Redskins hold off Bulldogs; Marion Local beats Coldwater in consolation game

COLDWATER - St. Henry coach Eric Rosenbeck believed it would be a grind-it-out kind of game as the Redskins faced Celina in the finals of the Asset Allocation Associates Holiday Classic at the Palace in Coldwater.

The Redskins took the lead for good early in the fourth quarter and held off the Bulldogs to claim the title with a 48-41 win.

In the consolation game, Marion Local took the lead on Coldwater in the third quarter and beat the Cavaliers for the second time in less than two weeks in a 66-57 contest.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
St. Henry 48, Celina 41

The anticipated matchup between St. Henry's Ryan Mikesell and Celina's Ryan Hoyng was more of a defensive battle as both teams looked to counter the opponent's top player.

Mikesell got out to an early start, scoring seven points in the opening quarter, but Celina turned up the defense and held the Dayton-bound Mikesell scoreless in the second quarter and to just two points in the third quarter. Mikesell finished with 15 points, 10 points below his season average.

"I thought we did a nice job defensively," Celina coach Chris Bihn said. "Mikesell had 15. I don't know the last time that happened."

The pressure on Mikesell opened things up for some others in the Redskins lineup. Evan Lefeld scored eight points in the first half when Celina's defense cut off the driving lanes and opened up some outside shots.

"Evan Lefeld and Evan Prenger had tremendous games," Eric Rosenbeck said. "Caleb Bender and Evan Prenger played at the top (of the defense). They logged a lot of minutes. Evan Lefeld, when his number is called, he's a shooter. He needs to shoot the ball."

Trailing 20-13 at the half, Celina tuned things up. Hoyng, held to just four points in the first half, found his range in the third quarter and helped whittle the Redskin lead to 34-33 with less than a minute to go. Hoyng attempted an open layup to give Celina the lead at the buzzer, but the ball went in-and-out of the basket.

Celina took its first lead since the opening quarter at the start of the fourth on a Hoyng basket, but Evan Prenger put the Redskins back into the lead for good at 36-35. The Bulldogs got to within one again with 5:45 left in the game on a Logan Delong basket, but Jesse Niekamp, Mitchel Stammen and Mikesell came up with big shots to keep the Redskins in the lead for the rest of the game.

"It was an unbelievable grind, but you have to give our senior leadership and the entire team a lot of credit to fight through it," Rosenbeck said. "Credit goes to Celina with their tough defense. ... We could not get going. We made enough plays in the fourth quarter to get a little separation."

"I thought we had a lot of good looks and didn't get things to roll for us," Bihn said. "I think that a big part of the game. Mikesell had a little to do with it being inside."

Lefeld finished with 11 points to accompany Mikesell, who pulled down 12 rebounds, in the scoring.

Ryan Hoyng finished with a game-high 19 points. Caleb Hoyng added 11.
CONSOLATION GAME
Marion Local 66, Coldwater 57

Just like their meeting on Dec. 19, the teams battled back and forth through four quarters of play.

The Cavaliers led 30-26 at the half after a strong second quarter with Ted Fisher hitting a pair of threes and Aaron Harlamert scoring five of his 12 first-half points in the quarter.

Marion started its comeback in the third, tying the game at 34-all on a pair of Cole Griesdorn free throws. After the Cavaliers missed a basket on their end, Dustin Rethman hit a three-pointer to put the Flyers in the lead at 37-34 and then followed up with another trey to make it 40-34.

"At the end of the game, our guards had tired legs and (Coldwater's) guards were smoking our guys off the dribble," Flyers coach Kurt Goettemoeller said.

Coldwater kept paring the lead back to two or three points several times in the third quarter, but the Flyers moved its lead up to nine points midway through the quarter before Derek Thobe and Aaron Harlamert led a charge to cut it to 55-53 with 2:16 remaining. Marion's defense bowed its back and came up with back-to-back steals from Dustin Seitz to help the Flyers go up as much as 11 points before the final horn.

"One thing we strive for is to play four quarters, not two or 2 1/2. Tonight I thought we played 3 1/2 quarters," Coldwater coach Mike Bruns said. "We're getting better and confident. The guards stepped it up tonight. They all contributed."

Goettemoeller had high praise for the Cavaliers.

"They are way better than their record indicates," Goettemoeller said of Coldwater. "They have had a murderous stretch to start the season with little practice time. ... They're going to beat some people before the season is over."

Knapke led the Flyers with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Rethman scored 13 while Ryan Bruns tallied 11.

Harlamert paced the Cavaliers with 18 points. Derek Thobe scored 14.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Mikesell, who scored 43 points and pulled down 23 rebounds in the tournament, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.

Ryan Hoyng, Laffin, Caleb Bender (St. Henry), Knapke and Harlamert round out the team.
COMING UP

While Coldwater and St. Henry are off for the rest of the week, Marion hosts Wapakoneta on Friday and Covington on Saturday. Celina is back in action Saturday to host Toledo Central Catholic.