Local Sports

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Div. III Boys District: LCC knocks off No. 1 L-B; O-G advances

By Nathan Inniger

Staff Writer

ELIDA -- With just over a minute left in Wednesday night's Division III district semifinal at the Elida Fieldhouse, Liberty-Benton point guard Aaron Craft knifed down the right side of the lane, soared under the basket and put up a lay-up with his left hand.

Ty O'Connor of Lima Central Catholic was right there, however, and blocked Craft's attempt.

That was the story of the night as Lima Central Catholic (18-4) made Craft and the Eagles work hard for every shot and the Thunderbirds upset No. 1-ranked Liberty-Benton 52-39.

In the second game, Delphos Jefferson mounted a late rally, but Ottawa-Glandorf hung on for a tight 56-55 victory. The Thunderbirds (18-4) and Titans (18-4) will battle for the district crown 1 p.m. Saturday at Elida.

Craft was able to score 17 points for the Eagles (21-1), but he only made 5 of 22 field goal attempts due to tough help defense whenever he penetrated the lane.

"We basically had (Craft) double-teamed all night," Lima Central Catholic head coach Bob Seggerson said. "When he did score somebody broke an assignment so even when he did score, he was scoring over two people."

LCC got off to a quick start as the Thunderbirds took a 10-0 lead and didn't allow L-B to score until Craft hit a jumper with just under a minute remaining in the first quarter.

"We never got in a flow offensively the entire night," Liberty-Benton head coach Steve Williman said. "Give LCC a lot of credit for that. They did a great job of pressuring the ball and closing out on shooters and we had difficult time finishing any plays."

The Eagles were able to get back in the game in the second quarter using a zone defense to take the Thunderbirds out of their rhythm.

Liberty-Benton went on an 11-0 run, capped by a Brett Pasche 3-pointer and took a 16-15 lead with two and a half minutes left in the half.

LCC scored the final four points of the half, but the game remained within three points until Thunderbird senior Sam Stolly hit two consecutive treys from the baseline late in the third quarter that gave LCC a 31-23 lead.

"At a time when we were still in the ball game, those kind of broke our back," Williman said. "We were slow on closing out on him. We know he was a great 3-point shooter and we were slow on the close out and he made us pay the price."

Craft cut the Eagles' deficit to 31-26 with 45 seconds left in the quarter, but L-B was as close it would get as the Thunderbirds went on a 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 41-28.

Liberty-Benton made only 7 of 24 treys and LCC capitalized with layups and free throws as L-B was forced to extend its defense.

"We were smart with the clock, but we continued to attack the rim and that is a huge key for us," Seggerson said. "We need to continue to aggressively attack and we do it well."

The Thunderbirds also limited L-B's second chance opportunities, winning the battle of the boards 42-26.

"I thought the key to the game was our rebounding," Seggerson said. "I thought rebounding was the single most important part of this game. We felt if we limited them to one shot that we would be in this game."

Desi Kirkman led LCC with 19 points and had eight rebounds. O'Connor had only seven points, but snared 13 rebounds.

In the nightcap, Ottawa-Glandorf had a seemingly comfortable 47-36 lead entering the final quarter.

But Delphos Jefferson stormed back with a 14-6 run and got within three points with 1:39 remaining as Craig Carder, who had 16 points for the Wildcats, hit a free throw. Jordan Jettinghoff also had 16 points to lead Delphos Jefferson.

"They made shots in the fourth quarter," Ottawa-Glandorf coach Josh Leslie said. "We were up 11 in the fourth quarter and feeling all right and all of the sudden we go through a stretch where we couldn't buy a basket and made some bad decisions.

"They go through a stretch where they are making two, three shots in a row and the next thing you know they are right back in it and we were in trouble."

After an empty Titans' offensive possession, Ryan Ebbeskotte hit a jumper from the elbow and the Ottawa-Glandorf lead was only 53-52 with 58 seconds left.

But O-G senior Josh Johnson, who led the Titans with 21 points, stepped to the line and made two free throws with 28 seconds showing to give the Titans a 55-52 lead.

"He's the leader, He's been through this stuff for us for a couple years now," Leslie said. "He played a lot for us last year and that is what we expect out of him. He has to have good games for us if we are going to be competitive."

On Delphos Jefferson's ensuing possession, Ebbeskotte's pass attempt to the wing was stolen by Ottawa-Glandorf guard Brian Laubenthal.

"If you would have told me coming over here tonight that we had a chance to win with a possession, I would have told you that is exactly where we want to be," Delphos Jefferson coach Marc Smith said. "They made a great defensive play and knocked down free throws."

Laubenthal made his first free throw, which meant Jettinghoff's 3-pointer to beat the buzzer only provided the final margin.

"That was a big play by him over there and it was a good thing we made the one free throw," Leslie said.

FIRST GAME

lima central catholic (52)

Kirkman 8-16 1-3 19, A. Stolly 2-6 4-6 8, O'Connor 1-6 5-7 7, S. Stolly 2-4 0-0 6, Krieg 2-5 1-1 5, Tafflinger 1-4 3-6 5, Steiger 1-4 0-0 2, Kidd 0-0 0-0 0, Rigali 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Stump 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17-45 14-23--52.

liberty-benton (39)

Craft 5-22 6-7 17, Pasche 3-9 0-0 9, Benson 2-10 0-1 6, Jones 2-2 0-0 4, Rucki 1-1 0-0 3, Stanton 0-0 0-0 0, Cramer 0-2 0-0 0, Burt 0-0 0-0 0, Windle 0-0 0-0 0, M. Linhart 0-0 0-0 0, S. Linhart 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13-46 6-8--39.

Lima Central Catholic 10 9 14 19 -- 52

Liberty-Benton 2 14 10 13 -- 39

3-Point GOALS: Lima Central Catholic 4-14 (Kirkman 2-3, A. Stolly 0-1, O'Connor 0-3, S. Stolly 2-4, Tafflinger 0-3); Liberty-Benton 7-24 (Craft 1-7, Pasche 3-5, Benson 2-10, Rucki 1-1, Cramer 0-1).

rebounds: Lima Central Catholic 42 (O'Connor 13, Kirkman 8, Steiger 6); Liberty-Benton 26 (Craft 6, Pasche 6, Jones 6).

turnovers: Lima Central Catholic 10, Liberty-Benton 12.

SECOND GAME

ottawa-glandorf (56)

Johnson 8-15 2-2 21, Kaufman 5-9 2-2 12, Laubenthal 2-5 1-2 7, Pothast 2-5 1-1 5, Kuhlman 1-2 2-2 4, Alt 1-3 0-0 3, Hershberger 1-3 0-0 2, Ellerbrock 1-2 0-0 2, Schomaeker 0-0 0-0 0, Peck 0-0 0-0 0, Trenkamp 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21-48 8-9--56.

delphos jefferson (55)

Jettinghoff 7-11 0-0 16, Carder 7-12 2-3 16, Ebbeskotte 4-8 4-5 12, Bonifas 2-3 0-0 4, Antalis 2-8 0-0 4, Dunlap 1-2 0-0 3, Wiltsie 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23-44 6-8--55.

Ottawa-Glandorf 13 16 18 9 -- 56

Delphos Jefferson 16 6 14 19 -- 55

3-Point GOALS: Ottawa-Glandorf 6-17 (Johnson 3-7, Laubenthal 2-4, Kuhlman 0-1, Alt 1-3, Schomaeker 0-2); Delphos Jefferson 3-13 (Jettinghoff 2-5, Carder 0-3, Ebbeskotte 0-2, Antalis 0-2, Dunlap 1-1).

rebounds: Ottawa-Glandorf 30 (Johnson 6, Hershberger 7); Delphos Jefferson 19 (Ebbeskotte 4).

turnovers: Ottawa-Glandorf. 14, Delphos Jefferson 12.

Inniger: 419-422-5151,

nathaninniger@thecourier.com

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