Area teams get seasons under way
Area basketball teams have started to take the court for the 2021-22 season, facing nonleague opponents while seeing how the theories they have been working on in practice work in game situations.
BOYS ST. MARYS (1-0)
The Roughriders opened the season with a 58-24 road victory last Friday over New Knoxville. Junior Austin Parks led the scoring with 19 points. Evan Angstmann had 10 points and Brayden Sullivan scored eight as the Riders led for the majority of the contest.
This weekend, the Roughriders will make their debut in front of the home fans with a pair of games against teams from the Midwest Athletic Conference.
First up on Friday will be St. Henry. The Redskins will be playing their first game of the year. They finished second in the league last year at 8-1 and were 15-7 overall.
Saturday’s opponent will be New Bremen. The Cardinals have collected wins in both of their games so far, defeating Ottoville 62-43 and roaring past Anna 83-56.
New Bremen will face Celina on Friday before visiting the Horseshoe.
Friday’s game begins with JV at the usual 6 p.m. Saturday’s action tips off at 4 p.m.
Next week sees the Roughriders open Western Buckeye League play with a trip to Defiance.
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MINSTER (0-1)
Minster battled but came up short in its season opener, falling 5243 to host Spencerville.
Brogan Stephey, a freshman guard, led Minster with 15 points. Johnny Nixon had 13. The Wildcats led after each of the first three period, but Spencerville scored 23 points in the final eight minutes to pull out the nine-point win.
Minster will travel to Wapakoneta on Friday night. The Redskins are 2-0 with a couple of non league victories so far. Last Friday, they hosted Jefferson and came away with a 50-46 victory in overtime.
The Redskins trailed 20-2 at one point in the second quarter, then reduced the gap to 10 points by halftime. Zac Niekamp had 16 points in the second half.
On Tuesday, Wapakoneta got a road win at Bellefontaine, winning 54-31. Kaden Siefring and Zach Rogers scored 12 points each, with Grant Bauer and Jackson Courter getting nine apiece.
Minster will then play its first home game next Tuesday, taking on defending Division IV state champion Botkins. The Trojans started their year with a 34-24 win over Jackson Center last Friday. They will face Anna on Friday before taking on Minster.
Minster will have its first MAC game next Friday with a home game against New Bremen.
——— NEW BREMEN (2-0)
As mentioned above, the Cardinals have rolled to wins in their first two games. Last Friday, they hosted Ottoville, building a 17-point lead in the first half and staying in control from there. Aaron Thieman led with 15 points. Trevor Bergman and Nick Alig had 13 points apiece.
They followed that with an 83-56 win over visiting Anna, scoring 20-plus points in each of the first three quarters.
Reece Busse scored 20, Alig had 17, and Nathan Rindler and David Homan made it four in double figures with 12 points apiece.
New Bremen hits the road this weekend, starting with a visit to the Fieldhouse in Celina on Friday night. The Bulldogs have not had a contest yet. They are coming off a 5-16 record last season.
The Cardinals then will take on the Roughriders Saturday afternoon.
Next weekend, they continue the early season road string with games at Minster on Friday and Fort Loramie on Saturday.
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NEW KNOXVILLE (0-2)
The Rangers are looking for their first victory under first-year head coach Carson Manger. They lost 72-43 to Anna in the season opener. They were held to 18 points in the first half. Max Henschen led with 11. Ryan Osborne and Carson Bierlein had nine points each.
In the game against St. Marys, Bierlein had six points, Osborne scored five and Troy Dwenger scored four.
New Knoxville is home on Friday as they welcome WaynesfieldGoshen from the Northwest Central Conference. The Tigers are 0-1, having lost 56-19 to Parkway last Friday.
Saturday will see the
Rangers face Fort Loramie from the SCAL. The Redskins lost their season debut 36-22 at home to Russia last week.
Next weekend’s slate for the Rangers has road games with Coldwater and Houston.
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GIRLS ST. MARYS (1-1)
St. Marys opened the year with an impressive 75-52 win over visiting Fairview on Nov. 19. They jumped ahead with 23 points in the opening quarter, played even the next two periods, then wrapped things up down the stretch.
Noelle Ruane had 24 points for St. Marys. Lily Rammel and Kendall Dieringer scored 13 each, and Karsyn McGlothen had 10 from the low post.
The Lady Riders then lost a defensive battle to Kalida, falling 29-26. Cora Rable scored seven points and McGlothen had six. Morgan Hesse had nine rebounds. Kalida got the win thanks to 16 points in the fourth quarter.
St. Marys opens WBL action this evening with a trip to Mercer County to take on Celina. The Lady Bulldogs. Celina’s only game so far was a
53-36 loss to Minster on Nov. 23. Taylor Klingshirn had 11 and Kyilla Billingsley scored nine.
On Saturday, St. Marys will take to the road again, paying a visit to New Knoxville (see below for more on the Lady Rangers).
The Lady Riders will then play their fourth straight road game next Tuesday at St. John’s. The Lady Blue Jays are 0-1 so far.
Next Thursday will see the first WBL game of the year as they host Defiance.
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MINSTER (2-1)
The Lady Wildcats have been the busiest team so far, getting in three games before taking a break for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Minster opened with a 35-29 win over Wapakoneta. Katie McClurg had 18 points, with all but two coming in the second half.
Russia then defeated Minster 57-30, with Kaycie Albers scoring 13 and Alyssa Niemeyer putting in five. Minster was held to single digits in each quarter, scoring 16 in the first half and 14 in the second.
They played it close in the first half against Celina, then used a surge
in the third to score 21 points and take control of the contest. Ellla Mescher was the leading scorer with 19, followed by Albers with 14 and McClurg getting 10.
The first MAC contest is on the docket this evening as Minster will host Versailles. The Lady Tigers are 2-0 so far.
Minster will then head north on Saturday to face Liberty-Benton. JV play wil start at noon.
Next Thursday, Minster takes on neighbor and rival New Bremen.
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NEW BREMEN (0-1)
New Bremen is just getting its season going, having opened Tuesday night with a 58-47 loss at Covington.
They led by three, 24-21, at halftime. Covington then scored 18 in the third and 19 in the fourth to get the victory.
Riley Trentman had 13 points for the Lady Cards, with nine each by Lily Lennartz and Chloe Bornhorst.
Like other area girls teams, New Bremen will kick off league play this evening. They will travel to Fort Recovery. The Lady Indians are 0-2, including a 47-39 loss to Versailles on Nov. 23.
New Bremen will then be back in action on Monday night with a journey up north to face Lincolnview. The Lady Lancers are 3-0 so far, with wins over Continental (53-10); Ottoville (48-33), and Paulding (62-55) on Tuesday.
That will be followed by the matchup with Minster a week from tonight, in the first home game of the season.
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NEW KNOXVILLE (1-0)
The Lady Rangers opened the campaign with a 41-25 win at Botkins last Saturday.
Ellie Gabel had 15 points and Avery Henschen scored 13 in the non league contest. They held the Lady Trojans to a total of four points in the middle two quarters.
New Knoxville begins their MAC slate with a visit to Marion Local. The Lady Flyers are 1-1 so far on the season.
They will then host St. Marys on Saturday afternoon.
Next Thursday, they return to league play with a home game against Coldwater.