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Tuesday, 02 January 2007 |
 Wapakoneta post player B.J. Reed goes up for a layup Saturday night against the Beavercreek Beavers. (Staff photo/ William Laney)
By BRYAN CRAFT
Sports Editor
BEAVERCREEK — A New Year’s weekend game came down to the final 10 seconds and the final possession between the Wapakoneta Redskins and the Beavercreek Beavers in varsity boys basketball action Saturday night.
Trailing the Beavers, 45-44, Redskin varsity coach Scott Minnig called a timeout as the ball crossed midcourt to set up the last play of the game.
“The last play was set up to get the ball to Randy Schmerge on a curl and if he wasn’t open to get the ball inside to B.J. Reed,” Minnig said after the 1-point loss. “Schmerge didn’t have the open shot, but we got into Reed and had three shots in the final seconds to win.”
Reed took a short jumper inside the key that rimmed out. Guard Drew Parker grabbed the rebound and lofted a shot over the Beavers’ Justin Tillman that banked off the front of the rim. Schmerge rebounded and threw up a last-second prayer that missed the mark.
After the last shot, Wapakoneta fans objected to the contact in the paint as the officials sprinted from the gymnasium as the buzzer sounded. Officials did not call a foul against Beavercreek during the last 6:32 of the fourth quarter.
Minnig downplayed the physical play of the game. He said his squad played physical games against the St. Henry Redskins and Delphos St. John’s Blue Jays earlier this season and the style of play is typical in the Western Buckeye League.
Western Buckeye League action starts again for the Redskins this at approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday when they travel to Ottawa-Glandorf to take on the Titans.
The 45-44 loss drops the Redskins to 6-1 on the season, while the Beavers improve to 6-2. Beavercreek is a Division I school and plays in the Greater Western Ohio Conference, which includes Troy, Piqua, Sidney and other Dayton-area schools.
Reed, a 6-foot-7 senior center, finished with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field for 69.2 percent. He also collected six rebounds and a block. Justin Shark had 11 points and junior guard Zach Brown added 9 points.
Senior Derran Erb grabbed 4 rebounds and had 3 steals, while Schmerge contributed with 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Beavercreek guard Alex Marolo scored 13 points. Justin Tillman had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals and Kyle Eakins netted 9 points.
A tightly-contested game throughout much of the game, the ultimate decision came down to the final possession. Despite three opportunities at the winning basket, the Redskins could not climb the final hurdle to scratch out a win.
The game was even at nine after the first period and remained tied at 21 at halftime. The Beavers outscored the Redskins 12-11 for a 33-32 lead after three periods. The final period was even at 12 as Beavercreek secured the 1-point victory.
Wapakoneta had 10 turnovers to Beavercreek’s nine. The Redskins shot 19-of-43 from the floor for 44 percent and were 4-of-8 from the foul line. The Beavers were 15-of-38 for 39 percent and 13-of-17 from the free throw stripe for 76 percent — the more than 2-to-1 free throw advantage helped push Beavercreek to the win.
Wapakoneta will play at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Ottawa-Glandorf to take on the Titans. The Redskins are 1-0 in league play.
In the junior varsity game, the Redskins suffered a 47-31 defeat. Luke McDevitt had 7 points and Drew Golden scored 6. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 January 2007 )
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