Boys basketball: Sidney survives in OT at Vandalia-Butler

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VANDALIA — Just like a Miami Valley League crossover game at Piqua eight days before, Sidney saw a big lead shrink in the fourth quarter on Tuesday at Vandalia-Butler. And just like eight days before, the Yellow Jackets survived.

But they needed overtime on Tuesday.

After the Aviators battled back to tie it and force overtime, Sidney took control early in the extra period and held on to win 50-47 at the Student Activity Center.

Sidney improved to 13-3 overall and 11-2 in MVL play with its second win this season over Butler. The squad beat the Aviators 64-33 on Dec. 10 in Sidney.

“They’re good. They are a good team. The first time we played them wasn’t an indication of how good they are,” Sidney coach John Willoughby said. “This is a tough place to play. They beat (MVL leader) Tipp here. It’s tough.

“… But a lot of it tonight was our own undoing. The (missed) free throws, turnovers. We didn’t handle it as crisp, sharp as we should have. But we hit a couple of free throws when we needed to.”

Butler’s Evan Ables hit two baskets in the final 30 seconds of regulation to tie it 43-43. But Sidney scored on its first two overtime possessions to take control.

After the first two jump balls in overtime went out of bounds, Sidney won the third try, and junior wing Sam Reynolds drew a foul and split a pair of free throws to give Sidney a one-point lead He then followed by making a pair on Sidney’s next possession to push the lead to 46-43.

“That’s so big in overtime, getting the tip and scoring,” Willoughby said.

Butler’s John Sorrells made a basket to cut the gap to one point, but Jaden Swiger made a basket in the post off a pass from Myles Vordemark with 2:15 left to push the lead to 48-45.

Sorrells split a pair of free throws to cut the gap to two points, but Reynolds made two free throws with 13 seconds left to push the lead to 50-46.

Swiger scored 16 points while Reynolds scored a game-high 17. He hit three 3-pointers and was 8 for 10 from the free-throw line.

Reynolds’ 3s were three of six the squad made on the night. Four came in the first half and helped the squad built a 22-12 lead late in the second quarter.

“We’ve got guys that can shoot it,” Willoughby said. “We were hitting them early, but we went away a little bit from getting to the short corner and the high area.

“… But I thought for the most part we kept our cool (against Butler’s zone), handled it, made some big plays.”

Willoughby was pleased the squad was able to hang on for another close road win and hopes it serves as a good learning experience as postseason play nears.

“This is the first varsity experience for a lot of these kids,” Willoughby said. “They’re handling things well. We’ve had a few close games and have been coming out.

“We have to be able to handle the man-to-man pressure with the trap coming at us. We just aren’t doing a great job with that. We’ve got to take a better look at that and see what we can do.”

Sidney is scheduled to host Xenia in MVL play on Friday before hosting St. Marys in a nonconference game on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets lost 67-55 in overtime at Xenia on Dec. 14 in a contest many players were dealing with illness.

“We didn’t play very well that night,” Willoughby said. “They played exceptional. Hopefully we can correct that and play a little bit better defense on (Damien Weaver). He did a great job, had six points going into the fourth quarter and ended up with 22. That was a bad job of coaching by me where I didn’t make any adjustments, and I’ll do a better job on Friday.”

Sidney scored the first five points and led 12-5 at the end of the first quarter. The squad pushed the lead to 10 late in the second, but Butler made the last two baskets of the quarter to cut the gap to 22-16 at halftime.

Butler closed the gap to 34-29 heading into the fourth quarter. The Yellow Jackets led by at least four points until the final 30 seconds when Ables made consecutive baskets.

Ables led Butler (6-9, 6-5) with nine points.

Sidney junior wing guard Sam Reynolds shoots during a Miami Valley League Valley Division game on Tuesday at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activity Center. Reynolds scored a game-high 17 points.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/01/web1_s2.jpgSidney junior wing guard Sam Reynolds shoots during a Miami Valley League Valley Division game on Tuesday at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activity Center. Reynolds scored a game-high 17 points. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Sidney senior forward Jaden Swiger shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Evan Ables during a Miami Valley League Valley Division game on Tuesday at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activity Center. Swiger scored 16 points in the Yellow Jackets’ 50-47 overtime win.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/01/web1_13v0.jpgSidney senior forward Jaden Swiger shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Evan Ables during a Miami Valley League Valley Division game on Tuesday at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activity Center. Swiger scored 16 points in the Yellow Jackets’ 50-47 overtime win. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Sidney’s Julius Spradling drives past Vandalia-Butler’s Tristen Vandervort at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/01/web1_s1v23.jpgSidney’s Julius Spradling drives past Vandalia-Butler’s Tristen Vandervort at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Sidney’s Mitchell Davis shoots against Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/01/web1_s12.jpgSidney’s Mitchell Davis shoots against Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Sidney’s Julius Spradling shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Derek Motter at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/01/web1_s1v35.jpgSidney’s Julius Spradling shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Derek Motter at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Sidney’s Jaden Swiger shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Matt King at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/01/web1_s13v44.jpgSidney’s Jaden Swiger shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Matt King at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Sidney’s Myles Vordemark shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Nolan LoBlanco at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/01/web1_s23v4.jpgSidney’s Myles Vordemark shoots over Vandalia-Butler’s Nolan LoBlanco at Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday.Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Aviators battle back to tie it, but Sidney wins 50-47

By Bryant Billing

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Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.

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