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Wapakoneta cut down by Titans |
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Saturday, 06 January 2007 |
 Wapakoneta junior guard Kyle Maus goes in for the layup Friday night in a Western Buckeye League game at Ottawa-Glandorf. Maus scored a game-high 19 points. (Staff photo/ Rick Zofkie)
By BRYAN CRAFT
Sports Editor
OTTAWA — For the second time in as many games the Wapakoneta Redskins varsity boys basketball team came up short on the final shot.
“When you play two really good teams like Beavercreek and O-G at their place and to be able to have an opportunity to win the game at the end on a shot is good,” Wapakoneta varsity basketball coach Scott Minnig said. “It means we’re in the game and we have a chance to win.
“The disappointing thing is we’ve not converted on them yet,” he added. “We need to step up and make plays at the end.”
On Friday, the Redskins (4-2, 1-1 WBL) suffered a 58-56 league set back to the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans.
Ottawa-Glandorf 6-foot-3 senior forward Ronnie Maynard sunk a basket to put the Titans up for good. The Redskins got an open shot when they dumped the ball into the post, but Wapakoneta’s B.J. Reed missed off the backboard.
The Redskins were forced to foul and at the other end the Titans missed a front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity, giving Wapakoneta one last hope. After calling a timeout with 11.4 seconds left in the game, Wapakoneta’s Derran Erb was forced to take a jumper from the elbow that was blocked, ending the game in favor of the Titans.
“We kind of knew in that timeout what we thought they were going to try and do with flashing one of their guys high and try to get the ball to Reed low,” O-G coach Josh Leslie said. “We tried to jam up the lane and take out Reed.”
Wapakoneta were led by 5-foot-11 junior guard Kyle Maus with 19 points, while 6-foot-1 senior guard Randy Schmerge added 15 points.
“I would say Kyle played a really good game,” Minnig said. “He stepped up and hit some big shots from deep and he also made some great strong moves going hard to the basket.”
O-G were led by junior guard Justin Schomaker with 13 points and senior guard Nathan Pothast with 11.
Part of the key to victory for the Titans was the fact that they shot 7-of-14 from behind the 3-point line in the contest.
“That’s about as good as we have shot,” Leslie said.
Overall, O-G shot 22-of-56 from the floor for 39 percent. They were 7-of-11 at the stripe.
Wapakoneta shot 24-of-49 from the floor, were 4-of-14 from downtown and connected on 4-of-8 free throws.
Wapakoneta looked at first glance like they might run away with this one, as they broke away from a 10-9 deficit with a 10-0 run to give them a 19-9 first period lead. The Titans (5-3, 2-0) came back in the second period to lead 32-30 at halftime. They won the second period 23-11.
In the third period, O-G started to expand their lead. The Titans won the third quarter 15-9 for a 47-39 lead. Wapakoneta stormed back in the final period 17-11, but fell short of the victory.
The Wapakoneta junior varsity game went to O-G 68-36. Leading the way for the Redskins were Drew Golden with 11 points and Jake Lambert with 10.
The Redskins play at 6:30 p.m. today when they host the Piqua Indians.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 January 2007 )
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