Saturday, December 16th, 2023
Cavs beat Skins in OT
By Dave Stilwell
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
St. Henry's Evan Bowers sets up for a shot as Coldwater's Will Barry defends.
COLDWATER - Like two prize fighters, St. Henry and Coldwater stood toe-to-toe absorbing blows. Both teams seemed determined not to lose.
But when the dust settled, the Cavaliers managed to escape with a 55-50 overtime victory Friday night in the Midwest Athletic Conference boys basketball opener at the Palace.
"We have so many guys that have a lot of composure. It's just the way they're built. It doesn't surprise me," Coldwater coach Nick Fisher said. "They been in games, maybe not a varsity basketball situation, but in football, baseball, a lot of these guys have experience in tough situations and it shows out there, that composure."
Improving to 3-0 to start the season, the Cavaliers delivered the first blow with the game's first seven points. St. Henry's Evan Bowers scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 7-4, but the Redskins went the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first quarter without scoring and trailed 16-4 at the first break.
Bowers scored on a hoop and harm to open the second quarter, only to see Coldwater answer with a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the game, 23-7. But St. Henry managed to regroup a little, finishing the first half on a 7-1 run that cut the halftime deficit to 24-14.
"At halftime I told the guys how proud I was of them," St. Henry coach Eric Rosenbeck said. "The shots weren't going in and we were still able to finish with a run. We haven't always shown that grit and toughness, and for us to do that tonight was awesome."
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Owen Kunk pulls down a rebound over St. Henry's Brody Schwartz at the Palace on Friday. To see more photos from Friday's games and to purchase prints, go to www.dailystandard.com/albums/
The Redskins landed a haymaker to start the second half.
After going 0-for-10 behind the arc in the first half, Bowers and Caden Bergman hit treys in the midst of a 16-4 St. Henry run to open the second half that saw the Redskins take a 30-28 lead less than three minutes into the third quarter.
After falling behind for the first time in the game, Coldwater proved it could take a punch. The Cavaliers got a three-pointer by Owen Kunk, a dunk by Luke Schwieterman and two free throws by Mason Welsch to regain a 35-30 lead.
After trading buckets on a few possession, St. Henry went on a 6-0 run to take a 40-39 lead just before the end of the third quarter. But Coldwater got the last bucket of the third quarter and the first three points of the fourth to go up 44-40.
Now it was St. Henry's turn. Four free throws by Luke Beyke and a bucket by Bergman gave the Redskins a 46-44 lead with 3:30 left in the game.
Coldwater's Miles Pottkotter hit a clutch 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers back on top, but Bowers answered with a bucket and a 48-47 St. Henry lead.
Schwieterman hit one of two free throws with 1:16 left in the game to tie the score at 48. The Redskins went four-corners from there, looking for the last shot to win the game. Both Bowers and Bergman had looks in the paint in the final seconds but neither was able to connect, sending the game into overtime.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Baylen Blockberger drives past St. Henry's Logan Link on Thursday.
Welsch splashed a trey to open the extra period, which proved to be the final blow. Bergman pulled the Redskins within 51-50, but after the Cavaliers ran some clock, Baylen Blockberger hit a pair of clutch free throws with 41 seconds left for a 53-50 advantage.
St. Henry missed a tying trey at the other end and Schwieterman closed out the game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
"I'm just so proud of the way we played defensively throughout the game," Fisher said. "We gave up some shots in the third quarter and let them back in, but then we held our own. Offensively this team is a work in progress, but defensively, wow we're good."
Schwieterman led three Cavaliers in double figures with 16 points. Blockberger added 15 and Welsch 13. Bowers led all scorers with 21 points for St. Henry. Bergman chipped in with 11.
St. Henry falls to 1-3 with its second consecutive overtime loss, also falling to Shawnee in overtime last week.
"We've got to find ways at the end of games to get quality shots," Rosenbeck said. "I thought tonight, compared to Shawnee, we had some clean looks, unfortunately they didn't go down for us.
"I believe 100 percent in these guys," he added. "We'll come back tomorrow morning, and we'll get ready for Fort Loramie. It's a long season, I love this group and we will figure it out."
St. Henry will host Fort Loramie on Tuesday, while the Cavaliers will host Shawnee next Friday.
