserve score: Anna 49, Covington 33.
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Lima Perry 71, Botkins 54
BOTKINS — The Botkins Trojans took on one of the strongest teams on its schedule Saturday at home, and dropped a 71-54 verdict to Lima Perry.
The Trojans are 7-14 with one regular-season game left, tonight at home against New Bremen in a makeup game.
Perry led 12-7 after a quarter, then opened up a 37-23 lead at the half thanks to Ovion Monford, who had 10 in the quarter.
The Trojans were down just 12 after three but could get no closer.
Chad Bergman had 18 to lead the Trojans and Nolan Greve added 10.
Perry (71) — Gardner 5, Monford 16, Neal 5, Harvey 16, Glover 10, Nichols 2, Harriston 2, Poling 15.
Botkins (54) — Egbert 3, Fullenkamp 8, E. Greve 3, Flora 5, L. Bergman 7, N. Greve 10, C. Bergman 18.
Score by quarters:
Perry—19 37 50 71
Botkins—12 23 38 54
Three-pointers: LP 6 (Monford 2, Poling 2, Gardner, Harvey); Botkins 4 (Fullenkamp 2, Egbert, L. Bergman).
Records: Botkins 7-14, Perry 18-3.
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Crestview 60, Knoxville 43
NEW KNOXVILLE — The New Knoxville Rangers fell behind 32-15 at the half and never recovered in falling to Crestview in non-league action Saturday 60-43.
The Rangers go into Friday’s regular-season finale at home against Minster with a 7-14 mark.
Logan Leffel had 17 to lead the Rangers.
Crestview (60) — Lautzenheizer 23, Gibson 2, Etzler 10, Mefferd 123, Rolsten 2, Stout 8, Sheets 2.
Knoxville (43) — Leffel 17, Topp 8, Lageman 2, Tinnerman 2, Lammers 9, Neuman 5.
Score by quarters:
Crestview—19 32 49 60
Knoxville—9 15 31 43
Three-pointers: NK 4 (Lammers 3, Leffel); Crestview 3 (Lautzenheimer 3).
Records: NK 7-14, Crestview 16-5.
Reserve score: Crestview 37, NK 26.
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Spencerville 60, Bremen 52
NEW BREMEN — The New Bremen Cardinals dipped to 4-17 on the season after a 60-52 home loss to Spencerville Saturday night.
The Cardinals were led in scoring by Deion Hoehne with 18.
Bremen is at Botkins tonight in a makeup game.
Spencerville (60) — Nourse 6, Meyer 10, Goecke 7, Prichard 18, B. Croft 18, Propst 1.
Bremen (52) — Bowers 2, Powers 7, Schwieterman 2, Parker 10, Myers 9, Hoehne 18, Messick 2, Heitkamp 2.
Score by quarters:
S’ville—11 23 35 60
Bremen—6 21 32 52
Three-pointers: Spencerville 1 (Propst), NB 1 (Powers).
Records: NB 4-17, Spencerville 16-3.
