'It was a good weekend'

Jim Rucki was hoping that playing two elite teams this weekend would bring out the best in his Trojans. He got just what he was hoping for ... and more. Max Roth fueled a torrid third-quarter rally, Findlay outscored Lima Shawnee 13-2 over the final four minutes of the game and the Trojans beat the undefeated, No. 1-ranked Indians 63-56 in an intense nonleague battle at Findlay High on Saturday. "Going into this weekend, putting aside winning and losing, I hoped it would force us to elevate our game a little bit," Rucki said. "Good teams win; tough teams win championships, and we got a little tougher, I think. "We played two really good teams, and battling back the way we did, that was big. "It was a good weekend." One night after overcoming two fourth-quarter deficits to beat Toledo St. Francis, the preseason pick to with the Three Rivers Athletic Conference, Findlay staged another gut-check second half and beat a team that hadn't lost since the 2019 regional finals. Ranked No. 1 among Ohio's Division II schools, Lima Shawnee had won 44 consecutive regular season games, and 40 straight overall since the Indians were 25-0, also ranked No. 1, and waiting to face Upper Sandusky in last year's regional semifinals when the OHSAA canceled winter tournaments due to the coronavirus. Findlay won its second straight and is 9-3. Lima Shawnee fell to 15-1. "Basketball is a momentum game, and the tide completely flipped in the second half," said Shawnee coach Mark Triplett, who has guided the Indians to a 64-3 record since the start of the 2019-20 season. "We made a run, I think we were up 54-50 with about four minutes left, coming out of a time out, and they hit us in the mouth with that 13-2 run. We give up 43 points a game and they scored 43 in a half. All credit in the world to those guys. They played really well and we did not." George Mangas, Ohio's Division II Player of the Year last season, led Shawnee with 30 points. Austin Miller, a 6-4 sophomore, came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and score 13. Roth led Findlay with 23 points, including 12 in the third quarter when the 6-1 junior guard was in a zone. "Max went off," Rucki said. "That usually happens a couple of times a year where somebody makes, like, four, five, six shots in a row. We really haven't had a guy be unconscious like that in a while, but it was a great time for it to happen." The all-around play of Mangas — inside, outside, around the basket, in transition — and the unexpected deadly 3-point accuracy of Miller were pivotal early, especially in the second quarter when Shawnee twice opened 15-point leads. It was a pleasing start for Triplett after the Indians struggled early and needed a big second-half rally to beat Ottawa-Glandorf on Friday in a Western Buckeye League showdown of state-ranked teams. "I thought we came out with a better sense of urgency that we did last night," Triplett said. "I said we don't want to start like that again." Findlay, it seemed, could not hit the water from row boat in the first half. The Trojans made just 1-of-9 3-point attempts and 5-of-15 shots overall. Somewhere between the locker room and the court, though, Findlay found an "ON' switch on their way to the second half. Dylan Ankney opened the third quarter with a 3-point play, Ben Ireland scored after a steal by Chris Strzempka and Adams tossed in a short jumper as Findlay more than halved a 13-point deficit in just two minutes. Then there was Mangas. The senior guard had the assist on a basket by Ricky Rosado, rebounded his own miss and scored, and stepped outside and nailed a 3-pointer that put Shawnee up 37-29. But then there was Roth, who drilled two 3-pointers and scored 12 points during a five-minute burst that saw the Trojans trim the deficit to four (45-41). Findlay would take the lead by scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter: Justin Roth on a '3' from the left corner, Brock Makrancy after Justin Roth took a charge, and a Max Roth basket after Adams took a charge as well. Mangas, who would score all of Shawnee's points in the period, scored one basket, then another off a fast break and an amazing 3-point play where he came out of a scrum with an offensive rebound, then tossed the ball up and in as he was falling backwards to the court. The and-one on the play put Shawnee up 54-50. In a repeat of Friday's thrilling finish, Findlay went back to work. Adams scored twice, the second basket off Ben Ireland's steal, and it was tied 54-54. After forcing a Shawnee turnover, Max Roth nailed a 3-pointer, then one of two free throws with 2:51 on the clock. Mangas scored to make it a two-point game, but the Indians later missed two 3-point attempts that would have given them the lead. Adams basket with 1:40 left made it a two possession game and Shawnee, deadly from long range early in the game, suddenly went ice cold, missing three 3-pointers. Justin Roth's converted 3-of-4 free throws in the final 45.5 seconds, setting off a wild celebration as Findlay claimed its first win over a team ranked No. 1 in the state polls since a 75-58 win over Lima Senior on Jan. 28, 2005. Adams added 14 points and Ankney had 12 points and nine rebounds. After its chilly first half, Findlay made 4-of-8 3-pointers and 17 of 26 shots over the third and fourth quarters. "We couldn't have done much more wrong in the first half. We couldn't get anything to fall. We were totally out of sync," Rucki said. "I said at the half, if they keep making shots like that, then we're going to get beat. Things like that usually even out a little bit, though. "We have the potential to be a good team. We're not there yet, but somewhere down the line we're going to be in situations where we'll have to play all 32 minutes like we played the last 16 tonight." Jake Bishop scored 12 points, Dallas DeLaCruz 11 and Caleb Mueller 10 as Findlay High's JV beat Lima Shawnee to improve to 10-2. Findlay's unbeaten freshman team (14-0) also won, 58-21. LIMA SHAWNEE (15-1) Rosado 1-1 0-0 2, Wheeler 1-6 0-0 3, Bertke 0-3 0-0 0, Mangas 11-21 6-9 30, Vermillion 3-4 0-0 6, Miller 5-9 0-0 13, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Freiberger 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22-47 6-9—56 FINDLAY (9-3) J. Roth 1-4 3-4 6, M. Roth 9-16 1-2 23, Stzempka 2-6 0-0 4, Ankney 5-5 2-3 12, Adams 7-16 0-0 14, Makrancy 1-6 0-0 2, Weihrauch 0-1 0-0 0, Ireland 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 26-55 6-9—63. Lima Shawnee &emsp;&emsp;14 19 14 9 — 56 Findlay &emsp;&emsp;9 11 23 20 — 63 3-Point GOALS: Lima Shawnee 6-20 (Mangas 2-7, Wheeler 1-5, Bertke 0-3, Miller 3-5); Findlay 5-17 (J. Roth 1-2, M. Roth 4-8, Strzempka 0-2, Adams 0-2, Makrancy 0-3). REBOUNDS: Lima Shawnee 26 (Vermillion 7, Mangas 5); Findlay 29 (Ankney 9, Strzempka 5, Makrncy 4). TURNOVERS: Lima Shawnee 16, Findlay 9. JUNIOR VARSITY: Findlay, 57-37. FRESHMEN VARSITY: Findlay, 58-21.