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'Skins put down by Thunderbirds |
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Wednesday, 24 January 2007 |
 Wapakoneta guard Randy Schmerge gets ready to collect a rebound Tuesday night against the Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds. (Staff photo/ Mike Burkholder)
By BRYAN CRAFT
Sports Editor
LIMA — After trailing by 12 points at half-time, the Wapakoneta Redskins, “as good of a team as there is in the Western Buckeye League,” rallied to within one basket of the lead before losing to the Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds.
The Redskins went on an 8-0 run late in the fourth period after cutting the lead by half in the third period to drop a 60-56 non-league boys basketball game to the Thunderbirds.
“I know Wapakoneta has struggled and their win-loss record is not very strong, but that’s as good of team as there is in the Western Buckeye League,” LCC varsity coach Bob Seggerson said. “I thought they played an outstanding game tonight and that record is very deceptive. That’s a team I don’t think anybody will want to play in the tournament.”
Wapakoneta (6-6) cut the lead to 57-56 in the waning minutes of the game after going on an 8-0 run. The Redskins were forced to foul and John Stanovich, 15 points and 3 assists on the night, connected on 1-of-2 free throws to give LCC a 58-56 lead.
Stanovich missed on the second attempt, but rebounded and ran down the clock before the T-Bird was fouled again. The Thunderbirds (11-2) missed two opportunities at the stripe, before chasing down another rebound and being fouled with 9.1 seconds left in the game.
“When they have the ball and the lead you want to get the basketball, and we were trying to do everything that we can defensively to put ourselves in a position to get it back without them scoring,” Wapakoneta varsity coach Scott Minnig said. “We were trying to get the ball.”
LCC’s Neal Shine, 16 points and 5 rebounds, connected on the two free throws to ice the game for a 60-56 final. D.J. Evans with 16 points also scored in double figures for the Thunderbirds.
Senior center B.J. Reed led the team in scoring with 14 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and made 2 blocks. Senior guard Randy Schmerge helped by scoring 12 points, collecting 8 rebounds and dishing 2 assists.
Redskin guards’ Drew Parker, Kyle Maus and Zach Brown each scored 8 points. Maus also contributed 5 assists, while Parker had 2 steals and 2 assists.
Wapakoneta won the rebound battle 27-23 and the turnover margin 11-10.
The Thunderbirds used a 9-0 run after being down 13-10, to close out the first period and take the lead 19-13. Two quick baskets by LCC’s Shine and Geoff Bowers made it a 10-point game at 23-13 moments into the second period. LCC increased their lead outscoring the Redskins by 6 points in the second period for a 37-25 half-time score.
“We actually had a good run to start the game, and I thought at one point we had a chance to put the game away early,” Seggerson said.
Wapakoneta came back and clawed their way back into the game.
Minnig saw an opportunity for a win slip away due to a lack of defensive intensity late in the first period and start of the second period.
“We just didn’t play defense,” Minnig said of the decisive run. “They got good shots and that was the bottom line. They’re a good team, and they always seem to have a run like that in most games and they did in this game.”
The Redskins returned the favor to the Thunderbirds in the third period halving the lead by outscoring LCC by 6 points to close the gap to 47-41. Wapakoneta ran out of time in the game despite dominating the fourth period.
The Redskins JV (3-8) lost a 60-58 game and were led by Luke McDevitt with 20 points.
The Redskins will play at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Shawnee to take on the Indians in a Western Buckeye League matchup.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 25 January 2007 )
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