Miller City’s Jude Otto dribbles past Crestview’s Jaret Harting during Friday’s Division IV sectional championship game at Miller City. Otto had a game-high 13 points in the win.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
MILLER CITY — When a game gets tight, players often huddle around their coach and look for direction.
When Miller City saw a lead that once stood at 13 shrink down to one point Friday, the Wildcats’ coach listened to his players as his team shot free throw after free throw to seal a 48-43 win against Crestview in a Division IV sectional championship game.
“Defensively and offensively, those guys kind of took it upon themselves: ‘Hey, this is what we’re seeing out here. I think we should do this,’” Miller City coach Ross Kaufman said. “And I told these guys, ‘I trust you. Go for it.’”
It seemed to work. The Wildcats only gave up one bucket in the final minute while hitting six free throws to seal the victory. Andon Ruhe scored all six of his fourth-quarter points from the free-throw line, including a clutch pair with 10.8 seconds left in the game. Miller City hit 10 of 14 free throws in the final eight minutes to seal the win.
“I feel like my teammates trusted me a lot in making those free throws,” Ruhe said. “They kept getting me the ball before I was fouled.”
The No. 4-seeded Wildcats (20-4) next face top-seeded Delphos St. John’s, which beat Lincolnview 64-38 on Friday night. They’ll play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Elida Fieldhouse in the district semifinals.
Miller City used balanced scoring Friday night, led by Jude Otto’s 13 points, Brendan Barlage’s 11, Will Otto’s 10, and Ruhe’s 10. Ruhe also had nine rebounds.
Crestview, which ended the year at 16-8, turned to Wren Sheets for 12 points. Jaret Harting added 10 points, including one of back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter, and he added six rebounds. Hayden Perrot came off the bench to score 10.
The game coming down to the final minute seemed so unlikely earlier in the game. Miller City went on a 13-4 run over the end of the first and start of the second quarters to grab an early 10-point lead. They extended that lead to 13 points with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter.
Neither Crestview nor Miller City wanted to give points up in the paint, taking away the first options for both of these tall teams. The Wildcats figured out the next-best thing, driving just outside the paint before hitting a jumper.
Jude Otto showed off a nifty hook shot, elevating in the air with the ball before flicking the ball into the hoop. He says he uses it “a little now and then.”
“I just took what they gave me,” Jude Otto said. “You take what the defense gives you and roll with it.”
Kaufman preached patience.
“I told them to just be patient,” Kaufman said. “Pass around the basketball. Make them work for it.”
Eventually, the Knights found what worked for them. With Northwest Conference player of the year Wren Sheets held at bay for most of the game, Perrott came off the bench to give the Knights a spark in the fourth quarter. He hit three 3-pointers, including the one to get within a point at 44-43 with 22 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats’ free-throw parade kept them from getting any further, though. It gave them a measure of revenge after losing to Crestview in last year’s sectional finals and falling in overtime to the Knights in December.
“We’re all like, we’re a great team,” Ruhe said. “We’ve been better than in years past. We’ve got some revenge coming out of this.”
Miller City 48, Crestview 43
Crestview 8 7 10 18 — 43
Miller City 13 9 11 15 — 48
CRESTVIEW
Hayden Perrott 10, Tommy Hefner 7, Jaret Harting 10, Wren Sheets 12, Connor Sheets 4. Totals: 17-3-43.
MILLER CITY
Brendan Barlage 11, Ethan Barlage 2, Jude Otto 13, Will Otto 10, Owen Tobe 2, Andon Ruhe 10. Totals: 15-14-48.
3-pointers: C-Perrott 3, Harting 2, Hefner 1. MC-W.Otto 3, B.Barlage 1.
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
