Power players

HERRON, Ohio — The Indians wanted to speed up the tempo against a Rams team that would much prefer to play slowly.
It turns out, they didn’t necessarily need to use their quickness.
Instead, they muscled their way to the team’s first sectional title in four years.
Fort Recovery High School junior Micaiah Cox scored 13 of his game-high 22 points during the fourth quarter Friday as the Indians defeated the Upper Scioto Valley Rams 67-44 in the Division IV sectional championship at Allen East.
The Indians (16-6) advance to the district semifinal against the Lima Perry Commodores at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Wapakoneta. The Commodores defeated Ridgeway Ridgemont 64-48 in the first sectional earlier Friday night.
“When we were able to hit a couple shots outside and were able to do it consistently throughout the game, guys have to come out on us and that is when Micaiah can really do damage when things get spaced out down low,” said FRHS coach Chris Guggenbiller, whose team moved to 16-6 on the season. “At the end of the game, late there in the fourth quarter you start seeing him kind of feeling it. He can put up almost anything and it would find the bottom of the net.
Cox was quick to praise his guards for opening up the paint for him.
“All the guards did a good job penetrating,” said Cox, who was 10-for-13 from the field and made two of his four free throws while grabbing seven rebounds. “They were collapsing on the guards and they did a good job dishing it to me.”
Cox only had five points at halftime as the Indians led the Rams (16-8) at the break. His first bucket of the third quarter was a precursor of things to come.
He muscled his way to the post to put Fort Recovery on top 30-19, then the next time down the court Chase Bruns drained the second of his three 3-pointers.
Another Cox jumper from the paint on a Brandon “Speedy” Schoen inbound pass made it 39-29, starting a 10-2 run for the Indians to close out the third quarter. During that span, Martin scored four of his nine points — he was one shy of a double-double by also grabbing 10 rebounds — with Darien Sheffer and Matt Bihn also finding the bottom of the net.
“It was a focus to come out and be the aggressor in both the first and third quarters,” Guggenbiller said. “Those are both big moments in games to set a tone for a half.
“It was definitely a difference maker for us tonight to be able to do those things.”
In addition to draining two 3-pointers in the opening frame, Sheffer scored six points in the third. He went coast-to-coast after grabbing a rebound, scored on a dish from Schoen and put back on offensive rebound.
Bruns made the first of his three triples in the second quarter, sustaining what would eventually be 11-straight points by the Indians. His third shot from outside was in the third quarter. Cox missed the chance for an and-one, Bihn snatched the offensive rebound and found Bruns camped along the right wing.
Sheffer was second on the team with 14 points, and Bruns chipped in with 11.
The tone the Indians set during the third quarter continued in the fourth, as a 15-4 run helped the Tribe to its biggest lead of the game, 62-37. During that time, Cox had eight points, all of which came in the paint including back-to-back inbound passes from Schoen.
Aside from sustaining the offensive pressure in the final eight minutes, Fort Recovery kept its defensive intensity too, pressuring the Ram guards and contesting every shot.
“We thought if we could continue our pressure for four quarters that it is going to cause them to wear down,” the FRHS coach said. “I think that is ultimately what happened. If you look at their guards, they were getting a little frustrated at the pressure we were applying. When that starts happening, good things start happening for us.”
After the win, the Indians’ celebration was subdued.
They meant business, opting not to cut down the nets.
“The goal coming into this year was never to win a sectional title,” Guggenbiller said. “The focus here is three more nets. It wasn’t the sectional title net we are going for. It is the other three that are hanging out there.”
Lima Perry, like the Indians, uses quickness and athleticism to push the tempo. Guggenbiller said he is looking forward to the matchup Tuesday at Wapakoneta.
“It is one of the reasons why we chose this route,” he said. “Both teams want to play a little faster. Both teams want to pressure the opponent in a full-court fashion.
“What it comes down to is the team that takes care of the ball better and rebounds better is going to win the game. “If we take care of the ball against Lima Perry and limit them to one shot, I like our chances.”