December 21, 2016 at 4:55 a.m.

State-line stampede

Fort Recovery tramples SA over final 12 minutes
State-line stampede
State-line stampede

By RAY COONEY
President, editor and publisher

FORT RECOVERY — It was a close game through two and a half quarters.

No really, it was.

As the clock hit the four-minute mark of the third quarter, the Indians were clinging to a one-point lead. By the end of the period, the Starfires had to be feeling a bit like grandma after she got run over by the reindeer.

Fort Recovery closed the third on a 19-2 run, pushed the surge to 30-5 midway in the fourth quarter and turned a once-competitive game into a blowout as it topped South Adams 92-57.

“The goal is to wear on teams and be that third-to-fourth-quarter team that we really start executing to a higher degree because teams wear down a little bit,” said FRHS coach Chris Guggenbiller. “And I think that’s what you saw there midway through the third when we started putting our run on.”

The Starfires turned the ball over 26 times, with the give-aways especially hurting them in the second half. While Fort Recovery took advantage of fast-break looks to shoot 61 percent after the intermission, the visitors hit for just 39 percent.

 
“For almost three quarters, I thought we played excellent,” saidSAHS coach Andy Brown, whose team lost for the third time in its last four games following a 3-0 start. “I thought the first half was really good. I thought most of that third quarter wasn’t bad. … If we clean up some things in that last of the third quarter, it’s probably a different game in the fourth.”

The Starfires (4-3) were within a single point — 45-44 — midway through the third quarter following back-to-back Kody Fike hoops. Then the Fort Recovery (3-0) stampede got started.

Caleb Martin got the run going, Ryan Braun buried a 3-pointer from the left corner and Payton Jutte extended the lead to 52-44. Fike scored again to get his team back within six, but it would be the only South Adams hoop in the final four minutes of the period.

The Indians proceeded to scored the final 12 points, including another 3-pointer from Braun and a triple by Matt Bihn at the buzzer.

“They hit some shots and then we tried to get it back, I felt like, really quickly, and when you do that, you try to dribble through a press and sometimes that leads to turnovers and then easy baskets,” said Brown, whose team’s three turnovers late in the third quarter led to seven FRHS points. “And then you’re trying to get it back even more. So it’s kind of a downward spiral.”

By the 4:37 mark of the fourth quarter, Fort Recovery had extended its lead to 75-49. The home team scored 47 points over the final 12 minutes after tallying 45 in the first 20.

Micaiah Cox led a group of five Indians in double figures with 23 points. Bihn, who hit the game-winner Friday against St. John’s, and Jutte each had 15 points. Braun hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, and Martin added 10 points to go along with his game-high 10 rebounds.

Seven different players scored from long distance in the victory, and the Tribe constantly tried to push the pace.

“We apply a couple different types of pressure. But then also, we look to get the ball out and go offensively,” said Guggenbiller. “So not only do you have that pressure on the defensive side of things, you have that pressure on the offensive side of things to where you’re always sprinting the full length of the court the whole time.”

Marcus Teeter scored 19 points to lead the Starfires, but he needed 24 shots to reach that total. Fike shot 8-of-10 for 16 points, and Jared Grabau added 10.



Junior varsity

South Adams committed fewer turnovers and hit a few more 3-pointers and free throws for a 44-37 victory over the Indians.

Fort Recovery trailed by just two at halftime, but the Starfires pushed the advantage to four points with three quarters to play. The visitors, who forced 21 turnovers while committing 14, kept the Tribe at bay in the final quarter for the seven-point win.

Terry Dawn paced SAHS with 15 points, including a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. Grant Besser and David Muselman had eight points apiece as the Starfires outscored Fort Recovery 7-4 at the foul line and 9-3 from 3-point range.

Clayton Pearson and Trevor Vaughn scored 12 points apiece to lead the Indians.
PORTLAND WEATHER

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