Where Things Stand: Who’s done what in the Tourney
There is Bed Time. A Dinner Time. Even Howdy Dowdy Time. But when March arrives, nothing else matters. It’s Tournament Time. Six games played this week, highlighted by a mixture of upsets and overtime, injury, a rising star, and a bad day at the office.
Anna 67 East Clinton 33
No Hunsucker. No problem. Wes Hunsucker sat this game out with a mild quad injury. It didn’t matter because Anna rolled. Derek Billing scored 25 points and hauled down 11 rebounds. Perhaps a new star was born. JV player Ben Belcher scored 10 points off the bench. The Rockets play Preble Shawnee Friday at 9:30 PM. at UD Arena.
Fort Loramie 62 Botkins 29
Botkins led 2-0, but that was it. The Redskins built a methodical 17-6 first quarter lead and expanded it to 50-21 after three quarters. Loramie coach Karl Ratermann said, “I’m satisfied with our performance. As the game progressed, we brought more energy and more energy. The kids competed hard.” Cody Albers paced the balanced scoring attack with 15 points and Mark Frilling added 13 points. FL plays Mechanicsburg Friday in the sectional finals at 7:00 PM.
Mechanicsburg 47 Houston 38
Houston coach John Willoughby has had better days, but Tuesday wasn’t one of them. First, coach learned that his daughter Jaclyn was snubbed the SCL Player of the Year award, and then his Wildcats got knocked out of the tournament. Blame this game on cold shooting. Willoughby said, “The story of the game was the story of the year. We have a hard time scoring.” Josh Redd led Houston with 14 points. The Wildcats finish 9-12.
Jackson Center 47 Russia 43
The Tigers pulled the upset of the tourney so far with an offense hard to describe. They run all over the floor doing nothing. Regardless, it worked. JC led most of the way until Russia tied it at 28-28 midway through the third quarter, but the Tigers went on a 6-0 run, followed by another to seal the outcome. Jacob Mann scored 19 points and Andy Hoying added 13 for the Black and Orange. Jacob Hoying paced Russia with 18 points. JC improves to 12-10 and plays Lehman in the sectional finals Saturday at 7:00 PM. Russia finishes 15-6.
Lehman 44 Covington 34
The Cavs sprinted to a 11-2 lead and held on the rest of the way for the win, avenging an earlier season loss to the Buccs by two points. Adam Craft exploded for 30 points on the Cavs in the first meeting, but this night was held to 11 points. Adam Freytag led Lehman with 11 points and David Spearman tossed in nine. Lehman improves to 14-8 and squares off against JC Saturday at 7:00 PM. During the regular season, Lehman beat JC in overtime. Covington ends with a 13-9 mark.
Sidney 65 Tecumseh 57 (OT)
No more one and done. Sidney had won only two postseason games the past 12 years, but Wednesday night the Jackets left no doubt that they can win more. Sidney controlled most of the game leading 40-33 with 6:12 left in regulation, but the Arrows fought back to knot it 52-52 for overtime. The Jackets dominated the extra session, outscoring Tecumseh 13-5.
Sidney will face the winner of tonight’s matchup between Fairmont and Troy on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 PM. at the Nutter Center.
Four players landed in double figures for Sidney. Daniel Ocke provided the spark with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. The 6′ 6″ junior has been on a recent tear. Ocke shoots like a guard from the perimeter and rebounds with the big boys inside. He is becoming quite versatile.
Zach Yinger added 17 points. Zach Michael tallied 12 points, eight boards, and four steals. Jonathan Lowe contributed 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
Coach Tom Clark said, “We played great in the first half. But it’s hard to keep that intensity with only a 6-7 player rotation. We struggled at times in the second half due to fatigue.” He added, “When Ocke got hot, the kids did a good job of finding him.”
Sidney stands at 14-7 on the season as Tecumseh drops to 14-7.
CHIPS & SALSA
* Don Cordonnier stepped down as the Sidney girls basketball coach after four seasons. He spent 15 seasons at Russia. He has won 243 career games in 19 seasons. Cordonnier told the SDN, “I just decided it was time. I was hoping to come in and build a program and win some games.” He added, “We didn’t have the great record, but the kids played hard. I’m not going to say I’m finished. I enjoy the kids. Just have to wait and see.”
* Jackson Center girls basketball coach Gregg Gooding is four wins shy of 200 for his 12-year career.
* Nann Stechschulte, long time Minster girls basketball coach has 408 career wins. She is one of only 30 girls coaches in Ohio history to reach 400 victories.
* Former Fort Loramie girls basketball coach Jane Poeppelman will throw out the ceremonial “first pitch” when the Loramie boys baseball team play Greenon at Fifth-Third Field in Dayton on Sunday, April 11th at 1:00 PM. Poeppelman coached for 22 years with 339 wins.
* Sidney Bowler Trent Knoop advanced to the state tournament this week in Chillicothe. He bowled a 664 series with a 206-233-225, placing him third on the qualifying list.
* And for the second straight season, the Sidney girls bowling team advanced to state tournament. The Lady Jackets placed sixth with 3,539 points. They are one of 16 teams competing for a state title. Betty Pellman led the Jackets with a 498 series.
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