Zori Island, of Elida, defends Upper Scioto Valley’s Maddox Underwood during Saturday’s game at the Elida Fieldhouse.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
Style points do not matter in basketball. Not in high school basketball. Not in college basketball. Not in the NBA.
What matters is winning and Elida’s boys basketball team did that for the fifth time in six games this season when it held off Upper Scioto Valley 48-43 Saturday night at the Elida Fieldhouse.
Zori Island scored a personal season-high 18 points, including three 3-pointers, and David Etzkorn had 14 points and also hit three 3-pointers for the Bulldogs.
“I think we made some defensive plays down the end. We didn’t play our best basketball tonight but I told them good teams find a way to win even when they’re playing bad,” Elida coach Matt Tabler said. “We missed some defensive assignments throughout the game. We missed some free throws (8 of 19). We missed some point blank shots. But a good team makes enough plays down the stretch and that’s what we did tonight.
Island said, “We just had to box out and make plays down the stretch. We’ve just got to be stronger and finish things stronger.”
Maddox Underwood’s 20 points, including four 3-pointers, led USV (3-5) and Alex Sanders had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Underwood also had 19 points in USV’s 73-22 win against Vanlue on Friday.
Read more at bit.ly/4awLZCr.
Aiming for 600
St. Marys coach Dan Hegemier is one win away from his 600th career victory.
He’ll aim for that milestone Friday at Spencerville, with home opportunities Saturday against Findlay and Jan. 5 against Wapakoneta.
Only 16 other boys coaches in Ohio High School Athletic Association history have hit the 600 mark before, putting Hegemier in elite company.
St. Marys plans to invite former players from all of his coaching stops to a recognition ceremony at the first home game after Hegemier hits 600. It will be held between the junior varsity and varsity games that night, meaning it could be as soon as Saturday if the Roughriders win at Spencerville on Friday.
Win without flow
Sometimes you need to find a way to win, even if you can’t find any flow in your game.
Pandora-Gilboa figured out how to do that in Friday’s 48-37 win against Leipsic.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well, which we didn’t, then you better be more solid at the other end,” Rockets coach Mike Lee said. “There just wasn’t a whole lot of flow to this game; a lot of that is to the credit of the Leipsic kids. They got after us defensively.”
Aiden Harris paced the way for Pandora-Gilboa (7-0, 2-0 PCL) with 19 points, 11 of those coming in the second half.
Ty Lammers led the Vikings (4-3, 1-1 PCL) with 12 points.
Read more at bit.ly/47fc85Y.
Finding a way to rally
Wapakoneta found a way to change the story of the game in Friday night’s 44-35 win at Perry, bouncing back from an 8-2 Perry rally.
“We got ourselves going in transition and got ourselves a couple of easy buckets to start the half, which made it a little easier. I thought we got some decent looks in the first half, but we just weren’t knocking them down and we were able to do that a little bit more in the second half,” Wapakoneta coach Trey Elchert said.
Nate Metzger paced a balanced Wapakoneta scoring attack with 10 points.
Za’mere Daniel scored 21 points and had six rebounds to lead Perry. He scored 14 of Perry’s 18 points in the first half.
Read more at bit.ly/47eQcrq.
Height matters
Perry has two players listed at 6-foot on its roster, and only one of them was in the starting lineup against a Shawnee starting lineup which had four players between 6-2 and 6-5 last Tuesday.
The result was a 55-34 loss to the taller Indians.
“We competed really well. Our competitiveness has been good all year. We’ve been fighting and clawing. But facing 6-5 and 6-6 with 5-10 it’s always hard. They just beat us up physically,” Perry coach Thomas Nolte said.
Dominic Lynch scored 14 points and had a game-high 7 rebounds for Shawnee (5-2). Beckett Bertke scored 14 points and Nick Pasion had 12 points. Za’mere Daniel’s seven points led Perry (3-3).
The Indians got off to a three-point lead in the first quarter, which reversed a recent trend for the Indians.
“We’ve really all year been starting a little slow and challenged our guys to get off to a faster start. It wasn’t perfect but we had a first quarter lead, which I think is our second one in seven games. So that’s a better sign,” Shawnee coach Mark Triplett said.
Read more at bit.ly/3GXGvmA.
Big scorers
Several area boys basketball players topped the 15-point plateau in recent games:
• Cameron Elwer, of Delphos St. John’s, scored 36 points in the Blue Jays’ 62-44 win at Crestview on Friday. He also scored 33 points in a win against Continental last Tuesday and 23 in a 60-41 win against Beth on Saturday.
• Colin White tallied 27 points in Ottawa-Glandorf’s 77-56 win against Bowsher.
• Jordan Priddy, of Lima Central Catholic, scored 25 points in the Thunderbirds’ 61-42 win at Bath last Tuesday.
• Owen Sensabuagh scored a career-high 23 points, including 11 in the first quarter, to help Spencerville beat Minster, 68-51, on Friday.
• Ottawa-Glandorf’s Caden Erford scored 21 points in the Titans’ win against Bowsher.
• Shawnee’s Beckett Bertke scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds in Shawnee’s 48-46 loss at Coldwater on Friday.
• Spencerville’s Evan Osting scored 17 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, of Spencerville’s win against Minster.
• Bluffton’s Marek Donaldson scored 17 points as Bluffton won at Carey, 67-36, last Wednesday.
• Isaac Gallmeir had 16 points, but Delphos Jefferson fell 54-47 at Parkway.
• John Etter paced Continental with 15 points in a loss at Delphos St. John’s last Tuesday.
• Calvin Menke, of Fort Jennings, had a game-high 15 points, but the Musketeers fell to Crestview, 62-40, last Tuesday.
• Miller City’s Andon Ruhe had 15 points and nine rebounds in the Wildcats’ 58-36 win Saturday at McComb.
BOYS BASKETBALL STANDINGS
Western Buckeye League
`WBL `All
Ottawa-Glandorf `1-0 `6-0
Elida `1-0 `5-1
St. Marys `1-0 `4-1
Shawnee `1-0 `5-3
Celina `1-0 `2-2
Wapakoneta `0-1 `5-2
Kenton `0-1 `4-3
Defiance `0-1 `3-5
Van Wert `0-1 `1-6
Bath `0-1 `0-6
Northwest Conference
`NWC `All
Columbus Grove `1-0 `3-0
Bluffton `1-0 `4-1
Spencerville `1-0 `4-2
Leipsic `1-0 `4-3
Allen East `0-0 `2-3
Crestview `0-1 `6-2
Lincolnview `0-1 `2-4
Delphos Jefferson `0-1 `1-5
Ada `0-1 `1-6
Northwest Central Conference
`NWCC `All
Elgin `2-0 `3-5
Perry `1-0 `3-4
Ridgemont `1-0 `4-3
Upper Scioto Valley `1-0 `2-5
Cory-Rawson `1-0 `1-4
Temple Christian `0-1 `4-2
North Baltimore `0-1 `2-2
Ridgedale `0-2 `2-2
Hardin Northern `0-1 `1-4
Waynesfield-Goshen `0-1 `0-5
Putnam County League
`PCL `All
Pandora-Gilboa `2-0 `7-0
Miller City-New Cleveland `1-0 `6-1
Columbus Grove `0-0 `3-0
Ottoville `0-0 `5-2
Fort Jennings `0-0 `2-6
Continental `0-0 `0-7
Kalida `0-1 `0-7
Leipsic `0-2 `4-3
Toledo City Athletic League
`TCAL `All
Start `2-0 `5-1
Lima Senior `2-1 `3-2
Scott `1-1 `4-4
Bowsher `1-1 `1-5
Rogers `0-0 `3-5
Woodward `0-1 `1-6
Waite `0-2 `0-8
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Friday
Allen East 56, Cory-Rawson 33
Antwerp 46, Kalida 45
Ayersville 49, Fort Jennings 40
Coldwater 48, Lima Shawnee 46
Columbus Grove 53, Patrick Henry 47
Delphos St. John’s 62, Crestview 44
Kenton 91, Waynesfield-Goshen 57
Lima Central Catholic 75, Van Wert 45
Miller City 40, Van Buren 27
Ottawa-Glandorf 77, Tol. Bowsher 56
Ottoville 71, Van Wert Lincolnview 50
Pandora-Gilboa 48, Leipsic 37
Parkway 54, Delphos Jefferson 47
Spencerville 68, Minster 51
Temple Christian 49, New Knoxville 46
Wapakoneta 44, Perry 35
Saturday
Ada 53, Cory-Rawson 40
Delphos Jefferson 64, Antwerp 52
Delphos St. John’s 60, Lima Bath 41
Elida 48, McGuffey Upper Scioto Valley 43
Lincolnview 69, Fort Jennings 62
Miller City 58, McComb 36
Today
Canton Central Catholic at Ottawa-Glandorf, 7:30 p.m.
Crestview at Kalida, 7:30 p.m.
Delphos St. John at Delphos Jefferson, 7:30 p.m.
Elida at Perry, 7:30 p.m.
Wapakoneta at Bowling Green, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
Ada at Waynesfield-Goshen, 8 p.m.
Bath at Cardinal Stritch, 7 p.m.
Riverside at Temple Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Shawnee at Lima Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
Toledo Christian at Miller City, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Columbus Grove at Van Wert, 7:30 p.m.
Crestview at Ottoville, 7 p.m.
Elida at New Bremen, 7:30 p.m.
Fort Jennings at Temple Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Lima Senior at Findlay, 5 p.m.
Lincolnview at Kalida, 6:30 p.m.
Miller City at Tinora, 7:30 p.m.
Pandora-Gilboa at Patrick Henry, 7:30 p.m.
St. Marys at Spencerville, 6:15 p.m.
Saturday
Ottawa-Glandorf at Lima Central Catholic, 4 p.m.
Ottoville at Van Wert, 5:30 p.m.
Perry at Columbus Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Reynoldsburg at Lima Senior, 7:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Friday
Marion Local 43, Bath 38
Saturday
Bryan 42, Bath 23
Columbus Grove 51, Delphos St. John’s 36
Crestview 42, Kalida 37
Findlay 65, Lima Senior 31
McComb 65, Fort Jennings 47
Wayne Trace 45, Ottoville 34
Tuesday
Games ended after The Lima News deadline. Find scores, game stories, photos and more on LimaScores.com.
Arlington at Fort Jennings, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Vicki Mauk Holiday Classic: New Knoxville vs. Lima Senior, 6 p.m.; Elida vs. Van Buren, 7:30 p.m.
Bath at Coldwater, 7:30 p.m.
Cory-Rawson at Columbus Grove, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
Vicki Mauk Holiday Classic: Consolation, 6 p.m.; championship, 7:30 p.m.
Ada at Waynesfield-Goshen, 6 p.m.
Kalida at Archbold, 7:30 p.m.
Kenton at Bluffton, 7:30 p.m.
Ottawa-Glandorf at Crestview, 7:30 p.m.
Ottoville at Arlington, 6 p.m.
Shawnee at Findlay, 7:15 p.m.
Sylvania Southview at Wapakoneta, 6 p.m.
Toledo Christian at Miller City, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Fort Jennings at Delphos St. John’s, 1:30 p.m.
Fort Loramie at Ottawa-Glandorf, 12:30 p.m.
Van Wert at Delphos Jefferson, 12:30 p.m.
Wapakoneta at Olentangy, 1:30 p.m.
