Racers have too much horsepower for Barons

LIMA - It wasn't the pace OSU-Lima/Rhodes State was looking for.

Once the University of Northwestern Ohio men's basketball team was able to pick up the tempo of the game, the Racers had little trouble pulling away from the Barons for a convincing 91-42 win at UNOH on Monday night.

After building a 40-23 lead by halftime, UNOH (6-7) opened the second half with a 15-0 run, pushing the lead out to 55-23. OSU-Lima/Rhodes State (0-15) was held scoreless for the first 6 minutes 23 seconds of the second half.

OSU-Lima/Rhodes State coach Dave Koverman said he wanted to avoid getting into an up-tempo type of game with the Racers.

"I wanted to walk it up court," Koverman said. "I really did not want to try to run with these guys.

Josh Vorst (Ottoville, Edison State) led UNOH with 17 points and four assists. Kyle Gillette (Northern Kentucky University), a 6-foot-8 post player, scored 15 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Jason Sarno (Elida, OSU-Lima/Rhodes State) added 10 points and four assists. All 14 players on UNOH's roster saw action and scored.

Ryan Schroeder (Fort Jennings) led the Barons with a game-high 19 points. The 6-4 wing player also pulled down 10 rebounds. Boomer Roller (Kalida) added 10 points.

The Barons kept it close, early on. The lead changed hands six times and was tied twice in the first half.

However, with the Barons leading 17-15 at the 8-minute mark of the first half, UNOH mounted a 15-2 run in a span of less than two minutes, building a commanding 30-19 lead.

"That's the way it's been this year," Koverman said. "We'll stay close for a while and then they (the opponents) will pick it up."

UNOH coach Chris Adams said his team was a little sluggish early in the game.

"We were a little rusty in the first half, because we haven't played for awhile (Dec. 13)," Adams said. "But, I thought once we got it going and picked it up, we were OK.

"I thought Kyle Gillette played a great second half. He's such a defensive presence. We were able to put a lot of ball pressure out front. And once they drove inside, he (Gillette) was able to either alter or block a lot of their shots."

Schroeder recorded 17 of his points in the first half. He hit 3-of-6 from behind the 3-point line in the first half. In the second half, however, the Racers held Schroeder to just 1-of-5 from the floor.

Adams said his team did a much better job of locating Schroeder in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Adams also pointed to the depth of his team as a key to Monday's win.

"I think our depth began to wear them down in the second half," he said. "We'll play 10 guys, in and out. We want to keep throwing fresh bodies in there. We want to wear them down."

For the game, UNOH shot 47 percent from the floor, while the Barons shot 28 percent. UNOH shot just 36 percent in the first half, but came back to connect on 60-percent of its field goal attempts in the second half.

Koverman said the biggest downfall of his team this season has been its offensive production.

"Defensively, we've played pretty well," Koverman said. "But, we just have not shot very well. You have to be able to score."