ScoresBroadcast.com’s Jack Kramer thought about exclaiming that Wednesday night’s game was “over” when Brett Meyer’s young Botkins Trojans trailed by 16 points with just over four minutes to play.
“At that time, Chuck McBee and I did say that, if Ansonia played against Fort Loramie like it had for 3 1/2 quarters against Botkins, the Redskins would have their hands full in Saturday night’s sectional final.”
Well, as it turned out, the game was far from over. In fact, the Trojans outscored Ansonia 30 to 16 in the final half of the fourth period, only to lose by one field goal. Ansonia needed to sink 16-of-17 free throws in the fourth period to barely hang on.
“Unbelievable and, for sure, unpredictable,” said Jack, play-by-play announcer for the online service. “But because of the major significance of year-ending tourney games, the fans in the stands witness amazing, come-from-behind rallies they may not see in the regular season.”
The ScoresBroadcast.com listening audience heard the comeback, too, on Wednesday, after Botkins had flipped a very late six-point deficit into a one-point victory over Riverside last Saturday. A total of more than 1600 IP addresses joined the Internet for the close of both games.
“So far, a number ten seed has played the most exciting and most entertaining contests of the sectional tournament,” McBee, Jack’s sidekick, added. “These two late night Botkins games were supported by the great listenership numbers.” McBee also said that “the future is bright and very promising” for hoops at Botkins, which in February won the Shelby County League eighth grade boys tournament.
SCORES, the Shelby County Online Radio Entertainment System, expects more thrilling boys action on Friday night in the Division IV upper bracket sectional final when Russia tangles with Jackson Center. The Raiders won two close encounters over the Tigers during the season.
The other Tigers, Ansonia, battle top seed and state-ranked Fort Loramie on Saturday night in the lower bracket final. Five different sharp-shooters for Ansonia sank three-pointers versus Botkins.
Both sectional championship contests at Piqua will be covered by SCORES starting at 6:45 p.m. each night.
The Russia girls meet No. 11 ranked Tri-Village in a district final at Troy on Saturday. Fort Loramie squares off against Cedarville in another district final on that day. SCORES will webcast these two games at 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., respectively.
Free of charge, listeners can enjoy the online streaming of high school tourney basketball via ScoresBroadcast.com. Most all games are archived on the website for listening pleasure at any time.
