ANSONIA — Brennan Arnold hit a shot at the buzzer to lift Houston’s boys basketball team to its first win of the season with a 54-43 overtime defeat of Ansonia in a nonconference game on Saturday.
The Tigers took a 53-52 lead with nine seconds left, and Houston coach Mark Platfoot called a timeout.
“We called a timeout and told our guys we had plenty of time to get it in and be aggressive and look to attack the rim,” Platfoot said. “We threw it in to Brennan Arnold and he got all the way in to the lane and hit a tough eight-foot runner as time expired.”
Jairon Douglas led Houston with 14 points while Peyton Arnold scored 12 and Tristin Freistuhler added 11.
The Wildcats built a 15-9 lead by the end of the first quarter but Ansonia used an 18-11 scoring advantage in the second to a take a 27-26 halftime lead. The Wildcats built a 39-34 lead by the end of the third quarter before the Tigers battled back to tie it 48-48 and force overtime.
“I couldn’t not be more proud of my team and how they responded after a tough loss to Fort Loramie on Tuesday and getting beat up by Anna (on Friday),” Platfoot said. “They didn’t feel sorry for themselves and just found a way to get it done.”
Russia 85, Riverside 50
Russia built a 20-6 lead before halftime and then used a 22-13 scoring advantage in the second quarter to build a 22-point lead by halftime in a home nonconference game on Saturday.
Daniel Kearns led Russia with 23 points while Jordan York scored 12. Carter Francis, Evan Monnier and Mason Dapore each scored nine and Adam Dapore added eight points.
“I’m very pleased with how we’ve been sharing the ball offensively,” Russia coach Dave Borchers said. “We got a lot of assists tonight, led again in that department by Mason Dapore, and got everybody involved in the scoring.”
Riverside trimmed the lead a bit with a 21-19 scoring advantage in the third quarter, but Russia finished the game in the fourth by outscoring the Pirates 24-10.
Lane Willoby led Riverside with 18 points while Kyle Knight scored 13.
“Russia is a solid basketball team,” Riverside coach Seth Bodenmiller said. “We knew that they would challenge us defensively and that we were going to have to take care of the basketball and rebound well on both ends of the floor.
“They got off to a tremendous start and we played on our heels for the rest of the first half. We were able to get things going in the right direction in the third quarter, but we couldn’t get any closer than 15. With a game like this, we just have to learn what we can and move on.”
Riverside shot 20 for 44 (45.5 percent) from the field. Russia outrebounded the Pirates 29-26. Riverside committed 26 turnovers.
Anna 83, Bethel 57
The Redskins built a 24-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and cruised to a home nonconference win on Saturday.
Bart Bixler led the Rockets with 22 points and shot 12 for 12 from the free-throw line. Riley Huelskamp added 21, 10 of which came in the first quarter. Kam Steward finished with 11.
Anna made 28 field goals and shot 23 for 32 from the free-throw line. Huelskamp made three of the team’s four 3-pointers.
Kendal Jones led Bethel with 25 points.
Fairlawn 65, Bradford 27
The Jets built a 17-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and cruised to a nonconference home win over Bradford on Saturday.
Ashton Piper led Fairlawn with 18 points while Skyler Piper scored 11 and Isaac Ambos added eight. Nine other players scored for the Jets.
Jackson Center 55, Indian Lake 33
The Tigers used a 15-6 scoring advantage in the second quarter to run away to a nonconference home win over Indian Lake.
TJ Esser led Jackson Center with 14 points while Trent Platfoot and Aidan Reichert each scored 12.
Wapakoneta 69, Minster 55
Minster rallied from a slow start to tie Wapakoneta 50-50 at the end of the third quarter of a nonconference home game on Saturday, but the Redskins used a 19-5 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to run away to a big win.
Wapakoneta led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter and 38-30 at halftime. The Wildcats outscored the Redskins 20-12 in the third to tie it.
Jack Heitbrink led Minster with 13 points. Cody Frericks and Jarod Schulze each scored 11 while Mike Ketner scored 10. Ketner led Minster with seven rebounds while Schulze had six.
Minster shot 20 for 49 (40.8 percent) from the field while Wapakoneta shot 24 for 48 (50 percent). The Redskins outrebounded Minster 22-20.
Springfield Catholic Central 37, Lehman Catholic 25
Lehman held a one-point lead over Catholic Central heading into the fourth quarter of a nonconference game on Saturday in Sidney. But what had been a back-and-forth game for three quarters was dominated by Irish in the fourth.
Catholic Central, which advanced to a regional semifinal last year, outscored the Cavaliers 13-1 in the fourth to stay undefeated.
New Knoxville 40, Waynesfield-Goshen 35
Jared Osborne led New Knoxville with 13 points to help give coach Mike Piatt his first victory at the school.
GIRLS
Fort Loramie 57, Jackson Center 13
The Redskins had no problems with Jackson Center in a Shelby County Athletic League game on Saturday in Fort Loramie.
Fort Loramie jumped out to a 19-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 30-7 at halftime.
Freshman Ava Sholtis led Fort Loramie with 14 points and seven rebounds while Marissa Meiring scored nine points and Dana Rose and Caitlyn Gasson scored eight. Gasson led the team with five steals while Kennedi Gephart had a team-high four assists.
Katie Sosby led the Tigers with five points.
Anna 59, Houston 34
Anna gradually pulled away from Houston in a home SCAL contest on Saturday.
The Rockets led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter, 30-18 at halftime and 46-24 at the end of the third quarter.
Breah Kuck hit nine 3-pointers for Anna and led the squad with 29 points, all of which came in the first three quarters. Kiplyn Rowland added 20 points for Anna, including three 3s.
Jess Monnier led Houston with 12 points while Hollie Voisard scored eight.
Russia 46, Botkins 36
Russia built a 27-16 lead by halftime and cruised to an SCAL win on Saturday in Botkins.
Ashley Scott led Russia with 15 points while Jenna Cordonnier and Laurissa Poling each scored 11. Taira Greve led Botkins with 10 while Grace Homan added seven.
Butler 53, Sidney 23
Sidney was tied 10-10 with the Aviators at the end of the first quarter, but its upset bid fell apart from there. Butler used an 18-3 scoring advantage in the second quarter to pull away to a victory in a Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division game on Saturday in Vandalia.
Xenia Legacy Christian 52, Lehman Catholic 43
Lehman tried to fight back from a 16-8 first-quarter deficit but lost in a nonconference game on Saturday in Sidney.
The Cavaliers had cut Legacy Christian’s lead to 31-29 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Knights used a 21-14 scoring advantage in the fourth to secure the win.
Carly Edwards led Lehman with 18 points and made 12-of-12 foul shot attempts. Grace Monnin scored 12 points and led the team with six rebounds and three steals. Lauren McFarland added eight points.
Lehman shot 11 for 43 (25.6 percent) from the field and had 19 rebounds.
New Bremen 63, Delphos Jefferson 41
The Cardinals built a 19-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and had no problems from there in a nonconference road win on Saturday.
Madison Cordonnier led New Bremen with 17 points while Kelly Naylor added 15. Abbi Thieman and Hanna Tenkman each scored nine.
BOWLING
Sidney boys win Raiders Classic in Beavercreek
Sidney’s boys bowling team won the Raiders Classic on Saturday at Beaver-Vu Lanes in Beavercreek.
The format was two regular team games and eight Baker games, with the top eight teams qualifying for matchplay. There were 32 boys teams competing.
Sidney qualified as the No. 2 seed after the regular games and Baker games and defeated Cincinnati La Salle in the finals.
Jaxon Rickey and Drake Cromes made the all-tournament team. Rickey had a 411 series and Cromes had a 407 series.
“Rickey and Cromes definitely anchored the team today,” Sidney coach Trent Knoop said. “We wouldn’t have been where we were without them. I couldn’t be happier for the boys team as a whole. They’ve worked so hard and were very deserving of this title.”
The girls team also competed and finished 28th out of 30 teams.
Avonell Martin had a 234 series and Emma Hurley had a 223 series.
“We bowled on a very difficult oil pattern today,” Knoop said. “One where you only see in college or higher levels. This was a new challenge and obstacle the girls haven’t seen before. It was a very good learning experience. It shows where we need to get better.”
Riverside splits against Greeneview
Riverside’s teams split at match against Greeneview on Saturday in Wilmington.
The girls team beat the Rams 1,927-1,641. Bridgette Hemlinger led the Pirates with a 173 game and a 327 series and Kimber Waters added a 162 game.
The boys lost 2,186-1,941. Bailey Gammell led the Pirates with a 221 game and 401 series and Cameron Hill added a 146 game.
