Lester’s buzzer-beating 3 propels East Knox to road OT win over Smithville, 45-44

The host Smithville Smithies came into their Jan. 25 home nonconference game against the visiting East Knox Bulldogs with an 11-2 record and a first-place standing in Wayne County Conference play at 8-1. 

The Bulldogs entered at 11-4 and 8-2 in KMAC play, and the game lived up to the hype of two top teams battling it out, with the outcome going down to the final buzzer, as East Knox came from behind to prevail, 45-44, in overtime.

Both teams started slowly on offense, with the Smithies taking a 4-0 lead before Sam Whitney got EK on the board. Smithville lead by five at 7-2 with about three minutes left and 9-4 before Whitney hit another deuce to close the first quarter at 9-6 Smithies.

East Knox went on a 9-0 run to start the second to take a 15-9 lead, but the Smithies fought back and tied it at the half, 20-20. Shane Knepp led the EK second with seven points.

After halftime, it was Smithville’s turn as it went 5-0 out of the locker room to go up 25-20. Knepp hit back-to-back 2-pointers to cut the lead to one, and later in the third, EK went on a 5-0 run, with Peyton Lester draining a three to end the quarter with a 31-27 lead. It was not the only time in the game that Lester would connect from 3-point range at the buzzer.

The fourth was a back-and-forth affair, and EK held a 3-point lead into the final minute of regulation. Smithville’s Carter Piatt banged in a three, and after a failed attempt for each team, the game went to overtime tied at 39.

In OT, Piatt struck first for Smithville, and with two minutes left, the Smithies were up 41-39. Piatt then hit a free throw to go up 42-39. With less than a minute remaining, Lester nailed one from three to tie it at 42-42. Smithville’s Mac Butzer calmly sank two free throws to put the Smithies ahead 44-42 with one last possession coming for EK. Lester made sure that was all the Bulldogs needed as in the final seconds, he drained another launch from beyond the arc, and East Knox traveled home with the 45-44 victory.

Knepp led the Bulldogs with 19 and Lester added 15 – six in overtime – to lead the Bulldogs.

 

 

Trojans erase 8-point deficit in 4th, come back to beat Pleasant, 57-54

In a nonconference road game Jan. 25, Centerburg had its hands full with a team that, on paper, should have been overmatched. 

The Trojans fell behind at half-time, dropped farther back in the third, then used a big fourth quarter to overcome an eight-point deficit to deal the Pleasant Spartans their fifth straight loss with a 57-54 come-from-behind victory. The Spartans played tougher than their record would indicate -- Pleasant fell to 4-11, 2-6 in Mid-Ohio – as the Trojans had to go into emergency mode to win their fifth straight to run their record to 14-1, 9-0 in KMAC.

Centerburg got off to a good start, taking a four-point advantage in the first quarter, 16-12. Colton Martin sank four field goals in the first, and Isiah Reynolds rainbowed in two from three-point land for the Trojans.

The Spartans took a halftime lead of 28-27 with a strong 16-11 second. Jake Williams, Pleasant’s only player to score in double figures in the game, with 16, hit three twos in the second. Mckinnon Mead scored four in the frame for C-Burg.

Pleasant came out of the locker room with second-half determination, building up an eight-point lead at 47-39 after three. Williams swished four field goals for eight of the Spartans’ 19 points in the third.

The Trojans played the fourth quarter like their record dictated, with an 18-7 run to decide the game in their favor. Five Trojans scored, and Levi Houck scored all five of his game points in the quarter to lift the Trojans.

Pleasant committed only six turnovers in the game, hit 19 field goals and five threes but was only 1-for-2 at the foul line. The Trojans also turned the ball over only six times, hit 20 field goals, four from 3-point range and were 5-for-7 at the line.

Centerburg got scoring contributions from eight different players and was paced by Martin’s 16, Reynolds’ 12 and Mead’s 10.

 

 

Highland builds first quarter lead, sustains it for 54-40 win over Danville

Highland built a 10-point lead in the first quarter against Danville on Jan. 25 and never looked back as the Fighting Scots won their fourth in a row with a 54-40 win over the Blue Devils. 

Highland improved to 7-8, 4-4 in Mid-Ohio and Danville saw their two-game winning streak snapped, and fell to 6-11 and 3-8 in KMAC.

The Fighting Scots put 14 on the board in the first to establish a 10-point lead, led by Jordan Bellamy’s seven on a three and a pair of deuces; and Garrett Fitzpatrick popped in a couple of twos. The Blue Devils managed only a pair of field goals.

Danville found its scoring touch with 15 second-quarter points to cut Highland’s lead at the half to 24-19. Darren Mickley hit for seven in the quarter, and Walker Weckesser added four for the ’Devils. A 10-point second quarter for Highland came from four scorers.

Highland hit for 13 in the third to increase the lead to seven, with 10 coming from Brock Church on two from beyond the arc and two more from 2-point range. Danville’s 11 points in the quarter came from three players.

The Scots went to work in the fourth and netted 17, divvied up among six scorers. Danville could not keep pace and scored 10 in the fourth, though Mickley drained two threes and netted eight points.

Highland hit five threes and went 7-for-15 from the line, and eight Scots put points on the board. They were paced by Fitzpatrick with 14, Church with 13 and Bellamy and Dane Nauman with nine points each. Danville hit four threes and went 8-for-14 from the stripe. The Blue Devils had six scorers, led by Mickley with 15 and Cam Miller with eight.

 

Crestline holds off Mount Gilead, 58-55

In a nonconference matchup that was close throughout, the visiting Crestline Bulldogs held off the host Mount Gilead Indians, 58-55 on Jan. 25. 

Crestline improved to 11-6, 4-3 in Mid-Buckeye games, and Mount Gilead fell to 6-10 and 4-6 in KMAC games.

The game stayed within a two-possession lead all game and was a seesaw affair. Crestline took a back-and-forth lead in the first quarter that ended 13-12 for the Bulldogs. The Indians evenly distributed their scoring among four players.

In the second, the you-score-I’ll-score staccato beat continued, and Crestline finished the first half ahead 28-26. In the second, Mount Gilead again divided up the scoring among four players.

The close battle continued through the third, with Crestline outscoring the Indians 18-17 for a 46-43 lead entering the fourth. The Bulldogs took a 52-45 lead in the fourth, and Elijah Chafin nailed a three to close the gap to 52-48. Moments later, Chafin drained another three to make it a 1-point game at 52-51. Soon thereafter, the Indians took the lead at 53-52, but Crestline hit three free throws to make it 55-53. The teams traded scores after that, and Crestline held on for the 58-55 win.

Mount Gilead finished with seven threes among five long-range contributors. The Indians had seven scorers, led by Chafin with 16, Carter Kennon with 13 and Paul Butterman with eight. Lucas Cochran hit 11 shots from the field and finished with 25 for Crestline.