July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

They meet again

Indians, Flyers to play in sectional

By RAY COONEY
President, editor and publisher

FORT RECOVERY — The Indians and Flyers will take their fight from Fort Site to The Palace.
Just four days after closing the regular season against each other, Division IV No. 10 Fort Recovery and Marion Local high schools will meet again Tuesday in the opening round of the boys basketball sectional tournament at Coldwater.
“With the game plan we put in for Friday being so recent for the kids we know what we want to be able to accomplish,” said FRHS coach Brian Patch, whose team defeated the Flyers 60-52 on Friday. “That hopefully will be helpful. That’s what we worked on for a whole week. …
“It’s kind of nice for the kids to be familiar with want we want and how we want to play.”
The win Friday gave the Indians an 18-4 record for the season, but it did not come easily.
The Tribe trailed by nine at halftime before rallying in the third quarter. It opened the second half with an 8-0 run and eventually took the lead for good on a hoop by Kyle Schroer in the fourth quarter.
Fort Recovery picked up the win thanks in large part to its effort at the free-throw line, where it outscored the Flyers 21-3.
The Indians will make a few minor tweaks to their game plan, but mostly they’ll just try to improve their execution from Friday’s game.
“Even though we won the game we didn’t do everything as well as we’re capable of,” said Patch. “Sometimes I don’t think its changing strategy as much. It’s just reminding the kids of things that we tried to do but didn’t do as well as we need to do. I think that might be the bigger piece than anything.”
Marion Local finished at 9-12, but presents a challenge because of its size and outside shooting ability.

The Flyers have a front line that includes three players who stand 6-feet-5-inches or taller and the top 3-point shooter in the area in Cole Griesdorn, who hits for 45 percent from beyond the arc.
Adam Bertke leads Marion Local’s balanced attack as he averages team highs of 10.2 points, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He also grabs 6.1 rebounds per contest.
Luke Knapke is right behind him with 10.1 points per game while also averaging a team-best 6.5 rebounds. He shoots 59.9 percent from the field.
The Flyers struggled early in the season but had won four in a row prior to falling to Fort Recovery on Friday.
“The first thing that pops out is their size inside,” said Patch. “They start 6-9, 6-6, 6-5. They’re very long, lengthy kids. And they’re not just big, they’re very skilled.
“Their size is a factor on offense and on defense. We had to worry about helping so much on Friday night that their shooters were able to get free and hit some shots.”
Fort Recovery, which is led by Wade Gelhaus (19.7 points per game) and Elijah Kahlig (19.3), closed the season with wins over Mississinawa Valley and Marion Local after falling 58-43 on Feb. 15 to fourth-ranked St. Henry. All four of its losses this year came against Midwest Athletic Conference Rivals.
Patch has talked all season about the importance of other players being ready when opposing teams focus their attention on Gelhaus and Kahlig. Ben Dilworth has stepped into that role in the last few weeks, and he scored 14 points in Friday’s victory over Marion Local.
“I think Ben Dilworth is playing probably the best basketball I’ve seen him play in three years right now,” said Patch. “He finishes really well around the rim. He’s very athletic. He can go out and guard a point guard or he can play inside for us. I think he’s feeling comfortable with his role and where he fits in.”[[In-content Ad]]
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