Fort Recovery gets revenge; Indians beat Coldwater
By Tim Langevin
The cast of characters in this showtime event between Coldwater and Fort Recovery played out at an extreme level, with a ‘refuse to lose’ attitude for four grueling acts. But that wasn’t good enough. When the curtain folded, the score read 48-48.
So, it was only fitting that a four-minute encore session be performed to settle the score, once and for all.
And it was the Fort Recovery Indians who responded with the 8-3 run in overtime to capture a hard fought 56-51 victory Friday in MAC boys basketball action at a sold-out “Palace”.
“Great crowd on both sides,” Fort Recovery coach Brian Patch said about the scene.
“I believe this was the first sell-out since 1993 when St. Henry came to town. It was a tournament atmosphere. Great for the kids playing against a great crowd.”
Coldwater controlled Greg Kahlig and in the process, controlled the first quarter with Eric Lefeld and Keith Wenning each scoring five points. The biggest margin was 10-6 after Lefeld scored on a put back.
The Indians’ Craig Tobe halted the Cavs mini 6-3 spurt with a three to cut the lead 10-9. But then Lefeld scored on a power post move and Wenning completed a three-point-play to up the tally 15-9. Wade Gelhaus closed out the period with a basket in the paint for Fort Recovery to trim the lead 15-11.
It was a rough start for Kahlig as he managed only two points on a pull-up jumper from 16 feet. He said, “I struggled early, but those guys came out scoring and playing defense. I didn’t have to do a whole lot. Which is good because it takes the pressure off of me.”
Coldwater coach Mike Kanney said, “I thought Reese Klenke did a good job of containing Kahlig, especially in the first half. His job on Kahlig made the other kids have to step up and they did.”
The second quarter was a see-saw epic battle with seven lead changes and two ties. British Poet Dylan Thomas would have been impressed as both teams raged up and down the court, refusing to go gentle into that good night. Craig Tobe and Jason Pottkotter paced the Indians with six points each and Tim Brunet and Lefeld headed the Cavalier attack with four points a piece.
Gelhaus nailed a 15-footer, his second quarter-ending basket at the buzzer, to give Fort Recovery a dicey 30-27 lead.
But the story of the first half was the bench play of Fort Recovery’s 5′ 8″ sophomore Jason Pottkotter. He scored seven points, including two treys. The peppery, little dynamo finished the game with 11 points. In addition, freshman Gelhaus contributed seven points and he finished the evening with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Coach Patch emphasized, “Obviously, Kahlig is great. He is going to break the school record soon. But we are not a one-man band. This is a talented squad.”
Fort Recovery maintained its slim margin throughout the third period, but it wasn’t easy. The Cavs’ Brunet closed the gap 30-29 on a 17-footer before Kahlig answered with another patented pull-up jumper from 14 feet.
It was a break-out quarter for both Wenning and Kahlig. Wenning paced the Cavs with nine points and Kahlig guided the Indians with 12 points.
“I hit a couple of shots early by going to the rack,” Kahlig said about his third quarter. “That opened it up for my outside shots and they started to fall.”
The Indians led 46-42 with eight minutes to go. Little did they know, 12 minutes before the end of the show.
As the pressure mounted, both defenses reared their ugly heads as neither team could score. In fact, both teams combined for 0-for-11 shooting, eight personal fouls, and seven turnovers during a 5:12 drought.
It was Gelhaus who ended the spell with a basket at the 2:42 mark to expand Fort Recovery’s lead 48-42. It looked like gloom and doom for the Cavalier faithful, but with big time players like Eric Lefeld and Keith Wenning, losing is not an option.
Wenning scored on a fast-moving lay up and Lefeld muscled in a stick back to draw closer, 48-46 with 1:33 left in regulation. Then Brunet grabbed the rebound off a missed Fort Recovery shot and was fouled. Talk about clutch. The 6′ 4″ senior calmly swished the front end of a 1+1 and swished the second to knot the score, 48-48 with 1:15 left in the contest.
It gets better.
The Indians held the ball until 11.2 seconds left and then Kahlig went to work. It was Klenke vs. Kahlig. Mano y Mano. Kahlig dribbled to the right perimeter, spun to his left, and as he drove through the lane, he lofted a 12-foot floater that rattled off the back rim at the buzzer.
Overtime!
The crowd moaned and groaned, but still had enough energy for a standing ovation for the combatants.
Coach Kanney said, “Great ball game. We didn’t make the big buckets down the stretch when we needed. It was a nice comeback to tie it at the end of regulation. The kids showed a real gut check. Give credit to Recovery. They made the shots and we didn’t.”
Fort Recovery closed out the overtime period with a 4-0 run to claim the victory.
Kahlig led all scorers with 23 points and snagged 12 rebounds.
Wenning paced the Cavs with 21 points, including 4-of-8 from three-point-land.
Lefeld added 14 points and 13 boards.
The Indians outrebounded Coldwater 31-28. As intense as the defenses played, only 13 turnovers were committed. Recovery had nine and Coldwater only three.
Neither team shot well from the field. Coldwater was 18-of-49 for 36 per cent and Fort Recovery was 19-of-43 for 44 percent.
The Purple and White improve to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the league. Coldwater suffers its first loss and drops to 8-1 and 2-1 in the MAC.
| 
