ANNA — Anna dominated the fourth quarter of a Shelby County Athletic League game on Thursday and rallied from a nine-point deficit to beat Russia 61-52.
After the Raiders had led most of the game, Anna — and star guard McKane Finkenbine — started hitting shots in the fourth quarter.
Russia led 43-34 heading into the fourth, but the Rockets (5-4, 3-2 SCAL) rallied quick. Zach Ambos made a 3-pointer, then Finkenbine followed with two consecutive 3s to give Anna a 46-45 lead. The squad never trailed the rest of the game.
Finkenbine finished with 17 points, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter. Ambos finished with 17 and Hayden Huelskamp finished with 10.
Xavier Phlipot led Russia (4-2, 3-2) with 14 points while Hayden Quinter scored 12. Brayden Monnin and Ben Bohman each scored nine and Zane Shappie scored eight.
Anna made the last basket of the first quarter to take an 11-10 lead, but the Raiders used a 16-11 scoring edge in the second to take a 26-22 halftime lead, then followed with a 17-12 edge in the fourth to take a nine-point lead.
Fort Loramie 48, Houston 37
The Redskins won an SCAL game on Thursday in Fort Loramie.
Fort Loramie took an early 8-2 lead, but the Wildcats closed the gap to 12-9 at the end of the first quarter, then used a 6-5 scoring edge in the second to pull within 17-15 at halftime. Fort Loramie pulled away with a 17-10 scoring edge in the third and 14-12 edge in the fourth.
Caleb Maurer led Fort Loramie (6-4, 4-2) with 14 points while Logan Eilerman scored nine and Ty Ruhenkamp added eight.
Jake Leist led Houston (0-8, 0-6) with 16 points.
Botkins 57, Fairlawn 19
The Trojans cruised to an SCAL win on Thursday in Botkins.
Botkins built a 13-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, then used a 15-4 scoring edge in the second to take a 28-12 halftime lead.
Dylan Topp led Botkins (8-0, 5-0) with 15 points while Carter Pleiman added 12 and Jacob Pleiman added 10.
Fairlawn dropped to 1-7 overall with the loss and 1-5 in SCAL play.
New Bremen 56, Jackson Center 53
The Cardinals won a nonconference game on Thursday in Jackson Center.
Jackson Center built a 15-11 lead by the end of the first quarter. The teams traded points to a 31-27 halftime score, but the Cardinals used a 10-8 scoring edge in the third to cut the gap to 39-27 heading into the fourth, then rallied with a 19-14 edge in the final quarter.
Reese Busse led New Bremen (7-2) with 17 points while Aaron Thieman scored 10.
Carson Regula led Jackson Center (5-3) with 17 points and seven rebounds while Jace Mullenhour scored 14 points and Nolan Fark scored 10.
New Bremen shot 18 for 45 (40 percent) from the floor while Jackson Center shot 19 for 38 (50 percent). The Tigers had a 26-21 rebounding edge.
Versailles 80, Minster 46
The Tigers won a Midwest Athletic Conference game on Thursday in Versailles.
Versailles built a 27-17 lead by the end of the first quarter, then used a 14-2 scoring edge in the second to take a 41-19 halftime lead.
Jaydon Litten led Versailles (6-0, 2-0 MAC) with 21 points while Connor Stonebraker and Ben Ruhenkamp each scored 15.
Johnny Nixon led Minster (1-6, 0-3) with 14 points while Devan Wuebker scored 12 and Brogan Stephey scored nine.
The Tigers shot 35 for 51 (68.6 percent) from the floor while Minster shot 18 for 46 (39.1 percent).
West Liberty-Salem 54, Riverside 42
The Pirates lost a nonconference game on Thursday in West Liberty.
The Tigers led 10-5 at the end of the first quarter, 32-18 at halftime and 39-32 at the end of the third.
Warren Shockley led Riverside (0-7) with 10 points while Walker Whitaker scored eight points and had five rebounds.
• Girls basketball
Anna 49, Fairlawn 35
The Rockets won a Shelby County Athletic League game on Thursday at Fairlawn.
Fairlawn led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and 25-21 at halftime — with all 25 points being scored by senior guard Lonna Heath. But the Rockets used an 8-3 scoring edge in the third and 20-7 scoring edge in the fourth to rally.
Heath led Fairlawn (5-6, 0-5 SCAL) with 33 points.
Kayli Brewer led Anna (5-4, 2-3) with 18 points while Brenna Cobb scored 15.
