Staff report
ANNA —The Anna Rockets led throughout Saturday night at home in a key County boys basketball contest, and it resulted in a 54-43 upset of the Jackson Center Tigers, who came into the game with an 8-0 mark.
The win put Anna at 7-4 on the season and snapped a two-game losing streak. It also put the Rockets at 4-2 and right back in the thick of things in the County race. They resume play Friday night with the short trip to Botkins for another league game.
Jackson Center is now 5-1 in the league and tied with Russia for the top spot. Overall, the Tigers are 8-1 heading to Lehman Tuesday night.
“Our kids set the tempo from the get-go,” said Anna head coach Nate Barhorst. “I was real happy with our team defense, We knew (Drew) Sosby and (Brady) Wildermuth were their big two and we had to control them. I was real pleased with the job Blake Stephens did on Wildermuth.”
The Rockets led by two after a quarter then opened up a double-digit lead in the second period, only to have the Tigers rally late to trail by just seven at 31-24.
Ethan Zorn then drained a three-pointer to open the third quarter and cut the lead to four, but the Rockets responded by scoring 10 of the next 13 points to go back up 41-30. Carter Huelskamp had the final four points in the spurt, on a field goal and a pair of free throws that made it an 11-point lead with 2:30 left in the period.
After three, the Rockets were up 45-34, but the Tigers weren’t done. Sosby hit a three to cut the lead to 45-37, but Nate Frilling drained a three to make it 48-37, and after the two teams traded buckets, Kain Luthman scored to make it 52-39 with about two minutes left.
“I thought we were aggressive the entire night and kept them back on their heels,” said Barhorst.
Stephens had 14 to lead the Rockets, and Luthman and Huelskamp added seven apiece. Huelskamp was also the team’s top rebounder with eight.
Despite heavy defensive pressure all night, Sosby still poured in 23 to lead the Tigers. Wildermuth finished with seven.
Jackson Center (43) — D. Sosby 23, Booser 2, Zorn 7, Wildermuth 11.
Anna (54) — Frilling 8, Bensman 6, Huelskamp 11, Luthman 11, Stephens 14, Flescher 4.
Score by quarters:
JC—14 24 34 43
Anna—16 31 45 54
Three-pointers: JC 3 (Sosby 2, Zorn); Anna 3 (Frilling 2, Luthman).
Records: Anna 7-4, JC 8-1.
Reserve score: Anna 60, JC 20.
COUNTY STANDINGS — Jackson Center 5-1 (8-1), Russia 5-1 (9-2), Anna 4-2 (7-4), Fairlawn 3-3 (7-4), Fort Loramie 2-4 (5-6), Botkins 2-4 (5-7), Houston 0-6 (2-8).
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Russia 58, Botkins 28
RUSSIA — The Russia Raiders’ smothering defense held Botkins to just three first-quarter points, and that enabled the Raiders to pull out to a big lead early on their way to a 58-28 victory in County play.
With Anna’s win over Jackson Center, the victory by the Raiders moved them into a first-place tie in the County standings. Both Russia and Jackson are now 5-1.
Overall, Russia goes to 9-2 on the season and Botkins falls to 5-7 overall and 2-4 in league play.
“We just guarded the heck out of them,” said Russia coach Spencer Cordonnier, whose team is allowing just 40.5 points per game this season and has now held five opponents under 40. “Josh York did an unbelievable job on Chad Bergman. Bergman had three, but they came when Josh was out. He really took him out of the game.
“It was probably the best defensive effort I’ve ever seen,” he added. “I told the coaches after the game, that’s as good as it gets.”
Jake Gariety got the Raiders off to a big start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and hitting a couple of three-pointers.
The lead reached 29-11 at the half.
Gariety finished with 12 points, Cole Tebbe added 10 points and five assists, and York had 10 rebounds to go with his eight points for the Raiders. Nolan Greve scored 13 for the Trojans.
“It seems like it’s somebody different every night,” Cordonnier said. “We’re getting contributions from everywhere. We’re making the extra pass and knocking down shots.”
Russia is at home against Ansonia Tuesday, then hosts Fairlawn Friday. Botkins is home against Anna Friday.
Botkins (28) — Fullenkamp 4, Flora 8, N. Greve 13, C. Bergman 3.
Russia (58) — C. Monnin 9, T. Monnin 5, Cordonnier 2, Gariety 12, Poling 2, Tebbe 10, Cook 2, Busse 3, York 8, Dapore 5.
Score by quarters:
Botkins—3 11 18 28
Russia—18 29 41 58
Three-pointers: Botkins 0, Russia 8 (C. Monnin 3, Gareiety 2, T. Monnin, Dapore, Busse).
Records: Russia 9-2, Botkins 5-7.
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Loramie 51, Houston 45
FORT LORAMIE — Fort Loramie was coasting along to what looked like an easy victory, but the Houston Wildcats refused to go down without a fight in the final period, making it a nailbiter before the Redskins came away with a 51-45 victory in County play Saturday night at Loramie.
The Redskins go to 5-6 overall and 2-4 in the league after snapping a three-game losing streak. Houston is now 2-8 overall and 0-6 in County action.
Fort Loramie draws a tough assignment for Tuesday, traveling to Versailles. Houston is back in action Saturday at home against Lehman.
The Redskins led by 13 at one point in the first half before settling for a 21-13 lead at the break. The lead was 12 after three quarters, and the Redskins pushed it out to 41-26 with just over four minutes left in the game.
But at that point, the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 41-36 with still over three minutes remaining. Domyneik Phipps sparked the rally with a couple of three-pointers.
The two teams traded baskets down the stretch and Loramie led 47-43 with 23 seconds remaining. Houston had the ball, but Evan Berning got a deflection and Cody Gasson came up with the ball and was fouled. He dropped in two free throws to put the game out of reach.
Fort Loramie did a good job at the line in the final period, hitting 11 for 13.
Berning finished with 13 to lead Loramie, and Dillon Braun added 11, including 5 for 5 from the line.
Phipps led Houston with 14 points and Zach Freytag added 10.
Houston (45) — Phipps 14, McKee 7, Beaver 2, Arnold 2, Shaffer 3, Sluss 3, Jolly 4, Freytag 10.
Loramie (51) — Wehrman 8, Berning 13, Rosengarten 3, Braun 11, Pleiman 6, Gasson 4, Brackman 1, Siegel 5.
Score by quarters:
Houston—4 13 23 45
Loramie—12 21 35 51
Three-pointers: Houston 5 (Phipps 2, McKee, Shaffer, Sluss); FL 2 (Berning, Rosengarten).
Records: FL 5-6, Houston 2-8.
Reserve score: FL 65, Houston 23.
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Miami East 73, Lehman 39
SIDNEY — The Lehman Cavaliers stayed with a strong Miami East squad for one quarter, but the Vikings outscored them by 19 in the second period and went on to post a 73-39 win in non-league action Saturday night at Lehman.
The loss left the Cavaliers at 2-6 on the season with another difficult task Tuesday night at home against 8-1 Jackson Center. East goes to 9-1.
The score was 19-13 after a quarter, but East outscored the Cavs 25-6 in the second period to open up a 44-19 bulge at the half.
Lehman had just one player in double figures. Michael Bunker finished with 12 points.
Miami East (73) — Haney 3, Mackesy 27, Donaldson 4, West 17, Mack 12, Karadak 5, Rutledge 3, Werling 2.
Lehman (39) — Z. Scott 1, Schutt 2, Rourke 4, Smith 2, Monnin 4, Arnold 3, Lee 4, Frantz 7, Bunker 12.
Score by quarters:
East—19 44 62 73
Lehman—13 19 30 39
Three-pointers: Lehman 2 (Lee, Frantz); East 7 (Mack 4, Haney, Karadak, Rutledge).
Records: Lehman 2-6, ME 9-1.
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Ada 55, New Knoxville 37
ADA — The New Knoxville Rangers fell behind 31-14 at the half and couldn’t recover in losing 53-37 to Ada in non-league action Saturday night.
The Rangers drop to 3-6 on the season.
Logan Leffel was the only Ranger able to score well. He finished with 19, 10 of those coming in the final period.
New Knoxville (37) — Leffel 19, Topp 4, Tinnerman 6, Stone 2, Newman 6.
Ada (53) — Secor 5, Saultrey 10, Willeke 12, Evans 2, Bailey 16, Conley 8.
Score by quarters:
NK—6 14 23 37
Ada—12 31 40 53
Three-pointers: NK 2 (Leffel 2), Ada 8 (Bailey 3, Conley 2, Willeke 2, Secor).
Records: NK 3-6, Ada 5-5.
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Minster 67, Ottoville 47
MINSTER — Minster got back on track with a 67-47 victory over visiting Ottoville in non-league action Saturday night.
The win put the Wildcats at 4-5 on the season heading into a conference game at home against Delphos St. John’s Friday night.
The ‘Cats jumped to a 17-7 lead after a quarter and stretched it to 34-17 at the half.
Josh Nixon had a big game for Minster, pouring in 21 points and hitting 4 for 4 from the line. He also dished out four assists. Aaron Ernst added 10 points.
The Wildcats shot well, hitting 24 for 49 for 49 percent. That carried over to the foul line, where the ‘Cats were 12-for-15. Ottoville was 18-for-47, also 49 percent, but just 9 for 18 from the line.
Minster outrebounded the guests 22-19 and forced them into 15 turnovers.
Ottoville (47) — Schimmoeller 3, Von Sossan 12, Kemper 17, Trenkamp 15.
Minster (67) — Schmiesing 2, Nixon 21, Stechschulte 7, Falk 8, Tumbusch 6, Hoelscher 6, Ernst 10, Thobe 4, Huelsman 3.
Score by quarters:
Ottoville—7 17 30 47
Minster—17 34 50 67
Three-pointers: Minster 7 (Ernst 2, Hoelscher 2, Nixon, Falk, Tumbusch); Ottoville 2 (Schimmoeller, Kemper).
Records: Minster 4-5.
Reserve score: Minster 65, Ottoville 20.
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Celina 48, New Bremen 34
CELINA — New Bremen led the Celina Bulldogs by three after three periods, but the hosts outscored the Cardinals 19-2 in the final period to come away with a 48-34 victory in non-league action Saturday night.
The loss left the Cardinals at 1-9 heading to Coldwater Friday in conference play.
The Cardinals had a good first half, leading 25-23 at the break. But even though they led after three periods, they would finish the second half with just nine points total.
Ten of Celina’s fourth-quarter points came at the line. The Bulldogs shot just 50 percent from the line, but got there 38 times.
Kaelen Reed led New Bremen with 11 points and Greg Parker added 9.
New Bremen (34) — Bowers 2, Schwieterman 2, Parker 9, Reed 11, Hoehne 7, Alig 3.
Celina (48) — Mabry 6, Berry 14, Murlin 4, Stolly 6, Hone 4, Hoying 12, Briand 2.
Score by quarters:
Bremen—10 25 32 34
Celina—10 23 29 48
Three-pointers: NB 4 (Reed 2, Parker, Alig); Celina 1 (Stolly).
Records: NB 1-9, Celina 4-6.
