While Celina looks for another
win on the season on Friday night, Tim Homan has additional
motivation as the Bulldogs’ senior will look to establish
another milestone in his career in the Green and White.
Homan needs just four points against Defiance on Friday night
to become just the third Celina boys basketball player to reach
the 1,000-point mark for his career, joining Jay VanderHorst
(1,127 points) and Mike Reichert (1,087) on the list.
Beyond that milestone, Celina is looking to hit a hot streak
and wrap up the regular season on a good streak. The Bulldogs
were named the second seed at the Division I sectional draw
at Liberty-Benton on Sunday but will not get a bye as a tough
Bowling Green team will be waiting for the first game of the
sectional.
Defiance, under first-year coach Kirk Lehman, comes in at 7-8
and 2-4 in the Western Buckeye League with a drastic improvement
from last year’s squad. Defiance comes in winning against
Bath last Friday night. At the Perrysburg Division II draw,
Defiance drew 6-10 Rossford for a first-round game.
Lehman’s squad brings a small but quick lineup to Friday’s
game. The tallest player to take the court for Defiance stands
just 6-4 in junior Graham Wagner with other key players hovering
between 5-10 and 6-1 in the lineup.
Marquee Matchup: Tim Homan vs. L.J. Helton.
Homan has been one of the more consistent scorers and shooters
in the Grand Lake area this season and the senior is coming
off a 23-point night against LCC in Sidney. Homan’s size,
athleticism and shooting ability make him one of the toughest
matchups in the WBL.
Don’t let the size of Helton (5-11) fool you, the Defiance
senior has the ability to take over games from his backcourt
position. Helton handles a bulk of the scoring load for the
Blue and White but also is the floor general for Lehman’s
team averaging 5.7 assists per game. Helton gets help in the
scoring department from senior Austin Keel (10.5 ppg.) and Will
Swary (9.7 ppg.).
St. Marys at Elida
The Roughriders are in a unique situation of getting a close-up
view of their sectional foe as they travel to the Elida Fieldhouse
on Friday.
The Bulldogs drew the ’Riders at the Division II sectional
at Ohio Northern to be played on March 2nd. Both teams come
in at 11-5 overall with Elida a game ahead of St. Marys in the
WBL standings at 4-1.
St. Marys got some great news when defensive leader Corey Vossler,
who had thought to have been done for the season after a knee
injury, returned and scored nine points in the blowout against
Kenton. With fellow starter Wes Clark definitely out for the
remainder of the season, the return of Vossler and the added
contributions of freshman Adam Johns has St. Marys looking to
build momentum in its final four games.
Elida has been consistent all season. Veteran coach Chris Adams’
team has not dropped off much after losing over 70 percent of
their scoring from a season ago due to graduation.
Marquee Matchup: Scott Vossler vs. Dustin Mathias.
Vossler came up with a season-high 33 in the blowout over Kenton
on Friday, raising his average to 19.2 ppg., third in the Grand
Lake Area. With brother Corey back in the lineup and the rest
of the Roughriders picking up their game, Vossler can once again
rely on teammates to help in the scoring department.
Mathias made an impact last season as a freshman for the Bulldogs
and is having no signs of a sophomore slump. The 6-1 guard leads
the team in scoring at 14.3 ppg. with deep range from beyond
the three-point arc. Mathias also runs the offense at times
for the Bulldogs, dishing out 3.9 apg.
Minster at New Bremen
The Battle of Ohio 66 has both teams playing at their best and
reaping the awards after taking the top two seeds at the Division
IV sectional at Coldwater.
Minster is coming off a strong game in winning over Houston
on Tuesday night. After suffering through a slight slump at
the end of January, the Wildcats came back in beating Marion
on the road and demolishing a pair of teams from Shelby County
League.
The Cardinals are coming off a tough loss at Coldwater. The
Cardinals have lost two games in a row only once this season
and has been able to rebound in the proceeding game after their
other losses.
Marquee Matchup: Dane Sommer vs. Scott Schmiesing.
Sommer has been shooting much better after the 2-for-21 performance
against St. Henry. Sommer was 7-of-18 for 17 points in the win
over Houston on Tuesday and keeps his average (17 ppg.) among
the leaders in the Grand Lake are after getting big games against
Marion and Anna over the weekend.
Schmiesing keeps his spot as the top scorer on a team that has
five players averaging five points or better per game. The 6-5
forward is one of two players in the area averaging 12 ppg.
and eight boards or better per game.
Parkway at Coldwater
Coldwater is coming off a weekend that went 1-1 in the books
but was a boost to the team.
After beating New Bremen on Friday, the Cavaliers lost by 13
to WBL-leading Shawnee but held Jamar Butler under his 30-point
per game average and well below the 51 he torched the Cavaliers
for last season.
Coldwater now turns its focus on building momentum over the
rest of the season leading up to its sectional matchup with
Spencerville at Elida the first week of March.
Parkway lost a close one to Fort Recovery on Friday and followed
up with a tough loss to Spencerville on Saturday. The Panthers’
tournament draw wasn’t kind as MAC foe St. John’s
will face the Panthers.
Marquee Matchup: Mark Snyder vs. Jay Miller.
Snyder got over the 10-point per game barrier this past weekend
with good efforts against the Indians and Bearcats. The sophomore
is averaging 10.3 ppg. and 7.1 rpg.
Miller had a breakout weekend for the Cavaliers as the 6-4 senior
scored 31 points in the two contests combined. Miller has been
a strong defender in the paint for most of the season and will
have his hands full with Snyder, Ryan Berry and Lucas Luginbill
manning the low post for the Panthers.
Versailles at Fort Recovery
The Tigers look to wrap up all the loose ends before their tournament
starts up in two weeks. Big wins over St. Henry — to keep
hold of the MAC — and over Bradford by nearly 60 points
on Tuesday have the Tigers thinking that an undefeated regular
season isn’t out of the question. The Tigers took the
top seed in its sectional down at the University of Dayton.
The Indians will look to recover some ground and make a good
run to its sectional at Coldwater. The Indians got started by
snapping a nine-game skid on Friday against Parkway.
Marquee Matchup: Joe Shardo vs. Dusty Tobe.
Shardo came up with the big basket last week when his bunny
with 17 seconds left gave Versailles the winning score against
St. Henry. Shardo didn’t have his usual consistent three-point
shot going last week but with 29 made treys on the season, the
6-4 junior is a threat to go long distance at any time.
Tobe has had to pick up the slack in scoring with John Bihn
not seeing as much playing time of late. Tobe averages 12.3
ppg. for the Indians.
New Knoxville at St. John’s
It’s always a story within a story when a coach goes back
to his alma mater for a game.
Same is true for the Rangers when they head up to coach Pat
McGue’s old stomping grounds at Arnzen Gymnasium.
The Rangers are coming of a big win over Marion Local on Friday
night and had the weekend off to get ready for the 10-6 Blue
Jays, which won over Minster last week. The Rangers have been
known in the past of picking up steam the closer tournament
time has approached and with a win over the defending state
champs last Friday at Ranger Gymnasium the same may be said
again this year.
St. John’s will look to wrap up on the high note. The
Jays moved up to Division III this season and face Parkway in
the first round of the tournament.
Marquee Matchup: Tyler Henschen vs. Chad Reynolds.
Henschen has been coming up with big games of late. The sophomore
had 18 in a win over Jackson Center last Tuesday and was a solid
contributor in the mild upset of Marion Local. Henschen is hovering
around 10 ppg.
Reynolds continues to be the go-to player for Brett Norris’
squad. The 6-6 junior averages 15.3 ppg. and 6.3 rpg. Reynolds
had 18 in the win over Minster on Friday.
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