Findlay records ninth win of season, beating Northview

FINDLAY – Coming off a 1-22 season, Findlay wasn't expected to be much of a factor in the Northern Lakes League this year.Ryan Grove and a determined bunch of Trojans proved the predictors wrong.Freshman Marcus Bishop knocked down six clutch 3-pointers and scored 20 points, Blade Wendt converted 7-of-8 free throws in the final 40 seconds and had 13, and Findlay scrapped and clawed and battled its way to a 51-45 win over Sylvania Northview on Tuesday in the final regular season game for both teams."This is what you get when guys put team first and put their nose down and want to get to work. That's when special things can happen," Grose said after Findlay posted its second straight win over a team predicted to finish higher than the Trojans and earned a tie for second place – ironically with Northview – in the league standings."There were certainly times when guys like Blade and (Cooper) McKanna and Bronson (Drew), guys that went through that one-win season last year and times this season where things got tough, could have said, 'You know, I don't know if I want to keep working hard.'"But they came back in every day and continued to work. I'll take a team of all-stars. But none of that matters if you're not all in for the team first. That's what this group has been able to do through all the adversity and the injuries and everything else."Win or lose, we're competing our butts off, just playing for each other and not caring who gets the credit. As a coach, that's what you love to see them strive for, and when they do good things usually happen."Picked in a preseason poll of NLL coaches to finish last in the Buckeye Division, Findlay 9-13 overall, instead went 4-4 in league play and tied Northview (14-8) for runner-up honors. Perrysburg (16-6, 7-1 NLL) won the title outright; Anthony Wayne (14-8, 3-5 NLL) beat Toledo Whitmer (6-14, 2-6 NLL) 85-44 on Tuesday to decide fourth and fifth place in the 2025-26 standings.Findlay opened 9-5, 14-7 and 17-10 leads in the first 11 minutes of the game, but a frigid six-minute stretch from early in the second quarter until two minutes into the third saw that edge evaporate."I thought we guarded really, really well the first half," Grose said of the Trojans, who despite the scoring drought went into the halftime locker room tied 17-17."We had some open looks on the perimeter, some inside shots that didn't fall for us. But it's a sign of a good team when the shots aren't going down and you go into halftime still tied."The deadlock didn't last, though, as Northview's Carson Holmes drilled a pair of 3-pointers to give the Wildcats leads of 22-17, then 25-20.Wendt finally buried a 3-pointer to end Findlay's offensive drought, then Bishop got hot. The freshman guard knocked down one basket, then hit back-to-back 3s during an 8-0 run that put Findlay up 28-25."I have confidence in my shot, I guess it runs in the family," said Bishop, whose father Mark and brother Jake were noted outside shooters as well.Victory was still up for grabs, thoughNorthview went back in front 29-28, but Bishop answered with his third 3-pointer of the period and Jayden Thompson scored inside.McKanna's free throw inched Findlay ahead 34-31 a minute into the fourth quarter, and the teams battled back and forth the rest of the way.McKanna's put-back and Bishop's 3 extended Findlay's lead to 39-35 with 4:41 to play.David Rowland meshed one of two free throws and Holmes, who led Northview with 19 points, knocked down another trey to tie it at 39-39 with 2:15 on the clock.Findlay missed one chance to break the tie, but Bishop came up with a steal and nailed a 3-pointer – his sixth of the game – from the right corner on the other end.When Northview missed, Wendt found himself in the right place at the right time, standing in the middle of the lane with the rebound coming his way. Luke Crates, seeing the opportunity, broke up court and Wendt fired him a pass that led to an easy lay-up.Jacob Rowland quickly answered with a 3 on the other end with 35.8 seconds left.That trimmed the deficit to two (44-42) but time was not on Northview's side, The Wildcats had to foul to stop the clock but Findlay – specifically – Wendt was up to the challenge. In those final 36 seconds the senior guard converted 7-of-8 free throws to lock it up."After last year, this feels great," Wendt said."We weren't given much of a chance. We had to battle through some adversity throughout the year but I think we finished the season pretty well."Findlay turns its attention from the regular season to the post season with a Division I tournament game at Strongsville on Friday."They're very similar to Northview," Grose said of the 12th-seeded Mustangs, who also bring a 9-13 record into the contest."Their three best players are their perimeter players. They're going to shoot a lot of 3s, like Northview did tonight (7-of-26). So the preparation for us, the scouting report, is not going to change a whole lot from what we saw tonight, except (Strongsville) doesn't have a 6-7 guy in the middle."It should be a good matchup for us. We have two days to prepare and we're looking forward to the challenge."Earlier Tuesday, Alex Neal made a driving scoop shot with 30 seconds on the clock and Tre Whitaker and Evan Beach – both freshmen – were a combined 5-of-6 from the line as Findlay's junior varsity team beat Northview 53-47 to complete a 14-7 season.Findlay's freshman team beat Northview 52-42 and went 17-3 this season.NORTHVIEW (14-8)Holmes 7-14 0-0 19, Schoen 2-4 1-3 5, J. Rowland 4-14 0-0 10, Robinson 4-5 2-2 10, D. Rowland 0-3 1-2 1, Manthey 0-2 0-0 0, Patten 0-1 0-0 0, Draper 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17-44 4-7—45.FINDLAY (9-13)Wendt 2-9 7-8 13, Crates 1-4 0-0 2, Bishop 7-12 0-0 20, Stechschulte 3-8 0-0 6, McKanna 3-4 2-3 8, Drew 0-6 0-0 0, Thompson 1-2 0-2 2, Whitaker 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17-46 9-13—51.Northview 7 10 14 14—45Findlay 9 8 16 18—513-POINT GOALS: Sylvania Northview 7-26 (Patten 0-1, Holmes 5-10, Schoen 0-3, J. Rowland 2-10, Manthey 0-1, D. Roland 0-1); Findlay 8-18 (Drew 0-3, Wendt 2-6, Crates 0-1, Bishop 6-7 Stechschlte 0-1).REBOUNDS: Sylvania Northview 30 (D. Rowland 8, Holms 7); Findlay 25 (McKanna 4, Stechschulte 4, Bishop 4).TURNOVERS: Sylvania Northview 11; Findlay 6.JUNIOR VARSITY: Findlay, 53-47.FRESHMAN: Findlay, 52-42.