Kinn, Pirates block out P-G

BLUFFTON – With the final seconds winding down in the fourth quarter and a Bluffton victory assured, Pandora-Gilboa attempted a jumper.The Pirates' Trenton Donley blocked it.The ball came back to a P-G player, who put up another shot.Bluffton's Kyler Kinn blocked it, and the ball went flying out of bounds.P-G's Aiden Harris finally connected on a 3 just before the final buzzer, but it didn't have much impact.The Pirates, using a tenacious – if fatigued – defense, won their 13th straight game, upending the Rockets, 55-45 in front of a packed house in Bluffton Saturday.And nothing seemed to sum that up better than the impromptu BHS block party near the end of the contest. "Those are energy plays for our guys; they've been really consistent in making them," said Bluffton coach Todd Boblitt, whose team in 14-1 and was coming off an emotional 66-58 Northwest Conference win over Spencerville from Friday. "We do feed off of our defense.""It definitely feels good to do that," said Kinn. "(It) just gives us a little bit of validation of what we do on defense."It's hard to believe Kinn – one of the area's best players – needs too much more validation after his performance Saturday. He finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, both game highs."He is such a factor for us at both ends of the floor, because he's disruptive at both ends," Boblitt said. "He's a great leaper, he has great timing, in and around the paint... he's a distraction. Guys get in there and they think they have a clean look, and he's right there."Offensively, he's a really tough matchup. Tonight, he made a couple of perimeter shots, which he's more than capable of doing, which really accentuates his skill."Even with Kinn's skill on display, the Pirates had a tough time with the Rockets.P-G, which was coming off a win over Cory-Rawson Friday night, grabbed a 14-10 lead after one quarter, and trailed just 22-19 at the break.In the third quarter, Pandora-Gilboa was able to stay close, getting within 29-25 after a layup by Colin Harris with 4:08 left. But the Pirates got baskets from Carson Soper and Donley, and the Rockets missed three consecutive field goal attempts. By the end of the third, Bluffton was up 35-28.The Rockets then missed their first three shots of the fourth quarter."In the second half, they got their hands on a lot of basketballs defensively, and again, their athleticism; they're hard to guard," Pandora-Gilboa coach Mike Lee said of the Pirates."You've just got to tip your cap. They hit some shots."We just had a lull there," Lee said. "I think it was in the late third quarter, and you can't do that against good basketball teams."The Bluffton offense was at its best in the fourth, making 5 of 7 field goals, which included 3s from Kinn and Donley. The Pirates also went 9 of 10 from the foul line in the final period.The Pirates used a 14-6 spurt to pull away, going up 53-38 after a Soper layup.Donley finished with 15 points, while Soper scored nine."(Kinn's) one concern, but they can spread you out, and they did that in some fashion," Lee said. "You just hope that they're not gonna be so consistent on the perimeter."Pandora-Gilboa made a cosmetic rally in the final minute, with Ethan Luginbill, Eli Huffman, and Harris all connecting on baskets.But by that point, Bluffton was in command.Pandora-Gilboa fell to 12-5. It started a tough stretch of games Saturday. After Bluffton, the Rockets travel to Columbus Grove Tuesday, then will host Blanchard Valley Conference rival Liberty-Benton Friday. The Eagles are a game behind P-G for first in the BVC."It's gonna be that way from this point on," Lee said. "But on the flip side of that, you want to be playing this competition, and we certainly got that this evening."Aiden Harris scored 13 points for P-G, while Will Huffman had nine and Eli Huffman eight.Bluffton, which is leading the NWC, travels to Columbus Grove for an NWC game Friday.Big clashes keep coming, and that's just fine with Kinn."It's really fun to play in these games," he said. "It gives us a lot of energy." PANDORA-GILBOA (12-5)Johnson 0-2—2; W. Huffman 3-2—9; A. Harris 4-3—13; C. Harris 2-2—6; E. Huffman 3-2—8; Krohn 2-0—5; Luginbill 1-0—2. TOTALS: 15-11—45.BLUFFTON (14-1)Donley 6-2—15; Soper 1-7—9; Kinn 7-6—22; Boblitt 1-1—3; Schaadt 2-1—6. TOTALS: 17-17-- 55.Pandora-Gilboa&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;5&emsp;&emsp;9&emsp;&emsp;12-- 45Bluffton&emsp;&emsp;10&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;20 – 55FIELD GOALS: Pandora-Gilboa 15-37; Bluffton 17-34.3-POINT GOALS: Pandora-Gilboa 4-11 (A. Harris 2, W. Huffman, Krohn); Bluffton 4-15 (Kinn 2, Donley, Schaadt)FOUL SHOTS: Pandora-Gilboa 11-16; Bluffton 17-22.REBOUNDS: Pandora-Gilboa 26; Bluffton 23 (Kinn 11)TURNOVERS: Pandora-Gilboa 10; Bluffton 7.JV: Bluffton, 43-35.&emsp;&emsp;