JACKSON CENTER — Jackson Center bounced back from Friday’s upset loss at Fairlawn and beat Riverside 73-48 on Saturday to finish regular-season play on a winning note.
The Tigers took a 16-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 38-23 at halftime. They closed out the win with a 24-11 scoring advantage in the third quarter.
“We got off to another slow start and it took a while for our shots to fall, but I was pleased with the effort that all of our guys were able to give tonight,” Riverside coach Seth Bodenmiller said. “Jackson Center’s a good team and they took advantage of a lot of our mistakes on both ends of the floor.”
Aidan Reichert led the Tigers with 22 points while Jerron Reese scored 14 and Christopher Elchert added 12.
Lane Willoby led Riverside with 18 points and six rebounds. The Pirates shot 17 for 39 (43.6 percent) from the field and lost the rebounding battle 22-14.
Jackson Center finishes regular season 17-5. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the Piqua Division IV sectional and will open tournament play against No. 12 Triad this Saturday.
Riverside (7-14) is the sectional’s No. 9 seed and will open tournament play on Feb. 26 against the winner of Fort Loramie vs. Covington.
“We have a lot of time off now before our tournament game, so we are going to come back next week and see if we can try to put something together for the postseason,” Bodenmiller said.
Fairlawn 52, Lehman Catholic 43
Fairlawn jumped out to a big early lead and had no problems finishing regular-season play with a win on Saturday at Lehman Catholic.
The two teams will meet again in a sectional tournament opener this Saturday at Piqua’s Garbry Gymnasium. Fairlawn is the Piqua Div. IV sectional’s No. 6 seed while Lehman is the No. 8 seed.
The Jets led 23-13 at the end of the first quarter, though Lehman cut the gap to 31-25 at halftime. Fairlawn pushed the lead back to 10 points at 45-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Skyler Piper led Fairlawn with 20 points while Ashton Piper scored 14.
Brendan O’Leary led Lehman with 14 while Luke Frantz added 10.
Fairlawn finishes 11-11 overall. Lehman will wrap up regular-season play on Tuesday at home against Mechanicsburg.
Marion Local 57, Russia 49
Russia couldn’t overcome a big early deficit and lost a nonconference game on Saturday at Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium.
The Flyers led 19-6 at the end of the first quarter and 32-18 at halftime. The Raiders trailed 40-28 heading into the fourth and rallied furiously late, cutting the deficit to three points with just over a minute left.
Marion Local hit several free throws in the final minute to secure the win and finished 19 for 22 from the line for the game compared to 10 for 20 by Russia.
Mason Dapore led Russia with 16 points while Daniel Kearns scored 15 and Jordan York added eight.
Lima Perry 62, Botkins 45
Perry jumped out to a 23-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and cruised from there to a big nonconference win.
It was the first game back at Perry for Botkins coach Sean Powell and his son junior guard Jayden Priddy-Powell. Powell was an assistant coach at Perry prior to taking the job at Botkins last spring, and Priddy-Powell transferred from Perry to Botkins as a result.
The Commodores led 32-18 at halftime and 46-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Zane Paul led Botkins with 12 points while Spencer Heuker scored 11 and Priddy-Powell added 10.
Versailles 56, Greenville 36
After a close first quarter, Versailles pulled away to finish nonconference play with a big win at Greenville on Saturday.
The Tigers led 13-10 at the end of the first and pushed the lead to 26-18 at halftime. They used a 13-10 scoring advantage in the third to increase the lead to 11 and finished with a 16-8 scoring advantage in the fourth.
Michael Stammen led Versailles with 18 points while Evan Hiestand scored 16 and Ryan Martin added 14.
The Tigers (12-10) are the No. 7 seed in the Dayton Division III sectional and will open tournament play against the winner of No. 5 Twin Valley South vs. No. 17 Greeneview on Feb. 26 at Northmont’s Thunderdome.
Arcanum 64, New Bremen 56
The Cardinals couldn’t climb out of a big early hole and lost a nonconference game on Saturday in Arcanum.
The Tigers took a 19-10 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 37-26 at halftime. They had a 52-41 lead going into the fourth, and New Bremen trimmed the gap with a 15-12 scoring advantage in the quarter.
Bryce Blickle led New Bremen with 11 points while Patrick Wells and Nolan Bornhorst each added nine.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Marion Elgin 44, Riverside 22
Riverside couldn’t keep up with a strong Marion Elgin team on Saturday and lost a bid to tie for the Northwest Central Conference title.
The Comets (20-2, 7-0 NWCC) won the conference title outright with the victory. Riverside finishes regular season 12-10 overall and finishes third in the conference with a 5-2 record, one game behind Lehman Catholic.
Elgin led 7-4 at the end of the first quarter and 16-9 at halftime. The Comets broke the game open with a 14-9 scoring advantage in the third and finished with a 13-4 advantage in the fourth.
“I love my team. My girls played their hearts out,” Riverside coach Bryce Hodge said. “I’m beyond proud of the effort they gave today. Elgin is a great team, averages 60 points a game and has won league in back-to-back years. They’re a solid team and we made them earn it today.
“We had a good defensive game plan for their two top scorers and held both below their season averages. We just couldn’t get a shot to fall today.”
The Pirates shot 10 for 44 (22.7 percent) from the field and committed 22 turnovers.
Dana Jones led Riverside with 10 points while Kalin Kreglow had eight of the team’s 23 rebounds.
“The girls have worked hard for me all year,” Hodge said. “I’m excited we get a week off before our tournament game so we can get some much-needed rest.”
Riverside is the No. 8 seed in the Sidney Div. IV sectional. The Pirates will open tournament play this Saturday against the winner of Xenia Legacy Christian vs. Houston.
BOWLING
Sidney boys, girls compete at GWOC tournament
Sidney’s boys bowling team finished second out of 20 schools while the girls finished 15th in the Greater Western Ohio Conference tournament at Poelking Lanes South in Dayton.
The format was three regular team games and six Baker games. The top eight squads after those contests qualified for the finals, which was decided by best three out of five Baker games.
The boys qualified for the finals with the No. 1 seed after the first round of games. They faced Wayne in the first round and won 3-0, then beat Centerville 3-2 in a semifinal.
That set up a championship match against Beavercreek, which the Beavers won 3-1.
Jaxon Rickey won the individual tournament with a 700 series. Kaden Abbott came in second with a 613 series. Drake Cromes came in ninth with a 591 series.
“I’m very proud of the boys today. They fought. They did a great job,” Knoop said. “Getting a second-place finish in the best conference in Ohio is nothing to hang your head about. Great day. I would say we have a ton of momentum going into sectionals.”
Rickey and Abbott were both named first team all-GWOC American League. Cromes was named second team and Harrison Fisher was named honorable mention.
“Jaxon and Kaden have had amazing years,” Knoop said. “Rickey has been a steady anchor bowler for us all season. Scary thing is, Abbott is just a freshman. He will have a spectacular career.
“Fisher has had an up-and-down year, but he has come on strong at the end. We needed that as a team, and it’s good to see.”
The girls finished 15th. Sarah Bell had a 472 series, Camryn Smith had a 439 series and Emma Hurley had a 367 series.
Smith was named GWOC American League honorable mention for her performance this season.
“Smith earned this award,” Sidney coach Trent Knoop said. “She had a pretty good junior year. Camryn made a jump in her average from last season. She worked hard and it paid off.”
