FORT LORAMIE — Zane Paul drilled a 35-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Botkins over Fort Loramie in a Shelby County Athletic League game on Friday.
Botkins controlled the game early by jumping out to a 10-point lead after one quarter. The Trojans pushed their lead to as high as 15 in the first half.
The Redskins closed the second quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to nine at halftime. Botkins continued its sharpshooting in the third quarter and led by 10 going to the fourth.
Fort Loramie was able to claw its way back into the game and took a 56-55 lead with 42 seconds left on a pair of Nick Brandewie free throws. Botkins answered with a Spencer Hueker basket with 11.3 seconds left to regain a 57-56 lead.
The Redskins got the ball to Eli Rosengarten, and he was fouled on a shooting attempt with 4.3 seconds remaining. Rosengarten split the pair of foul shots to tie the game.
Botkins got the ball to Paul, and he raced up the floor and drilled the game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Paul led the Trojans with 21 points while Heuker finished with 18 and Jayden Wendel added 12. Botkins hit nine 3-pointers, with four each by Paul and Wendel.
Brandewie led Fort Loramie with 16 points and Rosengarten finished with 14. Nathan Raterman scored 13.
The win was Botkins’ first over Fort Loramie since a 47-33 victory on Dec. 4, 2015.
Russia 72, Houston 41
Russia gradually pulled away from Houston to earn a road SCAL win on Friday.
The Raiders built a 12-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and then used a 21-8 scoring advantage in the second to take a 33-16 halftime lead. Russia led 50-29 at the end of the third quarter.
Mason Dapore led Russia with 20 points while Will Sherman added 15 and both Daniel Kearns and Evan Monnier scored 10.
John Leist led Houston with 15 points.
Jackson Center 47, Fairlawn 27
The Tigers held Fairlawn to a season-low 27 points in a home SCAL win on Friday.
Aidan Reichert led Fairlawn with 19 points while Trent Platfoot added 10 and Christopher Elchert scored nine.
Ashton Piper led the Jets with 13 points.
Lehman Catholic 54, Waynesfield-Goshen 33
The Cavaliers took a 16-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and had no problems with the Tigers from there to stay undefeated in a Northwest Central Conference game on Friday.
Lehman led 29-15 at halftime and put the game away with a 12-8 scoring advantage in the third.
Bryce Kennedy led the Cavaliers with 11 points while Elliott Gilardi and Luke Frantz each scored 10. Brendan O’Leary and Drew Barhorst added eight points apiece and RJ Bertini scored seven.
Versailles 49, New Bremen 34
Versailles took a big early lead and cruised from there to a Midwest Athletic Conference road win over the Cardinals on Friday.
The Tigers led 11-6 at the end of the first quarter and used a 16-8 scoring advantage in the second to take a 13-point halftime lead. They then used a 12-10 scoring advantage in the third to push the lead to 15.
Michael Stammen led Versailles with 14 points while Ryan Martin added 13 and Evan Hiestand scored nine.
Nolan Bornhorst led New Bremen with 13 points.
Minster 78, Fort Recovery 47
After a close first quarter, Minster dominated the Indians the rest of the way in a MAC game on Friday.
The Wildcats led by six points at the end of the first but outscored Fort Recovery 18-6 in the second quarter to take a 39-21 halftime lead. They pushed their lead to 24 points by the end of the third and closed the game with an 18-11 scoring edge in the fourth.
Jared Schulze led the Wildcats with 18 points while Jack Heitbrink scored 15, Mike Ketner scored 14 and Noah Enneking scored 11.
