FR cagers clobber Marion Local

MARIA STEIN, Ohio — Both teams entered Friday’s game with five Midwest Athletic Conference wins.
But an even match-up, it was not.
Fort Recovery High School’s boys basketball team exerted its control early, running out to a 10-1 lead in its 58-33 blowout of the host Marion Local Flyers.
The victory pushed the Indians into a tie for third place in the conference with Coldwater at 6-3 behind Versailles (8-1) and St. Henry (7-2). MLHS dropped to 5-4.
Fort Recovery (15-6 overall) never trailed Friday, with Darien Sheffer scoring the game’s first points on an assist from Micaiah Cox. Hoops by Sheffer, Cox and Brandon Schoen extended the lead to 8-1 before a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought.
Caleb Martin snapped the scoreless streak on an assist from Bruns to push the visiting team’s lead to nine points before Derek Albers connected on a 3-pointer for Marion Local’s first field goal of the game with 1:54 on the clock.
The Tribe’s lead never slipped to fewer than six, and it scored the final six points of the first half to put the advantage into double figures. Marion Local never made a run in the second half.
Sheffer kept his hot hand throughout the game, shooting 50 percent from the field and going 10-of-12 at the foul line for 20 points. Martin followed with 11 points, and Matt Bihn scored eight.
Cox grabbed nine rebounds for Fort Recovery, and Chase Bruns and Schoen each had three assists.
Offense was hard to come by for the Flyers (11-11) throughout as they shot 24 percent, including 14 percent (3-of-21) in the first half. Matt Kahlig’s eight points were a team high, and Tyler Mescher added seven.

Junior varsity
Fort Recovery couldn’t keep up with the Flyers, giving up 28 first-half points in a 49-37 defeat.
The Indians gave up 14 points apiece in the first and second quarters while struggling to score themselves. They shot just 32 percent in the first half.
The scoring difficulties continued for Fort Recovery in the second half as it finished 14-of-47 (30 percent) from the field.
Collin Everman led Marion Local to the victory with 15 points as he shot 5-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 at the foul line. Justin Albers added 11 points.
Ryan Braun matched Everman for the game high with 15 points, but only one other Indian had more than three. Payton Jutte had seven points, and Cade Wendel grabbed six rebounds.