VAN WERT — The Cougar Den at Van Wert High School was the site for the Division IV Sectional finals on Friday night as the Fort Jennings Musketeers tangled with the Lincolnview Lancers.

The contest started out to be a see-saw battle as there were nine lead changes with neither team able to gain a foothold in the first period before the Musketeers pulled away for a 54-46 victory to capture the Sectional title.

Jennings survived a late surge by the Lancers by going 14 of 17 from the charity stripe in the final period and 20 of 30 for the game. The Musketeers scored just one from the field in the final stanza, coming with :06 left on a break away basket by Aaron Chandler.

“We had some of our better shooters at the line; Derek (Geise) knocked down a couple, he had been struggling from there, but he got it done. I gave him a big hug and a pat on the back for doing it to.” Jennings coach John VonSossan commented.

Derek Geise led all scorers for Fort Jennings with 25 points, including an 11 of 17 performance from the foul line, while snagging 15 rebounds; Tyler Warnecke added 10 for the orange and black.

Jordan Simpson paced the Lancers with 14 points, while Kory Thatcher added 13 in the effort.

The Musketeers took a 17-13 lead after the first period and went on a 12-0 run before Jordan Simpson came off the bench for Lincolnview to nail three from long range to make it a 28-22 contest at the break.

“He (Geise) played an excellent game, but I have to give alot of credit to Lincolnview, we could have buried them when we were up but 13, but they hung in there. I think our kids got it in them a bit at the half, but I told them that they were going to make a run and it was only half a game.” VonSossan commented. “We were fortunate enough to hang on.”

The Jennings defense held their foe to just one field goal in the third period, however found themselves back down by one midway in the fourth as the Lancers rallied for a10-1 spurt and took the lead at 42-41 on a Kory Thatcher three pointer with 2:55 to go.

Geise got the Musketeers back up for good, hitting two of two from the line with 2:42 remaining. Jennings would go on to score 16 points in the frame, 14 from the stripe to complete the win.

Fort Jennings will face the winner of the Columbus Grove-Lima Temple Christian game on Tuesday at the Elida Fieldhouse.

Scoring by Quarters

Jennings 17 11 9 16 - 54

Lincolnview 13 9 5 19 - 46

Jennings (54)

S. Chandler 0-4-4, Geise 6-11-25, Weber 2-0-6, Gerdeman 2-3-7, A. Chandler 1-0-2, Warnecke 4-2-10. Totals 10-20-54.

Lincolnview (46)

Thatcher 3-5-13, Profit 2-2-6, Bascoum 0-3-3, Evans 1-0-3, Ringwald 1-3-5, Brincefield 1-1-3, Simpson 4-0-14. Totals 12-14-46.

Three point goals: FJ; Geise. LV; Thatcher (2), Simpson (3).