Indians finish conference schedule winless (02/18/06)

FORT RECOVERY — They were in prime position to halt a frustrating drought in conference play.

But the Fort Recovery Indians lost that position — and another Midwest Athletic Conference game — Friday at Fort Site Fieldhouse.

The Indians, who have fared very well this season (7-2) against non-conference opponents, rallied to re-take the lead against Parkway in the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on as the visiting Panthers won 45-42.

The Indians, who had swapped the lead several times down the stretch with Parkway, had two chances to tie the score in the final six seconds but couldn’t get a 3-point shot to drop.

Fort, now 0-9 in the MAC, was outscored 17-10 in the third quarter as they saw a four-point halftime lead turn into a three-point deficit.

But the Indians battled back, pulling ahead with six minutes left on a 3-pointer from Toby Metzger, and going up by four, 37-33, on another Metzger jumper with 5:22 to play.

The lead changed hands three times in a span of 1:30 late in the fourth, with Parkway going up 41-40 on a dunk by Jordan Heckler with 2:22 left to play and the Indians answering in the form of a Tony Diller jumper off an offensive rebound at the 2:07 mark.

Fort Recovery turned the ball over on its next possession, and Parkway’s Josh Fisher scored with 49 seconds to play to put his team up 43-42.

After a missed jumper by the Indians, Fisher dropped a pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining.

Following a time-out with eight ticks left on the clock, Metzger launched and missed a 3-pointer. Clint Tobe grabbed the rebound and missed another 3-point attempt as time ran out.

Neither team was particularly effective offensively, as the Panthers shot 39 percent (17-for-44) from the floor and the Indians connected on just 30 percent (17-of-57) of their field goal attempts.

Jordan Thompson of Parkway was the game’s leading scorer with 12 points, while Fisher and Mark Snyder each scored nine.

Fort’s Diller and Metzger shared team-high honors with 10 points each, while the Indians’ Travis VanSkyock and Luke Bihn added seven each.

In Friday night’s junior varsity game, Fort Recovery cooled off after a sizzling start and was beaten by Parkway 41-40.

Fort Recovery led 19-12 after one quarter and barely exceeded that 19-point total in the final three periods.

Wes Kahlig of Fort Recovery and Parkway’s Adam Heck each scored 15 points.[[In-content Ad]]