NEW BREMEN — Botkins bounced back from an SCAL loss on Friday against Fort Loramie and beat New Bremen 55-44 in a nonconference game on Saturday.
The Trojans built a 22-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. Each squad scored seven points in the second, but Botkins added to its lead with a 14-7 scoring advantage in the third. The Cardinals cut the final gap with a 17-12 advantage in the fourth.
Jacob Pleiman led Botkins (13-2) with 17 points and seven rebounds while Jayden Priddy-Powell scored 15 points, brought down four rebounds and had four assists. Carter Pleiman scored 15 points.
Reece Busse led New Bremen (10-5) with 11 points and six rebounds. Nick Alig and David Homan each scored nine points.
The Trojans shot 15 for 30 (50 percent) from the floor and had a 27-17 rebounding edge. New Bremen shot 15 for 41 (37 percent) from the floor. Botkins shot 20 for 26 (77 percent) from the free-throw line while the Cardinals shot 10 for 16 (63 percent).
Fort Loramie 46, Fort Recovery 41
The Redskins rallied in the second half to earn a nonconference victory on Friday in Fort Loramie.
Fort Recovery hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter which helped in building a 13-7 lead. The Indians took a 27-12 lead at one point in the second but Fort Loramie closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to cut the gap to 29-21 at halftime.
Fort Loramie used a 13-5 scoring advantage in the third to tie it 34-34. The teams traded the lead multiple times in the fourth, but Nate Meyer hit a late basket to put the Redskins ahead for good. Fort Loramie pulled away late at the free-throw line.
Grant Albers led Fort Loramie (11-6) with 14 points. Nolan Berning scored nine points while Meyer and Caeleb Meyer each scored eight.
Minster 79, Houston 38
Minster earned a big nonconference victory on Saturday in Houston.
Minster built a 20-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and used a 24-9 advantage in the second to take a 44-15 halftime lead. The squad then used a 23-3 advantage in the third to secure a lopsided victory. Houston cut the final gap a bit with a 20-12 advantage in the fourth.
Justin Nixon led Minster (12-4) with 20 points. Bryan Falk scored 16 and Brady Hoelscher scored 12.
Jake Leist led Houston (0-16) with 13 points while Wyatt Kunk scored nine and Xaviar Balensiefer scored eight.
Minster shot 30 for 51 (58.8 percent) from the floor while Houston shot 16 for 48 (33.3 percent). Minster had a 37-16 rebounding edge.
Jackson Center 46, Marion Local 36
The Tigers won a nonconference game on Saturday in Jackson Center.
Jackson Center built a 13-11 lead by the end of the first quarter, and the squads traded points to an 18-16 halftime score. The Tigers pulled away with a 12-9 scoring edge in the third and 16-11 edge in the fourth.
Aidan Reichert and Jace Mullenhour each scored 15 points for Jackson Center (13-4).
Fairlawn 62, Covington 44
The Jets earned a nonconference win on their home court on Saturday.
Covington built a 15-12 lead by the end of the first quarter but Fairlawn used a 13-10 scoring edge in the second to tie it 25-25 at halftime. The Jets then ran away with a 26-13 advantage in the third and 11-6 advantage in the fourth.
Ashton Piper led Fairlawn (5-8) with 18 points while Skyler Piper scored 16 and Drew Maddy scored 15.
West Liberty-Salem 56, Anna 53
The Rockets lost a nonconference game on Saturday in West Liberty.
The Tigers built a 14-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, but Anna used an 18-12 scoring edge in the second to tie it 26-26 at halftime. West Liberty-Salem used a 14-6 scoring edge in the third to take a 40-32 lead into the fourth.
The Rockets pulled close several times in the fourth. A last-chance shot from beyond half court that could have tied it rimmed out at the buzzer.
Isaiah Masteller led Anna (10-5) with 19 points while Ben Kovacs scored 18 and McKane Finkenbine scored 10.
Lehman Catholic 39, Springfield Catholic Central 32
The Cavaliers won a nonconference game on Saturday in Sidney.
Lehman built a 17-10 lead by halftime and led by as many as 10 points in the second half. The squad secured the win from the free-throw line; Landon McIver hit four foul shots in the final minute to help Lehman stay ahead.
Luke Frantz led the Cavaliers (10-2) with 21 points.
Riverside 64, Triad 63
The Pirates used a big second quarter to earn a nonconference win on Saturday in De Graff.
Triad took a 13-10 lead by the end of the first quarter but the Pirates used a 23-15 edge in the second to take a 33-28 lead by halftime. The Cardinals outscored Riverside 18-17 in the third and 17-14 in the fourth.
“Tonight was a tough battle,” Riverside coach Seth Bodenmiller said. “We were able to build up a 15-point lead in the 3rd quarter but then just started making some poor decisions with the ball. Give credit to Triad for continuing to fight, but it was nice to come away with this one.”
Kaden Burk scored 20 points for the Pirates (6-9) while John Zumberger scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds. Landon Stewart scored nine points and had 10 rebounds and Ethan Jackson added eight points.
Riverside shot 22 for 58 (37.9 percent) from the floor while the Cardinals shot 22 for 55 (40 percent). The Pirates had a 46-14 rebounding edge.
Franklin 71, Versailles 36
The Tigers lost a nonconference game on Saturday in Versailles.
The teams were tied 15-15 at the end of the first quarter but the Wildcats used a 22-9 scoring edge in the second to take a 37-24 halftime lead. Franklin finished with a 19-8 advantage in the third quarter and 15-4 advantage in the fourth.
Connor Stonebraker led Versailles (5-11) with 14 points while Jaydon Litten scored nine.
