Tribe falls in overtime

The Wildcats weren’t going to allow the Indians to do it for a third time.
The result, another Fort Recovery rally falling short and a losing streak that was extended to five games with a 64-54 overtime loss to the Minster Wildcats.
“It definitely is frustrating,” said FRHS coach Chris Guggenbiller, whose team has had tough losses in back-to-back games after falling to Fort Loramie on a 3-pointer at the buzzer Jan. 31. “I just want it for the kids so bad. They’re working extremely hard. They’ve maintained their enthusiasm, their focus (and) their work ethic throughout the year.
“Let’s face it, when you’re 4-13, to come to work every day and practice hard is tough. You just want to see that win for the kids so they can see it is paying off.”
Fort Recovery’s Chase Bruns drove the baseline for a bucket to tie the game with 31 seconds remaining in regulation, and at the other end Micaiah Cox came up with a block on the final possession for Minster to send the game into extra period.
And that’s when Matthew Trushaw took over for Minster (7-6, 2-3 Midwest Athletic Conference).
The senior scored seven of his game-high 26 points in overtime, but none were bigger than the six he had in a span of 63 seconds.
With his team up 54-50 and 3:11 left on the clock, the 6-foot-4-inch forward grabbed an offensive rebound when Josh Nixon missed a free throw after he was fouled following a bucket.
Trushaw sank his to make it 55-50 in favor of the home team, and on the ensuing possession Bruns hit a big three from the right wing to get Fort Recovery (4-13, 1-5 MAC) to within three points.
But Trushaw was the man again for the Wildcats, scoring the next time down the court, and following it with a bucket and a foul after the Indians missed at the other end. He converted the old-fashioned three-point play to get the Wildcats up 60-53 with 2:08 remaining.
Fort Recovery missed each of its next four field goal attempts and only managed to score on a free throw by Darien Sheffer. Tumbusch, Nixon and Trushaw all hit freebies down the stretch to put the game away.
“It was an unorthodox way to get the lead in overtime,” said Minster coach Mike Lee. After Trushaw missed the front end of a one-and-one, Nixon grabbed an offensive rebound, put it back up and drew the foul as his shot went through the hoop. It set up Trushaw scoring his six straight points.
“The clock is stopped, we’re at the free throw line throwing up brick after brick,” Lee added. “His long arms came in handy.”
When the Wildcats finally got the lead, they relaxed and played much better than they had in the second half.
Fort Recovery trailed 42-31 — its second double digit deficit — with 3:20 remaining in the third and slowly chipped away as Minster’s offense started to become stagnant.
The Indians scored on back-to-back possessions when Cox scored two of his 15 points. After a flurry of misses by both teams, including two on the same possession for the Indians, Derek Backs found Brandon “Speedy” Schoen on the right wing for a wide open three to make it 42-38.
A bucket by Trushaw put the Wildcats back up by five, 46-41, but five straight free throws by the Indians knotted the score once again.
But again there was Trushaw, who hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:02 left on the clock. In the final minute, Trushaw split a pair of free throws before Bruns’ game-tying shot.
“They did a fantastic job of keeping grinding,” said Guggenbiller, whose team also trailed by a dozen points less than three minutes into the second quarter. “We’re starting to get an understanding of how to play within ourselves.
“We played a really solid game tonight. We battled back with that deficit, we kept our composure (and) we kept our focus. We didn’t get rattled and we forced the game into overtime.”

Junior varsity
The Indians hung with the Wildcats for three quarters as they trailed 35-31 heading into the final period
But Minster used a 22-point fourth quarter to pull away from Fort Recovery for a 57-46 victory.
Kyle Knapke had a double-double for the Indians, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Tanner Koch and Ryan Braun both added nine points, and Braun grabbed seven rebounds. Jason Roessner tallied eight points and also totaled seven boards.
Minster’s Aaron Ernst led all players with 19 points, and Jared Huelsman chipped in with 12.