Local Sports

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Boys Regional Basketball: Kalida and OH to tangle

By DAVE HANNEMAN

STAFF WRITER

Dick Kortokrax was expecting a Putnam County League rematch in Friday's Division IV regional final.

But the rematch will be with the Toledo Area Athletic Conference instead.

"As tough as the PCL was this year and the way the tournament was set up, we thought it would be two PCL teams battling in the regional final, either Pandora-Gilboa or Miller City on one side and Continental or us on the other," Kortokrax said.

"Now we're scrambling for material. Stupid, right, to throw all your eggs in one basket?"

Kalida and Miller City did represent the PCL in the regional semifinals. While Kalida advanced with a 48-32 win over Wayne Trace Tuesday, Miller City fell 57-44 to Ottawa Hills.

Instead of seeing a familiar opponent in Friday's 7:30 p.m. regional final at BGSU's Anderson Arena, Kalida (21-2) will now be facing a 23-1 Ottawa Hills team that's a bit of a mystery.

"I know nothing about them, other than what I saw here tonight for three quarters," Kortokrax said.

With 50 years of coaching experience under his belt and over 800 career wins to his credit, it's a good bet Koroktax can lay down a pretty accurate analysis of an opponent.

"They're not overly big, but they're quick, they can shoot the ball, they pass well and they play very good defense," Kortokrax said. All I can say is we respect them, we don't fear them and we're glad we're playing them."

Though Kalida and Ottawa Hills haven't played each other in a decade, Krotokrax is no stranger to TAAC teams. A year ago, Kalida edged Toledo Christian 46-41 in the regional final at BGSU.

Ottawa Hills has an all-state standout in 6-foot senior guard Eliot Browarsky. Considered the best soccer player in the state (he has signed to play for Elon College), Browarsky stars on the hardwood as well as the pitch. A true floor leader, he had 18 points and seven assists in Tuesday's win over Miller City.

Browarsky tweaked an ankle late in Tuesday's semifinal. He was limping slightly in the final minutes and was reportedly using crutches after the game. With two days rest between the semifinals and championship game, though, Browarsky is expected to be back in the starting lineup Friday.

An athletic team, Ottawa Hills also got 16 points from 6-2 junior Andrew Jamieson and 10 apiece from 6-1 junior J.J. Buckey and 6-3 freshman center Lucas Janowicz.

Ottawa Hills made 21 of 35 shots from the field, a sizzling 60 percent accuracy. That offense will go against Kalida's matchup zone defense that held Wayne Trace scoreless in the second quarter Tuesday. Wayne Trace scored just 19 points and made 4 of 20 shots over the final three quarters.

Defense is Kalida's trademark.

"If we don't come to play defense we shouldn't show up because we don't have enough offense to get cute or smart with," Kortokrax said.

Leading Kalida has been 6-3 senior Jordan Basinger, a 1,000-point career scorer and first-team all-Northwest Ohio selection who averages 16 points and eight rebounds a game.

Basinger has been strapped by foul trouble in recent games. But Kortokrax expects his senior post, the lone returning starter from last year's state runner-up team, to bounce back.

"You never know how fouls will be called. Sometimes touch fouls are called; sometimes there's a lot of contact under the basket. As a basketball player you have to play through that," Kortokrax said.

"Jordan is frustrated by it. But at the same time he has enough knowledge of the game and enough experience to find a way to turn a negative into a positive. With JB it's all about getting ready for the next game."

Kalida got a big game from its other senior, 5-10 guard Michael Bockrath, Tuesday. Bockrath scored 12 points and had four steals, spearheading a defensive effort that came up 11 steals and forced Wayne Trace into 15 turnovers.

While Ottawa Hills may have an edge in athletic quickness, Kalida will have a height advantage. In addition to Basinger the Wildcats start juniors Kristopher Osterhage (6-3), Jeremy Kahle (6-2) and Logan Recker (6-1) and can bring in 6-4 sophomores Drew Stechschulte, Ben Schroeder and Nathan Jorrey off the bench.

State champion in 1981 and state runner-up in 1988 and last season, Kalida will be looking for its fifth regional championship under Kortokrax and sixth overall. A win by Ottawa Hills would earn the Green Bears their first trip to state since 1942.

Hanneman: 419-427-8408,

davehanneman@thecourier.com

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