DELPHOS — The Coldwater Cavaliers made the trek on the icy roads Friday night to face off with the St. John’s Blue Jays at the Robert A. Arnzen Gymnasium for a Midwest Athletic Conference game.
The coaches were in an unusual style tonight as they were participating in the Coaches against Cancer.
The Cavaliers ended up on top as they prevailed 62-51.
The Blue Jays got the jump ball to start the game but couldn’t convert. Coldwater worked the ball on the perimeter and on the inside but the Jays worked hard to keep them from scoring. Ryan Geier (20 points, 4 rebounds) really worked hard underneath for rebounds and put some back for buckets to help the Cavaliers get their lead in the first quarter. Brandon Hemker (5 points, 4 rebounds) came off the bench for the Jays and drained a quick 3-pointer to help the Jays keep some momentum in the game and stay close. The first quarter ended with the Cavaliers having a 17-12 advantage.
“In the first half, we got a little loose with 10 turnovers when we average only 11 per game which led to easy plays for them and put us in our deficit. We did a nice job defending (Eric) Lefeld in the post and we did a nice job on the glass getting 14 offensive rebounds,” stated St. John’s coach Aaron Elwer.
Coldwater dropped down a little bit in the second quarter, only outscoring the Jays 13-11. Zach Siefring managed to hit a couple of key shots for the Cavs to keep their lead going into the break. However, the Jays were trying to stay close as Eric Buettner (11 points, 5 rebounds) had a huge second quarter, draining 3-pointers to get the crowd a little more fired up. Both teams managed to get 21 shots from the field off in the first half but the key was the Cavaliers converting on three more and had two more charity-stripe points to give them their 30-23 lead going into the locker rooms.
Kurt Riethman (7 rebounds) led the Cavs in rebounds as he was also coming up with the ball and working it around for someone else to get another shot off.
“I thought we held off the run some and were able to get some big shots. We allowed them to get too many offensive rebounds and dribble penetration. St. John’s did a nice job of finding each other and we did not contest some of (their shots),” stated Coldwater coach Mike Kanney.
The Jays kept the game close during the third quarter as the Cavaliers only managed to score 12 points. Scott Recker (10 points, 5 rebounds) had an awesome third quarter off the bench as he drove to the basket, got rebounds and putbacks for six of the Jays’ 10. Keith Wenning (9 points) made some key shots for the Cavs off the bench, as well as getting some rebounds to give them the chance for another shot. The quarter ended with a score of 42-33, Cavs with the lead. Geier had a huge 4-point play after being fouled while shooting a 3-pointer that went in.
The Jays ended up with 12 turnovers to Coldwater’s eight, each committing two the second half. The Jays outdid the Cavs on the glass as they had 14 offensive rebounds to the Cavs’ seven.
“Our post players did a nice job on Lefeld and our perimeter players did a nice job minus the first half as they got some big shots to keep in it. It was a total good team effort as the kids held their own and made it tough for Coldwater,” added Elwer.
The final quarter was still a close one with some high scores as Coldwater managed to tally 20 to the Jays’ 18. The Blue Jays forced the Cavs to call a timeout less than a minute into the final quarter as Buettner came down to drain a three; the next time down he missed but Wes Ulm (11 points, 8 rebounds) came up with the ball as it was fumbled around for a while and drained a three of his own to put the Jays within three. Ulm came down a couple possessions later to again drain a 3-pointer. Lefeld (17 points, 6 rebounds) had a fantastic fourth quarter for Coldwater, getting nine points from driving the ball to the basket, getting fouled and converting at the stripe. The Jays tried hard to rally but the Cavs kept converting on their free throws.
The Blue Jays fall to 6-10 (0-7 MAC) as they head to Covington tonight. The Cavaliers increase to 10-5 (4-2 MAC) and face off with Fort Recovery on Monday.
In JV action, the Cavaliers prevailed in a very close-fought game won in the last minute with a score of 49-44. The Cavaliers increase to 11-4 as they were led in scoring by Justin Feltz with 20 points. The Jays fall to 11-5 as they were led in scoring by Tyler Williams and Jordan Leninger tallying 12 points.