Area teams look for momentum at end of year
The calendar has flipped to February, meaning there are just a few more contests before the arrival of the postseason for area basketball teams.
The sectional draw for girls was held this past Sunday, with the boys’ draw coming up this weekend.
BOYS
ST. MARYS (4-2 WBL, 12-5 overall)
The Roughriders are thundering along, with an eight-game winning streak.
Senior Austin Parks broke the career scoring record against Coldwater last Tuesday, then had 45 points in win over Sidney for the individual game record.
St. Marys has its next three games at home, including two this weekend.
First up on Friday is Elida. The Bulldogs are 1-5 in league play and 7-9 overall. Only Kenton (7-11) has a worse record.
Last weekend, Elida lost to Wapakoneta (42-33), then defeated Van Buren (72-44).
The other league losses were to Defiance (80-45); Celina (43-40); Bath (59-54); and Ottawa-Glandorf (65-24). The victory came over Kenton (41-35) back in early December.
On Saturday night, the Riders will host Minster. JV action will tip off at 4 p.m., followed by varsity.
Remaining games for St. Marys are with Bath, St. Henry and Celina. ———
MINSTER (1-5 MAC, 3-15 overall)
In contrast to St. Marys, the Wildcats have struggled. They got their first league win, beating New Knoxville, which was followed by losses to St. John’s and Jackson Center.
On Friday night, Minster will play its last regular season home game taking on Fort Recovery.
The Indians are 2-3 in the MAC and 9-7 overall.
They have wins over Parkway (50-43) and Versailles (50-48) and losses to St. John’s (55-49), Coldwater (57-51) and Marion Local (48-32). They faced St. Henry last Friday.
After those games, Minster will have trips to New Bremen and Coldwater to finish the season.
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NEW BREMEN (4-2 MAC, 125)
The Cardinals are also doing well lately, having hung six wins in a row and seven out of eight.
They have held opponents to 30 points in three of the last four.
Friday night sends New Bremen to Parkway for a league contest.
The Panthers sit at 1-4 in the league and 5-11 overall. The most recent games have been losses to Van Wert (64-45) and Marion Local (61-24) last week.
Saturday has a much tougher test, as they face Jackson Center.
The Tigers are 9-1 in the Shelby County League and 17-1 overall. As noted in previous editions of this roundup, that loss came in the season opener by one point to Russia.
In the most recent action, they have defeated Fort Loramie (49-37), Minster (50-36) and Lima Central Catholic (53-44). They host Fairlawn on Friday night before coming to the Nest.
Next Tuesday, New Bremen faces another SCAL team, Fort Loramie. The Redskins are 6-4 in league play and 13-5 overall. Last weekend, they earned a split, beating Fairlawn (61-28) and losing to Marion Local (56-39). They face Houston and Coldwater this weekend.
New Bremen will close things out by hosting rival Minster and traveling to Fort Recovery.
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NEW KNOXVILLE (0-6 MAC, 2-14 overall)
New Knoxville got its second win of the season, beating Ada 66-56 last Friday, then battled New Bremen before losing 69-52.
This weekend’s slate has two road games. Friday will send the Rangers to Versailles. The Tigers are 2-4 in the MAC and 6-9 overall. They defeated Coldwater (55-41) and Russia (46-41) last weekend.
On Saturday, New Knoxville goes north to Bath. The Wildcats got steamrolled by New Bremen 7830 on Tuesday night. They are 1-4 in the WBL and 3-11 overall. One of the wins came over Bryan (40-37) last Saturday.
The rest of the regular season for the Rangers has road games with Fort Recovery and Botkins, then Parkway at home.
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GIRLS
ST. MARYS (5-2 WBL, 11-9 overall)
St. Marys has been dealing in pairs of late, with two losses, followed by two wins, then two more losses.
They will travel to Elida this evening. The Lady Bulldogs are also 5-2 in the league and sit at 9-8 overall.
League results are wins over Wapakoneta (45-39); Defiance (5040); Celina (47-36); Bath (44-37) and Kenton (59-54).
The losses were to OttawaGlandorf (68-26) and Shawnee (6139).
St. Marys will then have a week off before traveling to Bath.
In the Division II sectionals, they will face Van Wert on Feb. 16 at Bluffton in the first game of a doubleheader. The Lady Riders won the meeting earlier this year 43-35. ———
MINSTER (5-2 MAC, 10-9 overall)
Minster is coming off a win over St. John’s and a loss to OttawaGlandorf.
The last road game of the regular season is tonight at Fort Recovery. The Lady Indians are 0-6 in MAC contests and have an overall record of 4-12. They most recently fell to St. Henry (43-27) after beating Franklin Monroe (40-34) and Indian Lake (41-35).
On Tuesday night, Minster will host Kalida. That set of Lady Wildcats is 5-0 in the Putnam County League and is in second place. They are 14-5 overall.
Minster closes out the slate with a home game against New Bremen next Thursday.
The Division IV sectional has them facing the winner of Hardin Northern and Waynesfield-Goshen. That game is Feb. 18 at Spencerville, with the time to be announced. ———
NEW BREMEN (3-4 MAC, 1010 overall)
New Bremen has three straight wins and been on the right side of the final score in four of their last five contests.
Tonight is the final home game, with Parkway as the dance partner. It will be a big task, as the Lady Panthers are 6-1 in the league and 16-2 overall.
The league loss came to Marion Local last Thursday (51-48). They faced Van Wert on Monday, and won 49-44.
After facing rival Minster next Thursday, New Bremen has a bye in the first round, and will face Ada in a sectional final on Feb. 18 at Shawnee. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
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NEW KNOXVILLE (0-7 MAC, 1-19 overall)
The Lady Rangers have two games left, both league contests as they look to get a MAC win. Both games are on their home floor.
Tonight will be against Versailles, which is 4-3 in the league and 9-9 overall. They have alternated wins (St. John’s and Coldwater) with losses (Tippecanoe and Russia) in their most recent games.
Next week, the Lady Rangers take on Fort Recovery.
The sectional draw gave them a matchup with the winner of Marion Local and Ridgemont. The Lady Rangers will play Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. at Shawnee.