February 24, 2021 at 4:48 a.m.
Hot and cold
Indians on fire early on and ice cold down the stretch but hold on for double-digit win in opening round of sectional
Hot and cold
FORT RECOVERY — The Indians were hot from the field in the first half.
When they needed to be hot from the free-throw line, their touch turned cold. But they did enough to turn away the Rangers.
Fort Recovery High School's boys basketball team staved off a potential fourth-quarter rally by the New Knoxville Rangers on Tuesday for a 65-51 victory in a sectional semifinal of the Division IV Wapakoneta District at Fort Site Fieldhouse.
“I thought our guys came out firing on all cylinders early on,” said FRHS coach Jim Melton. “We got a little stagnant through a few periods there where they were zoning us and changing their defenses a little bit.
“Our guys just kind of stopped attacking and I was on them about attacking. We want to score, take the lanes (and) get what we want. I was proud of the guys for finishing the game.”
Fort Recovery (12-11), the district’s No. 6 seed, advances to the sectional final at 7 p.m. Friday against third-seeded St. Henry. The 16-7 Redskins, who defeated the Indians 43-42 on their home court Jan. 22, trounced Temple Christian 69-19 in their sectional semifinal.
Trailing 53-33 nearing the midway point of the fourth quarter, New Knoxville (5-17) started to foul in an effort to shorten the game and force the Indians into preserving the lead from the free-throw line.
New Knoxville, which had only committed two fouls up to that point, recorded five quick ones to get Fort Recovery in the bonus with 3:50 to play.
Patrick Covert and Sammy Anspach combined to outscore the Indians 16-6 in less than two minutes as the Rangers trimmed the margin to 59-49 with slightly more than two minutes to play.
Covert and Anspach had eight points each, with both of them hitting a pair of free throws. Anspach scored another two from the stripe, and Covert had his other two points on a drive and a layup.
“They started fouling at the end to shorten the game and stop the clock,” Melton said. “I get it. They started doing a two-man game, putting three guys on one side and doing a two-man pick-and-roll pop.
“We need to do a little better job of handling that situation.”
During that span, Fort Recovery was 7-of-14 from the charity stripe, including missing the front end of a one-and-one twice and missing both double-bonus free throws twice.
In the final 1:57, however, the Indians were 4-of-6 from the line and got a layup from Cale Rammel as they outscored the Rangers 6-2.
New Knoxville committed 16 fouls while Fort Recovery was 11-of-20 from the stripe in the final 4:22.
Tribe post man Brian Bihn was a big reason why the Indians were able to build their lead. The 6-foot, 6-inch forward had nine of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter, guiding the Indians to a 17-8 advantage.
Bihn was a force as well in the second quarter, scoring six more as he went into halftime with 15, three less than New Knoxville had as a team. The Indians led 34-18 and were shooting 50% from the field.
On a handful of occasions, Bihn got the ball on the block and then kicked it back out to the wings. Three times, however, he faked that pass then went straight to the hoop for an easy bucket.
“We’ve been working (on the fakes to the perimeter),” Melton said. “We’ve been talking about him being a little bit more selfish. We like the unselfishness, but you’re right there, 3 feet around the basket; just go up, big fella. Finish it.”
Rammel hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Clay Schmitz had two triples in the second period and matched his jersey number with 12 points.
Anspach led the Rangers with 18 points, and Covert chipped in 17 to go with his game-high nine rebounds.
Fort Recovery will be looking to avenge its earlier loss to Midwest Athletic Conference rival St. Henry in the sectional final. The Indians were trailing by five with one quarter to play in the previous meeting but, like Tuesday, struggled from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
They were 2-of-9 from the stripe in the last eight minutes as St. Henry rallied for the win.
“We’re just going to go over and play our game,” Melton said. “We’ve got two days to prepare. I’m sure coach (Eric) Rosenbeck is doing the same thing.
“We just appreciate the opportunity that lies ahead and look forward to Friday night.”
When they needed to be hot from the free-throw line, their touch turned cold. But they did enough to turn away the Rangers.
Fort Recovery High School's boys basketball team staved off a potential fourth-quarter rally by the New Knoxville Rangers on Tuesday for a 65-51 victory in a sectional semifinal of the Division IV Wapakoneta District at Fort Site Fieldhouse.
“I thought our guys came out firing on all cylinders early on,” said FRHS coach Jim Melton. “We got a little stagnant through a few periods there where they were zoning us and changing their defenses a little bit.
“Our guys just kind of stopped attacking and I was on them about attacking. We want to score, take the lanes (and) get what we want. I was proud of the guys for finishing the game.”
Fort Recovery (12-11), the district’s No. 6 seed, advances to the sectional final at 7 p.m. Friday against third-seeded St. Henry. The 16-7 Redskins, who defeated the Indians 43-42 on their home court Jan. 22, trounced Temple Christian 69-19 in their sectional semifinal.
Trailing 53-33 nearing the midway point of the fourth quarter, New Knoxville (5-17) started to foul in an effort to shorten the game and force the Indians into preserving the lead from the free-throw line.
New Knoxville, which had only committed two fouls up to that point, recorded five quick ones to get Fort Recovery in the bonus with 3:50 to play.
Patrick Covert and Sammy Anspach combined to outscore the Indians 16-6 in less than two minutes as the Rangers trimmed the margin to 59-49 with slightly more than two minutes to play.
Covert and Anspach had eight points each, with both of them hitting a pair of free throws. Anspach scored another two from the stripe, and Covert had his other two points on a drive and a layup.
“They started fouling at the end to shorten the game and stop the clock,” Melton said. “I get it. They started doing a two-man game, putting three guys on one side and doing a two-man pick-and-roll pop.
“We need to do a little better job of handling that situation.”
During that span, Fort Recovery was 7-of-14 from the charity stripe, including missing the front end of a one-and-one twice and missing both double-bonus free throws twice.
In the final 1:57, however, the Indians were 4-of-6 from the line and got a layup from Cale Rammel as they outscored the Rangers 6-2.
New Knoxville committed 16 fouls while Fort Recovery was 11-of-20 from the stripe in the final 4:22.
Tribe post man Brian Bihn was a big reason why the Indians were able to build their lead. The 6-foot, 6-inch forward had nine of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter, guiding the Indians to a 17-8 advantage.
Bihn was a force as well in the second quarter, scoring six more as he went into halftime with 15, three less than New Knoxville had as a team. The Indians led 34-18 and were shooting 50% from the field.
On a handful of occasions, Bihn got the ball on the block and then kicked it back out to the wings. Three times, however, he faked that pass then went straight to the hoop for an easy bucket.
“We’ve been working (on the fakes to the perimeter),” Melton said. “We’ve been talking about him being a little bit more selfish. We like the unselfishness, but you’re right there, 3 feet around the basket; just go up, big fella. Finish it.”
Rammel hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Clay Schmitz had two triples in the second period and matched his jersey number with 12 points.
Anspach led the Rangers with 18 points, and Covert chipped in 17 to go with his game-high nine rebounds.
Fort Recovery will be looking to avenge its earlier loss to Midwest Athletic Conference rival St. Henry in the sectional final. The Indians were trailing by five with one quarter to play in the previous meeting but, like Tuesday, struggled from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
They were 2-of-9 from the stripe in the last eight minutes as St. Henry rallied for the win.
“We’re just going to go over and play our game,” Melton said. “We’ve got two days to prepare. I’m sure coach (Eric) Rosenbeck is doing the same thing.
“We just appreciate the opportunity that lies ahead and look forward to Friday night.”
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