LIMA — Lima Senior wasn’t shooting very well, early on, in Tuesday’s nonconference boys basketball game against visiting Springfield.
However, Khalil Luster gave the Spartans just what they needed.
Luster poured in a game-high 26 points, including eight 3-pointers to help lead Lima Senior to an 80-57 victory over Springfield.
Luster also dished out four assists and made six steals.
With the win, Lima Senior improves to 18-2 on the season. Springfield falls to 5-11 overall.
Luster was in a zone Tuesday night.
“All my guys have the green light (to shoot a 3-pointer),” Lima Senior head coach Quincey Simpson said. “We don’t handcuff our guys. We just want our guys to take shots that are confident shots.”
However, Simpson was not pleased at the way his team played early in the game Tuesday.
“I don’t think our kids matched the intensity of what their kids did, early on – in the first half, especially,” Simpson said. “I thought we were slow on a lot of possessions, and on 50/50 balls. We gave up nine offensive rebounds in the first half. We weren’t paying attention to details. But I was glad to see us bounce back, late in the third (quarter) and in the fourth.”
Along with Luster, Jareon Mayo (10) and Camren Miles (10) scored in double digits for Lima Senior. Quintel Wilson, Jr scored nine points, while Brent Moss had eight points and six rebounds for the Spartans.
Will Calhoun led Springfield with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Eddie Muhammad (13) and Duncan Bradley (12) also scored in double figures for the Wildcats.
It was a tightly-contested first quarter. Springfield managed to slip out with a 13-11 lead by the first stop.
Lima Senior’s defensive pressure helped cause eight first-quarter turnovers for Springfield. However, the Spartans struggled at the offensive end, making just 5 of 18 shots from the field.
Moss had two thunderous dunks in the first quarter for the Spartans, thanks to two alley-oop passes from Luster.
Then, with 4:20 left to play in the half, Luster hit a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 20-19 lead. That trey by Luster seemed to ignite Lima Senior.
Luster went on to hit two more 3-pointers in the second quarter to help the Spartans pull out to a 34-29 lead by the halftime break.
Luster led Lima Senior in the first half with 14 points (three 3-pointers), three assists and three steals.
Calhoun led Springfield with 10 first-half points.
Lima Senior was 13 of 31 shooting from the floor in the first half. Springfield was 10 of 29 from the field.
The Spartans opened the second half with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 42-29. Luster hit another trey in that run for the Spartans.
But Springfield stayed in the hunt.
By the end of the third stanza, Lima Senior’s lead was 7, 53-46.
Luster connected two more times behind the 3-point line in the third.
In the final eight minutes, Lima Senior turned up the intensity another notch. The Spartans made 10 of 18 shots from the floor in the final quarter.
For the game, Lima Senior shot 43 percent from the field. Springfield connected on 39 percent of its field goal attempts.
Springfield committed 24 turnovers, while Lima Senior turned it over 10 times on the night.
“We knew that two of their better players weren’t going to play tonight,” Simpson said. “They (Simpson’s players) probably felt like they didn’t have to play as hard. Getting late into the season, you would think we wouldn’t do that. … I think we still are growing. We still have some things to polish up on.”
Bluffton 86, Van Buren 58
BLUFFTON — Trenton Donley (24), Kyler Kinn (16), Marek Donaldson (16) and Trey Boblitt (15) scored in double digits for the Pirates (18-2).
Liberty-Benton 60,
Lima Central Catholic 54
FINDLAY — Carson Parker had 14 points and Evan Unruh scored 13 for LCC (10-9).
Temple Christian 55, Ridgedale 26
LIMA — Landon Callahan (15), Ashton Draper (11) and Dawson Clay (10) scored in double digits for Temple Christian (5-15, 1-6 Northwest Central Conference).
Parkway 55, Coldwater 46
ROCKFORD — Jace Woodhad 21 points and Tyler Schwieterman scored 16 for the visiting Cavaliers (3-16, 3-5 Midwest Athletic Conference) Individual scoring for the Panthers (8-3, 4-4 MAC) was not reported by deadline.
Leipsic 52, Fort Jennings 47
Leipsic (14-7) clinched a share of the Putnam County League championship at 5-2. Mason Brandt had 23 points for Leipsic and Jarron Swick scored 25 for Fort Jennings.
Shawnee 65, Kalida 54
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP – Brady Wheeler (16), Ja’Mari Johnson (14), Will McBride (11) and Nick Pasion (11) scored in double digits for the host Indians (14-7). Justin Siebeneck had 18 points and Tyson Siefker scored 16 for the Wildcats (.
St. Henry 42, New Knoxville 22
NEW KNOXVILLE — Sam Koesters had 13 points for the visiting Redskins (11-10, 3-5 MAC). Max Henschen scored eight for New Knoxville (1-16, 0-8 MAC).
Allen East 66. Upper Scioto Valley 64
MCGUFFEY — Garett Newland (20), Carson Clum (15) and Keaton Lehman (12) scored in double digits for Allen East (12-8). Connor Sanders (22), Maddox Underwood (19) and Jackson Rohrs (10) reached double digits for USV (17-3).
Girls basketball
All-NWC
Delphos Jefferson sophomore Alyvia Lindeman was voted conference player of the year, edging out Columbus Grove senior Kenzie King. Joining Lindeman and King on the first team were Crestview sophomore Cali Gregory, Delphos Jefferson senior Alycia Lindeman, Leipsic junior Whitney Langhals and Lincolnview senior Kendall Bollenbacher.
In a unanimous vote of her league peers, Denise Lindeman from conference champion Jefferson was awarded Coach of the Year.
Colleges
Men’s basketball
Bluffton 89, Manchester 84 (2 OT)
BLUFFTON — The Bluffton University men’s basketball team went the distance and then some, twice, on the way to an 89-84 victory over Manchester University on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. The double-overtime thriller was like Maxwell House, good to the last drop, as the Beavers snapped a nine-game skid while improving to 6-16 overall and 2-12 in the Heartland Conference. Manchester slipped to 8-15 and 7-9 in the HCAC.
The score was knotted at 67-67 after 40 minutes and 73-73 five minutes later before Bluffton put its stamp on the second extra session with an 8-2 spurt that was powered by four points from senior Chad Frey (Lima/Bath). Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) drained four freebies, Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) added a pair from the charity stripe and Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, Ind./Greenwood) followed with two more before a Manchester triple and Bluffton turnover gave the visitors a chance, down three with 13 seconds on the clock. Cosby came up with a huge steal and went coast-to-coast for the clincher as the Beavers picked up HCAC win number two, 89-84, in 50 minutes of action.
Manchester opened a 41-35 lead at the break thanks to red-hot 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Cosby and Owen kept Bluffton within striking distance, scoring 12 and 10, respectively. Owen was 4-of-7 from the field and Cosby went 5-for-10 in the opening stanza. Michael Stammen (Versailles) ripped down four rebounds to lead the home team.
The Beavers fell behind by eight early in period two, but five straight counters from Owen and a Cosby jumper put Bluffton up 50-49 at the 12:52 mark. A Frey trifecta and two Stammen makes at the line helped the Beavers to a 59-52 spread with less than seven minutes to play. Sparty came all the way back and led 67-64 with 15 ticks on the clock when Cosby drilled a deep triple, sending the game to overtime knotted at 67 apiece.
Owen hit the only bucket in the first overtime as the teams traded misses on the way to period number four which kicked off tied at 73.
Cosby led all scorers with 27 big ones. He also ripped down a career-high 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end, on the way to his 9th double double. The standout senior stuffed the stat sheet with four steals and two assists. Junior Marcus Bruns netted his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Owen smashed his career high with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting, while Frey checked in with 14 points and six rebounds, which equaled his career best. He also doled out a career-high five dimes!
Bluffton hit 30-of-79 from the field for 38.0 percent, including a paltry 6-for-24 (25.0 percent) outside the arc. The Beavers knocked down 23-of-31 (74.2 percent) at the line. Bluffton pulled down six more rebounds (49-43) and Manchester coughed it up seven more times (17-10).
The Beavers will welcome long-time rival Defiance College for a Senior Night showdown with the Yellow Jackets on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. following the women’s 6 p.m. matchup with DC.
Women’s basketball
Bluffton 69, Manchester 45
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Bluffton University women hammered away inside on the way to a 69-45 flogging of Manchester University on a rare Tuesday night of Heartland Conference action. Bluffton improved to 17-6 overall and 12-4 in the Heartland Conference, securing the #2 seed in the upcoming Heartland Conference Tournament in the process! Manchester fell to 7-16 and 4-10 in the HCAC.
In a game that never had overtime written all over it like the men’s duel did, Bluffton led 18-12 after one frame and 32-19 at the break. Morgan Smith (Arlington) bucketed 14 points in the first half and the Beavers never looked back as they went up 37-19 following a Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) triple two minutes into the third quarter. A Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) bomb pushed it to 53-31 late in the stanza and Bluffton led by 20 with 10 minutes to play.
Smith got the rack with 5:55 on the clock, giving the Beavers a comfortable 62-40 lead and from there Coach Shutler opened the turnstiles and everyone got a chance at the Spartans. Sydney Cavanaugh (Mansfield/St. Peter’s) dialed long distance following four markers from Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) as all 17 visitors saw Stauffer-Wolfe Arena up close and personal.
Coming up just two points shy of her career-high, Morgan Smith hit 10-of-14 from the field for a game-high 22 markers. Her 11 boards added up to the junior’s 4th career double-double. Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) dropped in 10 points on 3-of-4 from the field, while Prigge chipped in with eight counters. Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) finished with six points and six rebounds. Peyton Henry (Leipsic) dished out five assists and Prigge came up with three steals.
Bluffton hit 25-of-53 from the field for 47.2 percent, while holding Manchester to a miniscule 16-of-59 (27.1 percent) shooting night. The Beavers struggled to a 16-of-25 (64.0 percent) display at the line, but Manchester did not take advantage, making only 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) on its charity tosses.
The Beavers will return to the Sommer Center for a Senior Night shindig with rival Defiance College on Friday, Feb. 18. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
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