15 years later, Dieber's big game lives on

Sometimes, if you know, you know. It is a game that will be simply never be forgotten and the lores and tales of a cold Friday night in Tiffin back in 2006 will live on. Wednesday is the 15th anniversary of a sold-out crowd that watched Upper Sandusky and Tiffin Columbian duke it out for not just 32 minutes of solid Northern Ohio League basketball, but an overtime period that ended in perhaps the best modern-day individual performance by what became Ohio's all-time leading scorer. Jon Diebler, a junior at the time, scored a mind-bending 77 points as the Rams slipped past Columbian, 105-100 in overtime. Yes, 77 points by one player. "I remember another packed gym and a sold-out crowd to watch the "Jon Diebler Show," Upper Sandusky athletic director Brad Ehrman said. "You never knew what was going to happen when Jon stepped on the basketball court. Each game was special and I knew this night would be no different. But I had no idea what was in store at Tiffin Columbian that special night 15 years ago." While it's hard to fathom that anyone could score that many points and not realize it, Diebler insists that is exactly what happened. "What I remember most about that game was that it was a very tough game," said Diebler, who now plays professional basketball in Israel. "Tiffin Columbian had a good team and it was on the road, so going into the game we knew we had to play well. I tell people all the time about this game, that it was a quiet 77. I did not realize how many points I had scored throughout the game. I was just focused on doing whatever it took to get a win." And the win did not come easy. The Tornadoes held a 52-43 lead in the third quarter, but Diebler canned four 3-pointers in just 56 seconds to give Upper Sandusky the lead. Eric Lessig is now the scorekeeper for nearly every Rams' boys and girls basketball game. Back then, he was just a fan in the crowd, keeping his own scorebook. "As a friend pointed out to me, it would be really easy to score 77 points in a blowout," Lessig said. "But the fact that it happened in such a tight, competitive game made it that much more special and added to the excitement." Upper Sandusky led 68-65 after three quarters, with Diebler scoring 23 points in the quarter to overcome Columbian's 44-39 lead at halftime. Derek Lewis was Columbian's coach. "I have been a part of a lot of basketball games," Lewis said. "I have since returned to officiating after getting out of coaching. I have coached in, and officiated a lot of basketball games, but that game stands out. It was just a back-and-forth battle. I have worked games with Rod Gerstenberger and Gary Smith, two of the officials that were on that game, and to this day we continue to talk about that game." The Rams put themselves in a position to win the game, but current Columbian football coach Judd Lutz had other intentions. "We tried to get a quick two points to then foul and try and lengthen the game," Lutz said. "However, our two-point attempt missed and the ball bounced my way. I knew the clock was ticking down, so I decided to dribble back and shoot a 3. I made it as the clock expired. The crowd went crazy as we just forced overtime. Probably the loudest I remember the gym ever being in my career as it was a packed house." Ian Mason scored 11 points for the Rams, but all eyes for the Columbian coaching staff were on No. 23. "We really had a great game plan against them. We knew what we were going to get from them defensively," Lewis said. "The aggressive full-court style they played allowed us to throw the ball down court and shoot layups if we were successful breaking their press. What you can't account for is a special player like Jon going off for 77 points. We played great defense on him really. We worked hard to contest his shots. He was pulling up from the volleyball line and making shots. That is hard to defend. When you play tighter defense on a player like him, he would then go to the basket and make tons of free throws." The OHSAA lists an unofficial record book of the top 25 individual scoring performances in state history. Diebler's ranks seventh and of the top 25, only two have come since 1974. Just over a month after Diebler's 77-point game, Eric Schiele of Atwater Waterloo scored 69 points in a 101-90 win. "I never envisioned scoring that many points in a game," Diebler said. "I honestly never envisioned scoring as many points as I did in my career. I honestly was just focused on winning a state championship and doing what I could to help the team. I was very fortunate to play with a lot of good players in my high school career." Diebler's historic performance overshadowed perhaps the best individual game in Tornadoes' school history. Josh Moore put up a school-record 52 points that night, but came home with a loss. "The first thing I thought of was that it really was 15 years ago," said Keith Diebler, Upper Sandusky's coach at the time and Jon's dad. Keith is currently coaching Danbury. "The biggest thing I remember was we could not stop Josh Moore. I was thinking more of how could we contain him. "It was not until after the game that we realized what Jon had done," he added. "I get tied up in the aspects of the game and didn't realize it. After the game it was like "wow." We were really just happy that we won. It had to be entertaining for the fans in attendance." Larry Kisabeth was the principal at Columbian at the time, but also kept the official home scorebook, like he does still to this day. Kisabeth has seen a lot of basketball in his life, but Jan. 13, 2006 will always stick out. "It was a memorable night and it was an awesome game," Kisabeth said. "There was absolutely no defense being played. I think Upper Sandusky's philosophy was they did not care if you scored, they were going to out-score you. I was worried keeping the book that I was going to run out of room, so my numbers got small. "It was a packed house and so much fun to be apart of. I have been involved with basketball for 46 years and I have never seen anything like that and will probably never see it again. It was just a fantastic night." Diebler hit six 3s that night on 12 attempts while also grabbing 16 rebounds. More importantly, he more than cashed in at the free throw line. He made a whopping 27 free throws on 28 attempts. The 27 makes was good enough for second-most all-time in a game at the time in OHSAA history. "What Jon Diebler did that night in Tiffin was incredible and I doubt I will ever see anything like that happen again in my lifetime," Ehrman said. "But what I'll always remember from that night and many others, is how humble, modest and mature Jon was through all his success and records. As great a high school basketball player that Jon was, he was always a better person. It was an honor for me to watch him play for three years at Upper Sandusky High School and witness basketball history." During his senior year, Diebler went on to score 69 points in a loss to Bellevue and then score 67 points in a win over Shelby. He was named Mr. Basketball in Ohio and went on to play collegiate basketball at Ohio State. Diebler ended his high school career with 3,208 points while helping the Rams win the Division II state championship in 2005 and a state runners-up finish in 2007. "The 77-point game was mentioned a couple times in college," he said. "Even as a professional player overseas, guys on the team talk about their career-high in college or high school. When they ask me and I tell them 77 points they are pretty shocked." As were all the fans inside Columbian High School on a night they will never forget.