Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The Genoa boys basketball team completed the third undefeated regular season in program history on Feb. 20 with a 71-33 win at home over Rossford.
The victory improved the Comets to 22-0, joining them together with the 2018-19 team’s 22-0 regular season and the 1972-73 squad’s 18-0 slate.
“It means a lot,” senior Jake Woollard said. “We’ve all played together freshmen through varsity. Everybody loves each other. It's really a brotherhood, and it really means a lot for me as a person.”
Woollard believes the team’s unselfishness is a key factor to their success.
“I think that's the main thing,” he said. “We're all unselfish. We played with each other last year. We wanted it last year but didn't get it. (We just had to) go back to the drawing board. ‘We're all coming back. Just play together, stay together.’”
Prior to the game, the athletic department recognized its senior cheerleaders and basketball players. With an undefeated regular season on the line as well, head coach Jon Sandwisch thought his team handled everything very well.
“There's a lot of things that can get in the way of a basketball game,” he said. “I should have been surprised, (but) I'm not surprised. Our guys handled it with maturity, with class. They did a phenomenal job of enjoying senior night and enjoying the festivities, but at the same time locking in and playing a really solid basketball game.”
A 32-1 run in the first half was crucial to the victory. Rossford remained close with 2:11 left in the first quarter following back-to-back free throws from Jackson Drusback and a bucket from Jackson Greer that made it 13-8 in favor of the Comets.
Walter Plantz, who had a game-high 21 points, registered back-to-back dunks for Genoa, including one off an alley-oop from Ryan Routson for a 13-0 run. Rossford’s Carter Matthews ended the run with a free throw, but the Comets tacked on 19 consecutive points after that over a four-minute stretch to complete the 32-1 run and produce a 45-9 lead with 2:28 left in the half.
Sandwisch said the team is pretty dangerous when it finds that extra gear, and there isn’t just one thing that allows them to do so.
“There’s a lot of things I guess we could point to, but I think the biggest thing is they genuinely like playing with one another, and they feed off of one another's energy,” he said. “When we had a couple of those pretty good plays like that, it just got everyone going in the next gear. It's a lot of fun when they start hyping each other up.”
Genoa made eight of its 10 3-pointers in the first half while finishing a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line. Outside of Plantz, Myles Mollenhauer added 13 points, and Ty Asman registered 11. Routson (7), Jax Magnone (6), and Woollard (5) totaled 18 points. Logan Routson and Brock Mathews also played key roles, not only in the game, but the season’s success.
The senior class includes Plantz, Ryan Routson, Logan Routson, Mathews, Woollard, and Asman. All of them were announced as part of the starting lineup prior to the game.
Woollard believes the group, along with juniors Magnone and Mollenhauer, has matured since last year.
“I think last year there was a lot of pressure on us, and this year we all matured,” he said. “We accepted the pressure and (have) just played with it.”
Sandwisch, meanwhile, believes that the season is a great microcosm of the community and its support of his team.
“I think people don't really understand how hard it is to go undefeated, to win 22 games,” he said. “It takes a lot of guys being bought in and engaged and connected every single game day, which is really, really hard. It's really hard. We talk all the time about how hard winning is, and I'm most impressed that we didn't have an off night.
“Every single game we were ready to play, and we executed the plan. And to put it into words, this group and not just the senior group, but this group (as a whole), they're special. We talk about cementing our legacy, and I believe we did that today.”
The Comets will host Collins Western Reserve in a Division V sectional final on Feb. 27. A win advances them to the district semifinal against either Willard or Liberty-Benton on March 3 at Lakota. The district final is slated for March 6 at Napoleon.
Gibsonburg boys win SBC River Division title
The Gibsonburg boys basketball team split its final two regular season games, including an 81-24 win over SJCC in its finale, to claim a Sandusky Bay Conference River Division title.
The Golden Bears (19-3) claimed the first outright league title for the program since 2014-15. The win total is also currently tied with Ray Burkhart’s 1967-68 team and Brent Liskai’s 2005-06 team for the second-most overall wins in a season.
In a 64-55 loss to St. Mary Central Catholic, Reece Walby produced 21 points, 10 rebounds, six steals, and two assists. Hunter Wasserman added 13 points and six rebounds, while Xander Zimmerman had nine points and three boards. Aiden Morant had five points and four rebounds, while Chuy Rodriguez had three steals.
The win over St. Joseph Central Catholic featured another big outing from Walby, who had 23 points, nine rebounds, seven steals, and six assists. Luke Foster added 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Morant (12), Wasserman (10), and Zimmerman (9) combined for 31 points. Morant added 10 assists, eight steals, and two blocks while flirting with a triple-double. Wasserman had six rebounds and two blocks, and Rodriguez had four steals.
Clay wins NLL Cardinal Division title
Clay (16-6) concluded its regular season with a 68-38 win over Bowling Green to claim a share of the Northern Lakes League Cardinal Division title. It is the program’s first league title since 1995.
Grant Oberdick led Clay with a game-high 29 points in the win, while Carson Vincent had 14.
Eastwood closes strong
The Eastwood boys (15-7) concluded its regular season at home with a 79-67 win over Lake as sophomore Brayden Luidhardt made a school single-game record eight 3-pointers on the way to a game-best 33 points. He had 15 of those points in the fourth quarter. Cam Schumaker added 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Drew Luidhardt had 11 points.
Prior to that, the Eagles defeated Delta 62-51 and Oak Harbor 63-50. Schumaker (19), Brayden Luidhardt (17), and Drew Luidhardt (16) combined to shoot 20-for-36 from the field for 52 points. Drew Luidhardt added eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Schumaker and Max Chaffee had six rebounds apiece.
Schumaker added 22 points against Oak Harbor, while Ben Buehler had 16. The Luidhardts had eight points each, while Logan Miesmer had six.
The Eagles have won four in a row and six of the past seven games entering postseason play.
Lake concludes 17-win regular season
Lake (17-5) split its final two games before postseason play, defeating Maumee 64-52 before falling 79-67 to Eastwood.
Preston Snyder had a team-high 17 points against Maumee, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Carter Behlmer added 16 points, while Xavier Scott and Jack Sobczak had 11 apiece. Jace Ayers notched nine points to round out the scoring.
Snyder added 19 more against Eastwood, while Behlmer (15), Scott (14), and Ayers (11) combined for 40. Sobczak also had eight points.
Woodmore, Oak Harbor fall in finales
Woodmore (9-13) dropped its regular season finale, 53-40, to St. Mary Central Catholic. Caden Hilt led the Wildcats with eight points.
Oak Harbor (8-14) fell 63-50 to Eastwood in its finale despite a team-high 21 points from Zach Hallett. Carson Steinbrick added nine points, while Brayden Ayres had eight. The trio combined for 38 of the team’s 50 points.
Waite, Northwood finish regular seasons
While Cardinal Stritch had previously completed its regular season, Waite (3-17) defeated Rossford 66-65 in overtime before falling to Rogers 72-41 in its regular season finale. Northwood (4-18) wrapped up its regular season with an 82-64 win over Danbury. Neither team reported any stats.
