Fort wins conference opener (12/09/06)

VERSAILLES, Ohio - With just eight minutes to play, it looked very much like the Fort Recovery Indians were headed towards their second straight loss this season and 10th in a row over two seasons in conference play.

But the Indians, burying a couple of huge 3-point shots and hitting five clutch free throws in the final 26 seconds, rallied from nine points down for a 58-55 victory over the Versailles Tigers Friday night.

Fort Recovery, which improves to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Midwest Athletic Conference play, got 16 points from Aaron Kahlig and double-figure scoring from Toby Metzger (11) and Clint Tobe (10).

The victory, satisfying on its own, meant even more for the Indians, who went 0-9 in the MAC last season before scoring a win over conference rival Marion Local in post-season play.

The Indians, down 41-32 heading into the fourth quarter, erased that deficit and passed Versailles less than two minutes into the period, as Tobe knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:15 left to put his team up 43-42.

The host Tigers re-took the lead a minute later, but the Indians responded and would never trail again - although the score would be tied three more times over the final four minutes.

Aaron Kahlig, who tallied his 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line, put his team up 53-51 at the 1:07 mark - a lead the Indians would not relinquish.

Following a steal by Fort's Bobby Rammel, Greg Kahlig dropped in a pair of free throws for a 55-51 advantage with 26 seconds left.

Versailles' Jeremy Shardo, who led all scorers Friday with 21 points, scored just five seconds later to trim the margin to 55-53, but a pair of free throws by Tobe put the Indians back up by four.

Shardo hit again with 11 seconds left to make the score 57-55.

The Tigers fouled Fort's Greg Kahlig with just three seconds left. After missing the first attempt, Kahlig hit the second, and Shardo missed a long 3-point shot at the buzzer which could have forced overtime.

Fort Recovery, which will host Tri-Village tonight at Fort Site Fieldhouse, won despite struggling with its shooting touch. The Indians shot just 39 percent (25-for-72) from the field, although they were 44 percent in the second half.

Metzger, in addition to his 11 points, pulled in a game-best 12 rebounds for the Indians.

Fort Recovery also put together a strong second half in Friday night's junior varsity game as it won 45-40.

The Indians, who outscored Versailles 15-5 in the third quarter, got 11 points each from Frank Thien and Wes Kahlig. Tyler Jutte added nine for the Fort JV.[[In-content Ad]]