Bobcats hold off Trojans

FINDLAY – Findlay and Bowling Green's boys basketball teams were going back and forth all night. To Trojans coach Ryan Grose, the difference came at the end of periods. "Couple crucial moments at the end of the first, second, third quarters that, they made plays to get a basket," Grose said. "Every end of the quarter went in their favor." And it added up to a 78-68 Bobcats win in a Northern Lakes League inter-division game. Findlay got off to an outstanding start, taking a 13-4 lead on a left-corner 3 by Bronson Drew. But the Bobcats finished on an 8-2 run, getting within 15-12 on a stick-back by Koltin Shank at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Findlay fell behind, 31-23, but came back with an 8-0 surge, tying the game when Hudson Yeager connected on a stickback with 12 seconds left in the half. Bowling Green had an answer. After a foul, Klayson Gerken split a pair of free throws with three seconds left. His second missed, and Shank was there for the rebound and put-back, putting the Bobcats up 34-31 at the break. In the third, Bowling Green went ahead again, 47-37, when Kentin Shank connected on a 3 from the corner with about half the quarter remaining. The Trojans charged back, going on 15-4 run and going up 52-51 after a short jumper by Jack Rhoades with 26 seconds remaining in the period. Again, BG had the final word. This time, it was Sam Wiles' layup that sent the Bobcats to the fourth with a 53-52 advantage. "They made some runs at us and we were able to answer, which is always nice to see, especially early in the season," said Bowling Green coach Mason Roth, a McComb graduate whose younger brother, Mason, starred at Findlay High and now plays for the University of Findlay. "We're a very streaky shooting team. When we shoot the ball well, we're tough to defend." Wiles shot the ball very well, connecting on five 3-pointers and finishing with 21 points. He tied for the team lead in scoring with Koltin Schank, who also had 21. "Sam, the first two games, was struggling," Roth said. "The last two games he's been shooting the ball extremely well, and when he shoots the ball well, we play really good, usually." A half-minute into fourth, Findlay took a brief lead on a Rhoades drive, going up 54-53. That was the Trojans last field goal for nearly 4 ½ minutes, and it allowed the Bobcats to go on another surge. They outscored the Trojans 12-1 in that span, going up 66-55 after a Kiptyn Shank layup. "It was nice to see us answer, because it very easily – they had the momentum, we were on the road – things can get haywire really quick," Roth said. Findlay missed seven straight field goal attempts during its drought. Grose said his squad needed to be more selective. "We've just got to recognize better that, 'Hey, that's not a shot we need to take right now,'" he said, "and instead, work really hard to get the lid off the bucket, stop a run from happening." A 3-pointer from Marcus Bishop brought Findlay back within eight points, 66-58, with 3:05 remaining. The Trojans made eight 3s in the game, four coming from Bishop, who finished with 14 points. "They're dangerous, because they can shoot the 3-ball, and they're always going to be in the basketball game," Roth said. The Trojans weren't able to cut any further into the deficit and fell to 1-2. Hudson Yeager finished with a team-high 16 points and seven rebounds. Rhoades had 15 points and six boards. Findlay has had different scoring leaders in each of its three games. "We're playing 10 right now, and it'll probably be that way," Grose said. "We've just got to continue to make the right play. Sometimes, that's gonna be Hudson, sometimes that's gonna be Beck (Garmong), sometimes it's gonna be somebody else." For BG, Kentin Shank added 12 points, and Kiptyn Shank had 14, meaning the three Shank brothers had 47 points for the Bobcats. "That's the best those three have played together this year," Roth said. "They came back to our program after being out for a year, so we're still working on the nuances, trying to figure out how we play." The Bobcats will host Fremont Ross Tuesday. "We needed something good to happen," Roth said. As for Findlay, it's also in action Tuesday, at Buckeye Division rival Anthony Wayne. "We made some strides tonight," Grose said. "Our guys played their butts off. Can't fault their effort at all, but the execution part has to be better." BOWLING GREEN (1-3) Lawrence 2-2—7; Koltin Shank 6-8—21; Kentin Shank 5-2—12; Wiles 8-0—21; Gerken 0-3—3; Kiptyn Shank 5-4—14. TOTALS: 26-45—19-32—78. FINDLAY (1-2) Drew 2-0—6; Garmong 1-2—5; Wendt 0-3—3; Stillings 2-2—6; Bailey 1-0—3; Bishop 5-0—14; Rhoades 6-3—15; Yeager 7-2—16. TOTALS 24-64—12-16—68. Bowling Green 12 22 19 25 –78 Findlay 15 16 21 16 – 68 3-POINT GOALS: Bowling Green 7-11 ( Wiles 5, Koltin Shank, Kentin Shank); Findlay 8-24 (Bishop 4, Drew 2, Garmong, Bailey). REBOUNDS: Bowling Green 38 (Kiptyn Shank 14); Findlay 40 (Yeager 7, Rhoades 6) TURNOVERS: Bowling Green 19; Findlay 8. JUNIOR VARSITY: Findlay, 64-24.