Carter Sudhoff (23) of Spencerville defends John-Paul Yoder (32) of Bluffton as he drives into the lane on Friday night.
Chris Howell | The Lima News
BLUFFTON — It took an extra four minutes for Spencerville to finally put away Bluffton, leaving the Bearcats as the last unbeaten team in the Northwest Conference.
The two juggernauts went step for step once play began on Friday night at Bluffton High School. There were 12 lead changes before the Bearcats finished business in overtime 76-74 on a game-winning putback from Carter Sudhoff.
“That was a special one for sure,” Spencerville coach Kevin Sensabaugh said. “Our guys wanted that so badly. I thought we played our butts off tonight and fought through so much adversity in the first half.
“Both of our bigs got in foul trouble and had to sit and watch, but our guards just hung on. They just kept hanging on, the way we won tonight is what makes great teams great.”
Spencerville (12-4) led by as many as eight in the contest, but the Pirates seemingly had an answer every time they needed one in regulation.
Twice in the fourth quarter and once in overtime, Bluffton (14-2) got some big shots from Wade Ginther to tie the game.
Ginther finished the game with 17 points. His most important basket of the night came with 36 seconds to play in overtime, which tied the score at 74.
After collecting a pair of early fouls, Spencerville’s Carter Sudhoff spent the majority of the first half on the bench before he played hero for the Bearcats in the second half.
Sudhoff got going inside the paint in quarters three and four, recording 14 points before finding himself at the free throw in overtime for a chance to seal the deal.
However, Sudhoff missed both free throws with under 10 seconds to play. The rebound from his second miss deflected into the left corner before Carder Orr and Evan Osting tipped the ball back into the paint.
Sudhoff secured the ball out of a scramble and bounced in the game-winning basket as time expired.
“I missed the free throws, but I had to forget about that and find a way to get us the win,” Carter Sudhoff said. “I don’t know what happened on that last play, Carder (Orr) sent a shot, and Evan (Osting) got a stick back that didn’t go, and I was somehow unboxed out and in perfect position for an easy two. It was crazy.”
Sudhoff and Will Sensabaugh each scored 16 points. Owen Sensabaugh turned in a game-high 24 points.
Friday night’s thrilling victory was Spencerville’s 16th consecutive Northwest Conference win.
The Bearcats have two home conference games remaining against Allen East and Ada. If they can take care of business, they’ll collect their 10th NWC Championship in school history and repeat for the third time in school history.
Bluffton never lacked effort or scoring in their second loss of the season.
Marek Donaldson returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous three weeks and made an immediate impact. He finished with a team-high 18 points and four three-point field goals.
In the absence of Donaldson, former Spencerville Bearcat Blake Sommers took over the lead role for the Pirates and continued in that form on Friday.
Sommers finished with 17 points and one emphatic block that led to Bluffton’s second technical foul of the first half. His twin brother, Brody Sommers, finished with six points in his first game against his former squad.
“It was a tremendous atmosphere and these are the types of games you want your kids to play in and remember,” said Bluffton coach Todd Boblitt. “I thought tonight was two great teams going to battle, and I’m proud of our team and the way they hung in there and continued to fight.”
The Pirates now have to win out in conference play and root for a Spencerville loss for a chance at their fifth NWC crown.
Spencerville 76, Bluffton 74
Spencerville 20 18 21 11 6 – 76
Bluffton 18 24 14 14 4 – 74
Spencerville
Owen Sensabaugh 24, Will Sensabaugh 16, Carter Sudhoff 16, Carder Orr 8, Evan Osting 7, Grady Smith 5.
Bluffton
Marek Donaldson 18, Blake Sommers 17, Wade Ginther 17, Kerry Wright 9, John Paul-Yoder 6, Brody Sommers 6, Terron Boblitt 3.
Nate Stidham wrote this article for LimaScores.com
