Columbus Grove keeps pace in NWC, tops Bluffton

BLUFFTON – Columbus Grove's boys basketball team has the ability to go fast.The Bulldogs showed that Friday night in a 52-42 Northwest Conference victory at rival Bluffton.Quick passes, quick shots and plenty of pace can be features of Grove's play.That can be a positive, but it also can create some problems from time to time."Coach (Connor) Kohls, he always tells us to slow it down when we need to," said Bulldogs senior Kyle Hopkins.Columbus Grove might have needed to take it easy early in the third quarter. The Bulldogs were leading 39-30 in the final seconds of the period, but took a shot with more than five seconds left, and the Pirates corralled the rebound.The ball got to Bluffton's Blake Sommers who unloaded a 30-foot 3-point attempt from the wing and buried it.The Pirate faithful went crazy, and became even louder when Bean Ginther converted a field goal in the opening seconds of the final frame, trimming Grove's lead to 39-35.It may have seemed like the game was hanging in the balance, and Kohls, the Columbus Grove head coach, said he wasn't surprised."I tell (my team) a lot: 'Good teams are gonna make a run,'" Kohls said. "'You want to limit their run as much as humanly possible. You want to weather the storm.'"I tell them to slow it down every now and again, because sometimes we get out of control and play a little too fast. So, when they're on a run, we have to slow down and get a good shot on offense."It worked. Columbus Grove's Trent Barraza made a back-door cut to the basket, but then flipped the ball to Hopkins on the wing for 3.Hopkins buried it.Barraza then got to the basket for a layup to put Grove up 44-35 with 5:24 remaining."I'm a senior, I knew coming into this game I was going to have to make some big plays, me and Trent Barraza, both," said Hopkins, who finished with a game-high 16 points. "And every time I have the ball in my hands, I'm always looking to score."Barraza finished with nine points, all in the second half.Bluffton rallied after a three-point play from Ginther and a jumper from Landen Worcester made it 46-40 with 3:51 left.But again, Bluffton answered.Hopkins stole a pass and raced to the basket for a reverse layup. A drive from Trevon Baxter (who was on his way to a 13-point performance) put Bluffton up 10 with less than a minute left."They made big shots at key times," said Bluffton coach Todd Boblitt. "We kind of closed the gap, they would end up making a big play offensively, and we couldn't quite get over the hump."Columbus Grove improved to 8-7, 5-1 in the NWC. Spencerville won a share of the NWC Friday night with a 55-46 victory over Allen East. The Bulldogs can get a share of the league crown by topping Delphos Jefferson next Friday.Hopkins said the team knew the importance of winning in Bluffton."After beating Spencerville, we knew we were gonna have to win out to at least get a share," he said. We came here (tonight), we just got the business done.""We knew coming in here in this hostile environment it's going to be tough," Kohls said. "Our guys played really, really well and competed."Bluffton was paced by Marek Donaldson, who made four 3s and finished with 12 points, and by Sommers, who scored 11.The Pirates slipped to 12-7, 3-4 in the NWC."I think for us, we've just got to keep trying to get back up," Boblitt said. "We've had some tough losses and we still think we have a really good team and we've got a few weeks to get ourselves right, get our heads right and be ready for the tournament. COL. GROVE (9-7, 5-1 NWC)Basinger 2-0—4; Barraza 4-0—9; Baxter 4-5—13; Best 4-0—8; Hopkins 7-0—16; Sautter 1-0—2. TOTALS 22-42 –5-5—52.BLUFFTON (12-7, 2-4 NWC)Donaldson 4-0—12; Ginther 2-3—7; Wright 2-0—5; Boblitt 1-0—3; Worcester 1-2—4; Sommers 5-0—11. TOTALS: 15-40—5-7—42.Columbus Grove 18 8 13 13 – 52Bluffton 12 11 10 9 – 423-POINT GOALS: Columbus Grove 3-12 (Hopkins 2, Barraza); Bluffton 7-22 (Donaldson 4, Wright, Boblitt, Sommers)REBOUNDS: Columbus Grove 22 (Basinger 6); Bluffton 20TURNOVERS: Columbus Grove 6; Bluffton 16.