Trojans roll to district championship

VANDALIA — When it comes to this time of year, nothing is taken for granted.

Botkins kept its focus and dominated matters on Saturday morning, defeating Fayetteville-perry 5033 in a Division IV boys basketball district final.

The win raises the Trojans’ record to 23-3 for the year, and puts them in the Region 16 semifinals on Tuesday evening back at Butler.

They will face Newark Catholic in the first game at 5:30 p.m., followed by Cedarville and Tri-village at 8 p.m.

The opponents on Saturday wore green and had the nickname “Rockets”, but Botkins had far less trouble with them then with fellow Shelby County League member Anna. (Anna edged Greeneview 60-59 Friday to extend its season in the Divison III bracket).

Jacob Pleiman led all scorers with 20 points for Botkins. Jameson Meyer hit three-pointers for nine, and Zane Paul added nine points as well.

For Fayetteville-perry, William Cornett had 13 points in the losing effort.

Coach Sean Powell reflected on the growth the program has had under his three seasons of leadership. “That has resulted in a district championship,” Powell said.

“The Shelby County League is a tough defensive conference,” Powell said. “We knew we could use physicality to our advantage.”

Pleiman scored the game’s first four points on a pair of free throws, then one from the floor. After Jayden Bradshaw put the Rockets on the board with 5:15 to play, matters stayed there as both teams adjusted to the court at Butler and each other.

Botkins extended its lead with three-pointers by Meyer and Paul about a minute apart in the late going.

Perry got a free throw with 14 seconds to go from Drew Hendrix. The Trojans were then called for an unusual technical foul, as it was determined that a player had not checked in properly with the scorer’s table before entering the game. Connor Holden of the Rockets made one of those two shots, putting the margin at 10-4 after one period.

The second quarter was all Botkins — literally. While the Trojans scored only nine points, that was nine more than Fayetteville-perry.

Carter Pleiman had the initial score with 4:50 to go. His older brother had the other seven, with a three, a two, and then two free throws.

As Powell noted, the Trojans relied on their

defense to keep the Rockets from leaving the launching pad.

After the halftime break, Jacob Pleiman got things going with a basket and free throw in the opening minute of the third. Bradshaw made a shot for F-P to ensure they would have at least two points in the period.

A three by Paul and a two from Jacob Pleiman pushed the lead to 27-6 with three minutes gone in the quarter.

After a Rockets timeout, the contest turned into a battle of three-pointers.

Connor Holden made one, and Cornett made two for F-P, while Carter Pleiman and Meyer answered for the Trojans.

Paul got three points the “traditional” way, with a drive and goodlooking layup, then hit the ensuing free throw.

Jacob Pleiman then added a dunk and Meyer made another trey. Cornett had two free throws before the period ended, but Botkins was in full control, 41-19.

The Rockets then made a charge in the fourth, scoring 11 points and keeping Botkins off the board.

While that reduced the gap, Botkins still had the upper hand by double digits.

They would add seven free throws, plus a dunk after a steal by Pleiman to reach the 50-point mark.

Cornett made the day’s final shot on a three-pointer to account for the final margin.

Score by quarters Fayetteville-perry 4 0 15 14 -- 33 Botkins 10 9 22 9 -- 50

FAYETTEVILLE-PERRY (33) Blake Coffman 0-0-0-0-0; Connor Holden 0-2-1-2-7; William Cornett 1-3-2-3-13; Caleb Tipis 0-0-0-0-0; Levi Weiderhold 1-0-0-0-2; Ausitn Attinger 0-0-0-0-0; A.J. Attinger 0-0-0-0-0; Tyler Tipis 0-00-0-0; Drew Hendrix 0-0-1-2-1; Jayden Bradshaw 3-0-1-2-7; Jaxson Malone 0-1-0-0-3; Austin Snider 0-0-0-0-0; TOTALS 5-6-5-9-33.

BOTKINS (50) Denton Homan 0-0-0-2-0; Jameson Meyer 0-3-0-0-9; Parker Geis 0-0-0-0-0; Zane Paul 1-2-1-1-9; Jayden Priddy 0-0-5-6-5; Dylan Topp 0-0-2-2-2; Carter Pleiman 1-1-0-0-5; Tyler Free 0-0-0-0-0; Jacob Pleiman 6-1-5-5-20; Garrett Greve 0-0-0-0-0; Jordan Hertzog 0-0-0-2-0; Preston Free 0-0-0-0-0; Elijah Stewart 0-0-0-0-0; TOTALS 8-7-13-16-50.

Photo by Mike Frank Members of the Botkins boys basketball team pose with the trophy after winning the district championship on Saturday over Fayetteville-perry in a game at Vandalia. the trojans actually cut down the nets later in the day at their own gym since that part was not held at Butler due to other games.

Photos by Mike Frank Above left, Jacob Pleiman of Botkins backs a defender from Fayetteville-perry down toward the basket during Saturday’s Division IV district final at Vandalia. Above right, Jadyen Priddy goes up for a shot. The Trojans won to reach the regional semifinals, which will be played Tuesday.