Turnovers cots FR

FORT RECOVERY — The Indians just weren’t sharp coming out of halftime. It may have cost them the game.
Fort Recovery High School’s boys basketball team committed five turnovers as the Minster Wildcats outscored them 12-6 in the opening five minutes of the second half. It closed to within two on multiple occasions, but a Chase Bruns 3-pointer at the buzzer would not fall in a 65-62 defeat.
It was the third straight loss for the Indians, who won nine of their first 11 games. They also fell 73-69 at Greenville on Tuesday and 85-80 at Coldwater on Jan. 22.
Fort Recovery (9-5, 3-2 Midwest Athletic Conference) led by as many as five in the first half before slipping behind by two at the intermission. Turnovers hurt the Indians early in the second half, allowing the Wildcats (10-6, 4-2 MAC) to nab a 44-36 advantage when Aaron Ernst scored at the 2:53 mark.
The Indians chipped away from there, getting to within two early in the fourth quarter and then again when Micaiah Cox made two free throws with 45 seconds left. Foul shots by Bryce Schmiesing and Jared Huelsman kept Minster in front, and even after leading scorer Josh Nixon missed a pair in the closing seconds the Tribe was unable to take advantage.
FRHS got the ball across half court before calling a timeout with just under five seconds to go, but Bruns’ 3-point try on the ensuing play was off the mark.
Matt Bihn tallied a team-high 13 points for the Indians, and Cox had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Caleb Martin also scored 12 points, Darien Sheffer grabbed six boards and Brandon “Speedy” Schoen had four assists and four steals.
The second MAC loss was costly, especially on a night during which Versailles handed Coldwater its first league defeat 61-52.

Junior varsity
Fort Recovery took control early and was able to hold off the Wildcats for a 51-45 victory.
The Indians led 13-8 after the opening period and just a 36-26 rebounding advantage to help earn the victory. They also outscored Minster 7-0 at the foul line.
Ethan Schoen paced FRHS with 10 points, Cade Wendel followed with nine and Clayton Pearson finished with eight points and six rebounds.