JACKSON CENTER — Botkins opened the season by beating Jackson Center 68-55 on the road in a Shelby County Athletic League game on Friday. It’s the first time the Trojans earned a win on Jackson Center’s court since Jan. 11, 2008.
It was a close game early. The Trojans built a 19-16 lead by the end of the first quarter. After the Tigers took the lead in the second, Botkins went on a late run to take a 31-29 lead by halftime.
Botkins led 50-46 at the end of the third and used an 18-9 scoring advantage in the fourth to secure the victory.
Zane Paul led Botkins with 20 points while Jayden Priddy-Powell scored 16. Jacob Pleiman added 14 points while Jameson Meyer scored 12.
Carson Regula led Jackson Center with 17 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Aidan Reichert scored 12 points while Trevor Sosby and Camdyn Reese each scored 11.
Fort Loramie 63, Russia 44
The Redskins scored the first 11 points in an SCAL opener on Friday in Russia and never looked back. They led 17-10 at the end of the first quarter, 31-17 at halftime and 48-28 at the end of the third quarter.
Caeleb Meyer led a balanced scoring effort from Fort Loramie with 13 points. Grant Albers scored 12, with eight coming in the third quarter. Caleb Maurer scored 12 and Lane Frilling scored 10. Frilling led the squad with seven rebounds while Meyer had five rebounds and four steals.
Zane Shappie led the Raiders with 15 points while Hayden Quinter scored 13.
Fairlawn 75, Houston 25
Fairlawn opened the season with a dominating SCAL win on its home court on Friday. The Jets led 22-0 at the end of the first quarter, 40-7 at halftime and 55-16 at the end of the third.
“We got off to a great start, especially on the defensive end, and it carried over for the entire game,” Fairlawn coach Brad Francis said. “I was very pleased with our rebounding as well.”
Ashton Piper led Fairlawn with 19 points, including 11 in the first quarter. He also had 13 rebounds.
Skyler Piper scored 15 points and nine rebounds, Pierre Masquelier scored eight points and had eight rebounds and Jackson Jones and Dominic Davis each scored six.
Elijah Schaffner led Houston with seven points while Luke Brewer scored seven.
Anna 83, New Knoxville 41
The Rockets opened the season with a big nonconference win on Friday in New Knoxville.
Anna led 20-4 at the end of the first quarter and used a 25-6 scoring edge in the second to push its lead to 45-10 at halftime. The Rockets led 70-27 at the end of the third.
Isaiah Masteller led Anna with 20 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Ben Kovacs scored 17, 11 of which came in the first half. McKane Finkenbine scored 16 and Zach Ambos scored 11.
Benjamin Logan 58, Riverside 40
The Pirates lost in a nonconference opener on Friday at Benjamin Logan.
Riverside led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter but the Raiders took a 27-25 lead by halftime. Ben Logan ran away with a 13-7 scoring edge in the third and an 18-8 advantage in the fourth.
“I thought our guys came out with a lot of energy tonight on defense and we were able to turn that into some easy looks on offense,” Riverside coach Seth Bodenmiller said. “We built up a nine- or 10-point lead midway through the second quarter, but then just started making mistakes on both ends of the floor.
“Ben Logan got the lead back right before halftime and then came out with more energy than us in the third. Overall, I’m happy with our guys’ level of fight and I think that this is a game that we will be able to build off of.”
Kaden Burk led Riverside with 13 points. John Zumberger scored 10 and Ethan Jackson scored eight.
