Sidney junior guard A’Zon Steele drives with pressure from Nothmont’s Deuce Cortner during a nonconference game on Wednesday in Sidney. Steele led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points in a 59-47 loss.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Jayce Daniel shoots as Northmont’s Markus Allen defends during a nonconference game on Wednesday in Sidney. Daniel scored 10 points.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Julius Spradling shoots as Northmont’s Patrick Ivory defends during a nonconference game on Wednesday in Sidney. Spradling scored 10 points.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Mitchell Davis shoots as Northmont’s Patrick Ivory defends at Sidney on Wednesday.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Tanner Snider passes with pressure from Northmont’s Tyrin Sturdivant at Sidney on Wednesday.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Tucker Herron passes under pressure from Northmont’s Stephen Kellum at Sidney on Wednesday.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Ethan New shoots as Northmont’s Jordan Smith defends at Sidney on Wednesday.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY — A long scoreless drought in the second quarter was too much for Sidney to overcome in a nonconference game on Tuesday.
The Yellow Jackets didn’t score for over six minutes in the second, and Northmont took control and won 59-47.
Sidney took a 10-2 lead early in the first, but the Thunderbolts battled back to tie it 16-16 by the end of the quarter.
Sidney junior guard A’Zon Steele made a 3 from the left wing with about 6:45 left in the second to give the squad a 19-16 lead. But the Thunderbolts scored the next 18 points to take a 15-point lead by halftime.
“At the end of the first quarter, we turned it over two or three times, and they came down and scored,” Sidney coach John Willoughby said. “We had a really tough time scoring for a full eight minutes or so. That was the difference in the game. But I thought we came back and battled pretty well in the second half.”
Northmont (6-4) led 47-35 at the end of the third quarter. Sidney forced some turnovers early in the fourth and pulled within eight points, but the Thunderbolts pushed the margin back to double digits by the midpoint of the quarter.
“It was good to see us battle,” Willoughby said. “… We’re still working. I know it’s because we’re mentally fatigued, that we fight, fight, fight to get that score within a reasonable (range), then we’ll turn it over, or we’ll take a tough shot that we shouldn’t shoot, and they get the ball and score so it gets back to 10, 12, 14 points. I think we get fatigued just getting it (to a reasonable range).”
Steele led Sidney with 19 points. Julius Spradling and Jayce Daniel each scored 10.
It was the second straight loss for the Yellow Jackets (5-4), which are scheduled to travel to Tippecanoe (6-2) for a Miami Valley League game on Friday. The Red Devils are tied with Vandalia-Butler for first place in league standings.
Sidney is scheduled to host Bellefontaine (1-6) on Saturday.
“Not much rest, but we had enough rest over the (holiday) break,” Willoughby said. “We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves.”
Russia’s Quinter reaches 1,000 career points in win over Botkins
Russia stayed undefeated by beating Botkins 62-57 in a Shelby County Athletic League game on Tuesday at Botkins Athletic Complex.
The squads were tied 31-31 at halftime. The Trojans started the third quarter with a run and led by as many as seven, but Russia pulled within 48-45 by the end of the quarter, then used a 17-9 scoring edge in the fourth to earn the win.
Russia senior guard Hayden Quinter reached 1,000 career points in the third quarter. He finished with 11 points. Braylon Cordonnier scored 16 for the Raiders (9-0, 5-0 SCAL).
Noah Topp scored 17 points for Botkins (6-1, 4-1) while Colin Doseck scored 16 and Rylyn Paul scored 11. It was the first game for the Trojans since Dec. 22; they’re scheduled to travel to Anna on Friday and Fort Recovery on Saturday.
It was the closest game for Russia since a 53-45 win at Jackson Center in a season opener. The Raiders are scheduled to host Fort Loramie on Friday and New Bremen on Saturday.
Lehman Catholic wins sixth straight
Lehman Catholic beat Bellefontaine Calvary Christian 55-46 on Tuesday in Sidney to improve to 7-1 overall.
It was the sixth consecutive win for the Cavaliers, which last lost on Dec. 12 in a 10-point defeat at Miami East.
Calvary Christian (5-3) led 15-8 early in the second quarter, but Lehman freshman Shane Frantz scored the team’s next 13 points (including three 3-pointers) to help tie it 21-21.
“Shane gave us a spark,” Lehman coach Pat Carlisle told the Miami Valley Today. “He is a gym rat. It was his best game of an impressive freshman season.”
Turner Lachey made a layup and Daniel Carlisle hit a 3 to give Lehman a 26-21 halftime lead. The Cavaliers pushed their advantage to 41-31 by the end of the third and led by at least six the rest of the way.
Frantz led Lehman with 17 points while Lachey scored 14 and Carlisle scored 11.
Lehman has two tough Three Rivers Conference games looming. The Cavaliers are scheduled to travel to Troy Christian (6-1, 5-0 TRC) on Friday and host Northridge (5-5, 4-1) on Jan. 12. Lehman is tied for second with Northridge in TRC standings.
“We are in the middle of our schedule now,” Carlisle said. “We are heading into some tough conference games where everybody is preparing for each other. And we will be ready.”
Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.
