Category: Glenwood

Glenwood Survives Bobcats

vs

Results

TeamTOutcome
Green63Loss
Glenwood66Win

Inching closer: Tigers hold off hard-charging Bobcats

By Paul Boggs

Photos by Paul Boggs, Kent Sanborn and Bailey Payton

FRANKLIN FURNACE —Perhaps Jerome McKinley, by making the most of his five steals on Friday night, made one of his head coach’s decisions easier.

“I sometimes wonder who I should nominate for Defensive Player of the Year off our team. You can go with Jerome (McKinley) on the ball, or Chase (Clark) in the paint, or you can go with (Kyle) Sexton,” said New Boston coach Adam Cox. “A lot of teams don’t have that luxury of me putting in 6-foot-6 (Chase Clark), 6-foot-5 (Kyle Sexton), 6-1 (Jerome McKinley), 6-1 (Tanner Voiers) and some length and rebounding pressure and putting Jerome on the ball. It allows us to put a defensive lineup in the game. Every time we did, we got a stop.”

#
24
Name
Jerome McKinley
Class
2022
Height
5-11
Current Team
Glenwood
Leagues
SEO, SOC1
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

By getting defensive, especially late and spearheaded by the sophomore McKinley, the visiting Tigers took one of their biggest steps towards clinching their first Southern Ohio Conference Division I boys basketball championship in 22 years.

McKinley made five steals, turned four of them into subsequent points, and collected the most crucial takeaway with 20 seconds remaining — as visiting New Boston captured a critical 66-63 victory against the Green Bobcats in front of a full house at Green High School.

#
32
Name
Chase Clark
Class
2021
Height
6-06
Current Team
Glenwood
Past Teams
Valley
Leagues
SEO, SOC1, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

With the win, the Tigers — the second-ranked team in the third weekly Associated Press Ohio High School boys basketball Division IV poll — raised their stellar record to 15-1, and remained perfect atop the SOC I standings at 10-0.

Thanks to the hard-fought triumph over the game and determined Bobcats, the Tigers can clinch that coveted SOC I championship — a share on Tuesday night at East and the outright on Friday night at Ironton St. Joseph.

#
4
Name
Kyle Sexton
Class
2020
Height
6-05
Current Team
Glenwood
Leagues
All Time Stat Leaders, SEO, SOC1
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

It will be the Tigers’ first SOC I title since the 1997-98 campaign, which —of course —is a long time coming to the basketball-crazy New Boston community.

As the Tigers celebrated with their fans following Friday night’s win, loud chants of “S-O-C” could be heard all over the Green gymnasium.

“You grow up living in New Boston and going to Glenwood and dreaming about going to the Convo (Ohio University Convocation Center for the district and regional boys basketball tournament), but you really, really dream about winning the SOC. That Gold Ball (trophy awarded the SOC I winner) is a really nice shiny trophy,” said Cox. “Our kids are really working hard towards accomplishing that goal. Hopefully, we can clinch on Tuesday.”

But first things first, the Tigers had to complete the season sweep of the Bobcats, which made New Boston work for its win in the foul-fest of a contest in the two teams’ initial meeting on Dec. 20.

#
3
Name
Tanner Voiers
Class
2021
Height
6-01
Current Team
Glenwood
Past Teams
South Webster
Leagues
SEO, SOC1, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

There were 54 fouls and 48 foul shots combined in that matchup, as Friday featured fewer fouls —and only 22 total free throws.

Instead, it came down to New Boston making not one, not two, not three, not four, but count ‘em five massive defensive stops in the final two minutes and 47 seconds —as Green, despite trailing by three points at either 59-56 or 61-58 — had five opportunities to tie with a three-point goal.

The first three were missed shots, with McKinley actually grabbing two rebounds — before a traveling violation on Green’s Gage Sampson with 31-and-a-half seconds showing.

Finally, following a New Boston turnover and Green getting the basketball underneath its own basket, the Bobcats’ inbounds pass was intercepted by McKinley — and it set up Kyle Sexton sinking five clutch one-and-one free throws in the final 19 seconds.

#
3
Name
Ethan Huffman
Class
2021
Height
5-10
Current Team
Green
Leagues
SEO, SOC1
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

The Bobcats’ buckets in the final 3:23 were three by Ethan Huffman, a Levi Sampson score with six seconds left to make it 64-60, and finally Levi Singleton sinking a three-pointer from the corner pocket for the 66-63 final.

Which, with that shot, makes McKinley’s major defensive plays —and the Bobcats’ 18 turnovers and missed opportunities at the end —loom even larger.

Green’s final turnover, trailing 63-58, was an over-and-back call with just 13 seconds remaining.

Head Coach Dirk Hollar

Current Team
Green
“We had five or six possessions there late we didn’t convert,” said Green coach Dirk Hollar. “(Ethan) Huffman had a runner that went in and out, then he shot a layup that I thought went in and looped back around and came out. So we got good looks on back-to-back layups. The out of bounds play we ran, we had backside wide open but we forced it (pass), so there was another turnover. The over-and-back, we weren’t thinking and lost track of what was going on. We beat ourselves, and that’s continued to happen all year. We continue to play hard and fight, but we have to finish those games. It was there, but we missed two layups in a row, and turned the ball over.”

McKinley’s awareness and interception of the inbounds pass was arguably the most important, because the Bobcats only trailed 61-58 — with only 20 seconds AND the ball underneath.

McKinley was fouled after making the steal, and despite missing a one-and-one free-throw attempt, the ball was in New Boston’s frontcourt —setting Sexton up to get fouled and mesh his five free throws.

But McKinley made four other steals which led directy to immense points as well.

In the first quarter, he had two thefts —the first of which he turned into a layup with the second resulting in a Tanner Voiers rebound putback which made it 13-8.

In the third frame, in the first 80 seconds no less, McKinley made back-to-back steals —and went in for layups to make it 37-30.

The Tigers’ largest lead was actually eight points twice (41-33 and 44-36), thanks to five points including a three-pointer from Voiers, but it was McKinley making those two early plays that allowed New Boston breathing room — as the second-half advantage ranged from two to eight points over the opening 12-and-a-half minutes.

Voiers poured in a game-high 24 points on 11 total field goals — and Sexton secured a triple-double with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists — but McKinley’s 11 markers on five field goals and a first-quarter foul shot can’t be understated.

Cox said he called out McKinley, albeit privately, and was delighted to see him respond.

Head Coach Adam Cox

Current Team
Glenwood
“I won’t say exactly what I told Jerome at halftime, but basically I told him he had shown up before the last three games not ready to go at the shoot-arounds or walk-thrus, and I was tired of watching it. He was a freshman on the Elite Eight (Division IV regional runner-up) team last year, and if he wasn’t going to wake up and play, then he needed to come off the bench and realize that there are other kids that want to. The third quarter, he stole the ball twice on the opening possessions,” said the coach.

There were actually eight lead changes in the first 15 minutes and 10 seconds, as New Boston built a 16-10 first-quarter bulge on Voiers’ first three-ball, but the Bobcats doubled up the Tigers 10-5 in the final three minutes of the first.

Green — which also held one-point leads of 4-3, 6-5 and 8-7 — gained its last lead at 22-21 on a Gage Sampson rebound stickback just 13 seconds into the second stanza.

The Tigers — taking the lead for good at the 6:50 mark of the period — led anywhere from one to five points throughout the second quarter, before Huffman drove and scored for the 33-30 halftime score.

McKinley made the two steals and layups, Voiers rained in a three at the 4:25 point to make it 44-36, and the lead ranged from four to eight points until the 5:41 mark of the final canto.

“It seemed like every time we missed a shot or did something goofy or turned it over, they went down and scored,” said Hollar. “That was a big difference in the game.”

The Bobcats’ fourth-quarter three-point deficits were 53-50, 55-52, 57-54, 59-56 and 61-58 —with Green getting the deficit down to one twice at 57-56 and 59-58.

Huffman hit a left-handed layup with a crossover move with 1:50 remaining, but back came Voiers only 22 seconds later for the final three-point advantage (61-58).

The score then remained 61-58 for the next minute and 11 seconds, as the Tigers turned back the Bobcats on five consecutive possessions.

Like the previous meeting, Green never got the lead back, but if it did…

“If we could get over that hump, we should be able to win. But it seemed like every time we made a play to get over that hump, we couldn’t finish,” said Hollar. “Those five possessions that we didn’t convert and we missed a box out on the other end, that was pretty much it. We stress taking care of the ball and boxing out, but we pick the worst times in the world to turn the ball over and that’s what happened.”

Lost in all of the anxious final three minutes was the scoring and statistics, as New Boston had 32 rebounds including 25 defensive — and the Tigers turned it over only eight times.

There were two 1,000-point scorers in the game —the junior Sexton and the senior Sampson, as Sexton scored five field goals —including his three-pointer just 40 seconds in to get New Boston on the board.

Sampson, even as the Tigers face-guarded him, scored 14 of his team-high 22 points on seven first-half deuces — as he hit Green’s other trifecta — outside of Singleton’s five.

Singleton splashed two treys in the opening quarter and two more in the third, as his final for his 15th point beat the game-ending buzzer.

Huffman had a dozen markers for the Bobcats on four field goals and 4-of-4 free throws, while Levi Sampson added eight on three baskets and 2-of-2 fourth-quarter freebies.

The Bobcats — which are off for a week before traveling to Western — fell to an even 9-9, and to 5-6 in the SOC I.

However, they battled the Tigers tooth-and-nail twice this season, especially on Friday night.

“Our kids always play hard, they’ve played hard since the first day of practice. That’s what they do and will continue to do because they are a great group of kids,” said Hollar. “We just have to take care of the ball better.”

Cox, quite frankly, was happy to leave foggy Franklin Furnace with a victory —which inched the Tigers to within the doorstep of winning the SOC I championship.

“Hats off to Green. They should be very proud. A three-point win on the road at Green, I will take it every year,” he said. “They were ready to play and this is a tough atmosphere, and (Gage) Sampson is an amazing senior, but we held on and that’s what matters.”

* * *

New Boston 21 12 20 13— 66

Green 20 10 17 16— 63

NEW BOSTON 66 (15-1, 10-0 SOC I)

Malachi Potts 0 0-0 0, Grady Jackson 1 0-0 2, Tanner Voiers 11 0-0 24, Kyle Sexton 4 1 5-8 16, Devon Jones 2 1-1 5, Kage Truitt 0 0-0 0, Marcus Saunders 1 2-2 4, Jerome McKinley 5 1-3 11, Chase Clark 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 27 9-14 66; Three-point goals: 3 (Tanner Voiers 2, Kyle Sexton 1)

GREEN 63 (9-9, 5-6 SOC I)

Trevor Darnell 1 0-0 2, Gage Sampson 10 1-2 22, Ethan Huffman 4 4-4 12, Alec Smith 2 0-0 4, Levi Singleton 5 0-0 15, Levi Sampson 3 2-2 8, Caden Brammer 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 25 7-8 63 ; Three-point goals: 6 (Levi Singleton 5, Gage Sampson 1)

Green

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1Trevor Darnell23010
2Gage Sampson229220
3Ethan Huffman125100
10Alec Smith43500
11Levi Singleton152210
23Levi Sampson810000
50Caden Brammer00000
 Total63321040

Glenwood

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
0Malachi Potts00000
2Grady Jackson20000
3Tanner Voiers240000
4Kyle Sexton160000
5Devon Jones50000
20Kage Truitt00000
23Marcus Saunders40000
24Jerome McKinley110000
32Chase Clark40000
 Total660000

Court

Green

Details

Date Time League Season
January 24, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

 

 

Glenwood holds off South Point in big win

vs

Results

TeamTOutcome
Glenwood68Win
South Point61Loss

By Paul Boggs

NEW BOSTON — New Boston boys basketball coach Adam Cox considered it the Tigers’ best performance of the season.

No doubt, at the very least, it had to impress members of the 1960 squad which were in attendance —and honored —on Saturday night.

The host Tigers led wire-to-wire, and executed their gameplan to near perfection, in capturing a key 68-63 non-league victory over the South Point Pointers inside an amped-up Homer Pellegrinon Memorial Gymnasium in New Boston.

With the victory, the Tigers —the third-ranked team in the Associated Press Ohio High School Boys Basketball Division IV poll —raised their stellar record to 11-1, while South Point of Division III fell to an even 5-5.

The Tigers, in front of the famed 1960 team which was honored on Saturday night for winning the regional championship 60 years ago, took pages out of an old-school playbook against the Pointers.

That gameplan indeed worked, as the Tigers —having never trailed and only taking 10 total three-point attempts — tallied 27 field goals from inside the arc on an array of elbow jump shots, high-post to low-post passes, and the classic beat ‘em backdoor Princeton-style cuts.

It all started with — and centered around — six-foot five-inch Kyle Sexton scoring seven first-half field goals, and ended with Tanner Voiers and others attacking the basket in the second half.

It appeared to be throw-back basketball, with excellent ball movement and more importantly ball-sharing, but Cox claimed it was the “best-followed gameplan of the season”.

Head Coach Adam Cox

Current Team
Glenwood
“That was our gameplan. That’s the best our kids have followed a gameplan all year. We have detailed reports on everybody we play. But tonight was the first time I thought they (Tigers) trusted the gameplan 100-percent. And we went eight deep, and you didn’t see us drop off when anybody came in the game. Even in timeouts, they responded and got the ball where we wanted to. We came in and practiced hard this week of playing against a zone. They (Pointers) zoned us last year, and we really didn’t have a good offense for that. I thought that tonight we were able to establish a presence on knowing we were going to go to the post, no matter whether they zoned us or not,” said the coach. “We didn’t think they would have an answer for Kyle, but not a lot of teams do have an answer for Kyle.”

#
4
Name
Kyle Sexton
Class
2020
Height
6-05
Current Team
Glenwood
Leagues
All Time Stat Leaders, SEO, SOC1
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20
Sexton scored 16 points on seven first-half field goals and 2-of-3 fourth-quarter free throws, as he also grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out six assists.

Sexton drew double and triple-teams, which freed up the likes of Tanner Voiers, Marcus Saunders and Jerome McKinley — as Voiers went off for a team-high 18 points on seven field goals and 3-of-4 free throws.

#
3
Name
Tanner Voiers
Class
2021
Height
6-01
Current Team
Glenwood
Past Teams
South Webster
Leagues
SEO, SOC1, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20
Voiers scored 16 in the second half, as Saunders and McKinley mustered seven points apiece on three second-half field goals.

Grady Jackson, on three field goals and 2-of-2 foul shots, and Chase Clark —on four buckets —added eight points apiece.

Malachi Potts and Devon Jones scored a basket apiece, as the entire offense was predicated off of Sexton’s passing.

“We executed really well on trying to make sure we went inside then out. Instead of relying on the outside shot. We really developed that in the second half at Peebles (52-46 loss on Jan. 4) and realized how undeniable we were once we established a post game. We did a great job of establishing Kyle (Sexton) inside early, and that makes people around Kyle a lot better, as long as they don’t stand,” said Cox. “I thought we did a good job of moving off of Kyle’s passes in the post. He had 14 in the first half, and only scored two points in the second half, but he drew two or three defenders the rest of the way out. We then tried to establish Tanner (Voiers) more in the post with a mismatch on him. Just to give it a different look and to get Tanner’s confidence going.”

But, even the best gameplans can go off script —and some even work out when they had no business to begin with.

Case in point.

The Tigers maintained anywhere from a two-to-eight point advantage in the opening 18 minutes and 45 seconds, before finally leading 43-32 with 3:08 to play in the third quarter.

However, the Pointers sliced the deficit to 43-41 with nine unanswered, including back-to-back steals and layups by Chance Gunther and Nakyan Turner —and a three-point bomb by Gunther with a minute and 27 seconds to go.

A Clark basket snapped a two-minute scoring drought, but Voiers’ three-point basket to beat the quarter-buzzer was indeed the sight to behold.

With time winding down, Sexton and a South Point player scrambled for a loose ball near the elbow —with Sexton, on his backside, basically back-tapping somehow the ball back to Voiers on the wing.

Voiers caught the pass, and off-balance bagged a dagger of a three-pointer to make it 48-41.

The play happened directly in front of the Tigers’ bench, as they roared in celebration —and Cox was the first to high-five Voiers.

“Just how we drew it up,” joked Cox. “Let’s knock the ball around about three times, travel and get away with it, have Kyle tip it off the floor, which was a very heads-up and great hustle play by Kyle, and Tanner hit that off-balance three on one foot. Tanner had been in a shooting slump and scoring slump lately, but tonight was a really good breakout game for him.”

But South Point never went away.

In the final period, the Pointers shaved the deficit to five four times (48-43, 50-45, 52-47 and 54-49) through the first three minutes and 20 seconds —before Saunders scored on a run-out basket at the 3:47 mark to make it 56-49.

But Saunders wasn’t done.

At exactly the three-minute mark, he splashed a corner-pocket three for a 59-49 Tiger advantage, as South Point never got the deficit under eight after that.

The Tigers sank 5-of-7 free throws in the final 6:25, while the Pointers —which were in the bonus situation for the final four minutes including the double bonus for the final two —could only make four of 10 attempts at the line in the last quarter.

In the second half, in fact, they were 5-of-14 —part of a paltry 6-of-18 for 33-percent for the entire game.

#
3
Name
Chance Gunther
Class
2020
Current Team
South Point
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20
Gunther, who poured in a game-high 25 points including all three of the Pointers’ treys, canned a pair in the final 1:37 —including swishing one at the buzzer for the 68-63 final.

He erupted for 11 total field goals and scored 17 in the second half, as Turner totaled 17 points on seven field goals and 3-of-5 freebies —13 of which were over the second 16 minutes.

#
13
Name
Austin Webb
Class
2021
Current Team
South Point
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20
Austin Webb chipped in 13 points on five field goals and three made free throws, but Cox said his Tigers — especially Sexton — stymied him to almost half his scoring average.

“The Webb kid is averaging 25 points per game. I thought Kyle clamped him down all game long,” he said.

Indeed, defensively AND offensively, Cox said his team “needed that” — as in arguably its best performance of the year.

“That’s our biggest win of the season so far, in my opinion,” he said. “I felt like we needed that. That’s a good Division III team that we beat. We’re 11-1 right now and we work our tails off.”

And, it had to impress the 1960 regional champions — which went 24-1 (90-5 in four years) and is the only New Boston boys basketball team to ever reach the state tournament.

The Tigers of 60 years ago sat right behind the current Tigers’ bench to witness the win firsthand.

“These guys wanted to show those guys what they want to carry on. They feel like they are the best team since that 1960 team,” said Cox. “They (2020 Tigers) wanted to show that they are proud to be mentioned in the same sentence as them. We respect our alumni here at New Boston and it’s something special.”

* * *

South Point 11 14 16 22 — 63

New Boston 16 13 19 20— 68

SOUTH POINT 63 (5-5)

Jake Adams 2 0-0 4, Chance Gunther 11 0-0 25, Nakyan Turner 7 3-5 17, Mason Kazee 1 0-0 2, Darryl Taylor 1 0-3 2, Austin Webb 5 3-10 13, Kyle Badgett 0 0-0 0, Brody Blackwell 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 27 6-18 63; Three-point goals: 3 (Chance Gunther 3)

NEW BOSTON 68 (11-1)

Malachi Potts 1 0-0 2, Grady Jackson 3 2-3 8, Tanner Voiers 7 3-4 18, Kyle Sexton 7 2-3 16, Devon Jones 1 0-2 2, Blake Grant 0 0-0 0, Kage Truitt 0 0-0 0, Levi Bowman 0 0-0 0, Marcus Saunders 3 0-0 7, Jerome McKinley 3 1-2 7, Chase Clark 4 0-1 8; TOTALS 29 8-15 68; Three-point goals: 2 (Tanner Voiers and Marcus Saunders 1 apiece)

 

Glenwoods 2019-20 Schedule & Results

DateHomeResultsAwayCourtArticle
2019-11-30 00:00:00November 30, 201961 - 42
N/A
Recap
2019-12-06 19:30:00December 6, 201951 - 64
N/A
Recap
2019-12-10 19:30:00December 10, 201961 - 85
N/A
Recap
2019-12-13 19:30:00December 13, 201981 - 28
N/A
Recap
2019-12-14 19:30:00December 14, 201950 - 58
N/A
Recap
2019-12-17 19:30:00December 17, 201943 - 73
N/A
Recap
2019-12-20 19:30:00December 20, 201956 - 43
N/A
Recap
2019-12-28 19:30:00December 28, 201947 - 60
N/A
Recap
2020-01-03 19:30:00January 3, 202050 - 38
N/A
Recap
2020-01-04 19:30:00January 4, 202052 - 46
N/A
Recap
2020-01-07 19:30:00January 7, 202044 - 77
N/A
Recap
2020-01-11 19:30:00January 11, 202068 - 61
N/A
Recap
2020-01-14 19:30:00January 14, 202069 - 55
N/A
Recap
2020-01-15 19:30:00January 15, 202062 - 68
N/A
Recap
2020-01-21 19:30:00January 21, 202059 - 36
N/A
Recap
2020-01-24 19:30:00January 24, 202063 - 66
N/A
Recap
2020-01-25 19:30:00January 25, 202098 - 55
N/A
Recap
2020-01-28 19:30:00January 28, 202025 - 68
N/A
Recap
2020-01-31 19:30:00January 31, 202060 - 63
N/A
Recap
2020-02-08 19:30:00February 8, 202073 - 59
N/A
Recap
2020-02-11 19:30:00February 11, 202050 - 61
N/A
Recap
2020-02-14 19:30:00February 14, 202062 - 35
N/A
Recap
2020-02-25 09:51:10February 25, 202043 - 40
N/A
Recap
2020-03-03 18:15:52March 3, 202055 - 71
N/A
Recap
View all games

Glenwood

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
0Malachi Potts20000
2Grady Jackson80000
3Tanner Voiers180000
4Kyle Sexton160000
5Devon Jones20000
13Blake Grant00000
20Kage Truitt00000
21Levi Bowman00000
23Marcus Saunders70000
24Jerome McKinley70000
32Chase Clark80000
 Total680000

South Point

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
0Darryl Taylor20000
3Chance Gunther250000
4Nakyan Turner170000
13Austin Webb130000
Jake Adams40000
23Kyle Badgett00000
30Brody Blackwell00000
33Mason Kazee20000
 Total630000

Court

Glenwood

Details

Date Time League Season
January 11, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

New Boston shoots 33 FT in 56-43 win

vs

Results

TeamTOutcome
Glenwood56Win
Green43Loss

New Boston shoots 33 FT in 56-43 win

By Paul Boggs

 

NEW BOSTON — Adam Cox admitted he found himself sweating this one out.

“I haven’t sweated all year, and I sweated all night tonight,” said Cox, the Tigers’ third-year head coach. “It just was a hard-fought game. They battled every quarter.”

That’s because the visiting Green Bobcats had the Tigers seeing proverbial red, or even white on Friday night, and were within an eyelash of perhaps stealing their undefeated Christmas.

But not so fast friends and countrymen — the sky is not falling, rumors of the Tigers’ demise are greatly exaggerated, and New Boston’s happy holiday is indeed saved.

The Tigers — having to navigate a minefield full of foul calls, foul shots and many missed shots — tallied the final 11 points over the game’s final three minutes and 56 seconds, and carved out from the free-throw fest a 56-43 Southern Ohio Conference Division I boys basketball victory inside Homer Pellegrinon Memorial Gymnasium in New Boston.

With the win, the talented and highly-touted Tigers are now a perfect 7-0 — and 4-0 and tied atop the SOC I with newcomer Ironton St. Joseph.

While Whiteoak — in a non-league encounter a week ago — only lost to the Tigers by eight points (58-50), Cox commented that the Bobcats brought a much greater and intense physical challenge.

There were 54 combined free throws — on 48 total fouls called.

“I’m just proud of our guys to weather through the storm of what was definitely the most physical ballgame we’ve played all year. The physicality was…with all the free throws, it was hard for us to get into a rhythm. And I’m not so sure that wasn’t the most fouls I’ve ever been a part of in a high school game in my life,” said Cox. “There were a lot. We shot 33 free throws and they shot 21. There were a lot of quick whistles, and both Green and us had to adjust to the style of play that they were calling. We battled through it, we showed some resilience.”

So too did the Bobcats, but Green head coach Dirk Hollar was clearly frustrated with all the whistles — and elimination of the game’s flow.

In the first half, the Tigers were in the one-and-one bonus situation with 6:17 remaining — and in the double bonus by the 4:24 mark.

In the second half, both teams were in the one-and-one for the final 9:39 — with New Boston being in it for the final 10:16.

A half-dozen Bobcats picked up at least three personals — as their leading scorers Gage Sampson (14 points), Alec Smith (11 points) and Ethan Huffman (eight points) all fouled out.

“It’s very frustrating, because I feel like we got nothing,” said Hollar. “It’s really sad for the kids because that was a great ballgame, and I’m not saying that it would have made a difference in the outcome, but we felt the kids on both sides were taken out of the game tonight.”

The Bobcats — now an even 4-4 but 1-3 in the SOC I — also battled back from a 22-7 deficit with five minutes and 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Green’s lone lead was at 3-2 on a Smith three-pointer, as the Tigers turned up the pressure and began to pull away before Smith started the Bobcats’ comeback bid with his other three-pointer — at the 5:17 mark of the second to get Green within a dozen (22-10).

It sliced that deficit in half to 27-21 at halftime by outscoring the Tigers 14-5 over the final five-plus minutes, then trailed 42-36 after three quarters — as Green got the deficit down to two points three times in the third (34-32, 36-34 and 38-36) and twice more in the fourth (44-42 and 45-43).

However, the Bobcats never got within one, tied or took the lead again — and actually failed to score again after Huffman hit 2-of-3 free throws over a 26-second span midway through the final period.

Huffman hit a foul shot with 3:56 remaining, but the Tigers scored the final 11 over the final two-and-a-half minutes.

As the Bobcats misfired from the field, including a Huffman three-pointer from the wing which would have given Green a 46-45 lead, the Tigers took advantage — as Grady Jackson grabbed the rebound and drove coast-to-coast for the layup and a four-point (47-43) bulge.

New Boston standout Kyle Sexton scored inside at the minute-and-a-half mark, and the Tigers — despite shooting a whopping 33 free throws and only making 18 of them — converted seven of their final 10 over the final minute and 13 seconds.

The Tigers netted 9-of-17 freebies in the second half, as all 10 of Sexton’s attempts with five makes were over the final 16 minutes.

Sexton — despite sitting most of the second quarter with two personal fouls — poured in a game-high 17 points, as he also made six field goals.

He ripped down 20 rebounds as well, and amassed five assists and five steals.

“We called a couple of sets to get Kyle some looks and we were able to hit some free throws down the stretch. We started to run our sets with more patience,” said Cox. “We were able to spread them out to the point where they had to come out and guard us.”

But the final four minutes of shutout basketball was more of a credit to the Tigers’ defense.

Trailing 49-43 and only 90 seconds still to play, Green was forced to foul — so its personals number inflated to 28 along with New Boston’s free-throw attempts to 33.

Hollar said his charges didn’t protect the basketball in the final few minutes, much they like did in falling behind 22-7.

“We turned the ball over too much tonight. We panicked and we rushed and tried to get shots, but in doing so, we just didn’t take care of the ball. Plain and simple,” said the coach. “We went over and over and over that you can’t dribble the ball against this team. New Boston did a great job defensively, but we can’t dribble against a 2-2-1, and we continued to try it tonight.”

The Bobcats started slow again, scoring just the seven points prior to the 5:27 point of the second quarter — on Smith’s three and a basket and 2-of-4 free throws by Sampson.

“Ever since the South Webster game, which was the second game of the year, it’s like we have no sense of urgency to jump out on a team and get that swag before they get it,” said Hollar. “We can’t start every game down five, 10, 15 points. We scored seven points tonight in a quarter-and-a-half.”

Sampson finished with five field and 4-of-6 free throws, while Smith sank four field goals and a foul shot.

Huffman had eight on three deuces and 2-of-3 fourth-quarter free throws, while four other Bobcats combined for two field goals and 6-of-8 at the line.

Green made 13-of-21 at the stripe.

Jerome McKinley followed Sexton with 14 points on five field goals and 4-of-6 free throws, while Tanner Voiers — on two third-quarter field goals and 5-of-8 free throws — notched nine.

Jackson scored eight off the bench on four buckets, as four other Tigers tallied at least one point apiece.

The Tigers, despite not canning a single three-point goal and missing several short-range in-close opportunities, totaled a 19-14 advantage in total field goals.

Cox said a key was his club keeping steady the ship when Sexton was on the bench in first-half foul trouble.

“I made a decision, given the amount of fouls being called, to sit Sexton second quarter. I wanted to show our depth and our bench that I believed in them, even if our captain and our leader was on the bench with fouls. I wanted to see what they could do to handle it,” he said. “What was crazy was that we just practiced on Wednesday without Sexton. He was icing and rehabbing his knee which he hurt against Clay. I thought we looked good that practice, and I thought that really helped us tonight to get through that and maintain the lead.”

Hollar believes had his Bobcats either tied or taken the lead late, they would have captured the victory.

“We couldn’t get over that hump. But when you miss a lot of easy layups and jumpers, you don’t get over that hump. I thought if we got over the hump, we would have a chance to win. I’m very proud of how my kids played and fought. New Boston is one of the best teams in Southern Ohio. It was a one or two-possession game for the final two-and-a-half quarters.”

The Bobcats returned home, and returned to non-league action, on Saturday night in a makeup matchup against Fairview (Ky.).

Meanwhile, New Boston is off until Friday night — when it travels to Meigs County and sees a solid Southern squad.

But first things first, Cox can quit sweating — and start enjoying — this Christmas holiday.

“My first two years, we didn’t win the game right before Christmas. I’ve lost every Christmas break game and I’ve struggled through Christmas. So it’s an early Christmas gift,” he said. “We’re undefeated in the league and we’ll have some time to get some work in. Give Green all the credit in the world and they weren’t backing down from us. For us winning a game like this, where we have a lot to improve on, it builds character. I was glad we were able to persevere and hold the ball and seal it with some made free throws.”

* * *

Green 6 15 15 7— 43

New Boston 15 12 15 14— 56

GREEN 43 (4-4, 1-3 SOC I)

Trevor Darnell 1 0-0 2, Gage Sampson 5 4-6 14, Ethan Huffman 3 2-3 8, Alec Smith 4 1-4 11, Levi Singleton 0 0-0 0, Levi Sampson 0 2-2 2, Mason Hensley 1 2-4 4, Troy Otworth 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 14 13-21 43; Three-point goals: 2 (Alec Smith 2)

NEW BOSTON 56 (7-0, 4-0 SOC I)

Malachi Potts 0 0-0 0, Grady Jackson 4 0-2 8, Tanner Voiers 2 5-8 9, Kyle Sexton 6 5-10 17, De’von Jones 0 2-2 2, Devin McLaurin 0 1-2 1, Blake Grant 0 0-0 0, Marcus Saunders 1 0-1 2, Jerome McKinley 5 4-6 14, Chase Clark 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 19 18-13 55; Three-point goals: none

Glenwood

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
0Malachi Potts00000
2Grady Jackson80000
3Tanner Voiers90000
4Kyle Sexton170000
5Devon Jones20000
12Devin McLaurin10000
13Blake Grant00000
23Marcus Saunders20000
24Jerome McKinley140000
32Chase Clark30000
 Total560000

Green

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1Trevor Darnell20010
2Gage Sampson1215310
3Ethan Huffman87010
10Alec Smith84100
11Levi Singleton33100
23Levi Sampson49000
24Mason Hensley46010
30Troy Otworth21000
 Total4345540

Court

Glenwood

Details

Date Time League Season
December 20, 2019 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Napkins Stats: New Boston 62 Southeastern 41 a final

vs

Results

TeamTOutcome
Glenwood61Win
Southeastern42Loss

New Boston 62
Southeastern 41 a final

Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Southeastern

Scoring … Cameron Hall 12, Aaron Gillum 7, Aiden Estep 6, Luke Corcoran 6, Parker George 4, Jaylon Morta 3, Jacob Lenox 2

3 Pointers …. 3/20 … Aaron Gillum 1, Aiden Estep 1, Cameron Hall 1
FTs ………… 5/9
TOs ………… 18
PnP ………… 13 fgs/26 points in the paint
PnT ………… 0
PBck ………. 3 fgs /6 points on putbacks

Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – New Boston

Scoring … Kyle Sexton 27, Tanner Voiers 13, Deon Jones 11, Chase Clark 4, Marcus Saunders 3, Jerome McKinley 2
3 Pointers … 5/15 … Tanner Voiers 2, Kyle Sexton 2, Marcus Saunders 1
FTs ……….. 8/10
TOs ………. 12
PnP ……… 19 fgs/38 points in the paint
PnT ……… 4 fgs/ 8 points in transition
PBck ……. 4 fgs/ 8 points on putbacks

Glenwood

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
4Kyle Sexton270000
3Tanner Voiers130000
5Devon Jones110000
23Marcus Saunders30000
24Jerome McKinley20000
32Chase Clark40000
 Total600000

Southeastern

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
Cameron Hall120000
11Aaron Gillum70000
21Aiden Estep60000
3Luke Corcoran60000
24Parker George40000
Jaylon Morta30000
Jacob Lenoy20000
 Total400000

Court

Piketon

Details

Date Time League Season
November 30, 2019 12:00 am SEO 2019-20